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Smart Women, Smart Leadership, and Smart Cities: A Case Study of Two Indonesian Mayors' Approach to E-Leadership
No full textPersistent stereotypes of women's leadership in many societies are that they are lacking the equivalent capacity to their male counterparts, thus underpinning the extent that systematic sexism associated with structural discrimination is present across different professional settings. In relation to technological advancements that embody smart cities and e-government, women leaders are particularly likely to be perceived as periphery of digital transformation, exacerbating the level of existing intersectional inequalities. Women's leadership in the space of technological advancement, however, is significant. Women's leadership of digital technology advancement, their championing of “smart cities,” e-government and e-governance, is most notable at local government level. This study adopts a qualitative approach to spotlighting the case studies of two women mayors in East Java, Indonesia, and delves into the modalities of their leadership to highlight the challenges and opportunities for advancing the nexus between technology and governance in their cities. Despite challenges experienced by the women mayors such as the lack of integrated data and centralized repository of information to make data-driven policy decisions, they exhibited resilience and innovation, leveraging ICT to revolutionize public services and govern their administration, leading to increasing public budgeting transparency and accountability, as well as participation following easy access to public services. These best practices demonstrate that women's e-leadership at the local government level is indisputably significant but also raise important questions about the need for policymakers to pay attention to the inherent gendered modalities of leadership in relation to digital transformation
Effects of city design on transport mode choice and exposure to health risks during and after a crisis: a retrospective observational analysis
No full textBackground: Rapid declines in city mobility during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 resulted in reductions in citizens’ exposure to transport-related air pollution and associated health risks as many cities introduced non-pharmaceutical interventions designed to curb the spread of COVID-19. However, these benefits soon reversed during the pandemic’s recovery phase (ie, from September, 2020, onwards), especially in cities with designs that afforded mode shifts away from public and active transport in favour of private motor vehicles. The aim of this study was to understand the association between global city designs, transport mode choices, and population-level risk exposure during 2020.
Methods: In this retrospective observational study, we assembled and analysed spatial datasets (including historical and predicted pollution levels, mobility indicators, and measures of individual disease transmission) and clustered 507 global cities using a graph neural network approach based on measures of the structural dimensions of each individual city’s design and network structures of urban transportation systems. We compared city types on the basis of transportation mode shifts, air pollution levels, and associated health outcomes (ie, cardiovascular disease,ischaemic heart disease, respiratory disease, asthma, and reported COVID-19 cases) throughout 2020. We estimated risk reductions for these health outcomes across four phases of the pandemic, which we defined as the pre-pandemic,entry, mid-crisis, and recovery phases. We also identified city designs showing sustained reductions in transport-related air pollution(fine particulate matter with particles 2.5 μm or less in diameter [PM2·5] and nitrogen dioxide [NO2]) associated with reduced estimated risk of acute and chronic disease outcomes (ie, all-cause mortality, ischaemic heart disease mortality, cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease, and asthma).
Findings: Mean estimated reductions of global NO2 concentrations across the observed cities from the beginning of the entry phase until the mid-crisis phase were 3.72 ppb, calculated as differences between observed 2020 mean levels of 12.63 ppb and predicted mean levels (if the pandemic and mobility restrictions had not occurred) of 16.39 ppb, while PM2.5 mean reductions were 9.75 ug/m3, differences between 2020 observed levels, 29.03 ug/m3, and predicted, 38.79 ug/m3. If maintained over the long term, this estimated NO2 reduction could have a substantial, effect on reducing health, risks for both acute and chronic disease, equating to an estimated overall reduction in all-cause mortality risk of 1·5% (95% CI 2·2–3·0), a reduction in cardiovascular mortality risk of 4·1% (2·6–6·0), and a reduction in respiratory disease mortality risk of 1·9% (0·8–3·0). If the reduction in PM2·5 concentration estimated in this period was maintained over the long term, all-cause mortality risk reductions of 18·9% (95% CI 13·2–25·0), asthma risk reductions of 46·8% (18·7–65·5), and ischaemic heart disease morbidity risk reductions of 0·25% (0·2–0·3) could be achieved. In the later stages of 2020, city designs (primarily in the Americas and Oceania) that afforded a mode shift away from public transit to private motor vehicles during the pandemic’s so-called recovery phase tended to show the poorest outcomes across all air pollution and health measures,even increasing risk levels above pre-pandemic baselines in some cases. By contrast, cities located in Japan and Korea showed little change in pre-crisis and post-crisis transport mode choice, maintaining comparatively low levels of air pollution and associated disease risk, and reduced rates of infectious disease transmission throughout the 2020 observation period. Contrasting experiences of road injury in the post-pandemic phase (ie, post 2020) were also observed between these locations.
Interpretation: Our results highlight the transient environmental and health benefits observed during the early stages ofthe COVID-19 pandemic, driven by substantial reductions in transport-related air pollution and associated health risks due to imposed non-pharmaceutical public health interventions. City design appears to have played a crucial role in observed pollution and health risk differences between cities, with those that afforded a shift away from public and active transport towards private vehicles witnessing a rapid erosion of pollution-related health benefits gained in the entry to mid-crisis phases of the pandemic. These negative effects appear to have also transferred through to increased rates of road trauma in these cities, with a resurgence in road injury above pre-pandemic levels, particularly within countries reliant on private motorised transport. Conversely, cities in Japan, South Korea, and come European regions, which did not experience modal shifts towards cars, sustained their reductions in air pollution and have continued along a trend of declining road transport injuries. These findings underscore city design as a key factor in navigating pandemic-related challenges and suggest that city designs with higher levels of public and mass transit show greater levels of resilience when confronted with infectious disease threats
Study of phenolic-polysaccharide interactions in brown seaweed
No full textBrown seaweed has a rich source of bioactives, notably antioxidative phenolic compounds and sulphated polysaccharides. Despite their importance, the interactions between these compounds and their resultant antioxidant activities have not been extensively studied. This research aims to investigate the interaction between seaweed-derived phenolics and polysaccharides in terms of their antioxidant activity, exploring their potential interactions through in silico molecular docking, and validating them using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), dynamic light scattering (DLS) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Reduced antioxidant activities were observed in the seaweed-derived phenolics and polysaccharides combination. The in silico molecular docking studies and experimental analyses revealed non-covalent interactions, mainly driven by hydrogen bonding between fucoidan and catechin or phloroglucinol. The resulting ‘complex’ formation varied in size and thermodynamic stability, suggesting structure-dependent interactions between fucoidan and phenolic compounds. This research helps to understand the marine phenolic-polysaccharide interaction, contributing to their effective application in the functional food and nutraceutical industries
The Economic Impacts of the Childhood Asthma Caused by Vehicle Idling
No full textThis study assesses the economic impact of childhood asthma caused by vehicle idling in Australia for the year 2022. By updating previous cost estimates with current data on population, asthma prevalence, and health inflation, the total economic cost of asthma in Australia was estimated at approximately 7.06 billion AUD. Based on established research percentages, childhood asthma cases attributable to vehicle idling were estimated to result in an economic impact of approximately $12.28 million AUD annually
Role of plant bioactive compounds in improving ruminant resilience to heat stress challenge
No full textThis review presents the reader with a comprehensive overview of the impact of phytogenic compounds on the productivity and health of lactating cows and growing ruminants, including calves and sheep, during heat stress challenge. Exposure to heat stress may result in reduced feed intake, compromised immune function, oxidative stress and productivity losses. The positive impacts of phytogenic compounds on the health and productivity of farm animals is well established, and recent evidence suggests that they may serve as an effective nutritional strategy to mitigate the adverse effects of heat stress on animals. More information is available on lactating cows than calves, particularly during the pre-weaning period. Although their specific mode of action is not clearly understood, some phytogenic compounds stimulate feed consumption in animals experiencing heat stress, which is associated with improved productivity (milk production or growth) compared with non-supplemented animals. Phytogenics may also play a role in improving immune and endocrine function, and alleviate hyperthermia-induced oxidative stress. Certain phytogenics (e.g. capsaicin) may regulate body temperature by expanding the blood vessels in the skin and facilitating heat exchange in heat-loaded animals. Phytogenic compounds may play a regulatory role in insulin secretion and sensitivity, promoting energy partitioning for productive purposes and increasing the resilience of animals to heat stress challenges. Still, it is a largely unexplored research area. Additional research is required at varying degrees of heat stress intensity and duration to confirm the potential effects of phytogenic compounds and expand upon these encouraging findings
Process Model Forecasting Using Deep Temporal Learning
No full textProcess discovery studies ways to construct process models from event logs of historical executions of a system. While discovered models aim to describe the system, process model forecasting aims to construct models that faithfully describe the executions the system will perform in a given period in the future, informing timely system improvements. Existing approaches tackle the problem of process model forecasting by decomposing it into multiple univariate time series forecasting problems. They forecast each directly-follows constraint over a pair of process activities separately and then aggregate these individual forecasts into the resulting process model. In this paper, we propose a deep learning-based approach that leverages multivariate time series forecasting to solve the process model forecasting problem. Our method learns dependencies across all activity constraints simultaneously, generating an integrated forecast of the entire model at once. Through evaluation over industrial event logs, we demonstrate that this approach significantly outperforms existing baselines and statistical multivariate methods in accuracy. Additionally, we introduce a new measure to evaluate the structural correctness of the forecasted models. In the context of information systems engineering, our work addresses the challenge of predicting process models to support future process planning and optimization
‘We, the peoples of the Earth’: ALBA, populism and the making of an alternative international law
No full textThis article explores the populist approach to international law of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of our America (ALBA). Over the past decade, there has been a proliferation of scholarship depicting populist politics as hostile to international law. Yet, across the global South, there are examples of leaders promoting regional unity, creating multilateral alliances, and engaging with international law, all while advancing a populist discourse based around an idea of ‘the people’. We argue that ALBA is one such example. Focusing on its activities as a fluid coalition in international institutions between 2009 and 2019, we demonstrate how ALBA developed a unique technique of international legal engagement and contestation, based around claims to represent ‘the people’ (or ‘peoples’) of the earth. In this way, ALBA shows how the adoption of a populist register can provide an alternative way of both belonging to, and resisting, the international legal order
Constructing a life cycle inventory of Spodumene concentrate production: Greenbushes case, Western Australia
No full textLife cycle assessment (LCA) is a data-intensive method widely used by academics and professionals to facilitate environmental decision-making and policy formulation. However, LCA's effectiveness can be compromised by the lack of high-quality data and significant data gaps in the life cycle inventory such as for the LCA model of lithium extraction in the mining industry. While lithium has become the focal point in the clean energy transition, oversimplified models and approximations from other sectors have diminished the quality of input and output data. This research aims to model the mining and processing operations in the world's largest lithium mine in Greenbushes, Australia, by utilising first-hand data and production statistics to increase the accuracy and transparency for stakeholders. The results demonstrate a 36.8% and 30.6% reduction in carbon dioxide equivalent emissions for lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide monohydrate production, respectively, using this study's modelled Spodumene concentrate compared to previous studies for lithium compound production. Additionally, the study reveals that improved grinding technologies in the newer plant (CGP2) of Greenbushes have reduced the overall global warming potential impact category of Spodumene production by 17.3% using high-pressure grinding rolls (HPGR). It is crucial to note that the highest contributor to the carbon footprint in the processing plant is electricity usage, while in mining operations, blasting is the primary contributor
From Restricted to General Augmentation. The Networked Digital City as Augmented Environment
No full textWriting in 1967, on the cusp of the era of widespread digital computation, Marshall McLuhan famously declared that all dominant media constitute an environment. How should we understand this environmentality in a present in which networked digital media are not only spatialised throughout cities in historically distinctive ways, but computational processes also offer novel capacities for the production of urban space? Drawing on current practices as well a longer history of mediated urban space, I will explore the continuities and ruptures that shape the present moment. Change in the technologies of mediation not only alter how cities look, but recalibrate processes of perception, inhabitation and social encounter
[Review of the book] Class, Economy, and Politics in Southeast Asia, by Kevin Hewison and Jim Glassman
No full textOnce striving to become an epicentre of growth, Southeast Asia has instead become an epicentre of conflicts in the wake of geo-political chaos. The region stands at the heart of the USA-China trade war while increasingly seeing the expansion of authoritarian rule and the continuing repression of labour and civil society amid deepening inequality. While this conjuncture has sparked lively and critical discussion among academics and regional observers, in Class, Economy, and Politics in Southeast Asia, Kevin Hewison and Jim Glassman bring us back to the very social foundation of Southeast Asian politics and societies, namely class relations within which capitalist, political, and geo-political forces are embedded (4). Writing a concise and very readable analysis of class in Southeast Asia, Hewison and Glassman call for a better gauge on class relations and the institutions that mediate them, as well as the politico-economic structures that reproduce inequality (3)