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Urban Agriculture in Indonesia is seen as a multidimensional approach to overcome urban challenges and offers several potential social, economic, and environmental benefits. This commentary article is dedicated to presenting the current state of the implementation of urban agriculture in large cities, the initiatives undertaken, and the mechanisms for implementing the set goals. However, major challenges arise from land scarcities, poor urban agricultural infrastructure, financial constraints, and regulatory and administrative issues. Urban agriculture significantly improves the quality of urban life by providing fresh and healthy food and fostering community engagement. Lessons from Singapore, New York, and Ghana highlight the importance of policy support, innovation, and community involvement in achieving sustainable urban agriculture. These elements support a more sustainable, resilient, and inclusive urban environment and promote the inclusion of urban agriculture in urban plans and resilience strategies. Indonesia can learn from global best practices to address local challenges and create healthier, sustainable urban dwellings through expanded urban agriculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The twin challenge of increasing capacity to accommodate growing travel demand while simultaneously decarbonizing the transport sector places enormous pressure on public transport (PT) systems globally. Arguably the most fundamental policy choice and trade-off in designing and operating PT systems in the coming years will be service levels versus cost implications. On the presumption that public (citizen and consumer) opinion is crucial to making such choices, we study this question with a focus on Switzerland by using a factorial experiment (n = 1′634) that considers the frequency and geographic coverage of PT services as well as the cost implications for PT users and taxpayers. We find that support for increased frequency of connections and more services to peripheral regions is high as long as such service expansion is funded mainly by the government, rather than PT users. Preferences are generally consistent across subgroups, except in the case of government funding, where preferences differ by political orientation. This suggests that there is substantial demand across the board for PT services expansion funded primarily by the government, but that the question of funding is also potentially politically the most controversial. While our findings are specific to a country with a highly developed PT system, our research provides a template for similar research in other countries that struggle with a similar challenge. • Public supports expanding public transport (PT) services, favoring increased connections and reduced personal costs. • Increasing public funding is key for public support. • Personal affectedness and political orientation have minimal impact on preferences with the exception of government funding. • Findings reveal nuanced support for demand-based PT service provision – as long as ticket prices are reduced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding predictors of climate policy support is important for tackling climate change. Previous research demonstrated that policy support is partially driven by cultural worldviews. Yet, treating policies as a homogeneous concept, this literature neglected the existence of different policy types. Making this distinction is important because each type implies a distinct solution to the same problem (i.e., carbon emissions) with varying degrees of retained freedom for agents. Given that diverging worldviews imply different preferences for individual freedom, we hypothesize an interaction between policy types and cultural worldviews on climate policy support: Policy support is stronger when the retained freedom of a policy type is aligned with the worldview‐based preferences for such freedom. Using a representative sample of the UK population (N = 1991) and actual policy proposals of UK political parties, our results partly support our hypothesized interaction. Although communitarian‐egalitarians, compared to all other worldview groups, indicated stronger support across policy types, contrary to our hypothesis they showed their weakest support for command‐and‐control and their strongest for information‐based policies. Individualist‐hierarchists, in contrast and in line with our argument, showed the weakest support for command‐and‐control policies and strongest support for voluntary policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In sub-Saharan Africa, cattle feedlots face a significant challenge in dealing with heat stress. However, there is a lack of inclusive strategies for resilience in these situations. The aim of this systematic review is to investigate the strategies, challenges, and outcomes related to heat stress resilience in community-based cattle feedlots in sub-Saharan Africa. The PRISMA approach, which is a method for reporting systematic reviews and meta-analyses, was used to identify, screen, and analyze 30 peer-reviewed articles published over the last 20 years from Google Scholar and Scopus. The review found that key strategies to mitigate heat stress include providing shade through natural and artificial means, ensuring constant access to cool, clean water using water spraying systems and cooling ponds, and implementing nutritional adjustments such as high-energy feeds and electrolyte supplements. Additionally, genetic selection for heat-tolerant breeds and management practices like adjusting feeding times and improving ventilation were found to be effective in dealing with heat stress. In particular, local germplasm and genetic traits of cattle in sub-Saharan Africa play a crucial role in heat stress resilience. Indigenous breeds, which have adapted to the region’s harsh climate over centuries, exhibit traits such as higher heat tolerance, better water-use efficiency, and improved feed conversion rates under heat stress conditions. This genetic resilience can be enhanced through targeted breeding programs aimed at amplifying these beneficial traits. Implementing these strategies resulted in improved cattle health and productivity, as evidenced by enhanced weight gain, better reproductive performance, and lower mortality rates. The socio-economic benefits of these strategies included reduced economic losses and increased farmer incomes, which in turn contributed to improved community health and nutrition. However, the review also identified significant challenges, including financial constraints, limited access to knowledge and training, and cultural resistance. To address these barriers, the review recommends increased investment in affordable cooling technologies, farmer education, and community-based initiatives. Additionally, leveraging the genetic strengths of local cattle breeds should be prioritized to maximize the effectiveness of heat stress resilience strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study took a comprehensive approach to considering residents' demands and investigated the intentions of residents in Hebei Province to participate in LTCI, exploring the potential for individual participation. By integrating the unique Chinese context and existing literature, this study established a theoretical framework for research hypotheses concerning the influencing factors of residents' participation intentions. Leveraging a sample of 516 survey responses, we employed structural equation modeling (SEM) and hierarchical regression analysis (HRA) for validation. The research revealed that the heterogeneity of resident attributes has a significant influence on their participation intentions, and a gap exists between residents' attitudes and intentions, leading to a scenario where attitudes are high but intentions are low. Moreover, perceived usefulness, risk perception, and perceived trust were found to directly affect residents' intentions and could indirectly affect intentions through the mediating effect of attitudes. Additionally, the moderating role of policy support is instrumental in facilitating the translation of attitudes into actual intentions, bridging the gap between attitudes and participation intentions. These findings will assist researchers in gaining a deeper understanding of Chinese residents' participation intentions and their underlying influencing factors, ultimately providing a solid foundation for government policy formulation and insurance companies' strategic adjustments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sea level rise induced flooding is projected to cause significant damage to the low-lying coastal areas of many countries around the planet. Many households located in vulnerable areas have already started to adapt to flooding, although some empirical studies indicate that informal adaptation is reaching its limit and that more formal countermeasures by governments will be necessary to cope with the increased flood risks. In such cases, public support for flood adaptation policy is crucial to ensure a successful and timely adaptation, as these strategies can directly affect coastal residents. However, there is limited understanding on the mechanisms and factors that determine public support for flood adaptation policy. Thus, this study proposes a new model – the Foundation of Adaptation Policy Support (FAPS) – which integrates the Protection Motivation Theory and the Risk Information Seeking and Processing models. FAPS was tested using structural equation modelling with latent variables and data that was collected from a household questionnaire survey conducted in the Tokyo lowland areas (n = 388), with the super levee representing a policy that could be applied to sea level rise adaptation. The proposed FAPS model showed a good fit with the collected data, indicating that the strongest predictors of policy support include the perceived effectiveness of the policy and the importance of the issue of flooding to individuals. Other important predictors of policy support include knowledge about flooding, the opinions of surrounding people (i.e. family and friends), and the systematic processing by respondents of information related to floods. The FAPS model sets the foundation for understanding the mechanisms of public support for adaptation policy and provides new insights into designing and planning such policies in practice. Key policy insights Perceived policy effectiveness and the importance of addressing floods are the strongest predictors of public support for adaptation policy. Increasing people's knowledge about flooding is essential to communicate the importance of adaptation policy. Investigating people's knowledge and the perceived importance of the issue of flooding prior to designing policies can predict public preferences for certain countermeasures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gather perspectives on healthy retail policies and strategies from a national sample of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participants. Anonymous web-based survey fielded in English and Spanish. The survey measured support for healthy retail policies and strategies. National Qualtrics panel fielded on September 30 and October 19, 2022. A total of 1,559 adult SNAP participants (in the last 12 months) participated in the Qualtrics SNAP survey panel. Overall support for retail policies and strategies was calculated using response frequencies and proportions. Cross-tabulations and chi-square tests of independence assessed differences in policy support by online shopping behavior and nutrition security status. Significance was determined at P < 0.05. Most SNAP participants were broadly supportive of policies and strategies to improve the healthy food retail environment. More restrictive policies were less popular than policies that expanded consumer choice. Support also varied by online shopping status and nutrition security status. Policies and strategies that improve the healthy food retail environment are popular among a national sample of SNAP participants. Policy discussions must understand SNAP participants' perspectives regarding changes to the retail environment that may impact their ability to access healthy foods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forage is an important material foundation for the high-quality development of animal husbandry, and studying its industrial distribution pattern is of great value in ensuring national food safety and protecting the ecological environment. Analyze the spatiotemporal distribution pattern of Chinese forage industry through industrial concentration, spatial Gini coefficient, and center of gravity model, and empirically analyze the influencing factors of Chinese forage industry development using a fixed effects model. The results indicate that the overall clustering phenomenon of Chinese forage industry is characterized by an upward-downward-upward-downward trend, with the development focus shifting from North China to the Northwest and Northeast, and the speed of center of gravity shifting is slowing down, resulting in a relatively stable development pattern. The moisture index, lighting conditions, proportion of productive land for forage, virtual variables related to forage policies, agricultural smart platforms, mechanization level, and forage microbial fermentation and storage technology can all effectively promote the development of Chinese forage industry. The per capita consumption of meat products has not had an empowering effect on the development of Chinese forage industry, natural disasters will suppress the development of Chinese forage industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the moderating effects of public deliberation on policy support determinants: self-interests, symbolic attitudes and sociotropic perceptions. It explores how individual attitudes and policy preferences evolve during deliberation, focusing on Gyeonggi Province's basic income policy held in 2020 in South Korea. The paper reveals that while public deliberation, through information and group discussions, reduces the influence of material self-interests on policy preferences, it has a relatively limited effect on symbolic attitudes and sociotropic perceptions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Land use and its change impact food security, carbon cycling, biodiversity, and, hence, the condition of ecosystems to mitigate and adapt to climate change, support economic prosperity, and human well-being. To support and guide policy actions between the economy and the environment, harmonized time series datasets, transparent methodologies, and easily interpretable statistics are needed. Therefore, monitoring of the function and condition of lands and their change, along with properly agreed methodologies and freely accessible data, are essential. The Copernicus Land Monitoring Service has produced over 20 years of Corine Land Cover datasets for 39 countries in Europe, which allows continental-wide harmonized and comparable monitoring and accounting of land cover and land use change at a high thematic resolution and in a long time series (2000–2018). With the upcoming 2024 update, the time series will reach a unique product worldwide in terms of time series length, spatial resolution, extent, and thematic detail, enabling policymakers and the scientific community to address the main anthropogenic drivers of land and ecosystem degradation. This paper describes a unified approach for producing continental-wide land accounts that aligns with internationally agreed-upon standards for measuring the environment and its relationship with the economy. Furthermore, the study provides a harmonized time series of geospatial data for deriving land accounts and provides statistics of land cover and land use status and changes for a twenty-year period. All geospatial data and statistics presented in this paper are freely accessible and downloadable to serve other studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the dynamics of public support for international development policies in the United States and South Korea, focusing on the distinctions between normative and substantial support. Normative support is based on agreement with the policy's importance due to shared values or beliefs, while substantial support involves a willingness to allocate resources for implementation. Utilizing surveys and logit analysis, the research highlights the complex interplay between universal factors like political ideology and self-interest and specific factors such as global citizenship. The study finds that a higher sense of global community significantly boosts normative and substantial support. This nuanced analysis offers valuable insights for enhancing public support for international policies, providing critical implications for policy-making and future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the challenge of income and wealth inequality around the world, people tend to underestimate the degree of inequality in their societies. In this research, we examine how people estimate inequality at subnational scales by focusing on urban‒rural income inequality in China, a society characterized by a unique dual urban‒rural social structure but that is also facing a steep increase in income inequality. Using a nationwide sample of Chinese adults (N = 953), we found that Chinese participants tend to underestimate the level of urban‒rural income inequality while overestimating the progress made toward its reduction. System-justifying ideologies were found to be negatively associated with support for redistributive policies, with the underestimation of the level of urban‒rural income inequality mediating this association. These findings highlight that Chinese people vastly underestimate the actual levels of urban‒rural income inequality, which shapes their attitudes toward redistributive policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background The decarbonization of the mobility sector is one of the main challenges in the context of climate mitigation. In Germany, as in many other countries, policy measures aiming to make the mobility system greener frequently fail to produce substantial results, not least due to a lack of support by large sections of the general public. Policy measures directed at reducing car traffic in particular are often met with indifference and resistance. The question thus arises: what basis do citizens use to form their (often negative) opinions about sustainable mobility policies? As a conceptual starting point for our empirical analysis, we draw on the frame concept and focus on people’s frames of the politics of mobility. With “politics of mobility” we refer to everything people could consider as political with regard to mobility. We understand frames as culturally mediated patterns of interpretation that ultimately motivate and guide actions. Results Based on interviews and focus group data gathered in the region of the city of Stuttgart (Germany), we identify two dominant frames as well as combinations of these frames by which people make sense of the activities of political actors in the field of mobility. In one frame, which we labeled “politics-as-actor”, mobility politics are interpreted with reference to politics as some kind of monolithic abstract actor. In the other, which we labeled as “politics-as-staged-process”, mobility politics are portrayed as an interest-driven, opaque process that only purport to being democratic. Conclusions In terms of policy recommendations, we use our findings to derive suggestions for how to increase support for green mobility policies: transparent implementation of policy measures, pragmatic policy styles and the involvement of intermediaries.

How people perceive social norms plays a vital role in conflict dynamics. Whereas most previous studies on social norms have focused on people's perceptions of others' beliefs and behaviors, the role of emotional social influence in conflict transformation has thus far been less studied. Yet, emotion norms may also be important, considering that it is well established that how people feel about the opponent group strongly shapes their conflict-related attitudes and behaviors. In this study, based on an original survey conducted in Israel in 2022 (N = 620), we examine how people perceive emotion norms—that is, the perceived prevalence of emotions felt toward the opponent group among one's group members—and how these emotion norms relate to policy attitudes. We measured the perception of emotion norms in two reference groups, that is, one's national (Israeli Jews) and political (left/center/right) group, for six emotions felt toward the opponent group (i.e., Palestinians): hate, anger, fear, empathy, hope, and guilt. Our results show that emotion norms are related to policy attitudes directly and indirectly via personal emotions. However, they show that the impact of emotion norms depends on the reference group, where the emotion norms in one's political group are more strongly and consistently related to policy support than emotion norms in one's nation. Overall, this study demonstrates the important role of emotion norms in shaping conflict-related attitudes and suggests that we need to move beyond the predominant focus on personally experienced emotions in the literature on conflict resolution. Public Significance Statement: This study suggests that how people perceive emotion norms—that is, the prevalence of emotions felt toward the opponent group among their own group members—shape their personal emotions and their support for conflict-related policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The decarbonization of the mobility sector is one of the main challenges in the context of climate mitigation. In Germany, as in many other countries, policy measures aiming to make the mobility system greener frequently fail to produce substantial results, not least due to a lack of support by large sections of the general public. Policy measures directed at reducing car traffic in particular are often met with indifference and resistance. The question thus arises: what basis do citizens use to form their (often negative) opinions about sustainable mobility policies? As a conceptual starting point for our empirical analysis, we draw on the frame concept and focus on people's frames of the politics of mobility. With "politics of mobility" we refer to everything people could consider as political with regard to mobility. We understand frames as culturally mediated patterns of interpretation that ultimately motivate and guide actions. Results: Based on interviews and focus group data gathered in the region of the city of Stuttgart (Germany), we identify two dominant frames as well as combinations of these frames by which people make sense of the activities of political actors in the field of mobility. In one frame, which we labeled "politics-as-actor", mobility politics are interpreted with reference to politics as some kind of monolithic abstract actor. In the other, which we labeled as "politics-as-staged-process", mobility politics are portrayed as an interest-driven, opaque process that only purport to being democratic. Conclusions: In terms of policy recommendations, we use our findings to derive suggestions for how to increase support for green mobility policies: transparent implementation of policy measures, pragmatic policy styles and the involvement of intermediaries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractPrevious studies have shown that institutional trust is associated with people’s support for some environmental policies (e.g., support for higher taxation) but not others (e.g., support for subsidies and bans). Such findings seem to contradict the notion that institutional trust helps to resolve social dilemmas and thus facilitates collective action on environmental problems. In the current study, we use the conceptual framework of the attitudinal theory of the Campbell paradigm to understand the lack of institutional trust as a behavioral cost of policy support which counterweights people’s motivation to support a policy. Using a dataset from the Environmental module of a recent ISSP survey conducted in 28 countries, we corroborated the theoretical prediction, namely the expected positive effect of institutional trust on support for both pro- and anti-environmental policies. We also corroborated, albeit with some qualifications, that the choice of environmental policy depends on perceived behavioral costs exemplified, in our study, by institutional trust. The Campbell paradigm provides a useful analytical framework for understanding the role of trust in environmental policy support. It also helps us to understand previous inconsistent findings regarding the effect of trust on environmental policy support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Community mobilisation is essential to prevent further biodiversity loss and protect the natural environment. This includes engaging in public- and private-sphere behaviours, and community support of relevant government policies. This purpose of this paper is to explore and compare the factors associated with public- and private-sphere nature conservation behaviour and policy support. We utilised data from a survey of 4,048 Australians, representative for age, gender, and geographic location, which measured engagement in nature conservation behaviours and support for diverse conservation policies. Hierarchical Multiple Regressions were conducted to assess relationships between behaviour and policy support with the key independent variables of awareness (of biodiversity issues), connection (to nature), and concern (about biodiversity issues), and socio-demographic covariates. Overall, community support for nature conservation policies was high, not just for incentive measures but for regulations and penalties. Regression models explained 22.9% of the variance in public-sphere behaviour, 30.2% of the variance in private-sphere behaviour, and 43.5% of the variance in policy support. Concern made one of the strongest contributions for all outcomes, and was substantially stronger for policy support compared to behaviour. Awareness and connection also made independent contributions to all outcomes. Socio-demographic variables explained a smaller proportion of unique variance for policy support (1.0%) compared to behaviour (public-sphere: 9.6%, private-sphere: 6.3%). Notably, for public-sphere behaviour, younger age explained almost as much variance as concern. Implications for practitioners and policymakers seeking to engage the general population in conservation support are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China implemented the stringent and controversial zero-COVID policies nationally for almost three years during the pandemic, yet little is known why Chinese citizens tolerated and supported the policies. Adopting the explanatory frameworks of direct experience and political socialization, we explored, with data from a representative survey in a coastal area in China, how adolescents in the area formulated their behavioural compliance with and attitudinal trust in the policies. We found that after socio-demographic differences were controlled, negative direct experiences during the pandemic were associated with deviation and distrust while positive direct experiences correlated with compliance and trust. In addition, parental socialization at home and school socialization also affected adolescents in their policy support. Those who enjoyed good communications with parents tended to develop both behavioural compliance and attitudinal trust. Adolescents with college-educated parents were more likely to show trust in the zero-COVID policies, and those who attended elite schools were more likely to comply with them. Attention needs to be paid to the agencies of adolescents embedded in their life environment in developing attitudinal and behavioural policy support, as well as the increasing inequality in China during the pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Recent scholarship argues that racial oppression by the state is central to the formation of environmental inequalities, calling into question reliance on the state to achieve environmental justice. Others argue that the state is not monolithic and is the only institution capable of wielding sufficient power to address environmental inequalities. I engage with this discussion through a survey of US local government officials (N = 691). I find that officials tend to engage in color-blind environmental racism; that is, officials tend to understand issues of environmental inequality through the lens of color-blind racial ideology. Findings support the arguments of critical environmental justice scholars who question the state's inherent capacity to respond to issues of environmental racism. However, variance in officials' views also suggest that the state is a site of political contestation with many officials both recognizing the reality of environmental inequality and racism and supporting government intervention to address it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effective communication increases support for policy measures. This article argues that a narrative that portrays a policy's target group as a hero is most effective in generating support for the given policy. The research builds on the Narrative Policy Framework (NPF) to test the influence of an audience‐as‐hero narrative on the opinion about a new campfire regulation among visitors to a national park in Russia. A survey experiment with 314 visitors to the national park compares the influence of a narrative portraying the regulation's target group as a hero (a park visitor) on policy opinion and a narrative portraying another hero (a firefighter). Results show that the audience‐as‐hero narrative has more influence on policy support than a nonnarrative message and also more than a narrative portraying another hero. This indicates that audience‐as‐hero narratives are particularly effective in generating support for policies. Related Articles: Crow, Deserai A., Lydia A. Lawhon, John Berggren, Juhi Huda, Elizabeth Koebele, and Adrianne Kroepsch. 2017. "A Narrative Policy Framework Analysis of Wildfire Policy Discussions in Two Colorado Communities." Politics & Policy 45(4): 626–56. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12207. Shanahan, Elizabeth A., Mark K. McBeth, and Paul L. Hathaway. 2011. "Narrative Policy Framework: The Influence of Media Policy Narrative on Public Opinion." Politics & Policy 39(3): 373–400. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1747‐1346.2011.00295.x/abstract. Smith‐Walter, Aaron, Holly L. Peterson, Michael D. Jones, and Ashley Nicole Reynolds Marshall. 2016. "Gun Stories: How Evidence Shapes Firearm Policy in the United States." Politics & Policy 44: 1053–88. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/polp.12187/full. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the perception of South Korean citizens regarding earthquake risk, their understanding of earthquake management policies, and their evaluation of such policies. The structural relationship between earthquake risk perception, policy efficacy (which is the general audience's understanding of the policy and willingness to participate), and policy support was investigated while exploring the moderating effect of past earthquake experiences. The survey was conducted among 330 South Korean individuals. The responses were analysed using statistical tools such as confirmatory factor analysis, structural equation modelling, and multi-group analysis.The study revealed that an individual's earthquake risk perception significantly impacts policy efficacy but is unlikely to directly influence policy support. The findings also suggest that individuals who have experienced seismic shockwaves are more likely to perceive earthquake risk and understand earthquake risk mitigation policies. However, an individual's earthquake experience does not significantly impact the relationship between risk perception and policy support.This study's findings have implications for understanding the relationship between earthquake risk perception, policy efficacy, and support, as well as for developing effective earthquake risk management strategies in South Korea.

In sub-Saharan Africa, cattle feedlots face a significant challenge in dealing with heat stress. However, there is a lack of inclusive strategies for resilience in these situations. The aim of this systematic review is to investigate the strategies, challenges, and outcomes related to heat stress resilience in community-based cattle feedlots in sub-Saharan Africa. The PRISMA approach, which is a method for reporting systematic reviews and meta-analyses, was used to identify, screen, and analyze 30 peer-reviewed articles published over the last 20 years from Google Scholar and Scopus. The review found that key strategies to mitigate heat stress include providing shade through natural and artificial means, ensuring constant access to cool, clean water using water spraying systems and cooling ponds, and implementing nutritional adjustments such as high-energy feeds and electrolyte supplements. Additionally, genetic selection for heat-tolerant breeds and management practices like adjusting feeding times and improving ventilation were found to be effective in dealing with heat stress. In particular, local germplasm and genetic traits of cattle in sub-Saharan Africa play a crucial role in heat stress resilience. Indigenous breeds, which have adapted to the region’s harsh climate over centuries, exhibit traits such as higher heat tolerance, better water-use efficiency, and improved feed conversion rates under heat stress conditions. This genetic resilience can be enhanced through targeted breeding programs aimed at amplifying these beneficial traits. Implementing these strategies resulted in improved cattle health and productivity, as evidenced by enhanced weight gain, better reproductive performance, and lower mortality rates. The socio-economic benefits of these strategies included reduced economic losses and increased farmer incomes, which in turn contributed to improved community health and nutrition. However, the review also identified significant challenges, including financial constraints, limited access to knowledge and training, and cultural resistance. To address these barriers, the review recommends increased investment in affordable cooling technologies, farmer education, and community-based initiatives. Additionally, leveraging the genetic strengths of local cattle breeds should be prioritized to maximize the effectiveness of heat stress resilience strategies.

IntroductionThis study investigates the experiences of leading Chinese companies in environmental conservation under varying extreme climate conditions, focusing on the role of artificial intelligence (AI) and governmental assistance.MethodsA survey was conducted involving 200 participants to assess recognition and endorsement of AI’s role in environmental protection and to explore the adoption of AI technologies by firms for enhancing environmental management practices.ResultsThe survey revealed widespread recognition of Tencent’s green initiatives and strong support for AI’s role in environmental protection. Many firms are considering adopting AI technologies to optimize energy management, deploy intelligent HVAC systems, and improve the operations of data centers and smart lighting systems.DiscussionThe findings highlight a strong belief in AI’s potential to advance environmental protection efforts, with a call for increased governmental support to foster this development. The study underscores the importance of a partnership between businesses and governments to leverage AI for environmental sustainability, contributing significantly to conservation efforts.

Abstract The increase in inequalities during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has been the topic of intense scholarly and public debate. School closures are one of the containment measures that have been debated most critically in this regard. What drives support for closures of schools and pre-school services (daycare/kindergarten) during a public health crisis such as the current COVID-19 pandemic? More specifically, does inequality awareness affect this support? Theoretically, we assume that providing information on current levels of inequality can change policy preferences, as it increases awareness of their consequences for inequality. Moreover, we assume that the strength of the association between information provision and policy support varies across individuals—depending on their exposure to these policies, and the political attitudes that they hold. To identify causal linkages between awareness of inequalities and support for school and daycare/kindergarten closures, we use a survey experiment with information treatment, in which we randomly assign information designed to prime the respondents to think about either education inequality, gender inequality, or both. The experiment, involving more than 3,000 respondents, was conducted in the spring of 2021 at the end of a prolonged lockdown in Germany when a new piece of legislation was enacted, enabling or restricting school reopenings based on local infection rates. Using Probit Regression models for dichotomous dependent variables, we show that raising awareness of education inequality and gender inequality via an information treatment is associated with decreasing support for preschool and primary school closures. We also find that past exposure to school-closure policies strengthens the effects of information treatments, whereas previous political attitudes do not moderate the association between information treatments and support for preschool and school closures.

● Ecological fragility and water shortage are key challenges in the Yellow River Basin.● Efficient water use technology in drylands greatly increases crop production.● Water-saving irrigation has been widely adopted and has greatly improved water use.● Changing water use from unregulated and inefficient to intensive and efficient is key solution.● Watershed-scale coordination is a key step towards agriculture green development.The Yellow River Basin is an important food production area and an ecological challenge for China, where environmental protection and water scarcity are the major constraints. For the upper reaches of the Yellow River Basin, optimizing the adoption of chemicals in agricultural production and integrating crops with livestock are the key strategies for protecting the eco-environment. For dryland agriculture in the middle and upper reaches, this study summarizes four aspects of efficient precipitation techniques in terms of collection, storage, conservation, and use, which have greatly improved crop yields and supported dryland crop production. Irrigated agriculture in the middle and lower reaches is the core area of China’s grain production, where the area under water-saving irrigation reached 13.0 Mha in 2018, greatly improving water use. Compared with 1998, cereal production in 2018 increased by 62.2 Mt under similar total water withdrawals (49.7 billion to 51.6 billion m3), and the annual soil erosion at the Tongguan Hydrological Observatory reduced by 584 million m3 in 2018, achieving great success in environmental protection and efficient water use. The Chinese government has set a goal for the Yellow River Basin to become the national leader in environmental protection and efficient water use by 2035. Such a high demand requires the combined efforts of the whole community, as well as the adoption of new technologies, coordinated basin-wide development, and adequate policy support.

Abstract Background China was the last country in the world to relax COVID-19 restrictions. A successful public health policy requires public support. This analysis examined the factors associated with Chinese support for zero-COVID and relaxing COVID-19 restrictions in China. Method Two online surveys were conducted among Chinese participants in mainland China on June 10–13 (N = 460) and December 2, 2022 (N = 450). These two samples were similar based on the participants’ demographics. Results The results revealed that the perceived health consequences of a COVID-19 policy, perceived norms of approving a COVID-19 policy, and hope positively predicted the participants’ support for the COVID-19 policy. The results further showed that collectivism and fatalism positively predicted support for zero-COVID and negatively predicted support for relaxing restrictions. COVID fatigue was negatively associated with support for zero-COVID and positively associated with support for relaxing restrictions. Liberty positively predicted support for relaxing restrictions in June and negatively predicted zero-COVID in December 2023. It did not positively or negatively predict support for the policy adopted by the government. Conclusion Collectivism, liberty, COVID fatigue, and fatalistic beliefs are important considerations connected to public support for a COVID-19 policy. The role of liberty was more nuanced and depended on the survey’s time and whether the government adopted the policy.

This paper provides a comprehensive analysis of the current state of intelligent ophthalmology in China, including technological advancements, academic exchange platforms, policy support, future challenges, and potential solutions. Technologically, remarkable progress have been made in various areas of intelligent ophthalmology in China, including diabetic retinopathy, fundus image analysis, and crucial aspects such as quality assessment of medical artificial intelligence products, clinical research methods, technological evaluation, and industrial standards. Researchers are constantly improving the safety and standardization of intelligent ophthalmology technology by formulating clinical application guidelines and standards. Academic exchange platforms have been established to provide extensive collaboration opportunities for professionals across diverse fields, and various academic journals serve as publication platforms for intelligent ophthalmology research. Regarding public policy, the Chinese government has not only established a supportive policy environment for the advancement of intelligent ophthalmology through various documents and regulations, but provided a legal basis and management framework. However, there are still challenges to overcome, such as technological innovation, data privacy and security, outdated regulations, and talent shortages. To tackle these issues, there is a requirement for increased technological research and development, the establishment of regulatory frameworks, talent cultivation, and greater awareness and acceptance of new technologies among patients. By comprehensively addressing these challenges, intelligent ophthalmology in China is expected to continue leading the industry's global development, bringing more innovation and convenience to the field of ophthalmic healthcare.

Growing evidence suggests that intergroup contact, psychology's most-researched paradigm for reducing prejudice, has the "ironic" effect of reducing support for social change in disadvantaged groups. We conducted a preregistered meta-analytic test of this effect across 98 studies with 140 samples of 213,085 disadvantaged-group members. As predicted, intergroup contact was, on average, associated with less perceived injustice (r = -.07), collective action (r = -.06), and support for reparative policies (r = -.07). However, these associations were small, variable, and consistent with alternative explanations. Across outcomes, 25%-36% of studies found positive associations with intergroup contact. Moderator analyses explained about a third of the between-sample variance, showing that, at least for perceived injustice, associations with intergroup contact were most consistently negative in studies that measured direct, qualitatively positive contact among adults. We also found evidence for an alternative explanation for the apparent "ironic" effects of intergroup contact as, after controlling for the positive association of negative contact with support for social change, positive contact was no longer associated with any of the outcomes. We close by discussing the strengths and limitations of the available evidence and by highlighting open questions about the relationship between intergroup contact and support for social change in disadvantaged groups. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

The increase in inequalities during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has been the topic of intense scholarly and public debate. School closures are one of the containment measures that have been debated most critically in this regard. What drives support for closures of schools and pre-school services (daycare/kindergarten) during a public health crisis such as the current COVID-19 pandemic? More specifically, does inequality awareness affect this support? Theoretically, we assume that providing information on current levels of inequality can change policy preferences, as it increases awareness of their consequences for inequality. Moreover, we assume that the strength of the association between information provision and policy support varies across individuals—depending on their exposure to these policies, and the political attitudes that they hold. To identify causal linkages between awareness of inequalities and support for school and daycare/kindergarten closures, we use a survey experiment with information treatment, in which we randomly assign information designed to prime the respondents to think about either education inequality, gender inequality, or both. The experiment, involving more than 3,000 respondents, was conducted in the spring of 2021 at the end of a prolonged lockdown in Germany when a new piece of legislation was enacted, enabling or restricting school reopenings based on local infection rates. Using Probit Regression models for dichotomous dependent variables, we show that raising awareness of education inequality and gender inequality via an information treatment is associated with decreasing support for preschool and primary school closures. We also find that past exposure to school-closure policies strengthens the effects of information treatments, whereas previous political attitudes do not moderate the association between information treatments and support for preschool and school closures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Healthy soils are essential for sustainable food production, achieving climate neutrality and halting the loss of biodiversity. The European Commission turned the spotlights on these vital aspects of soils with the launch of the EU Soil Observatory (EUSO) in 2021 to support the European Green Deal. Also, the EU Soil Strategy for 2030 and the proposed Soil Monitoring Law marked a major milestone for soil protection. This article provides an overview of the functioning of the EUSO within this policy context. Through its activities, the EUSO supports an EU‐wide soil monitoring system and provides policy support to a wide range of policy areas. Moreover, the EUSO monitors the state of soil health in the EU through the EUSO Soil Health Dashboard. This comprehensive and easy understandable tool shows, for the first time, where current scientific evidence converges to indicate areas in the EU likely to be affected by soil degradation. Furthermore, the EUSO supports soil research and innovation, enhances the capacity and functionality of the European Soil Data Centre and supports citizen engagements regarding soil matters. Overall, since 2021, the EUSO has successfully taken up its role to be the principal knowledge hub for soil information and data to underpin EU policy development and implementation. Also in the next years, EUSO will continue to provide data and knowledge to monitor, safeguard and restore soils in the EU. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the 1st European Healthy Soils Conference in September 2023 in Muttenz, Switzerland, was to bring together professionals working on soil health from academia, the private sector, policymakers and students. Within the conference, a workshop 'From Practical Issues to Indicators' was held. In addition to flash presentations and subsequent discussion rounds, the opinions of the participants on the definition of soil health and the major soil threats were also collected. A majority of participants were in favour of the statement: 'Healthy soils are in good chemical, biological and physical condition so that they can provide ecosystem services that are vital to humans and environment'. Of the 10 soil threats put forward for discussion, the participants voted for the four most important at European level, those being soil erosion, loss of soil organic carbon, loss of soil biodiversity and soil compaction. The need for long‐term observation plots in different agro‐ecosystems in Europe was emphasised in contributions to the discussion. Furthermore, methodological developments and standardisations that are simple and direct enough to be accepted and applied at the practical level by farmers and advisors were called for. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Governments will have a key role in establishing the policy environment needed to optimise the social outcomes associated with the evolution of autonomous vehicles (AVs). However, little is known about the extent to which the general public would support the diverse range of policies that could be implemented across human transport and product delivery AV applications. To address this deficit, the aim of the present study was to explore public support for a range of human transport and product delivery AV policies. In total, 1078 adult Australians completed an online survey that assessed transport-related attitudes and behaviours, including support for 11 AV policies pertaining to human transport and product delivery AV applications. Results suggest policies that ensure walking and cycling paths are prioritised for active transport (supported by 65%), limit the numbers of personal flying passenger AVs in the airspace (62%) and delivery bots on streets (64%), and ensure that those with mobility limitations have priority access to autonomous product deliveries (60%) are likely to be acceptable to the general community. To a somewhat lesser extent, limiting the operating hours for AV delivery services (51%) and banning the advertising of unhealthy foods and beverages on the surface areas of delivery AVs (50%) are also likely to be broadly accepted. • Autonomous vehicles will provide driverless transport for humans and products. • Government policy will assist in optimising benefits and minimising disbenefits. • Australians support policies that facilitate active transport and reduce congestion. • Policies that increase costs and ban autonomous alcohol delivery had lower support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Utilizing experimental methods across a pilot and two studies, we explore and contrast the relationship between system‐justifying attitudes and fairness perceptions of and support for redistributive policies based on theoretical accounts of distributive justice, highlighting three allocation strategies: equality, equity and need. We began our investigation with a test across multiple policy domains (e.g., health care, education, employment) to examine broad associations between system justification and policy support. Then, we chose one specific domain – education – to narrow our focus on and designed two experimental studies to test more complex models of the interaction between system justification and the type of distributive justice on support and fairness perceptions. Results indicate that as system‐justifying attitudes increase, so does the level of support and perception of fairness of policies based on equality or equity. Conversely, there is no relationship between system justification and support or fairness when considering a need‐based policy in the education domain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: This rapid review aimed to synthesise evidence for occupational therapy intervention in the management of autism spectrum disorders. The review forms part of a series of rapid reviews commissioned by the Occupational Therapy Association of South Africa to help inform decision making as South Africa prepares for a new health system. Method: Level I and II research studies published from 2017 - 2022 were considered for inclusion. Electronic database searches were conducted on the Cochrane database. The identified records were screened in Rayyan according to inclusion and exclusion criteria. Quality assessment of the selected articles was done with the CASP appraisal tool. Data were extracted to a custom Microsoft Excel® worksheet and analysed quantitatively by percentage/frequency and qualitatively by thematic analysis of statements. Results: Thirty-eight records were selected. These included 30 systematic reviews and eight randomised controlled trials. Twelve intervention domains across four age groups were identified with sensory integration and social skills interventions most frequently examined. Interventions were delivered across various venues, including mediation and technology (e.g., telehealth interventions). A number of different outcome measures were used. Conclusion: There is evidence to support the effectiveness of occupational therapy interventions for autism spectrum disorder across the lifespan for twelve different domains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sensitivity of air quality model responses to modifications in input data (e.g. emissions, meteorology and boundary conditions) or model configurations is recognized as an important issue for air quality modelling applications in support of air quality plans. In the framework of FAIRMODE (Forum of Air Quality Modelling in Europe, https://fairmode.jrc.ec.europa.eu/) a dedicated air quality modelling exercise has been designed to address this issue. The main goal was to evaluate the magnitude and variability of air quality model responses when studying emission scenarios/projections by assessing the changes of model output in response to emission changes. This work is based on several air quality models that are used to support model users and developers, and, consequently, policy makers. We present the FAIRMODE exercise and the participating models, and provide an analysis of the variability of O3 and PM concentrations due to emission reduction scenarios. The key novel feature, in comparison with other exercises, is that emission reduction strategies in the present work are applied and evaluated at urban scale over a large number of cities using new indicators such as the absolute potential, the relative potential and the absolute potency. The results show that there is a larger variability of concentration changes between models, when the emission reduction scenarios are applied, than for their respective baseline absolute concentrations. For ozone, the variability between models of absolute baseline concentrations is below 10%, while the variability of concentration changes (when emissions are similarly perturbed) exceeds, in some instances 100% or higher during episodes. Combined emission reductions are usually more efficient than the sum of single precursor emission reductions both for O3 and PM. In particular for ozone, model responses, in terms of linearity and additivity, show a clear impact of non-linear chemistry processes. This analysis gives an insight into the impact of model' sensitivity to emission reductions that may be considered when designing air quality plans and paves the way of more in-depth analysis to disentangle the role of emissions from model formulation for present and future air quality assessments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: China was the last country in the world to relax COVID-19 restrictions. A successful public health policy requires public support. This analysis examined the factors associated with Chinese support for zero-COVID and relaxing COVID-19 restrictions in China. Method: Two online surveys were conducted among Chinese participants in mainland China on June 10-13 (N = 460) and December 2, 2022 (N = 450). These two samples were similar based on the participants' demographics. Results: The results revealed that the perceived health consequences of a COVID-19 policy, perceived norms of approving a COVID-19 policy, and hope positively predicted the participants' support for the COVID-19 policy. The results further showed that collectivism and fatalism positively predicted support for zero-COVID and negatively predicted support for relaxing restrictions. COVID fatigue was negatively associated with support for zero-COVID and positively associated with support for relaxing restrictions. Liberty positively predicted support for relaxing restrictions in June and negatively predicted zero-COVID in December 2023. It did not positively or negatively predict support for the policy adopted by the government. Conclusion: Collectivism, liberty, COVID fatigue, and fatalistic beliefs are important considerations connected to public support for a COVID-19 policy. The role of liberty was more nuanced and depended on the survey's time and whether the government adopted the policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work proposes a framework for co‐designing decision‐support tools for sustainable land management and soil protection at multiple scales. Geospatial dashboards, due to their key capabilities in the use of spatial or geospatial information, are quickly gaining traction for planning and policymaking. Developing the decision‐support system (DSS) as a transversal system capable of capturing trends in land and soil properties at the local, regional, national, and EU levels has been co‐designed with policy stakeholders. This work seeks to link (i) the main goal of the Soil Mission and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), to raise awareness and knowledge on soil conditions (ii) and the LANDSUPPORT (LS) project cross‐evaluation on how the spatial decision‐support system (SDSS) can support policy‐related stakeholders and help them to take evidence‐based decisions. To achieve this objective, we present the user engagement process to ensure broad testing and evaluation of the LS SDSS's ability to support selected EU policies and soil‐related SDGs by testing the LS platform's European scale tools, including an analysis and conformity check of the data delivered by the LS tools and a critical review of results. The indicators were assessed via direct contact with end users, such as semi‐structured interviews (SSI) and 184 questionnaires. Results of the test series have been analyzed by the spatial scale per respective tool and performance indicators. We present a unique, integrated, science‐based approach to co‐create data‐driven decision‐making with the stakeholders to promote sustainable land management practices. This methodology strives to involve many stakeholders in scientific research, empowering them to participate in the decisions on topics that directly affect them. Public bodies responsible for land policy implementation, environmental stakeholders, spatial planners, and other users have engaged in the process to ensure broad testing of the LS platform from 2020 to 2022. A strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis provided a synthesis of the performance of the LS tools. The testing phase proved the utmost importance of usability, underlining that the mixed method of testing allowing quantitative and qualitative analyses based on the same key indicators proved essential for co‐designing SDSS tools to be used by a wide range of stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change is a major political challenge worldwide. However, political efforts to address it do not always receive support from the population. Drawing on data from a novel survey, this paper examines the determinants of public support for eight different types of climate policy. We focus on Italy, a country in which the issue of climate change has so far received limited attention on the political agenda. We analyse three key explanatory factors: what citizens think (political ideology), what they have (economic situation), and where they live (rural or urban areas, and perceived exposure to climate-related risks in their neighbourhood). Our results suggest that all three factors are relevant in explaining Italians’ support for climate policies. Most importantly, their relevance varies depending on the specific type of policy under consideration and its level of politicisation.

In recent years, based on advantages of industry, market, science and technology and other development environment, strategic emerging industries in Anhui Province are developing rapidly, and emerging industries such as new energy, new materials, new generation of information technology occupy an important market share in China and even the world. However, there are still a number of problems in the process of development, and the policy support has a greater impact. In this paper, the development status of strategic emerging industries in Anhui Province was discussed firstly, and then the challenges and problems of the development was discussed. Finally, some science and technology promotion policies of strategic emerging industries in Anhui Province were proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study took a comprehensive approach to considering residents’ demands and investigated the intentions of residents in Hebei Province to participate in LTCI, exploring the potential for individual participation. By integrating the unique Chinese context and existing literature, this study established a theoretical framework for research hypotheses concerning the influencing factors of residents’ participation intentions. Leveraging a sample of 516 survey responses, we employed structural equation modeling (SEM) and hierarchical regression analysis (HRA) for validation. The research revealed that the heterogeneity of resident attributes has a significant influence on their participation intentions, and a gap exists between residents’ attitudes and intentions, leading to a scenario where attitudes are high but intentions are low. Moreover, perceived usefulness, risk perception, and perceived trust were found to directly affect residents’ intentions and could indirectly affect intentions through the mediating effect of attitudes. Additionally, the moderating role of policy support is instrumental in facilitating the translation of attitudes into actual intentions, bridging the gap between attitudes and participation intentions. These findings will assist researchers in gaining a deeper understanding of Chinese residents’ participation intentions and their underlying influencing factors, ultimately providing a solid foundation for government policy formulation and insurance companies’ strategic adjustments.

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To what extent do expert opinions affect public opinion in policy making? While most existing studies were conducted in democracies, experts' influence under authoritarian settings is still understudied. This paper examines how expert opinion and vocational affiliation influence public attitudes toward genetically modified (GM) food in China. Through a survey experiment with over 1600 respondents, we find that experts' endorsement can increase policy support for GM food but that their opposition exerts no influence. Different vocational affiliations do not generate significantly different effects, although endorsement from foreign experts has larger effects than endorsement from domestic counterparts, who have closer connections with the Chinese government. We finally discuss the policy implications of expert involvement in policy making and promoting GM food in China based on the above findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Decarbonization policies require public support to be implemented and to remain in legislation. Examinations of public support for climate policies tend to focus on a small number of policy instruments and/or use hypothetical instead of real policy proposals. Here, we address these criticisms by examining public support across four distinct policy instruments – command-and-control, market-based, information-based, and voluntary – using sixteen policy proposals by UK political parties and government institutions. In addition to assessing UK national policy support, we also explore regional differences. Using a representative sample of the UK population (N = 1,911), we find that, at a national level, individuals preferred instruments shown to be less effective in reaching net-zero: information-based and voluntary policies. Our results indicate that the extent to which individuals believe in the free market, their environmental worldviews and political party support as well as their age are all correlated with policy support. We find stark regional differences where, compared to individuals living in Greater London, those living in the remainder of the country were 32% and 30% less likely to support command-and-control and market-based policies, respectively (among other regional differences). Regional variations in free-market beliefs and population density partly explain differences in policy support. We propose policymakers focus on place-based initiatives to increase support for decarbonization policies that are more effective in reaching net-zero and on improving the perception of market-based and command-and-control policies through positive framing and policy bundles. The majority of the UK public supports all climate policy instruments (command-and-control, market-based, information-based, and voluntary) regardless of their stringency. More stringent decarbonization policies (command-and-control and market-based instruments) received less public support compared to more lenient policies (information-based and voluntary). Population density as a structural factor helps to explain regional variation and points to the crucial role of improving public infrastructure, particularly in more rural areas. Free-market beliefs are associated with regional and individual variations in support and stress the need for overcoming ideological barriers. Income was found to influence support for less stringent (e.g. information-based) instruments, but was not associated with support for regulatory and market-based instruments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Achieving ambitious carbon reduction targets requires transformative change to society, with behaviour change playing an important role. Climate change mitigation ('net zero') policies are needed to accelerate and support such behaviour change. This study examined factors and framing effects in public support for net zero policies in the United Kingdom (UK), making use of a large probability sample (ntotal = 5,665) survey conducted in August 2021. It found that net zero policies are widely supported, with only taxes on red meat and dairy products being supported by less than half of the UK public. Climate worry and perceived fairness were the strongest and most consistent predictors of policy support for net zero policies. The results further suggest that support for net zero policies can be increased by emphasising the co-benefits of the policies, in particular where they are beneficial for health. However, the framing effects were very small. In contrast, public support for net zero policies is lower when potential lifestyle and financial costs are mentioned. This suggests that perceived fairness of the distribution of costs and lifestyle implications of policies are crucial for building and maintaining support for net zero. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]