Implementing healthy food environment policies in New Zealand: nine years of inaction

Background The INFORMAS [International Network for Food and Obesity/Non-communicable Diseases (NCDs) Research, Monitoring and Action Support] Healthy Food Environment Policy Index (Food-EPI) was developed to evaluate the degree of implementation of widely recommended food environment policies by national governments against international best practice, and has been applied in New Zealand in 2014, 2017 and 2020. This paper outlines the 2020 Food-EPI process and compares policy implementation and recommendations with the 2014 and 2017 Food-EPI. Methods In March–April 2020, a national panel of over 50 public health experts participated in Food-EPI. Experts rated the extent of implementation of 47 “good practice” policy and infrastructure support indicators compared to international best practice, using an extensive evidence document verified by government officials. Experts then proposed and prioritized concrete actions needed to address the critical implementation gaps identified. Progress on policy implementation and recommendations made over the three Food-EPIs was compared. Results In 2020, 60% of the indicators were rated as having “low” or “very little, if any” implementation compared to international benchmarks: less progress than 2017 (47%) and similar to 2014 (61%). Of the nine priority actions proposed in 2014, there was only noticeable action on one (Health Star Ratings). The majority of actions were therefore proposed again in 2017 and 2020. In 2020 the proposed actions were broader, reflecting the need for multisectoral action to improve the food environment, and the need for a mandatory approach in all policy areas. Conclusions There has been little to no progress in the past three terms of government (9 years) on the implementation of policies and infrastructure support for healthy food environments, with implementation overall regressing between 2017 and 2020. The proposed actions in 2020 have reflected a growing movement to locate nutrition within the wider context of planetary health and with recognition of the social determinants of health and nutrition, resulting in recommendations that will require the involvement of many government entities to overcome the existing policy inertia. The increase in food insecurity due to COVID-19 lockdowns may provide the impetus to stimulate action on food polices.

Effects of COVID-Induced Public Anxiety on European Stock Markets: Evidence From a Fear-Based Algorithmic Trading System

The effect of COVID-induced public anxiety on stock markets, particularly in European stock market returns, is examined in this research. The search volumes for the notion of COVID-19 gathered by Google Trends and Wikipedia were used as proxies for COVID-induced public anxiety. COVID-induced public anxiety was shown to be linked with negative returns in European stock markets when a panel data method was used to a sample of data from 14 European stock markets from January 2, 2020 to September 17, 2020. Using an automated trading system, we used this finding to suggest investment methods based on COVID-induced anxiety. The findings of back-testing indicate that these techniques have the potential to generate exceptional profits. These results have significant consequences for government officials, the media, and investors.

Islamic Law Perspective on the Use of Incense in Thanksgiving Events at the Balabe Customs in Kailinese Ethnic

The traditional Balabe or Nolabe in the thanksgiving event is an asset of cultural wealth in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia. The Balebe or Molabe custom is carried out every time there are celebratory activities such as weddings, mourning, childbirth and others. This study aims to provide knowledge and understanding of the process of using incense in the implementation of the Balabe custom and how to review Islamic law on the tradition. This study uses a qualitative approach, namely research procedures that produce descriptive data in the form of written or spoken words from people related to the people in Palupi, especially the Kaili tribe. The data collection techniques used in this research are observation, interview, and documentation techniques. Furthermore, after the data is collected, the data obtained needs to be analyzed in three stages that run in cycles: data reduction, data presentation, and drawing conclusions or verification. The results of this study indicate that basically, the major schools of jurisprudence agree to accept customs as the basis for the formation of law. However, in terms of numbers and details, there are differences of opinion between these schools, so that 'urf is included in the group of disputed arguments among scholars. The research implies that it is hoped that all leaders, the community and local government officials will maintain and preserve the bolabe tradition in order to survive even in the face of today's times.

Media reporting on public procurement: an analysis of UK press coverage, 1985–2018

Purpose The media is an important actor in public procurement, but research on its role is limited. This paper aims to investigate how the media has engaged with public procurement, using UK newspapers as a case example. Design/methodology/approach The method consisted of searching Nexis database for news articles on public procurement; automatic extraction of article attributes such as length, section, authorship; and manually coding each article for its theme and industry context. This produced quantitative indicators about the extent and focus of press coverage on public procurement. Findings Press coverage of public procurement increased between 1985 and 2018. The focus of coverage has been on governance failure and socio-economic policy. Governance failure, which includes corruption, cronyism and supplier malpractice, is associated with construction, outsourcing and professional services sectors. Socio-economic policy, which includes supporting small suppliers and favouring domestic industry, is associated with manufacturing, defence and agriculture. Research limitations/implications The analysis included UK media only. While the trends observed on the extent and focus of public procurement news coverage likely reflect the situation in other countries, international comparative research is still required. Practical implications Government officials should be more proactive in countering the “negativity bias” in news coverage of public procurement by showcasing projects where value-for-money has been achieved, services have been successfully delivered and social value has been realised. Social implications The media accentuates the negatives of public procurement and omits positive developments. The end-result is a selective and, at times, self-serving media narrative that is likely to engender cynicism towards public procurement. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study on media coverage of public procurement. It highlights that while there are similarities between media and academic treatment of public procurement, particularly in relation to its socio-economic side, the media emphasises governance failings and negative developments to a greater extent.

Corruption Prevention in Legislative Drafting in Indonesia

Corruption not only happens in the implementation of legislation or policy (administrative corruption) but also in the process of legislative drafting (state capture). Since the establishment of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), many members of the House of Representatives (DPR), the Regional Legislative Council (DPRD), or government officials have been arrested and convicted of criminal acts due to legislative corruption. In legislative corruption, the actors involved consist of the interest parties and lawmakers. The interest parties attempt to obtain political, economic, and social benefits (supernormal profits) from the formulated legislation. To the same extent, the lawmakers expect the money or other personal benefits from the interest parties in return for the assistance given. Legislative corruption will lead to disorganized policy implementation, loss on the national economy, public distrust of the law-maker institutions, and long-term effect of distrust of law and democracy. Several prevention strategies of legislative corruption can be employed by improving four principles of legislative drafting: management, professionalism, justification, and public participation.

The Impact of Renewable Energy Sources on the Economic Growth of Poland and Sweden Considering COVID-19 Times

A demonstration of the relationship between the share of renewables in gross marginal energy and selected countries’ economic growth is the basis of this research. The paper seeks to investigate mutual correlations between renewable energy sources and economic growth for two EU economies and how it influences their fluctuations (increase and decrease). The comparative analysis of results was carried out for less-income Polish and high-income Swedish economies. This research used a regression model to answer the research questions examining the presence of correlations between renewable energy sources in gross marginal energy consumption and economic growth. This study analyzes data starting from 1991 to 2022. The results indicated a positive correlation (statistical significance) between Gross Domestic Product and Gross National Income variables for Sweden (84.6% and 83.7%, respectively) and Poland (79.9% and 79.2%, respectively), which influence the use of renewable energy sources. The findings also reveal that the higher economic growth caused by the use of renewables is observed for the leading countries but at the same time the risk of a greater recession is much more likely than in other countries. These findings would help government officials and policymakers to better understand the role of renewable energy in the economic growth of these countries. This study has contributed to the literature on renewable energy sources and statistical reports under the EU energy sector framework.

Can Community Education Promote Community Participation in the Local Economic Development (LED) Activities in this Era of 2019-nCoV

The 2019-nCoV has come as an unexpected wicked challenge especially to the vulnerable ones as it has significantly affected the local economic development (LED) activities of many local people in communities of South Africa. In this chapter, the role of community education as a problem-solving measure in promoting community participation in LED will be explored as limited participation in those activities prevail especially in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic. The study provides the challenges posed by the limited participation in the communities and the economy and explains how the local participation is important through community education (CE) programmes in LED activities. Since community education indeed plays a huge role in enhancing community participation in LED activities, the government officials, policymakers and others need to work closely with local people so that they can understand the essence of socio-economic issues that communities daily encounter in the wake of the pandemic.

How did UK policymaking in the COVID-19 response use science? Evidence from scientific advisers

Background: Responses to COVID-19 have invested heavily in science. How this science was used is therefore important. Our work extends existing knowledge on the use of science in the pandemic by capturing scientific advisers’ experiences in real time.Aims and objectives: Our aim was to present generalisable messages on key qualifications or difficulties involved in speaking of ‘following the science’.Methods: Ninety-three interviews with UK scientific advisors and government officials captured their activities and perceptions during the pandemic in real time. We also examined Parliamentary Select Committee transcripts and government documents. This material was analysed for thematic content.Findings and discussion: (1) Many scientists sought guidance from policymakers about their goals, yet the COVID-19 response demonstrated the absence of a clear steer, and a tendency to change course quickly; (2) many scientists did not want to offer policy advice, but rather to provide evidence; and (3) a range of knowledge informed the UK’s pandemic response: we examine which kinds were privileged, and demonstrate the absence of clarity on how government synthesised the different forms of evidence being used.Conclusions: Understanding the reasons for a lack of clarity about policy goals would help us better understand the use of science in policy. Realisation that policy goals sometimes alter rapidly would help us better understand the logistics of scientific advice. Many scientists want their evidence to inform policy rather than determine the options selected. Since the process by which evidence leads to decisions is obscure, policy cannot be said to be evidence-based.<br />Key messages<br /><ul><li>Scientific advisors need to know policy goals, but these can be obscure and changeable.</li><br /><li>Many scientists want their evidence to inform policy rather than determine the policy selected.</li><br /><li>Evidence feeds into decisions in obscure ways, so policy cannot be said to be evidence-based.</li><br /><li>‘Evidence-informed’ policy is a more feasible aim than ‘evidence-based’ policy.</li></ul>

Importance of ICT Advancement and Culture of Adaptation in the Tourism and Hospitality Industry for Developing Countries

The influence of ICT on tourism and hospitality is related to the facilitation of contact with stakeholders, acting as an effective distribution channel, and providing an effective forum for marketing, among other things. Tourism and hospitality are heavily reliant on information and communication technology in developing countries as well as in the developed nations. ICT has had a major effect on this market. The primary goal of this research is to identify the difference in ICT advancement and adaptation between developed and developing countries, as well as to determine how developing countries can benefit from it and make recommendations. This research was conducted using a qualitative approach. Using various types of literature such as research papers, articles, and books, this study highlights and scrutinizes the significance of ICT and how these actions contribute to the tourism and hospitality sector to raise awareness among academicians, researchers, tourism businesses, and government officials about the effectiveness of ICT applications in tourism and hospitality.

Climate Justice in Durban

This chapter situates itself in the climate justice discourse and unpacks the paradoxes in state and grassroots action. It argues that due to market-orientated and neo-liberal water and sanitation governance, the failure to take into account water and climate change governance as well as ecological and institutional economics resulted in climate change chaos. Due to this paralysis, communities failed to adapt to climate variability. The illogicalities and ambiguities in what the municipality says and does leaves local communities at the vagaries of nature and to deal with the resulting chaos albeit with some doing so in quite inspiring ways. The empirical data is collected through 120 interviews and four participatory action workshops conducted with civil society actors, government officials, academics, and communities of AmaQadi situated in North Central Durban, Umbumbulu in South Durban, Wood Glen and Zamani B in Durban Outer West, Ntuzuma G and Soweto in North Central Durban. The key finding is that the municipal Climate Change Protection Unit adopted a ‘climate-resilient' strategy on the one hand, but on the other, city electricity officials built power stations in flood plains, the Economic Development Unit promoted a shopping mall in a wetland, and eThekwini Water is introducing unpopular UD toilets to deal with water scarcity, without looking at externalities in wetlands and the discharge of faecal waste from broken sewers that compromise biodiversity and ecosystem balances. This chapter is contributing knowledge of climate change resilience and adaptation by communities within the framework of new institutional and ecological economics.