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This paper challenges the simplified binary division of suppliers of goods and services into market or state categories and identifies the continued relevance of household, community, and third-sector provision in rural areas. We explain the emergence, survival, and development of place-based and collaborative action using a three-fold typology, reflecting differences in the motivations and rationales for providing goods and services in these ways. In a place-based context, some communities have acted collectively using collaborative agency. Many observers of rural community development have suggested that place-based communitarian action may be unable to break free from class-based controls, but this is contested by some compelling examples. Where supported by effective public policy, place-based communitarianism can offer an alternative mode of provision for a wide range of services. Using Scotland as an example, this paper explores the dynamics of interactions between community and policy actors in land acquisition and management, renewable energy, and social care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we develop a two-level supply chain model with low carbon emissions for defective deteriorating items under learning in fuzzy environment by using the double inspection process. Carbon emissions are a major issue for the environment and human life when they come from many sources like different kinds of factories, firms, and industries. The burning of diesel and petrol during the supply of items through transportation is also responsible for carbon emissions. When any company, firm, or industry supplies their items through a supply chain by using of transportation in the regular mode, then a lot of carbon units are emitted from the burning of petrol and diesel, etc., which affects the supply chain. Carbon emissions can be controlled by using different kinds of policies issued by the government of a country, and lots of companies have implemented these policies to control carbon emissions. When a seller delivers a demanded lot size to the buyer, as per demand, and the lot size has some defective items, as per consideration, the demand rate is uncertain in nature. The buyer inspects the received whole lot and divides it into two categories of defective and no defective deteriorating items, as well as immediately selling at different price. The fuzzy concept nullifies the uncertain nature of the demand rate. This paper covers two models, assuming two conditions of quality screening under learning in fuzzy environment: (i) the buyer shows the quality screening and (ii) the quality inspection becomes the seller's responsibility. The carbon footprint from the transporting and warehousing the deteriorating items is also assumed. The aim of this study is to minimize the whole inventory cost for supply chains with respect to lot size and the number of orders per production cycle. Jointly optimizing the delivery lot size and number of orders per production cycle will minimize the whole fuzzy inventory cost for the supply chain and also reduce the carbon emissions. We take two numerical approaches with authentic data (from the literature reviews) for the justification of the proposed model 1 and model 2. Sensitivity observations, managerial insights, applications of these proposed models, and future scope are also included in this paper, which is more beneficial for firms, the industrial sector, and especially for online markets. The impact of the most effective parameters, like learning effect, fuzzy parameter, carbon emissions parameter, and inventory cost are shown in this study and had a positive effect on the total inventory cost for the supply chain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Greenflation or inflation for green energy transition in Europe becomes a structural problem of new scarcity and poverty, under Austrian Economics analysis. The current European public agenda on the Green Deal and its fiscal and monetary policies are closer to coercive central planning, against the markets, economic calculus, and Mises' theorem. In this paper, attention is paid to the green financial bubble and the European greenflation paradox: in order to achieve greater future social welfare, due to a looming climate risk, present wellbeing and wealth is being reduced, causing a real and ongoing risk of social impoverishment (to promote the SGD 13 on climate action, it is violated by SGD 1–3 on poverty and hunger and 7–12 on affordable energy, economic growth, sustainable communities, and production). According to the European Union data, the relations are explained between green transition and public policies (emissions, tax, debt, credit boom, etc.), GDP variations (real–nominal), and the increase of inflation and poverty. As many emissions are reduced, there is a decrease of GDP (once deflated) and GDP per capita, evidencing social deflation, which in turn means more widespread poverty and a reduction of the middle-class. Also, there is a risk of a green-bubble, as in the Great Recession of 2008 (but this time supported by the European Union) and possible stagflation (close to the 1970s). To analyze this problem generated by mainstream economics (econometric and normative interventionism), this research offers theoretical and methodological frameworks of mainline economics (positive explanations based on principles and empirical illustrations for complex social phenomena), especially the Austrian Economics and the New-Institutional Schools (Law and Economics, Public Choice, and Comparative Constitutional Economics). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper extends the Cournot duopoly model by allowing the government to impose firm-dependent specific taxes or subsidies while keeping the budget balanced. It considers two possible government goals: maximizing the social surplus and maximizing the consumer surplus. It shows that, with identical firms, the best government policy is not to intervene. In the case of cost asymmetry, social surplus and consumer surplus maximization goals require opposite strategies: to maximize the social surplus, the government should tax the high-cost firm driving the economy toward monopoly and increasing productive efficiency at the expense of lower production. In the case of consumer surplus maximization, the tax should be imposed on the low-cost firm reducing the gap between the firms' outputs. Such a strategy, however, increases productive inefficiency and reduces the social surplus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Does our food for thought come virtually from the internet? When we take a long view, the instant stroke of a keyboard pales in comparison to the centuries-old evolution of real food harvesting and the generation and exchange of ideas, which have resulted in creative capital. The vernacular architecture of the agricultural built environment has almost dematerialized in its transition from the ancient pre-industrial era to the post-truth world, to become almost only an imagined concept. The symbology of the common threshing terrace of a Portuguese remote mountain village can now be found in multiple spaces of the urban realm, including in the metaphor of a community arts incubator's modus operandi in Albany, New York (USA). How has the concept of food for thought developed and materialized? How has it evolved? And what are some of the expected ways it might be utilized in the future? The purpose of the paper is to trace the evolution of this concept and its elements via the BLC Framework. The methodology employs a time analysis of approximately three centuries to distinguish three distinct evolutionary phases: (i) the pre-industrial era, (ii) the industrial era, and (iii) the information-driven era. The key finding is an up-to-date discussion of the food for thought concept in two distinct geographical worlds and three-time eras, as well as a set of lessons learned according to a protest poem and a rock song. The results are presented in the form of five lessons learned with implications for public policy: the first two lessons pertain to issues of procedural justice as encapsulated in the anonymous 'The Goose' poem, while the last three result from a discussion of selected verses in Nick Cave's 'Fable of the Brown Ape' rock song. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The changing climate has a serious bearing on agriculture, particularly livestock production in Botswana. Therefore, studying the relationship between climate and livestock, which at present is largely missing, is necessary for the proper formulation of government policy and interventions. This is critical in promoting the adoption of relevant mitigation strategies by farmers, thereby increasing resilience. The aim of this research is to establish associations between climate variability and livestock production in Botswana at the national level. The paper employs time series data from 1970 to 2020 and the Vector Autoregression with Exogenous Variables (VARX) model for statistical analysis. The trend shows that both cattle and goat populations are decreasing. The VARX model results reveal that cattle and goat populations are negatively associated with increasing maximum temperatures. Cattle respond negatively to increased minimum temperatures as well, while goats tend to respond positively, implying that livestock species react differently to climatic conditions due to their distinct features. The results of the roots of the companion matrix for cattle and goat production meet the stability condition as all the eigenvalues lie inside the unit circle. The study recommends further intervention by the government to deal with increasing temperatures, thereby addressing the dwindling populations of goats and cattle, which have significant contributions to the household economies of smallholders and the national economy, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Madagascar's vast oceanic space hosts distant-water fishing (DWF) fleets from Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Spain, France and others since the 1960s, making DWF a substantial component of the blue economy. Considering this extensive experience of managing DWF activities for more than 60 years, this paper explores the existing policy frameworks and challenges regarding managing DWF. The results show while it is well equipped legally, the country is struggling to implement its national policies and laws while continuing to adopt new management frameworks. This is due to a limited coherence on long-term policy making and policy implementation, resulting in a mismatch between the two, and a paradoxical vision that promotes DWF without the means to monitor fishing activities and their impacts. The existing institutional settings and governance frameworks make change possible in Madagascar's approach to DWF. To improve the management of DWF, this paper outlines four pathways. These include (i) a greater attention on the implementation, harmonisation and evaluation of existing policies and projects; (ii) continuing efforts on transparency for DWF operations and contract negotiations; (iii) realigning aspirations and policies with local needs; and (iv) taking better advantage of measures adopted at the regional Indian Ocean level to improve national management of DWF. An efficient implementation of an improved policy and legal framework could contribute to strengthening the governance of DWF activities toward sustaining national benefits while preserving coastal livelihoods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable smart cities (SSCs) target decarbonisation by optimising energy consumption through the emerging capabilities of technology. Nevertheless, the energy consumption behaviour of end users has the potential to compromise the effectiveness of technological interventions, reflecting the importance of active social engagement in realising decarbonisation goals. Although extensive research exists on energy consumption behaviour, little is known about how technology engagement affects it, the nature of these technologies, and their role in SSC. The paper aims to identify, categorise, and investigate the smart technologies that impact household energy consumption behaviours and their integration into the larger SSC system. Following a systematic review of 60 articles from the Scopus database (2013–2023), the study found 45 smart technologies cited, with 49% affecting efficiency behaviour and 51% affecting curtailment behaviour. While these technologies inform the city administration level in the SSC framework, the role of end users remains unclear, suggesting a technocratic approach. The study proposes the Sustainable Smart City Network to facilitate a grassroots approach, identifying five key domains: government policies, smart technology adoption, smart technology engagement, smart city infrastructure, and urban sustainability. The study provides an original contribution to knowledge by unveiling the key technologies affecting energy consumption behaviour and outlining the pragmatic requirements for achieving decarbonisation through a grassroots approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Franchising occurred in Vietnam during the implementation of government policy for economic reform and openness in the mid-1990s. The Vietnam-specific franchise law was passed in January 2006 to create a stable growth in the franchise sector in Vietnam. The legal framework in Vietnam generally follows international legal frameworks. However, the legal framework of franchising businesses is still uncertain. This paper explores Vietnam's franchising law and displays a comparison to the legal framework of Thai franchising law and the Republic of Korea franchising law. The paper concludes that while Vietnam's franchising law generally conforms to international standards, some legal issues should be addressed for further development of the Vietnamese franchising sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since 2015, religious freedom has become a heated and divisive political and public policy issue in Australia. While rarely defined or interrogated, 'religious freedom' does not exist as a value-neutral principle with a single meaning. Rather, its discursive constructions are varied and serve to promote certain interests at the expense of others. Offering a new perspective on the politics of religious freedom, this paper draws together four separate studies of the public discourse of religious freedom in Australia (spanning 35 years from 1984 to 2019) to chart how its framing has changed over time and to explore the implications of these changes. This analysis reveals three major discourses of religious freedom emerging over three phases: 'religious diversity'; 'balancing rights'; and 'freedom of belief'. This paper demonstrates how, once used to promote a progressive social agenda, religious freedom has become weaponised by the Christian Right and culture warriors in their battle to entrench in law the ongoing acceptability of discrimination against LGBTIQ+ people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hindu civilizationism is more than a century old phenomenon that has been steadily gaining strength. Its recent amalgam with populism has made it ascendant, popular, and mainstream in India. This paper explores how Hindu civilizationism is not only an essential part of the Hindutva and BJP's narrative but also the mainstay of several government policies. The "other" of the BJP's populist civilizationist rhetoric are primarily Muslims and Muslim civilization in India and the aim is to make India "vishwaguru" (world leader) again after 1200 years of colonialism. The evidence of this heady mixture of civilizationism and populism is numerous and ubiquitous. This paper analyzes topics such as Akhand Bharat, the golden age, denigrating Mughals, Hindutva pseudoscience, and Sanskrit promotion to highlight the evidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurate and reliable prediction of air pollutant concentrations is important for rational avoidance of air pollution events and government policy responses. However, due to the mobility and dynamics of pollution sources, meteorological conditions, and transformation processes, pollutant concentration predictions are characterized by great uncertainty and instability, making it difficult for existing prediction models to effectively extract spatial and temporal correlations. In this paper, a powerful pollutant prediction model (STA-ResConvLSTM) is proposed to achieve accurate prediction of pollutant concentrations. The model consists of a deep learning network model based on a residual neural network (ResNet), a spatial–temporal attention mechanism, and a convolutional long short-term memory neural network (ConvLSTM). The spatial–temporal attention mechanism is embedded in each residual unit of the ResNet to form a new residual neural network with the spatial–temporal attention mechanism (STA-ResNet). Deep extraction of spatial–temporal distribution features of pollutant concentrations and meteorological data from several cities is carried out using STA-ResNet. Its output is used as an input to the ConvLSTM, which is further analyzed to extract preliminary spatial–temporal distribution features extracted from the STA-ResNet. The model realizes the spatial–temporal correlation of the extracted feature sequences to accurately predict pollutant concentrations in the future. In addition, experimental studies on urban agglomerations around Long Beijing show that the prediction model outperforms various popular baseline models in terms of accuracy and stability. For the single-step prediction task, the proposed pollutant concentration prediction model performs well, exhibiting a root-mean-square error (RMSE) of 9.82. Furthermore, even for the pollutant prediction task of 1 to 48 h, we performed a multi-step prediction and achieved a satisfactory performance, being able to achieve an average RMSE value of 13.49. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reflects on the controversies to protect, and develop rural areas presenting the current situation, and the future, of the La Siberia Biosphere Reserve, located in the Extremadura region of Spain. Adopting a qualitative research design, we have gathered and examined the primary initiatives implemented for the Tourism Sustainability Plan of the reserve spanning from 2021 to 2023 and engaged in discussions regarding the potential of this region with the manager of the current Regional Development Centre, and a selection of key informants. In addition, opportunities and threats have been gathered from media. We employed the qualitative method and the content analysis, with ATLASti software (ATLAS.ti.7). We have noticed that soon, this region will develop new proposals by fostering private-public collaboration. The findings indicate that the preservation of natural resources, that has emerged as a pivotal source of innovation, must deal with new entrepreneurial activities that can put the sustainability of the territory at risk. What sets this work apart is its portrayal of Extremadura as a benchmark for sustainable social and economic development fostered by regional public policies. It is our conclusion that both academia and society should establish collaborative spaces that facilitate the formation of entrepreneurial ecosystems, fostering the cultivation of talent and effectively addressing the new regional challenges in Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research provides a comprehensive exploration of energy efficiency dynamics in non-residential public buildings such as schools, swimming pools, hospitals, and museums. Recognizing the distinct energy consumption patterns of each building type, the study accentuates the unique challenges they present, with a particular focus on the continuous and intensive energy demands of hospitals and the unparalleled energy needs of swimming pools. Through an extensive review of various case studies, the research unveils prevailing energy consumption trends, highlighting the role of metrics in assessing energy efficiency and the inherent challenges these metrics face in ensuring uniformity and direct comparability. A core element of this analysis emphasizes the dual nature of technical retrofitting, categorizing interventions into passive and active measures. The research delves into the sustainability imperatives of energy interventions, exploring the economic motivations underpinning retrofit decisions, and the intricate relationship between advanced technological solutions and the behavioral tendencies of building operators and users. Additionally, the study uncovers the influence of external determinants such as climatic factors and government policies in shaping energy consumption in public buildings. In synthesizing these findings, the paper offers insightful recommendations, emphasizing the need for an integrated approach that harmonizes technological innovations with informed operational habits, aiming to optimize energy efficiency in public non-residential buildings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Malaysia's energy intensity (GWh/GDP) shows an increasing trend since the 1990s, leading to the government's efforts to promote energy efficiency via policies such as the National Energy Efficiency Action Plan (NEEAP), which includes the Energy Performance Contracting (EPC) initiative. This paper reviews recent publications in industrial Combined Heat and Power (CHP) with a focus on international case studies relevant to Malaysian industries that use industrial steam and highlights trends within the research area. It also provides the basis for more case studies to be performed in the Malaysian industry to improve energy efficiency while also supporting further academic research in the area. Additionally, the paper documents the importance of data collection and analysis as well as demand forecasting, not only for a better understanding of industrial energy systems but also to increase profitability since system loads may vary throughout a typical year. A multi-criteria and comprehensive approach is recommended in future case studies to ensure energy efficiency, economic returns and environmental impact are considered to ensure long-term sustainability. A summary of barriers to CHP implementation in the industry is also included to provide a broad understanding of industrial CHP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public capital plays a key role in national economic production in developing countries, and it has become the focus of factor reform in China. This paper aims at studying the dynamic characteristics of China's public capital and the return rate. To this end, this paper inventories the public capital stock from 1978 to 2017; constructs a two-sector model to derive the necessary condition for optimal investment related to the return rate, and empirically tests it; estimates the output shares of the two sectors and calculates the rate of return to capital; and illustrates the dynamic evolution of public capital and the return rate from the time and regional dimensions. The study shows that, first, public capital has grown significantly. The portion of public capital held in the form of state-holding is increasing year by year. However, the proportion of public capital to total capital has decreased from 81% to 35%. Second, the growth of public capital has effectively balanced the gap of capital between regions. Third, the rate of return to capital has been decreasing, with two sectors' return rates having converged in 1981 and in 2010–2013. This paper measures the stock of public capital and its return rate, which is beneficial for formulating the policy of public capital in economic production and distribution, as well as exploring the path to achieving common prosperity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a methodology involving the transformation and conversion of qualitative data gathered from open, semi-structured interviews into quantitative data—a process known as quantitizing. In the process of analysing the factors behind the different levels of success in the implementation of entrepreneurship education programs in two case studies, we came up with a challenge that became the research question for this paper: "How can we best extract, organize and communicate insights from a vast amount of qualitative information?" To answer it, we developed a methodology involving codifying, labelling, attributing a score and creating indicators/indexes and a matrix of influence. This allowed us to extract more insights than would be possible with a mere qualitative approach (e.g., we were able to rank 53 categories in two dimensions, which would have been impossible based only on the qualitative data, given the high number of pairwise comparisons: 1378). While any work in the social sciences will always keep some degree of subjectivity, by providing an example of quantitizing qualitative information from interviews, we hope to contribute to the expansion of the toolbox in mixed methods research, social sciences and mathematics and encourage further applications of this type of approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers United Kingdom welfare provision for asylum seekers in the context of social protection scholarship, policy discourse more commonly associated with international development. Social protection definitions are contested, ranging from those focused on state provision to wider interpretations reflecting debates on holistic wellbeing, human rights and self-actualisation. Most recently, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development has called for social protection policies for all citizens to reduce inequality among and within countries. Though there is exigency to reduce the extreme inequality existing between countries, literature is lacking on how social protection can be used to critique inequality within more economically affluent nations. Commentaries on social protection also tend to focus on economic poverty, with less attention given to vulnerabilities such as marginalisation. Literature suggests that UK asylum welfare provision is based on deterrence, control and marginalisation. In response, and to encourage equity in how all countries' public policy is assessed, this paper utilises an international social protection framework to critique UK asylum welfare provision. It concludes by advocating for transdisciplinary, human-centred and comprehensive social protection policy design, encouraging participation by a wider range of stakeholders and a holistic understanding of wellbeing to meet asylum seekers' needs effectively and efficiently. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While the drivers and processes of forced migration may overlap for people seeking refuge or experiencing human trafficking, responses are invariably rooted in legislation and policy rather than empirical enquiry. In the UK, tightening of legislation around asylum has, for the past three decades, resulted in a 'hostile environment'. During this time, a discourse around human trafficking (also referred to as 'modern slavery' in the UK) has emerged. This paper looks at asylum and human trafficking in the UK to consider a fractioning of protection and resulting fractioning of support for basic needs and welfare provision, provided through the establishment of parallel systems of support for both populations. This paper explores the distinctions, interface, key points of contact, and disconnects between asylum and trafficking in the UK. It details the trajectory of asylum policy, provides an overview of the pre-history to the hostile environment, the impacts of fractioning refugee protection, and what this means for trust as a result. It is argued that trust is an essential component of UK government policies but that the trajectory of asylum policy from a focus on integration to a culture of hostility runs directly counter to efforts to identify 'victims' of 'modern slavery'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The implications of the individual quality of life (QoL) model of Schalock and Verdugo have made it the most cited QoL model in the field of disability. The QoL model is understood as a conceptual and applied framework for action that allows the materialization of the rights of persons with disabilities through the multidimensional assessment of these persons using QoL indicators, and the development of actions guided by these values and supported by evidence. The purpose of this work is to present the foundations of this model and offer a step-by-step guide to developing standardized QoL assessment instruments and providing evidence that supports their use to implement the model in practice. This paper explores relevant topics such as: (a) the need to identify critical population groups and contexts; (b) the identification of QoL indicators for said groups and contexts; (c) the development of items focused on the assessment of personal outcomes; (d) provision to the items of validity evidence based on content and pilot measure design and (e) validation process to gather evidence that supports the uses of the instrument. Last, a framework that allows using the evidence on personal outcomes as disaggregated and aggregated data at different levels of the social system is presented, thus highlighting the role of the model as a change agent regarding individuals, organizations and schools, and public policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 2019 European Open Data Directive identifies geospatial data as data that could have a major impact on human activities (high-value data, HVD) and advocates its provision as open data (OD), i.e., without barriers to access and re-use. Although Croatia has implemented OD policies to support the provision of open data, many geospatial data are still not available, or if available, their level of openness ranks Croatia lower than Slovenia and Serbia on some ranking lists. Benchmarking tools have proven to be a powerful tool in identifying barriers in OD. This paper, therefore, benchmarks the level of openness and provision of geospatial HVD in Croatia, Slovenia and Serbia, using the extended and modified Global Open Data Index methodology (GODI Plus). It is expected that this will provide an answer to the status of OD policies and government engagement in OD in Croatia and identify good OD practices among the three countries analyzed. Furthermore, the results will be a baseline benchmark for future HVD analyses. The results reveal low data openness for Croatia and Serbia, high data openness for Slovenia, and a low level of government engagement in all three proposed countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the relationship between public policy and entrepreneurial activity in EU countries by using the panel threshold model. The paper was fundamental based on and confirmed the psychological threshold theory; namely, the results showed a single threshold effect between government effectiveness and entrepreneurial activity. Government public policy boosts entrepreneurial activity at the first segment, but the promotion effect becomes relatively slow after the threshold value. When separating the EU countries into efficiency-driven and innovation-driven countries, the threshold effect only existed in innovation-driven countries. After the threshold value, governance effectiveness hindered entrepreneurial activity, because saturation and excessive regulations impeded business in these countries. In essence, it is not a matter of working harder or winding down but a matter of promoting a moderate public policy, which is indeed necessary for the government to encourage entrepreneurial activity. Ultimately, keeping economic growth stable is essential for a favorable entrepreneurial environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies on the religion (xinyang 信仰) of Crown Prince Zhaoming 昭明太子, focused on the welcome ceremony of the Nuo deities 傩神 (the deities driving away the plague) and the historical figure of Crown Prince Zhaoming but on the other hand, overlooked the evolution from the folk or heterodox deity Jiulang Shen 九郎神 (Jiulang God) to the state-recognized or orthodox deity Crown Prince Zhaoming and the role of Song-era national policy of conferring titles and inscriptions upon deities in this process. This paper aims to illuminate the following five points: Firstly, the original deity upon which the religion of Crown Prince Zhaoming in Chizhou 池州 is based is Jiulang God, one of many deities in the Nuo religion imbued with rich elements of Wuism (wuxi 巫觋). The religion of Jiulang ascended to its peak during the Tang dynasty (618–907). Secondly, driven by the discourses of scholars, government officials and national rites during the Song dynasty (960–1276), Jiulang was transformed into Crown Prince Zhaoming through the conferment of titles and inscriptions, becoming an orthodox deity. Thirdly, Crown Prince Zhaoming and Jiulang God coexisted for a prolonged period, and this suggests that the rites–customs dichotomy was universally found in folk religions in traditional China. Fourthly, the proliferation of the religion of Crown Prince Zhaoming in western Anhui, Jiangxi, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and other regions of China reveals a mix of factors that led to the widespread and lasting prevalence of the religion. These factors include the deity's role as a guardian of maritime voyages and merchants; a stable, enduring organizational structure for sacrificial rituals; and the dichotomous coexistence of rites and customs. This article reveals that from the Song Dynasty, the national system of rites permeated and impacted folk religions through official and academic discourses, propelling the latter's continuing transformation into an orthodox form. Nevertheless, there remained spaces between the national system of rites and folk religions where "rites" and "customs" interacted, integrated and coexisted well. The interplay, fusion and peaceful coexistence between "rites" and "customs" is the normative state of folk religions in traditional society in China, as well as one of the key reasons why many folk religions continue to flourish and play a societal role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rivers and their watersheds have been subject to various changes, including biodiversity, caused by anthropogenic activities. The Danube River and Black Sea basin overlap the geographic range of six species of anadromous fish belonging to the family Acipenseridae. Nowadays, they are endangered or at risk of extinction in the wild due to fragmentation and destruction of natural habitats, blocking their migration to spawning grounds, water pollution, and poaching. This paper presents a review of the historical and current distribution and evolution of the sturgeon populations of sturgeon species in the Danube River basin. Conservation status and measures for species protection, conservation, and restoration at the national, regional, and global levels are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we analyze the role of economic policy in prompting energy efficiency. This study reviews three aspects, theoretical, empirical, and existing policies to evaluate the relationship of energy efficiency and economic policy. This study furthermore identifies the existing issues from a policy perspective in energy efficiency. Although not all public policies may be justified, it suggests that these types of financial incentives, particularly those based on economic instruments, can play a crucial role in advancing energy efficiency. Additionally, this study identifies existing issues in energy efficiency target achievement and proposes solutions based on the literature review. Finally, it provides possible future research pathways from the aspect of economic policy tools in energy efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As our planet faces more frequent and severe environmental threats due to climate change (including threats to biodiversity), environmental justice will be essential to ensure that the costs and burdens of combating these threats are shared equally, borne by all people worldwide in a fair and equitable manner. If the past is any indicator, however, environmental problems—and their "solutions"—disproportionately affect poor communities and communities of color, including Indigenous communities. Despite these past injustices, Indigenous lands, which make up only 20 percent of the Earth's territory, contain 80 percent of the world's remaining biodiversity—evidence that Indigenous peoples are among the most effective stewards of the environment. A primary reason for this remarkable statistic is the use and practice of Indigenous Traditional Ecological Knowledge; ecological wisdom which has been passed down for generations and has been shown to strengthen community resilience in response to the multiple stressors of global environmental change. While the United States government has been slow to acknowledge the value of Traditional Ecological Knowledge, it has recently begun to incorporate that knowledge into environmental policy in response to the worldwide climate crisis. Continuing the integration of Traditional Ecological Knowledge into government environmental policy will ensure that such policies will be more effective at the federal, state, and local levels and more equitable in their application. Western scientists, government officials, and global leaders need to build trusting and co-equal relationships with Indigenous communities by actively listening to all cultures and respecting the many kinds of knowledge systems required to conserve the natural world and all living beings. This paper will address how incorporating Traditional Ecological Knowledge into U.S. policy would help safeguard the environment from further biodiversity loss and other ecological destruction, and advance environmental justice to ensure the fair treatment of all. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While early childhood education (ECE) in Ontario has always had a vibrant social activist community, it is characterized by tensions within and between individuals and institutions at the minor (childcare centres, post-secondary ECE programs) and major (mainstream media, public policy) levels. ECE activism is further complicated by the fact that it often feels impossible/unsustainable within our existing patriarchal, neoliberal political structure. In this paper we, four ECE activists and leaders, turn to feminist care ethics (FCE) to reflect on our own activism experiences and imagine a different way of doing and sustaining activism in ECE. We insist that activism be understood as a relational process that bridges major and minor spaces (and everything in between) in a way that cares about, for, and with all those involved. We enthusiastically invite other to join us on this journey, exploring and navigating the beautiful awkwardness, discomfort, tension, and possibilities in caring for and with each other in major and minor political spaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The direct crediting of book allowances to student accounts was, among other reasons, underpinned by the belief that students would be able to substitute prescribed study material with online content. The article attempts to understand if the local open educational resources (OER) funding policy environment was prepared for this significant transformation. The paper applied a critical theory paradigm and a documentary research strategy to identify policy-level documents on OER funding in the South African higher education sector. Content analysis was then applied to review what they said about OER funding. These outcomes were then measured against the National Policy Development Framework 2020, which also dominated the study's conceptual framework. The study's significant findings were that the OER funding policy did not meet the policymaking principles of the framework, and this exposed Higher Education to a poorly funded OER environment. The study recommended hastening the finalization of OER policy and the flexible application of current policy terms to include OER as a fundable higher education cause. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shipwreck stories have the potential to attract the attention of a wide public in different ways. Based on the Portuguese situation, of a country with a mythical past connected to the sea but a public policy for maritime archeology that lacks vision, purpose, or strategy and tends to exclude the public, this paper proposes a reflection on the social value of archeology and the potential it has for education and entertainment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, research into autonomous vehicles (AVs) has become highly popular in industrialized nations due to their importance in the future success of smart cities. Research on this mobility technology and the critical elements affecting its development in developing countries, however, has been rather limited. This paper aims to shed light on the most influential elements of AV adoption in developing nations. A structural analysis approach is used, based on the primary qualitative data—that was gathered via an expert-opinion poll utilizing the fuzzy Delphi with a snowballing method and engaging 25 experts in the field in two rounds—, in accordance with the tradition of futurist research. The analysis has led to the identification of 11 key factors, from the initial factor pool of 54, affecting AV adoption in the case study context of Iran. The results of the analysis revealed the following conclusions, that fall under the policy and legislation domain, and present the most significant issues impacting AV adoption: (a) Future orientation of government—consistency and of accountability of policies, the long-term vision of the government for developing AVs industry; (b) Managing the international sanctions for foreign investment, and; (c) Funding mega projects to enable AVs. The results indicate that the establishment of legislation and the formulation of government policy regarding the provision of infrastructure, investment, and credit allocation are crucial for the development of AVs in Iran and other developing nations with comparable characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research paper presents a review of the state of the art of desalination in Mexico, with the aim of clarifying the main challenges and opportunity areas for desalination as the main solution to overcome water stress. First, the current situation and forecasts on the availability of water resources in Mexico are described, followed by the main economic, social, and legislative issues of desalination. Mexico's installed capacity for the different desalination technologies and their evolution in recent years was investigated, followed by a comparison with global trends. The current state of research and development in desalination technologies carried out by Mexican institutions was also studied. The results show that membrane technology plants account for 88.85%, while thermal technology plants account for the remaining 11.15%. Although Mexico presented a 240% increase in its desalination capacity in the last 10 years, it has not been enough to overcome water stress, so it is concluded that in the future, it is necessary to increase its capacity in greater proportion, specifically in the areas with greater scarcity, which can be achieved with the joint participation of academy–industry–government through the creation of autonomous organizations, social programs, and/or public policies that promote it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the most important goals of humanity has always been happiness. In our daily life, happiness is conditioned by different variables, such as relationships with certain groups of individuals, health, security values, expectations, etc. Over the years, technology, especially digitalization, has revolutionized the world and changed our lives. In this context, empirical research on digitalization has grown enormously during the last decade; however, studies on the relationship between digitalization and happiness remain limited. As such, the objective of the present paper is to present an empirical investigation on the relationship between digitalization and happiness in the European Union (EU) during the period 2019–2021, before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this context, the link between the Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) and World Happiness Index (WHI) globally for all EU countries, at the level of each WHI variable and at the level of geographical groups in the EU was analyzed using correlations. While the DESI indicator acts as a basis for policymakers, governments, regional administrators and public officials to invest in areas of priority with an evidence-based approach, the WHI indicator can be an important tool for guiding public policy and measuring its effectiveness. The results show that there was a positive and significant relationship between the two indicators at the level of EU countries in all three years. The results also show that in the Western and Northern regions of the EU, the relationship between the two indicators was stronger compared to the other regions. Thus, our study offers supporting arguments for the digital transformation of happiness and provides alternate methodologies and perspectives on the interactions between digitalization and happiness. Moreover, it can help policymakers direct their attention to the importance of digitalization for people's happiness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper estimates the comovement between two leading cryptocurrencies and the G7 stock markets. It then attempts to explain the comovement with the rational investment theory by examining whether it is driven by market uncertainty measures, public attention to COVID-19, and the government's containment and health responses to COVID-19. Wavelet Coherence heatmaps show that the stock-cryptocurrency comovements increase significantly and positively during the pandemic, indicating that cryptocurrencies lose their safe haven properties against stocks during the heightened market uncertainties. Over the longer investment horizons, Bitcoin reemerges as a safe haven or strong hedger while Ethereum's properties weaken. Seemingly Unrelated Regression results reveal that the stock-cryptocurrency comovements are rationally explained by market uncertainties, government responses to COVID-19, and market fundamentals. However, the comovements are also driven by the fear of COVID-19 to a certain extent. Our findings offer valuable insights for investors considering cryptocurrencies to rebalance their equity portfolios during market distress. For policymakers, the Economic Policy Uncertainty (EPU) results suggest that government policies and regulatory frameworks can be used to regulate speculation and investment activities in the cryptocurrency market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Every country has objectives for climate change, and public policies are implemented to achieve those commitments. This paper aims to review the different public policies used to promote the integration of photovoltaic technology into smart grids, taking the case of Portugal as reference. An analysis of previous supporting policies is performed both in Portugal and some European countries; these policies consist of feed-in tariffs, feed-in premiums, green certificates, electricity compensation, direct capital subsidies, and tax credits. The policies currently in force in Portugal no longer aim to support the technology; instead, they intend to promote it. Energy communities, local markets, and solar auctions are examples of public policies that are currently being used, not only to promote PV power but also the development of microgrids. Finally, the Portuguese solar auctions of 2019 and 2020 are analyzed and compared. It is concluded that auctions are a very effective way of expanding the installed capacity of the PV technology in the country and have more weight on promoting the technology than other promoting policies currently being used. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: In 2014, in response to evidence that Canada's tobacco use would lead, inexorably, to substantial morbidity and mortality for the foreseeable future, a group of experts convened to consider the development of a "Tobacco Endgame" for Canada. The "Tobacco Endgame" defines a time frame in which to eliminate structural, political, and social dynamics that sustain tobacco use, leading to improved population health. Strategies: A series of Background Papers describing possible measures that could contribute to the creation of a comprehensive endgame strategy for Canada was prepared in advance of the National Tobacco Endgame Summit hosted at Queen's University in 2016. At the summit, agreement was reached to work together to achieve <5% tobacco use by 2035 (<5 by '35). A report of the proceedings was shared widely. Achievements: Progress since 2016 has been mixed. The Summit report was followed by a national forum convened by Health Canada in March 2017, and in 2018, the Canadian Government adopted "<5 × '35" tobacco use target in a renewed Canadian tobacco reduction strategy. Tobacco use has declined in the last 5 years, but at a rate slower than that which will be needed to achieve the <5 by '35 goal. There remain > 5 million smokers in Canada, signaling that smoking-related diseases will continue to be an enormous health burden. Furthermore, the landscape of new products (e-cigarettes and cannabis) has created additional risks and opportunities. Future directions: A bold, reinvigorated tobacco control strategy is needed that significantly advances ongoing policy developments, including full implementation of the key demand-reduction policies of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. Formidable, new disruptive policies and regulations will be needed to achieve Canada's Endgame goal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Substantial controversy is a consistent feature of UK animal health and welfare policy. BSE, foot and mouth disease, bovine TB and badger culling, large indoor dairies, and wild animals in circuses are examples. Such policy issues are inherently normative; they include a substantial moral dimension. This paper reviews UK animal welfare advisory bodies such as the Animal Health and Welfare Board of England, the Farm Animal Welfare Committee and the Animals in Science Committee. These bodies play a key advisory role, but do not have adequate expertise in ethics to inform the moral dimension of policy. We propose an "Ethics Council for Animal Policy" to inform the UK government on policy that significantly impacts sentient species. We review existing Councils (e.g., the Nuffield Council on Bioethics and The Netherlands Council on Animal Affairs) and examine some widely used ethical frameworks (e.g., Banner's principles and the ethical matrix). The Ethics Council for Animal Policy should be independent from government and members should have substantial expertise in ethics and related disciplines. A pluralistic six-stage ethical framework is proposed: (i) Problematisation of the policy issue, (ii) utilitarian analysis, (iii) animal rights analysis, (iv) virtue-based analysis, (v) animal welfare ethic analysis, and (vi) integrated ethical analysis. The paper concludes that an Ethics Council for Animal Policy is necessary for just and democratic policy making in all societies that use sentient nonhuman species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Different policies with the goal of reducing energy consumption and other environmental impacts in the building sector coexist in Europe. Sustainable product polices, such as the Ecodesign and Energy Labelling Directives, have recently broadened the scope of their target product groups from a strict product approach to extended product and system approaches. Indeed, there is a potential for greater savings when the focus is at a system level rather than on regulating individual products. Product policies for space and water heating systems have recently introduced and implemented the package label, which is a modular approach, standing between the extended product and the system approaches. This paper presents a systematic analysis of the different system approaches of various policies from an engineering perspective. It analyses in detail the package concept and its features through a practical application using a real case study. It focuses on how the package concept can support decisions made in the building design phase and, in particular, how can support the choice of appropriate components based on estimating system performances. This brings building engineers and regulators closer regarding the use of more consistent data on energy performance. Finally, this paper highlights the need to improve the alignment of the building-related product policies with the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electricity is a vital factor underlying modern living standards, but there are many developing countries with low levels of electricity access and use. We seek to systematically identify the crucial elements underlying transitions toward greater electrification in developing countries. We use a cross-sectional regression approach with national-level data up to 2012 for 135 low- and middle-income countries. The paper finds that the effectiveness of governments is the most important governance attribute for encouraging the transition to increased electrification in developing countries, on average. The results add to the growing evidence on the importance of governance for development outcomes. Donors seeking to make more successful contributions to electrification may wish to target countries with more effective governments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social and psychological adaptation in a new country can be more or less successful depending on a number of factors. Research into behavioral patterns of migrants residing in Russia has revealed differences in their acculturation strategies and other expressions of migrant ethnic identity. These is a noticeable dependence on types of migrant settlement which can be compact or widespread. Local host population also demonstrates an unequal attitude toward compactly and diffusely settled migrants. This paper describes an attempt to find and analyze correlations between the length of residing in a new ethno-cultural environment, involvement in regional ethnic communities, contact with the host population, and ethnic identity. Differences in adaptation strategies develop three main ethnic identity models. Each model reflects general indicators of migrant adjustability to a new environment and new life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China building energy consumption (BEC) has been gradually derived and also sparked attention. However, something worth discussing is estimating the BEC based on the definition of life cycle or building operation. In addition, there exists discrepancy in the previous studies and the real status of BEC has not been known well. In order to settle the disputes over the calculation of BEC, this paper establishes an appropriate accounting method of building energy to present the BEC situation in China and lays the foundation for policymakers to develop appropriate energy saving policies. Meanwhile, this study attempts to clarify the BEC to help policymakers assess the effect of environmental policies. Using the method in this document, we find that the energy consumption of buildings just accounts for 15%–16% of the final total energy consumption in China; by contrast, the previous studies usually have double accounting through a top-down approach if central heat supply of buildings was taken into additional consideration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Waste management is a distinct practice aimed at reducing its effects on health and the environment and increasing energy and material recovery. The urban waste management industry has been slow to adopt new technologies, such as sanitary landfills and incineration, which enable better treatment results. The aim of a thorough ecological-economic evaluation of different treatment technologies is to extract the maximum practical benefits from investments and to ensure the minimum environmental impacts of wastes. This paper compares four garbage treatment systems, including sanitary landfills systems, fluidized bed incineration system, grate type incineration system and the current landfills system in Liaoning Province, China. By considering the economic and environmental impacts of waste treatment and disposal, impact of emissions, and contribution of wastes input, this paper constructed an emergy-based urban solid waste model for evaluating the sustainability of the holistic systems. The results in Liaoning indicate that the human health losses caused by the harmful air emissions are ranked in this order: fluidized bed incineration > grate type incineration > current landfills > sanitary landfills, while the ecosystem losses are ranked: grate type incineration > fluidized bed incineration > sanitary landfills > current landfills. The electricity yield ratios are ranked: grate type incineration > fluidized bed incineration > sanitary landfills > current landfills. Taken together this suggests that in considering the incineration option, decision makers must weigh the benefits of incineration against the significant operating costs, potential environmental impacts, and technical difficulties of operating. Emergy analysis of the urban so treatment systems can provide a set of useful tools which can be used to compare the comprehensive performances of different waste treatment processes for decision-making and optimizing the whole process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The topic of nearly zero-energy buildings (n-ZEB), introduced by the Directive 2010/31/EU will direct the building market toward ever greater energy efficiency of new buildings. In some contexts, however, the building market for high-efficiency buildings has evolved, in recent years, on the basis of national and regional laws that have contributed to the acceleration of the process. This paper analyses the case study of the Lombardy Region (Italy), which transposed and assimilated the Directive 91/2002 (Energy Performance Building Directive), as of 2006, with regional legislation for energy efficiency of buildings. Within a few years the market for high energy-performance of buildings in the Lombardy Region had grown substantially: to date nearly 7500 energy performance certificates for buildings of Class A and Class A+ have been issued. The paper therefore analyses a success story in what is a field of great current interest, namely n-ZEB buildings. In the first part of the work, the evolution in terms of energy efficiency of the housing market in the Lombardy Region has been analyzed, with particular reference to the high energy-performance of buildings. The second part focuses on a sample of 20 n-ZEB buildings in order to highlight the design choices applied to them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the leader of the largest economy, President of the United States has substantive influence on addressing climate change problems. However, a presidential election is often dominated by issues other than energy problems. This paper focuses on the 2016 presidential election, and examines the energy plans proposed by the leading Democrat and Republican candidates. Our data from the Iowa caucus survey in January 2016 suggests that voters were more concerned about terrorism and economic issues than environmental issues. We then compare the Democratic and Republican candidate's view of America's energy future, and evaluate their proposed renewable energy targets. We find that the view on renewable energy is polarized between Democratic and Republican candidates, while candidates from both parties agree on the need for energy efficiency. Results from our ordinal least squares regression models suggests that Democratic candidates have moderate to ambitious goals for developing solar and other renewables. The Republican candidates favor fossil fuels and they choose not to provide any specific target for developing renewable energy. In addition, this trend of party polarization has grown more significant when compared with the past three presidential elections. Our observation suggests that energy policies need to be discussed more often regarding the diversification and decarbonization of the nation's energy system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the electricity market deregulation and integration of renewable resources, electrical load forecasting is becoming increasingly important for the Chinese government in recent years. The electric load cannot be exactly predicted only by a single model, because the short-term electric load is disturbed by several external factors, leading to the characteristics of volatility and instability. To end this, this paper proposes a hybrid model based on wavelet transform (WT) and least squares support vector machine (LSSVM), which is optimized by an improved cuckoo search (CS). To improve the accuracy of prediction, the WT is used to eliminate the high frequency components of the previous day's load data. Additional, the Gauss disturbance is applied to the process of establishing new solutions based on CS to improve the convergence speed and search ability. Finally, the parameters of the LSSVM model are optimized by using the improved cuckoo search. According to the research outcome, the result of the implementation demonstrates that the hybrid model can be used in the short-term forecasting of the power system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Right to Build is defined by textual elements that determine what an owner can build on a parcel. Such regulations contain elements that can influence the development of territories. Expressed through legal texts, their effects on the territory are difficult to assess because of the documents' complexity and of the diversity of urban configurations. In this paper, we present a generic and extendable model to represent such regulations. This model is based on (1) a representation of geographical concepts (attributes, features and relations) mentioned in regulations and (2) rules formalized with Object Constraints Language (OCL). We also propose an implementation that allows the handling of formalized rules in order to check if a building configuration proposal respects urban regulations. Many applications are possible in order to assist in the conception of such regulations, land acquisition strategy or territorial evolution studies, in this article, we notably describe a future application dedicated to assist building permit surveyors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Renewable energy (RE) is one of the most popular public policy orientations worldwide. Compared to some other countries and continents, Europe has gained an early awareness of energy and environmental problems in general. At the theoretical level, free-market environmentalism indicates that based on the principle of private property rights, with fewer state interventionist and regulation policies, entrepreneurs, as the driving force of the market economy, can provide better services to meet the necessity of offering RE to protect the environment more effectively. Previous studies have revealed that Germany, Denmark, and the United Kingdom have made some progress in using the market to develop RE. However, this research did not analyze the three countries' RE conditions from the perspective of free-market environmentalism. Based on our review of the principles of free-market environmentalism, this paper originally provides an empirical study of how Germany, Denmark, and the United Kingdom have partly conducted free-market-oriented policies to successfully achieve their policy goal of RE since the 1990s on a practical level. In particular, compared with Germany and Denmark, the UK has maintained a relatively low energy tax rate and opted for more pro-market measures since the Hayekian-Thatcherism free-market reform of 1979. The paper also discovers that Fredrich A. Hayek's theories have strongly impacted its energy liberalization reform agenda since then. Low taxes on the energy industry and electricity have alleviated the burden on the electricity enterprises and consumers in the UK. Moreover, the empirical results above show that the energy enterprises play essential roles in providing better and more affordable RE for household and industrial users in the three sampled countries. Based on the above results, the paper also warns that state intervention policies such as taxation, state subsidies, and industrial access restrictions can impede these three countries' RE targets. Additionally, our research provides reform agendas and policy suggestions to policymakers on the importance of implementing free-market environmentalism to provide more efficient RE in the post-COVID-19 era. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic is a major problem facing humanity throughout the world. The rapid and accurate tracking of population flows may therefore be epidemiologically informative. This paper adopts a massive amount of daily population flow data (from January 10 to March 15, 2020) for China obtained from the Baidu Migration platform to analyze the changes of the spatiotemporal patterns and network characteristics in population flow during the pre-outbreak period, outbreak period, and post-peak period. The results show that (1) for temporal characteristics of population flow, the total population flow varies greatly between the three periods, with an overall trend of the pre-outbreak period flow > the post-peak period flow > the outbreak period flow. Impacted by the lockdown measures, the population flow in various provinces plunged drastically and remained low until the post-peak period, at which time it gradually increased. (2) For the spatial pattern, the pattern of population flow is divided by the geographic demarcation line known as the Hu (Heihe-Tengchong) Line, with a high-density interconnected network in the southeast half and a low-density serial-connection network in the northwest half. During the outbreak period, Wuhan city appeared as a hollow region in the population flow network; during the post-peak period, the population flow increased gradually, but it was mainly focused on intra-provincial flow. (3) For the network characteristic changes, during the outbreak period, the gap in the network status between cities at different administrative levels narrowed significantly. Thus, the feasibility of Baidu migration data, comparison with non-epidemic periods, and optimal implications are discussed. This paper mainly described the difference and specific information under non-normal situation compared with existing results under a normal situation, and analyzed the impact mechanism, which can provide a reference for local governments to make policy recommendations for economic recovery in the future under the epidemic period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The production of energy from renewable sources is a form of energy production that has less impact on the environment than the traditional one. For the farmer this new form of production represents an opportunity, especially for the economic benefits that can produce, both in terms of the incentives provided by the public operator and for higher revenues, deriving from the sale of energy back to the grid and/or the savings generated by self-consumed energy, that help to increase the farmer's income. In this paper, we analyzed a case study of a farm that has realized a grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) system on a greenhouse. In particular, firstly the farm profitability has been estimated and subsequently, in order to assess the efficiency of the energy policy adopted by the Second Conto Energia in Italy, the minimum incentive tariff at which the entrepreneur has an economic advantage to realize a PV system has been determined. Results show that PV system relegates to a marginal role the cultivation of agricultural products compared to energy production and that government PV remuneration policies far outweigh the minimum threshold that makes the investment advantageous. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In today's world, renewable energy sources are increasingly integrated with nonrenewable energy sources into electric grids and pose new challenges because of their intermittent and variable nature. Energy prediction using soft-computing techniques plays a vital role in addressing these challenges. As electricity consumption is closely linked to other energy sources such as natural gas and oil, forecasting electricity consumption is essential for making national energy policies. In this paper, we utilize various data mining techniques, including preprocessing historical load data and the load time series's characteristics. We analyzed the power consumption trends from renewable energy sources and nonrenewable energy sources and combined them. A novel machine learning-based hybrid approach, combining multilayer perceptron (MLP), support vector regression (SVR), and CatBoost, is proposed in this paper for power forecasting. A thorough comparison is made, taking into account the results obtained using other prediction methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: The impact on tree health from insect pests and microbial diseases that have moved across country borders has been increasing in recent years. This poses a significant challenge to government authorities, and a number of countries have been examining how effective volunteers from the general public can be in supporting tree health surveillance. Our paper describes a project led by the Open Air Laboratories (OPAL) in the United Kingdom which tested the extent to which the public were motivated to participate in tree health surveillance. It also examined whether 'citizen scientists' could provide information which would be of genuine use to officials and scientists responsible for national tree health. The results suggest that there was considerable engagement from the public, who completed over 2800 surveys covering more than 4500 trees. Nevertheless, despite designing the OPAL survey specifically for untrained individuals, the results were only partially of value to tree health specialists. The paper discusses the results and concludes that involving citizens with some existing expert knowledge is probably the most effective way to generate more reliable data. Lay citizens can contribute effectively at critical times when additional surveillance capacity is needed, provided that suitable guidance and support are given. The incidence of tree disease has been increasing in the UK in recent years as a result of a range of alien tree pests and pathogens new to the country. In the early 2010s government staff resources to monitor, identify and eradicate these pathogens were limited, so we tested the efficacy of "citizen scientists" to support these needs. The Open Air Laboratories (OPAL) is a successful citizen science programme launched in 2007, which at that time of launch involved over 650 thousand people in a range of environmental surveys. In 2012–2013, the Food and Environment Research Agency (Fera) and Forest Research staff worked with OPAL and its partners to launch a citizen science tree health survey in Great Britain and this was extended to cover Northern Ireland until it closed in 2019. Over 2800 surveys were completed including records on more than 4500 trees, the majority from urban areas. This paper discusses the results of the survey and their value for the assessment of tree health. It also considers the implications of engagement with the general public for the future of tree health surveillance. Recommendations are made for further development of the OPAL "model" and more generally for the role of citizen science in this important area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]