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Caring for a disabled child involves both indirect and direct economic costs, which in turn may create a financial burden for the family. Using Norway as a case, we examine if public compensatory measures reach those most in need, by assessing whether socioeconomic disadvantages and immigrant background impact adversely on the uptake of a nationally available cash benefits eligible for parents caring for a child with a disability. We take advantage of national administrative register data on children with a selection of well‐defined diagnoses born between 2009 and 2017 (N = 14,469). Our results show nonnegligible, but relatively minor, social inequalities in the uptake of cash benefits related to socioeconomic and immigrant background. Our findings indicate that this state's financial support seems to reach those most in need. However, it is essential to deepen our understanding of how socioeconomic and immigrant backgrounds influence access to and utilization of municipal healthcare services. Notably, the application process for these services often involves a greater degree of discretion on the part of welfare professionals. Further research is needed to illuminate the nuanced dynamics of these factors in the context of accessing healthcare services at the local level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Municipal waterworks services in Surabaya City are considered inadequate and have caused many public complaints. To change this situation, innovation in government services is needed. The innovation provided must be in accordance with customer conditions and complaints. Municipal waterworks, which are regionally owned enterprises, are closely related to local governments; that is why governance innovation is needed. This study aims to describe innovative governance in Municipal Waterworks Surya Sembada Kota Surabaya. This study used the qualitative descriptive method. The subjects of this study were 5 Surabaya City people who were users of Municipal Waterworks Surya Sembada Surabaya services and 3 employees of Municipal Waterworks Surya Sembada Surabaya. The object of this study is the quality of services. Data collection techniques included interviews and documentation that is analyzed descriptively. Interviews were conducted about efficiency, effectiveness, conflict, orientation, and decision-making in providing services. The results obtained from this study show that Municipal Waterworks Surya Sembada Surabaya City has carried out innovative governance consisting of digitalization of services and work systems. Municipal Waterworks Surya Sembada Surabaya City uses the CIS (Customer Information System) application to make it easier for customers to report, pay, and register new installations. Innovative governance of Municipal Waterworks Surya Sembada Surabaya City has met eight indicators, namely, increased efficiency, improved effectiveness, improved service quality, no research conflicts, public interest orientation, carried out openly, fulfilled decision values, and accounted for the results. The human resources of Municipal Waterworks Surya Sembada Surabaya City are very competent but still experience obstacles in building communication with the community. The facilities and infrastructure of Municipal Waterworks Surya Sembada Surabaya City have met the standards, but additional transportation fleets are still required. Information technology of Municipal Waterworks Surya Sembada Surabaya City services has been maximized with the digitalization of services and work systems, but it is still constrained by applying for permits to local governments, which must be done manually and takes a long time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electoral accountability is fundamental to representative democracy. Yet, it can also be costly for governance because it generates turnover among bureaucrats (not just politicians) and disrupts the delivery of public services. Previous studies on the connection between political and bureaucratic turnover emphasize how incoming governments reshape the bureaucracy. This article argues that election losers also engage in bureaucratic shuffling before leaving office and that this can depress public service delivery. I employ a close-races regression discontinuity design to demonstrate these turnover dynamics, using administrative data on the universe of government employees and health care services in Brazilian municipalities. The results show that the incumbent's electoral defeat causes dismissals of temporary employees, the hiring of more civil servants, and declines in health care service delivery before the winner takes office. These findings highlight the political strategies of lame-duck politicians and the consequential bureaucratic politics that follow elections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate Covid‐19 vaccination as a potential secondary public health benefit of case management for Medicaid beneficiaries with health and social needs. Data Sources and Study Setting: The CommunityConnect case management program for Medicaid beneficiaries is run by Contra Costa Health, a county safety net health system in California. Program enrollment data were merged with comprehensive county vaccination records. Study Design: Individuals with elevated risk of hospital and emergency department use were randomized each month to a case management intervention or usual care. Interdisciplinary case managers offered coaching, community referrals, healthcare connections, and other support based on enrollee interest and need. Using survival analysis with intent‐to‐treat assignment, we assessed rates of first‐dose Covid‐19 vaccination from December 2020 to September 2021. In exploratory sub‐analyses we also examined effect heterogeneity by gender, race/ethnicity, age, and primary language. Data Collection and Extraction Methods: Data were extracted from county and program records as of September 2021, totaling 12,866 interventions and 25,761 control enrollments. Principal Findings: Approximately 58% of enrollees were female and 41% were under age 35. Enrollees were 23% White, 12% Asian/Pacific Islander, 20% Black/African American, and 36% Hispanic/Latino, and 10% other/unknown. Approximately 35% of the intervention group engaged with their case manager. Approximately 56% of all intervention and control enrollees were vaccinated after 9 months of analysis time. Intervention enrollees had a higher vaccination rate compared to control enrollees (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR]: 1.06; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.02–1.10). In sub‐analyses, the intervention was associated with stronger likelihood of vaccination among males and individuals under age 35. Conclusions: Case management infrastructure modestly improved Covid‐19 vaccine uptake in a population of Medicaid beneficiaries that over‐represents social groups with barriers to early Covid‐19 vaccination. Amidst mixed evidence on vaccination‐specific incentives, leveraging trusted case managers and existing case management programs may be a valuable prevention strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although urban greenspace enhances ecological functioning and human well-being through ecosystem services (ES), it is oftentimes inequitably distributed. Environmental justice (EJ) encompasses aspects of distributive, procedural, and interactive justice related to accessibility and allocation of environmental benefits. Vacant land in shrinking cities has the potential to address greenspace inequalities and provide ES. This study investigated the perceptions of residents regarding urban ES and EJ in their communities in St. Louis (MO, USA)—a shrinking city that was undergoing green development, through semi-structured interviews. Altogether, 27 residents were selected from socio-economically disadvantaged neighborhoods characterized by high levels of vacancy due to legacies of redlining and systemic racism. Interview analysis revealed four themes: green benefits (including recreation opportunities), green costs (e.g., concerns for increased crime and nuisance animals), injustice issues (e.g., access to community greenspaces), and changes in the community (e.g., higher property taxes). Results revealed that residents perceived ES as closely connected with EJ when it comes to urban greening projects in their city. This study helps inform the process of urban greening projects, particularly in shrinking cities at risk of inequities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The preparation of reports on the activities of the functional position group for the Batu City Environmental Service is still being carried out in the usual way. Making announcements on activities at any time must begin by creating a new page. That matter could be more effective and efficient because the structure of each activity report is the same. This research aims to develop a report creation system whose workings make it easier for users to create activity reports. The system makes the activity reports according to users needs based on the information obtained during interviews and observation. The system is developed using the Agile framework with the Scrum method. This research produces SMART PEKAN (Functional Position Group Activity Report Creation System), a website that makes reports on Functional Position Group activities using automatic report templates. SMART PEKAN can be a tool that facilitates making reports on the activities of users by utilizing the progress of an existing technology to implement digital transformation in the government sector to support the Smart City movement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Retos: Nuevas Perspectivas de Educación Física, Deporte y Recreación is the property of Federacion Espanola de Asociaciones de Docentes de Educacion Fisica and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Retos: Nuevas Perspectivas de Educación Física, Deporte y Recreación is the property of Federacion Espanola de Asociaciones de Docentes de Educacion Fisica and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

For rural populations to have access to the urban environment - and all the services it offers - there needs to be adequate public transportation in reasonable numbers so that integration between rural and urban areas can occur. In this way, this study seeks to analyze how public transport interferes with rural-urban mobility and causes socio-spatial segregation in the PSH Tabocas Allotment, located in the rural area of Teresina, Piauí. The methodology used for this was a qualitative-quantitative approach, through the application and analysis of questionnaires about rural-urban mobility in this community. In order to contribute to the interpretation of the data collected, bibliographical research was previously carried out on materials dealing with public transport, mobility, the rural-urban dichotomy and socio-spatial segregation. Based on the analysis carried out, it became clear that the public transport on offer does not meet the population's demand when it comes to using it to carry out services and activities in the city of Teresina. Therefore, when it is not provided efficiently and in accordance with users' needs, this means of transportation fails to fulfill its function of spatial integration and begins to generate socio-spatial segregation. It is therefore up to the municipal government to take effective action to ensure that the supply of public transport matches the daily needs of the population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The world's leading maritime capital is the global maritime economic centre. In this paper, we review the theoretical debates and the evolution of the field of maritime centre cities research, compare the research on maritime centre cities in the Eastern and Western, and put forward the focus of the world's maritime centre cities research and its urgent dilemmas under the new international situation. We found that: ①The world's leading maritime capital is closely related to the concepts of global city, centre city and maritime city, and then clarifies the theoretical issues such as the origin and concept of the world's leading maritime capital, their nature, characteristics and growth mechanisms; ② Introducing evaluation methods related to world's leading maritime capital, proposing its unique functions, comparison and growth evaluation methods, and so on. ③ In the new state of globalization, research on the world's leading maritime capital should focus on research scales and empirical innovations. Evaluating the world's leading maritime capital by drawing on the urban studies doctrines of urban function, urban competitiveness, flow space and their indicators' quantitative identification methods. Future research should focus on debugging the evaluation model and its indicator threshold parameters with empirical evidence, improving the applicability and practicability of the existing model, expanding the existing network analysis paradigm of trade, transportation, multinational company branches, patents, talents and other flows, and innovating the methodology of the research on the world's maritime capital. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Arquivos Brasileiros de Oftalmologia is the property of Arquivos Brasileiros de Oftalmologia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Ecosystem services contribute significantly to human development, with water production being a crucial component. Climate and land use changes can impact water availability within a basin. In this context, researching water-related areas is essential for formulating policies to protect and manage hydrological services. The objective of this study was to estimate water yield in the sub-basins of the Tabacay and Aguilán rivers under climate change scenarios in 2030, 2040, and 2050, combined with scenarios of changes in land cover and land use. The InVEST model was employed to analyze water yield. The results show that crop areas were identified as the lowest water yield in future scenarios, and forested areas, particularly the region where the Cubilán Protected Forest is located, contribute the most to water yield in the subbasin. Besides, water yield has increased in the historic period (2016–2018) due to the conservation and reforestation initiatives carried out by the Municipal Public Service Company for Drinking Water, Sewerage, and Environmental Sanitation of the city of Azogues in 2018, the so-called Reciprocal Agreements for Water. Additionally, an increase in water yield is projected for future scenarios. This study can serve as a basis for decision-makers to identify areas that should prioritize protection and conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The City Council Help Desk Support System is a comprehensive web-based software designed to assist city residents with complaints, queries, and services. This system enhances the efficiency of the City Council and improves the quality of life for citizens by addressing various issues, including fire alerts from specific locations, waste management, community grievances, interference with protected vegetation, and traffic light damage reports. Each query submitted through the portal is stored in a database for future reference. The system's AI-based chatbot provides support by offering relevant information even in the absence of staff. By leveraging digital and internet technologies, this system significantly reduces response times and automates processes across administrative, user, and staff modules. The project utilizes Agile methodology, emphasizing incremental delivery, team collaboration, continual planning, and learning to ensure value delivery at each stage. This paper explores the system's detailed functionalities, its application of Agile principles, and the results of its real-world implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study analysed how income disparity affects citizens' public service satisfaction. Using the data of the Chinese General Social Survey from 2013 to 2015, we found that income disparity can reduce citizens' satisfaction with public service. Through a series of robustness tests, the findings of this paper remain robust. Mechanism analysis indicates that material aspirations are the main pathway through which income disparity affects citizens' satisfaction with public services. We also found that the effect of income disparity on citizens' satisfaction with public services is more pronounced in the samples of non-residents, urban residents and higher-income groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The system of local and regional self-governments in the EU is characterized by an extremely large number of small units. The situation in Croatia, a country with only 3.87 million inhabitants, is no different. There are 576 local and regional self-government units. The basic feature of self-government in Croatia is the equal scope of authority in performing tasks, regardless of the number of inhabitants, the area they inhabit, or their ability to pursue sustainability objectives. In this paper, we analyze the capacities of performing municipal services in 127 Croatian cities and examine whether cities differ in their ability to perform public functions. Results show that cities can be grouped into three different clusters. The validity of the results on clusters was confirmed with an ANOVA, where a significant difference was found between all three clusters. Ranking cities according to the capacity for providing municipal services shows that cities with higher capacities are clustered together, implying that cities indeed differ in their ability to perform municipal services. Further, the results indicate that 80 percent of the cities belong to the cluster that consists of cities with a very low capacity for providing public services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Who was Robert Moses? In this article, we want to cast a bright light on Robert Moses as a visionary urban planner, which included the comprehensive planning of the outdoor and indoor aquatic infrastructure for New York City. Second, we want to highlight some of his administration's significant accomplishments and challenges in providing aquatics opportunities for diverse populations, including people of color. Finally, we aspire to illustrate what happens when officials with power and authority in local government are permitted to operate without scrutiny and are unbeholden to a meaningful series of checks and balances. Robert Moses' tenure as a 40-year-plus appointed public official highlighted the need for accountability in public service. During his expansive career, Moses held more than 12 bureaucratic appointments, sometimes concurrently, allowing him to drive his infrastructure development agenda funded by the WPA mercurially. His herculean list of accomplishments included parks, highways, 11 large swimming pools, civic centers, sports stadiums, 13 bridges, 658 playgrounds, 416 miles of parkway, 150,000 units of public housing, and the 1964-65 World's Fair, which cost in today's economy approximately $150 billion (Adiv, 2015). One of the central jewels in the crown of his accomplishments was the planning, design, and construction of the outdoor and indoor swimming infrastructure of New York City. Unfortunately, many of Moses' achievements were overshadowed by allegations of racial politics, a lack of accountability for his decisions and policy actions, and reports of his disdain for blacks, Puerto Ricans, and low-income people. He was also called dictatorial, power-hungry, and vindictive during his long tenure in public service. Moses was rebuked for his lack of inclusion in planning processes and making resource allocation decisions based on the racial composition of a community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban finance is one of the most basic urban development policies. This article investigated Tehran Municipality to provide financial sources of income and provide the cooperative financial model. For this purpose, a mixed method was adopted with the priority of the qualitative stage over the quantitative stage. In the qualitative approach, the proficient subject experts were interviewed to meet the objectives of the research until the theoretical adequacy was achieved. Then, the Delphi method was used to confirm or modify the indicators identified from the qualitative content analysis of the interviews. Thus, the pattern of providing financial resources was extracted from the data of the qualitative phase. After that, the questionnaire was given to 300 financial employees of Tehran Municipality to weigh the indicators identified from the qualitative phase. The data were analyzed using SPSS 22 and Lisrel 8.5 software and the confirmatory factor analysis technique to determine the variables' weight. The findings showed that seven dimensions of justice, transparency, local independence, thrift, income adequacy, sustainability and practicality, and non-shifting of the tax base were extracted in the financing model. The indicators of these dimensions include charges on official documents, charges on added value, charges on buildings and lands, charges on communications and transportation, charges on professional business licenses, charges on parking, charges on centralized collection, charges on property (Real estate), and income from municipal services. Obtaining these results showed that we can achieve a comprehensive theoretical and applied model in this field only when we pay attention to identifying its definitions, concepts, dimensions and components based on the conditions governing the economic environment of the country and Tehran municipality because the financing issue is multifaceted and complex in the municipality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Superservice provides state and municipal services to citizens depending on particular circumstances defined as life situations. This client-oriented service delivery system is an important part of the current Russian system of state and municipal services. The authors developed ways to optimize methods for providing state and municipal services in different life scenarios. They used the modeling method to conceptualize the basic principles of Superservice and analyze their legal foundations. Considering the theoretical and legal discrepancies, the authors developed their own definition of life situation. The analysis of the Public Services Portal of the Russian Federation (EPGU) and regional websites of Multifunctional Public Service Centers revealed a poor use Superservice’s potential because the number of life scenarios appeared to be rather limited. The article contains some algorithms that employees of Multifunctional Public Service Centers could use to exercise a personalized approach to service recipients.

We delve into whether the equalization of basic public services can mitigate regional disparities in China's economic resilience. Our analysis reveals that COVID-19 has diminished economic resilience and exacerbated regional differences. Notably, these regional disparities constitute the primary cause of spatial variations in economic resilience. Despite the initially low level of basic public services in Chinese cities, there is a discernible upward trend, indicating a gradual narrowing of regional disparities. Furthermore, we uncover a substantial positive correlation between the equalization of public services and variations in regional economic resilience, thereby offering fresh empirical evidence that the equalization of public services can help bridge the gap in regional economic resilience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Objective] The aims of this study are to investigate the spatial configuration and scale nesting characteristics of ecological networks under the two scales of Nanchang City and Nanchang City Circle, and to provide reference for regional ecological security protection. [Methods] Nanchang City Circle was taken as the research area. Based on the comprehensive sources identification framework of ‘Function-Attribute-Structure’, the ecological sources were extracted under the two scales of Nanchang City and Nanchang City Circle, and the ecological network was constructed by the Minimum Cumulative Resistance (MCR) model. Simultaneously, nested analysis of ecological corridors, ecological pinch points, and barrier points at two scales were conducted to identify similarities and differences across different scales. [Results] (1) The comprehensive ecosystem services in Nanchang City were significantly lower than those in the Nanchang City Circle. There were significant faults in the top 35% of the comprehensive ecosystem services at the two scales. Combined with the structure and attribute characteristics, 56 ecological sources were extracted at the scale of Nanchang City, and the distribution of the ecological sources was more fragmented from the east to the west, while 78 ecological sources were extracted at the scale of Nanchang City Circle, and the spatial distribution of the ecological sources was more uniform. (2) At the scale of Nanchang City, 77 ecological corridors were constructed, and the corridors connecting the east and west sources of Nanchang City were fragile. At the scale of Nanchang City Circle, 310 ecological corridors were constructed, of which 29 were used to connect the ecological sources of Nanchang City and surrounding counties and districts. The ecological sources in Nanchang City and those in surrounding counties and districts of Nanchang City had strong interaction and connection. (3) The ecological processes of two different scales in Nanchang City and Nanchang City Circle were closely related. There were 26 overlapping corridors under the two scales, a total of 611.78 km, 4 overlapping ecological pinch points and 8 overlapping barrier points. The ecological pinch points were significantly different in the northwest and east of Nanchang City, and the barrier points were significantly different in the northeast and southwest of Nanchang City. [Conclusion] Nanchang′s ecological network is relatively stable. There are many overlapping features of corridors, ecological pinch points, and barrier points in the ecological network at two scales, and they are essential for ecological conservation and restoration. The repair of overlapping elements can increase the link of the ecological network on the east and west sides of the city, as well as help to maintain the general safety and stability of the city′s ecosystem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Demand-responsive transport (DRT) could be an alternative for extending the accessibility of high-speed rail (HSR) servicing cities in rural environments, where fixed public transport does not provide efficient services. This paper proposes a method to analyse the factors that influence the implementation of DRT systems for inter-urban mobility, connecting and integrating towns in rural areas. Methodologically, a vehicle routing problem analysis in a GIS-based environment is applied to a theoretical case study to evaluate the factors that influence DRT efficiency in different scenarios, considering the specific singularities of this kind of inter-urban long-distance mobility. The results suggest the optimal DRT solutions in these rural contexts to be those that, after adjusting the fleet to specific demands, use low-capacity vehicles, which are much better adapted to the geography of sparsely populated areas. Moreover, in adapting DRT systems to HSR travellers' needs, windows catering to these needs should incorporate the option of setting the pickup or arrival times. This paper demonstrates that DRT systems could reach significant levels of service in rural areas compared with fixed lines and even private vehicles, especially when evaluating key aspects of the system's efficiency for its implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study utilizes LDA topic modeling to examine research trends related to COVID-19 within the field of social work, analyzing these trends through peer-reviewed articles from the Korea Citation Index database. Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) topic modeling, a statistical method for discovering abstract topics within a collection of documents, is applied to categorize and summarize the thematic concentration of the literature. Five themes have emerged: healthcare service and digitalized methods, exploring mental health status, qualitative approaches to social service program responses to COVID-19, evaluation of care services, and public service and program responses to COVID-19. Key findings reveal that the Korean social work academia focused on digital-based non-face-to-face services, evaluating the adequacy of public social services, and analyzing mental health and caregiving services during the pandemic. These findings indicate a reassessment of social work practices in response to the pandemic, underscoring the need to explore the challenges and opportunities presented by varied national responses. Additionally, the application of Python and machine learning in this research has shown significant benefits for social work studies, enabling a deeper analysis of complex, big data and facilitating more informed decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Future projections indicate a global increase in heat waves, especially in urban areas due to climate change and the heat island effect, leading to adverse human, economic, and environmental outcomes. Cities worldwide respond by integrating climate mitigation and adaptation measures. While long-term strategies dominate research, this paper explores the increasing interest in short-term solutions, examining the Barcelona Climate Shelter Network. Investigating climate shelter initiatives, it highlights the use of public or private spaces for respite during extreme heat. This model offers insights for other European cities facing escalating heat waves, encouraging reflections on reshaping public services amidst climate crises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The "publicness" of services provided by governments can be gauged with reference to the extent to which services are "non‐rival in consumption." Services that are more "rival in consumption" (e.g., education and medical care) are more likely to be "parceled out" between citizens. With greater personal experience, voters are more likely to be aware of private‐good benefits and therefore are far more likely to perceive these services as part of a personal "endowment." In economic downturns, they attach priority to sustaining expenditures on more "private" services and vote‐maximizing governments respond by diverting expenditure from "more public" to "more private" services. Consequently, government expenditures are more cyclical the more they finance non‐rival services. Predictions are tested with reference to government expenditures in 28 OECD countries between 1997 and 2019. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the needs of residents is vital in public administration and management, as this helps officials when making choices on policies and service distribution. Increasingly, cities rely on 311 systems to elicit information from residents on emergent needs in particular policy areas (e.g., road quality, pest control). For residents, 311 systems provide a low‐cost means of voicing concerns, whereas for public officials and researchers, they provide low‐cost data on specific, discrete needs. We argue that residents systematically differ in their engagement with 311 systems, with lower‐income, minority communities less likely to participate and, therefore, less likely to receive city services. We test this argument using census‐tract data from the city of Houston and find that 311 reports are significantly less frequent in areas with lower average socioeconomic status, more Black residents, and more Hispanic residents. Furthermore, we find that these same areas are more likely to have potholes. Taken together, our results indicate that despite greater need (more potholes), fewer services are demanded (less 311 reports) in areas with lower socioeconomic status and a higher percentage of minority residents. This suggests that public officials need to carefully consider heterogeneity in 311 participation to ensure these systems do not inadvertently exacerbate inequities in public services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As large open spaces, such as national and regional parks, have become popular as recreational destinations, car dependency to access those open spaces has created capacity challenges. Due to these issues, transit-to-parks (T2P) initiatives—public transportation services connecting populated areas to large parks—have gained global traction. Limited research has examined these sustainability initiatives, and more knowledge is needed about how these initiatives are created and function. To address these gaps, this study explores motivations, facilitators, and challenges related to T2P initiatives in the U.S. and Canada. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 28 practitioners involved in the planning or operation of T2P initiatives in the two countries. Motivations for T2P included parking and congestion issues, environmental concerns, equity, and economic development. Facilitators of T2P initiatives included robust partnerships, community engagement, and advocacy efforts, emphasizing the importance of tailored narratives and coalition-building. The primary challenges mentioned were limited funding and labor, inadequate infrastructure, and siloed agencies and politics. This study reveals the complex dynamics of T2P initiatives and provides practical implications for transit agencies, public lands agencies, and community advocates seeking to enhance more sustainable and equitable access to nature. • We examine emerging transit-to-parks (T2P) initiatives in the U.S. and Canada. • T2P initiatives are driven by traffic, environmental, social, and economic motivations. • Policy advocacy, partnerships, and community engagement emerge as critical facilitators. • Challenges include limited funding and labour, inadequate infrastructure, and siloed agencies and politics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/Aim: Most children and adolescents in Norway attend the Public Dental Service (PDS) where they are treated free‐of‐charge until the age of 19 years. Thus, general dentists employed in the PDS are the primary care providers for traumatic dental injuries (TDI) in young patients. This cross‐sectional study assessed the knowledge of PDS general dentists on the acute management and follow‐up of TDI and its socio‐demographic and attitudinal covariates. Materials and Methods: All general dentists employed in the Vestland County PDS, Western Norway, (N = 170) received an online questionnaire. Socio‐demographic and professional profiles of respondents as well as attitudinal indicators were queried. Clinical case scenarios on emergency treatment and further follow‐ups of TDI were used to calculate a dental trauma knowledge score (DTKS; range: 0–21). Mann–Whitney U tests and Kruskal–Wallis tests determined differences between the demographic subgroups. Logistic regressions determined the potential of single factors in explaining the variability in dental trauma knowledge. Results: The response rate was 46%. Most participants (60.5%) had not participated in a TDI course after graduation but would like such a course (84.2%). Mean DTKS was 13.82 (±2.6). Knowledge scores differed significantly between age groups (p =.014) and years since graduation (p =.0018). Younger dentists and recently graduated dentists scored highest. Dentists under the age of 30 years scored higher than 30–39‐ and 40–49‐year‐old dentists in these areas: emergency treatment of crown fractures with pulp exposure, identification of complications after avulsion, and management of severe intrusive luxation injury. Conclusion: Younger dentists had a higher theoretical knowledge of TDI. Continuing professional development among dentists in the Norwegian PDS is needed for emergency treatment and complication management after TDI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rising out of the devolution of public services to private actors during the Reagan administration, the food banking economy in the United States is now a multi-billion-dollar industry. The social and political movements that institutionalized charitable food networks are diverse and often contradictory, offering a window into the politics and competing interests of a U.S. food system that has long grappled with glaring contradictions between food waste and hunger. In this paper, I analyze shifting moral economies of hunger relief within a diverse social movement (re)negotiating a set of legal codes and social norms established over the past forty years of hunger relief through charity. I argue that charitable food networks offer a window into the political contest currently unfolding over the future of the U.S. food system. As such, the debates within these spaces are critical to understand the broader politics of food provisioning in the United States. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social enterprises (SEs) are claimed to be able to address "wicked social problems1" in various policy instruments and governance models. However, doubts have been raised about whether the hybrid nature results in fundamental challenges that could prevent SEs from becoming ideal and sustainable public service organizations. Drawing upon organizational resilience literature, this article reveals two trade‐offs between social and business service qualities when SEs seek long‐term solutions to the challenges in delivering public services. This article argues that SEs—employing different hybrid models, emphasizing social or business service quality—jointly can overcome the trade‐offs to deliver sustainable and accountable public services at the public service contract level and the individual user's level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, public service delivery models have changed to include non-state actors and cross-sector collaboration as service providers. Using a survey experiment, we investigate if service providers' sector (including single-sector and cross-sector providers) and their performance information shape public perceptions of their legitimacy. We find that cross-sector collaboration does not produce legitimacy gains over traditional public service provision. While providers' sector has overall little impact on legitimacy perceptions, we find an anti-for-profit sector bias regarding value-laden aspects of perceived legitimacy. Additionally, performance information affects legitimacy perceptions. These findings have implications for legitimacy building in contemporary governance settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyses how public service networks have evolved over three decades amid alternative reform strategies based on hierarchy or market principles. The longitudinal study of social and employment services in the Netherlands, based on 186 documents and 137 interviews, reveals an intriguing pattern of network rise and fall, repeating over time, with alternative reform strategies being crucial in network dissolution. This study contributes to understanding network evolution through external rather than internal factors. It shows a persistent network ideal, but depicts the 'old', traditional governance model as more robust than is usually presented in the public management literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the article we explore when professionals engage in co-production with vulnerable people, which could improve the inclusiveness of public services. The study was conducted in mental health care, through a survey with co-produced scenarios, among 177 professionals in five organizational units in the Netherlands. The results show that professionals' willingness to co-produce is primarily related to characteristics of the client, specific aspects of the treatment process and the progress of the treatment. Demographic factors such as age, gender and education do not appear to influence the willingness to co-produce to any significant degree. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As scholars and practitioners increasingly focus on co-production, they raise questions about its sustainability. Consequently, research has turned towards understanding what enables and hinders co-production within organizations, including a focus on leaders. Building on this work, we argue for a broader focus on how wider leadership can impact co-production. We examine this through six case sites and identify the importance of leadership cultures to embedding co-production within public service organizations. Specifically, our findings highlight the need for a 'Goldilocks' leadership culture that balances hierarchy and emergence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This conceptual paper maintains that mainstream public management theories have failed to incorporate public services as a fundamental part of the public administration system. That failure does a disservice to the potential of public services to address societal betterment through the creation of public value, which can strengthen democracy. This paper presents an integrated conceptual framework to help make sense of the public value creation flows in the context of politics (encompassing public policy and public service goal attainment) and public service outcomes. We suggest there are four flows creating public value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Environmental & Social Management Journal / Revista de Gestão Social e Ambiental is the property of Environmental & Social Management Journal and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Environmental & Social Management Journal / Revista de Gestão Social e Ambiental is the property of Environmental & Social Management Journal and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The potential of clean energy is constrained by various social, environmental, and technological challenges. The current work is likely the first to observe the influence of economic complexity on production-based carbon emissions to develop clean and sustainable energy solutions that address climate change apprehensions. The study examines the impacts of clean energy, economic complexity, public service transportation, and improving technology on production-based carbon emissions. This study employ the novel dynamic autoregressive distributive lag simulation method and a novel machine learning technique, Kernel-based regularized least squares, to ascertain the causal effect among variables. The results reveal that economic complexity is escalating environmental contamination. Similarly, public service transportation increases environmental costs, but clean energy and improving technology decrease the production-based emissions in China. These findings offer valuable guidance for China's public transportation system to integrate and consolidate the road, railway, airline transportation, and aviation sectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of International Journal of Professional Business Review (JPBReview) is the property of Open Access Publications LLC and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article analyses the transition of municipal finances in Coimbra, Portugal, from the Ancien Régime to the liberal period (1820-1850). It aims to assess the extent of the influence of liberalism on municipal financial administration and its alignment with broader liberal goals, drawing on the literature of new institutional economics. Using documents from Coimbra’s Municipal Archive, in particular revenue and expenditure records, it examines the impact of the 1820 Liberal Revolution on financial structures. The study concludes that while some changes did take place, the Revolution had only a modest impact on municipal finances, with many absolutist-era characteristics persisting. Revenue increases were primarily attributed to the incorporation of non-municipal accounts. Indirect taxes became the primary source of revenue and there was a notable rise in expenditure on construction and mandatory municipal services. Despite the challenges to financial management, the municipality avoided high levels of indebtedness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scholars have long regarded government fiscal stress as a crucial factor driving public service outsourcing; however, further investigation is still needed to determine whether service outsourcing in turn helps governments improve fiscal conditions. Public choice theory suggests that outsourcing services can lead to efficiency improvement and cost savings. Nevertheless, transaction costs theory implies that the costs associated with service outsourcing may offset or even outweigh its potential benefits. Moreover, the extent of transaction costs depends on contextual factors such as market competition, bureaucrat support, and government management capacity. Empirically, we employ an instrumental variable estimation approach to examine the impact of service outsourcing on the budget balances and debt levels of U.S. municipalities. We find that service outsourcing improves government fiscal conditions, with contextual factors playing an important role in moderating this effect. Additionally, outsourcing services to different types of contractors has varying implications for government fiscal conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Paying bribes to access public services is a common form of corruption faced by citizens worldwide. A standard policy recommendation to address this problem is to create secure channels and encourage citizens to report bribery to authorities. Bribery reporting tools aim to decrease the incidence of bribery, but they could also serve to bolster anti-corruption commitment. Can bribery reporting channels also inspire citizens to fight corruption? This paper tests the claim that institutional responsiveness to bribery reporting triggers a positive feedback mechanism. The positive feedback mechanism refers to the proposition that advertising successful cases of institutional responsiveness not only persuades citizens of institutional commitment to fighting corruption but also inspires them to uptake various anti-corruption activities. The empirical strategy relies on Afrobarometer survey data from 12 countries, specifically focusing on individuals reporting bribery incidents who also answer a survey question about the subsequent actions taken by authorities. The paper assesses the persuasion effect by examining whether institutional responsiveness correlates with more positive perceptions of public institutions. Additionally, the paper assesses the inspiration effect by investigating whether this responsiveness is associated with citizens' willingness to take part in anti-corruption activities. The findings show that, even though those who have observed responsiveness to bribery reporting tend to evaluate public institutions more positively, they do not seem more willing to engage against corruption than those who do not observe responsiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The changes in geopolitical and ecological conditions brought about the need to use environmentally friendly sources of vehicle power. This impacted the accelerated activities related to the use of hydrogen fuel in transport means. Based on the observations carried out in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, it was found that the process of implementing hydrogen-powered vehicles in public transport is connected with difficulties faced by transport companies with regard to the purchase of these transport means. This study aims to analyse the conditions for making decisions regarding the implementation of hydrogen-powered buses in urban transport. A case study was considered, and the factors influencing the decisions related to the application of hydrogen-powered buses in Poland were analysed. The survey method was used to carry out the research. A questionnaire was developed, and the survey was conducted among representatives of transport companies that provide public transport services in Polish cities. As a result of the research, it was found that city authorities play a key role in deciding on the implementation of hydrogen-powered buses. The highest ranks among the proposed criteria influencing the decision on the purchase of hydrogen-powered buses were the economic ones. The concerns and benefits resulting from the potential purchase of hydrogen-powered buses were also examined. It was revealed that the decision to buy buses is most influenced by factors such as ensuring access to hydrogen and its price. The recommendations for transport companies and city authorities were formulated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We seek to offer a threefold contribution to extant knowledge regarding the effect of public service motivation on the actual behavior of individual citizens. First, theoretically, we examine the role of public service motivation as a potential antecedent of in-group favoritism and out-group discrimination in an inter-country context through a configurational lens. Second, empirically, we contribute to the state of the art by conducting an incentivized donation study in which Chinese participants have to decide about giving away real money to poor students in the Chinese province Yunnan and/or neighboring country Myanmar. Third, methodologically, we analyze the impact of bundles of potential conditions promoting donation by applying fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis, next to classic probabilistic regression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Convolutional neural networks (CNNs) face challenges in capturing long-distance text correlations, and Bidirectional Long Short-Term Memory (BiLSTM) networks exhibit limited feature extraction capabilities for text classification of public service requests. To address the abovementioned problems, this work utilizes an ensemble learning approach to integrate model elements efficiently. This study presents a method for classifying public service request text using a hybrid neural network model called BERT-BiLSTM-CNN. First, BERT (Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers) is used for preprocessing to obtain text vector representations. Then, context and process sequence information are captured through BiLSTM. Next, local features in the text are captured through CNN. Finally, classification results are obtained through Softmax. Through comparative analysis, the method of fusing these three models is superior to other hybrid neural network model architectures in multiple classification tasks. It has a significant effect on public service request text classification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]