Effects of Urban Land Use Change on Selected Public Utilities for Sustainable Development in Akure, Nigeria

Urban landuse change is one of the main driving forces of global environmental change. It is central to the sustainable development debate. The aim of this research is to examine the effects of urban landuse and its impact on selected public utility services in Akure with a view to improve strategies to protect these utilities for sustainable development. The research was conducted using remote sensing, Geographical information System and questionnaire to collect the required data for the purpose of fulfilling the objectives of this study. In this study of analyzing the urban landuse change, 2010 and 2018 IKONOS are used in a post classification comparison analysis to map the landuse changes and identify the conversion process in Akure. The landuse change statistics results obtained revealed that residential landuse has changed rapidly for the periods (2010-2018). The results also show increase in commercial landuses between the same periods. The results of the analysis reveal that the built-up area has been growing rapidly for the periods (2010-2018). Findings show that, housing provision (residential), business purpose (commercial) and educational (institution) are the major causes of land use change in the study areas. To reduce the effect of land use expansion in the study areas, policy measures were recommended which include regulating the growth and spread of development, regional development programs. In our opinion, the information provided by these technologies could help city planners and policy makers to attain and sustain future urban development.

The Theoretical Perspectives and Managerial Implications of the Balanced Scorecard （BSC） in the Italian Public Utilities

The present work aims to conduct a critical analysis of control systems and tools of performance assessment in local public services companies, with a particular reference to the public transport sector. The interest in this issue arises for various reasons, from the growing economic significance of the sector at a national level, measurable in terms of production value and the number of operators involved, to the spread of outsourcing policies, liberalization and privatization, and the use of the standard cost to establish the level of funding. In the field of public utilities, until a few years ago, the concept of control was intended only in a ＂bureaucratic＂ sense as the capacity to fulfill the formal obligations linked to the strong regulatory context, ignoring aspects that have become fundamental today, such as economy, efficiency, and effectiveness of management. The approach used is deductive and the study ends with the presentation of the possible implications of the use of standard cost and the presentation of an application hypothesis of a balanced scorecard （BSC） for local public transport （LPT）.

The Research on the negative impact of the efficiency of the generalization performance in privatization of public utilities

Since the last century, China has carried out the reform of public utilities in the ninety time, and has achieved many positive results. The quality and efficiency of public goods supply is greatly improved. The government has changed the role of producer and provider from the past to the role of provider and regulator, which effectively promoted the development of the privatization of public utilities. However, in the achievements there has also been some problems, such as too much emphasis on efficiency to the neglect of social justice and the government＇s public responsibility ＂efficiency generalization＂ problem that requires our attention.

The research on the standard and measure of the efficiency of the generalization performance of privatization of public utilities

The transformation of the development China＇s privatization of city public utilities？ vigorously promote the government function, however, the relative monopoly administrative operation system, functions decentralized system of government regulation and legal system construction is lagging behind, can making the privatization process easily lead to the emergence of efficient generalization, must be identified and avoided. This paper presents efficient generalization of privatization of public utility of our country city in measure, and analyzes the performance efficiency of the three resulting generalization.

A Framework Analysis for Lean Transformation: A Case Study of a Public Utility in Greece

Purpose: Nowadays, the worldwide economic recession has created numerous challenges in the Public Sector of Greece, which in turn affect the sustainability of public enterprises. Overall, there is a high pressure to increase productivity and reduce operating costs. The need to adapt to the new environment is pushing public organizations to implement Lean Management strategies in accordance with Private Sector standards. However, the limited budget, public deficits and debts, bureaucratic culture, political dependence and lack of transparency present several issues. These pose a serious threat to successful implementation of Lean practices in the long-run. Lack of relevant research and dichotomous role of public service organizations make this study very interesting. This research paper is aiming at exploring and highlighting the impact of the most important Critical Success Factors (CSFs) for the effective integration of Lean Management principles in Public Utility organizations in Greece by combining bibliographic research and empirical—with the quantitative method-research through case studies. Research Methodology: The research method combines bibliographic research and empirical—with the quantitative method. Quantitative method was employed on a sufficient sample of public employees from two of the largest public companies of Greece: Public Power Corporation (PPC S.A.) and Athens Water Supply and Sewerage Company (EYDAP S.A.) in order to investigate the impact of the most important CSFs on successful Lean Transformation of them. Findings: Quantitative findings from this research illustrated that the most important CSFs that have a positive impact on successful Lean Transformation on Greek public organizations/utilities are: Effective Communication, flexible Organizational Infrastructure, Customer Focus, Linking Lean to Suppliers, Business Plan and Vision, competent Change Management, Top Management Support and Commitment, Training and Education, as well as Selection of Staff. On the contrary, the existence of a bureaucratic Organizational Culture has a negative effect on successful integration of Lean Management. Limitations: Important limitations of this study are the utilization of a convenience sample and the strict focus on Greek public organizations operating in a competitive environment.

Investigating Evacuation Trends and Restoration Processes from Serious Earthquake Damage in Japan

Japan has experienced many large-scale natural disasters, such as earthquakes, typhoons accompanied by heavy rain, and landslides. Based on data for the damage caused by four recent major earthquakes in Japan, we investigate the trends in the number of evacuees and evacuation centres after these disasters as well as the restoration processes for public utilities such as electricity, gas, water, and communication lines. We compare the restoration speeds and trends of the damaged infrastructure systems. We also propose various mathematical models to approximate the recovery trends using both evacuee-related data and damage recovery process data. These results can be used to design natural disaster mitigation policies not only in Japan, but also in other countries. The results of various statistical data analyses and mathematical modelling techniques are applied to provide policy suggestions.

IP &Innovation, within the Context of Frontier Technologies;A Matter of Accessibility with “Open” Questions?

Through a series of duly cited, and quoted (“–”), excerpts, originating mostly from two Technology Trends reports, WIPO (2019), WIPO (2021), an attempt to establish a pseudo dialog is proposed, in order to surface a few questions accessible to a larger public of innovators, who may have an interest in the IP accessibility dimension using Frontier Technologies (such as AI, IoT, 3D…). AT, Assistive Technology, is instrumental as a uniquely faceted example. The illustrations’ section extends the consideration and integration of additional “traits” of the field of interest and related. Intuitive answers are “reachable” and further literature is provided on the relevant matters and connected. The emphasis is on educational, illustrative and demonstrative value.

Wastewater Treatment and Sludge Utilisation in Hungary

Hungary＇s accession to the European Union in 2004 marked the start of a new era. The completion of legal harmonization brought in new emission standards and thresholds, and this was followed by EU-assisted projects to build and reconstruct wastewater treatment plants. The utilization of sludge after it leaves the wastewater treatment plant is now a solely private-sector operation. There are new political priorities： increasing state involvement, buying out of major--formerly privatized--service providers, reintegration of isolated service providers, legally-imposed reduction of public utility charges. As a result, a demand has arisen for a greater central, i.e. government role in sludge utilization.

After the Internet： New Technologies, Social Issues, and Public Policies

This article addresses the evolution of the Internet from a loosely organized, decentralized, and pluralistic system to the Next Internet, a tightly controlled, centralized and commodified system under corporate and government control. Drawing on a political economy perspective, it begins by addressing the technologies that comprise the Next Internet. These include Cloud Computing, Big Data Analytics, and the Internet of Things whose convergence raises significant issues in the political economy of communication and society. The paper concentrates specifically on military, environmental, economic, privacy, and labor problems. It concludes by considering the significance of viewing the Next Internet as a public utility like electricity and water.