scholarly journals Multi-Criteria Approach for Prioritizing and Managing Public Investment in Urban Spaces. A Case Study in the Triple Frontier

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 3345
Author(s):  
Noé Villegas Flores ◽  
Yelinca Saldeño Madero ◽  
Camilo Alberto Torres Parra ◽  
Isidoro Fasolino ◽  
Hugo Alexander Rondón Quintana
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Public Investment ◽  
Urban Infrastructure ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Condition Index ◽  
Significant Degree ◽  
Quality Parameters ◽  
Public Works ◽  
Urban Spaces

The aspirations of public administrations to meet quality parameters and standards in urban spaces have fostered new strategies and tools that allow users to give safety and well-being. The participation and interaction of different actors during decision-making in the context of allocation of public resources implies a significant degree of complexity when prioritizing actions in public works. The objective of the study focuses on obtaining an urban street condition index (USCI) that allows an efficient diagnosis of urban infrastructure. The study provides an innovation component for decision-making through the construction of guidelines to prioritize spending on investment in urban infrastructure. The case study has been developed in three countries, Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina (Triple Border) with the aim of drawing management guidelines during the process in public entities. The results for Brazil and Argentina present streets with satisfactory USCI. Paraguay reflects a significant lack of urban infrastructure and compliance of accessibility regulations. Regarding the city of Foz de Iguazú, it has been observed that 50% of the roads require prevailing actions to improve the mobility of the roads; 40% of these reflect reduced mobility and deterioration of urban components, configured as an urgent action, and only 10% of the roads studied reflect adequate mobility conditions.

Climate-induced migration, women and decision making power in the agricultural wage sector in Saiss, Morocco.

2021 ◽  
pp. 185-195
Author(s):  
D. Najjar ◽  
B. Dhehibi ◽  
B. Baruah ◽  
A. Aw-Hassan ◽  
A. Bentaibi
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Adaptive Strategy ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Property Ownership ◽  
Study Characteristics ◽  
Effects Of Drought ◽  
Stay Behind

Abstract This chapter examines the gendered effects of drought-induced migration in rural Morocco for settler migrants and farmers who stay behind in sending communities. Due to state investments in irrigation, the Saiss plains of Morocco are experiencing rural-rural migration as an adaptive strategy for many who are escaping climate change and unemployment, to take advantage of labor opportunities in agricultural sectors elsewhere. The well-being and decision making power of male and female migrants in receiving communities (Betit and Sidi Slimane) and women staying behind in sending communities (Ain Jemaa) are examined. The chapter begins with a literature review on decision making power, gender, migration, and work in rural areas. Following this, the case study characteristics are presented, which detail how climate change is fueling migration, gender norms in host and sending communities, as well as the gender dynamics in accessing economic opportunities and decision making power. The chapter ends with recommendations to strengthen the women's decision making power as migration continues, with a focus on strengthening landed property ownership for women.

scholarly journals Multi-Criteria Decision Method for Sustainable Watercourse Management in Urban Areas

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (16) ◽  
pp. 6493 ◽  
Author(s):  
Priscila Celebrini de Oliveira Campos ◽  
Tainá da Silva Rocha Paz ◽  
Letícia Lenz ◽  
Yangzi Qiu ◽  
Camila Nascimento Alves ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Low Impact Development ◽  
Drainage System ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Social Nature ◽  
Order Preference ◽  
Urban Watercourse ◽  
Sustainable Investments

The rapid urban growth followed by disordered occupation has been generating significant impacts on cities, bringing losses of an economic and social nature that directly interfere with the well-being of the population. In this work, a proposal for local urban infrastructure problems associated with watercourse management is presented, comparing Sustainable Drainage System (SuDS) techniques and Low-Impact Development (LID) concepts with alternative traditional interventions. The study addresses sustainable alternatives to cope with the urbanization of the Cehab’s open channel, which is an important urban watercourse tributary of the Muriaé River, at the municipality of Itaperuna, Rio de Janeiro—Brazil. The multi-criteria decision-making method called Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) was applied here. The results highlighted the better performance of sustainable techniques when compared to the traditional ones, with an overall advantage of the geogrids and geocells for this case study. The obtained TOPSIS coefficients-C for these techniques were higher (0.59488, for Reach 1; and 0.68656, for Reach 2) than those for the others. This research, therefore, presented an important urban watercourse management methodology that can be further applied to guide sustainable investments and help the decision-making associated with the development of territories.

Comparing three body condition indices in amphibians: a case study of yellow-bellied toad Bombina variegata

2010 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 558-562 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rodica Plăiaşu ◽  
Tibor Hartel ◽  
Raluca Ioana Băncilă ◽  
Dan Cogălniceanu ◽  
Joost Smets
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Body Condition ◽  
Condition Index ◽  
Quality Parameters ◽  
Direct Measurements ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Bombina Variegata ◽  
Condition Indices ◽  
Three Body

AbstractBody condition is important because it is correlated with population and habitat quality parameters. Since the direct measurements are either lethal or unreliable, a wide range of non-lethal body condition indices has been proposed. The aim of our study was to apply and compare three body condition indices (Fulton's index, relative body condition mass index and residual index) using body size indicator – body mass data for 24 populations of the yellow bellied toad (Bombina variegata). The condition index should be independent of body size indicator, in this case snout vent length (SVL). Therefore we tested all three indices for the statistical independence of SVL and for the normality of distribution. Fulton's index violated the independence assumption, whereas the relative body condition mass index did not have a normal distribution. Residual index was found both independent of SVL and normally distributed. Moreover, the residual index highlighted biological significant differences on the basis of altitude and season. Our results recommend the residual index as a useful tool in amphibian monitoring and conservation.

Integrated environmental assessment of tertiary and residuals treatment - LCA in the wastewater industry

2003 ◽  
Vol 47 (7-8) ◽  
pp. 109-116 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Beavis ◽  
S. Lundie
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Water Conservation ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Financial Analysis ◽  
Public Works ◽  
Aerobic Digestion ◽  
Unit Process ◽  
Treatment Train ◽  
Integrated Environmental Assessment

In the wastewater industry, decision-makers lack access to an environmental tool that can assist in further informing the non-financial analysis of a system. Such a tool should incorporate impacts beyond the effluent quality and look at the supporting processes of a plant as well as plant specific operations. Life Cycle Assessment can provide the means to fill a gap in pertinent information towards more sustainable decision-making. The project “Best Practice LCA in the Wastewater Industry” is commissioned by the CRC for Waste Management and Pollution Control at UNSW with representatives from Sydney Water Corporation(SWC), NSW Department of Land and Water Conservation and the NSW Department of Public Works. Two case studies were researched to provide a post-implementation review of changes in wastewater treatment. Case study 1: The conversion from chlorine gas to hypochlorite and UV disinfection has been completed for several inland wastewater plants at SWC. A review of operational data for each of the options has been incorporated into an LCA of each technology. Under efficient dosing conditions, disinfection with the hypochlorite system has the minimum environmental impact. Case study 2 deals with the conversion from anaerobic to aerobic digestion. Aerobic digestion minimises release of nutrients into a sidestream to be further treated in the plant. However conversion results in more biosolids production and higher electricity requirements. This study includes a consideration of the environmental impacts of biosolids production and application. On the basis of the extended system boundary including consideration of reflux composition, energy requirements and biosolids quality to potentially offset fertiliser production, anaerobic digestion performs best in 6 out of 9 impact categories. These results suggest that environmental LCA has a role in informing decision-making on unit process and treatment train selection by quantifying aspects on non-financial criteria. Also, improvement potentials are foreshadowed but not detailed.

Assessing a Patient-Centered E-Health Approach to Chronic Disease Self-Management

2009 ◽  
pp. 168-185 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Cummings ◽  
Stephen Chau ◽  
Paul Turner
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Chronic Disease ◽  
Well Being ◽  
End Users ◽  
Patient Centered ◽  
Perceived Need ◽  
Sociotechnical Design ◽  
Care Health ◽  
Health And Well Being

This chapter explores how in developing patient-centred e-health systems it is possible to accommodate heterogeneous characteristics of end-users and their diverse health and care contexts. It concurs with conventional sociotechnical design paradigms that argue systems must be easy to use, fulfill a perceived need, and present a clear value proposition to ensure successful adoption and utilisation by patients. The chapter also highlights the need for awareness of a number of key challenges relating to emerging discourses on ‘empowering patients’ and ‘e-health’. The implications of these challenges for the development of a truly patient-centred e-health approach are explored in a detailed case study. This chapter contributes to research focused on supporting patients to become genuine co-participants in their own care, health and well-being. However, it also acknowledges that part of the challenge of achieving this goal requires a focus on assisting clinicians to learn to respond to this shift in the autonomy of decision- making

Ambicultural Governance: Harmonizing Indigenous and Western Approaches

2017 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-47 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amber Nicholson ◽  
Chellie Spiller ◽  
Edwina Pio
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Business Practices ◽  
Organizational Success ◽  
Strategy Model ◽  
Intangible Benefits ◽  
Governance Practices ◽  
Decision Making Tool

Indigenous and Western business practices and worldviews can be harmonized to create and enhance well-being through ambicultural governance practices. This article focuses on exploring, both theoretically and empirically, creative governance endeavors to bring together Indigenous and Western practices for the purposes of creating both wealth and well-being in the service of society. We emphasize the need to return to the idea of business as serving the well-being of communities and suggest this can be done through a relational kaitiakitanga, stewardship approach that is at the heart of our research. Through a qualitatively rich case study of a Māori business, we present a Strategy Model He Whenua Rangatira—A Balanced Landscape that serves to act as a decision-making tool that facilitates both tangible and intangible benefits for organizational success and collective well-being. We suggest that all businesses, both Indigenous and Western, can gravitate toward this approach, while contextualizing their ambicultural governance.

scholarly journals Looking at Well-being Data in Context

2021 ◽  
pp. 67-118
Author(s):  
Susan Oman
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Quantitative Data ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Social Research ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Human Intervention ◽  
Administrative Records ◽  
Pros And Cons ◽  
Objective Indicators

AbstractUnderstanding the where, what, how, who and why is important to any social research. This chapter poses these questions about data and well-being in various ways. We look at well-being measurement, appraising the pros and cons of different forms of data and approaches, acknowledging that all data have limits and that context should drive any chosen approach. It presents examples of qualitative data available through interviews and ethnographies, and quantitative data through surveys, and administrative records. We focus on objective well-being data and a case study of the OECD reveals the volume of decision-making behind international objective indicators. Such human intervention is rarely visible, but is important and useful to improve understanding and comprehension of well-being data more generally.

Teaching decision-making for sustainable infrastructure: a wind energy case study module

2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (5) ◽  
pp. 893-911 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathan Daniel McWhirter ◽  
Tripp Shealy
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Student Perceptions ◽  
Concept Maps ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Rating System ◽  
Sustainable Infrastructure ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Word Clouds ◽  
Case Based

Purpose This paper aims to introduce a case-based module teaching sustainable engineering, linking the Envision rating system with behavioral decision science. Three complete modules are publicly available in a repository for any instructor to adapt, use and review. Design/methodology/approach A case study was written about the Tucannon River Wind Farm, a project-certified Gold by the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure’s Envision™ rating system. The case was used as the basis for an in-class PowerPoint module to achieve student learning outcomes related to sustainability. Findings Before and after surveys showed significant (p < 0.05) learning increases. Word clouds show changes in student perceptions of sustainable design. Rubric scoring of writing assignments and concept maps yielded valuable insights and improvements and demonstrated the overall validity of the module approach. Research limitations/implications Modules lasting only one or two class days must be well-integrated into courses and curricula to promote greater learning value. Concept mapping may be a useful addition but involves a learning curve for both instructors and students. Practical implications By offering instructors access to a set of case-based modules, it becomes more practical for them to teach about sustainable infrastructure and decision-making. Social implications The module exemplifies a project owner and an engineering firm strongly committed to social and environmental sustainability. Envision’s Quality of Life and Leadership categories emphasize community well-being, involvement and collaboration. Originality/value This module offers a unique transdisciplinary focus meeting several needs in engineering education on sustainability, complex problems and decision-making.

scholarly journals Maximizing Health or Sufficient Capability in Economic Evaluation? A Methodological Experiment of Treatment for Drug Addiction

2016 ◽  
Vol 37 (5) ◽  
pp. 498-511 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ilias Goranitis ◽  
Joanna Coast ◽  
Ed Day ◽  
Alex Copello ◽  
Nick Freemantle ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Economic Evaluation ◽  
Drug Addiction ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Economic Evaluations ◽  
Health And Social Care ◽  
Evaluative Space ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Decision Making Rule

Conventional practice within the United Kingdom and beyond is to conduct economic evaluations with “health” as evaluative space and “health maximization” as the decision-making rule. However, there is increasing recognition that this evaluative framework may not always be appropriate, and this is particularly the case within public health and social care contexts. This article presents a methodological case study designed to explore the impact of changing the evaluative space within an economic evaluation from health to capability well-being and the decision-making rule from health maximization to the maximization of sufficient capability. Capability well-being is an evaluative space grounded on Amartya Sen’s capability approach and assesses well-being based on individuals’ ability to do and be the things they value in life. Sufficient capability is an egalitarian approach to decision making that aims to ensure everyone in society achieves a normatively sufficient level of capability well-being. The case study is treatment for drug addiction, and the cost-effectiveness of 2 psychological interventions relative to usual care is assessed using data from a pilot trial. Analyses are undertaken from a health care and a government perspective. For the purpose of the study, quality-adjusted life years (measured using the EQ-5D-5L) and years of full capability equivalent and years of sufficient capability equivalent (both measured using the ICECAP-A [ICEpop CAPability measure for Adults]) are estimated. The study concludes that different evaluative spaces and decision-making rules have the potential to offer opposing treatment recommendations. The implications for policy makers are discussed.

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