Factors Impacting Benefits of Participatory Forest Management in Upper Imenti Forest, Meru County, Kenya

This study focused on identifying factors affecting the benefits of Participatory Forestry Management (PFM) income generating activities in Upper Imenti Forest and whether they are dependent on status of participation in forest management through membership of Community Forest Association (CFA) or not. Cross-sectional survey research design was applied for collecting quantitative data using a semi-structured questionnaire administered to 384 households stratified on the basis of PFM participation status. Qualitative data was collected through focused group discussions using a checklist and key informant interviews using an interview schedule. Using Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 25, Binomial regression with Wald Chi-square was analyzed to identify factors perceived to be significantly influencing benefits for PFM participants and Pearson Chi-square to compare factors perceived to be affecting PFM and non-PFM participants. CFA members participation in PFM was significantly and positively affected by benefits of PFM income generating activities and forest products accessed in the forest. Benefits linked to Plantation Establishment for Livelihood Improvement System (PELIS) for CFA members were significantly reduced by enforcement of moratorium policy since February 2018, diseases and pests, poor PELIS guideline adherence and animal damage. Benefits related to state forest access for firewood by the CFA members were negatively influenced by the moratorium policy. Diseases and pests affected benefits associated with bee keeping significantly. Comparing factors under different PFM participation status, crop production was significantly affected by policy changes, pest and diseases, animal damage and PELIS guideline adherence for CFA members than for Non-CFA members. Policy changes also affected the CFA members significantly in firewood collection and access to fodder in the state forest than the Non-CFA members. Hence, sustainable community participation in Upper Imenti Forest management requires: increasing PFM benefits, addressing factors reducing benefits and enhancing active participation of CFA members in PFM related decision-making processes.

Participatory Technique Supporting Environmental Management: A Systematic and Bibliometric Review

The increasing need to manage natural resources sustainably, driven by population growth, requires the simultaneous use of Participatory Techniques (PT) and landscape planning for structured decision-making. We conducted a bibliometric and systematic review to provide an overview of PT usage, identifying evolution in scientific production. We considered the number of publications and citations, prominent journals, and highly cited articles on scientific papers published in the Web of Science database between 1993 and 2023. A total of 415 articles related to PT were identified. After content evaluation, 19 critical articles were selected that underpin the growing combined use of models and indices with PT, enhancing the robustness and credibility of decision-making processes.

Participatory Land Rehabilitation Strategies in Angacha District, Kembata Zone, Central Ethiopia Region

Community participation has become widely incorporated into policies of many soil and water conservation organizations. The purpose of this study was to assess the community participation in the rehabilitation of degraded land. In order to achieve the objective of the study, both primary and secondary data were generated by employing qualitative and quantitative data. Purposive sampling was employed to select three study kebeles (the smallest administrative structure of the country) from 16 rural kebeles in Angecha District. Simple random sampling technique was used to select 183 household heads from the lists of farmers in the selected kebeles for detailed household survey. In addition to household survey, field observation and key informant interview were also conducted to collect the necessary data. The data were presented using descriptive statistic such as percentage, frequency, tables and figure. The data collected through the use of household survey questionnaires were analyzed using logit regression while data collected through field observation and key informant interview were analyzed and interpreted using qualitative description. The findings of the present study revealed that population pressure, soil erosion, deforestation, overgrazing, and over cultivation were the major causes for land degradation. Moreover, the results of this study indicated that the main causes of the low productivity of farmland were farmers’ involvement in off-farm activities, increase in size of human population, lack of full cooperation of family members to involve in land rehabilitation practices. Households participated in rehabilitation practices at different levels, with 43.7% respondents showing intermediate participation. However, 22.4% of the farm households clarified that there is low experience sharing and motivation to participate in the process of implementation of rehabilitation programs. It is recommended that, continuous training and experience sharing program, immediate action to increase the number of literate persons, to practicing compatible practices for the agro climatic zone such as soil bund, Fanyaaju, stone bunds, and tree planting, extending effective practices, create opportunities for alternative means of livelihood and promoting NGOs effort to involve in land rehabilitation practices in the highly degraded area.

A Discussion of University Personnel Agency from the Perspective of All Participators

This thesis makes an analysis of the influence of the implementation of university personnel agency on three participators of universities, agency, and agency personnel. It is pointed out those personnel agency of the current period is mainly transforming fi＇om ＂personnel relations agency＂ to ＂household register relation affiliation＂ in terms of initial system design intention. Finally, it proposes that we should further improve the existing university personnel agency system, so as to eliminate the adverse effects on all parties.

Full Empowerment and the Participatory Governance in Rural Communities: A Comparative Study Based on Two Cases

Participatory governance is a feasible method in the context of a need for effective governance.With the introduction of participatory governance,the focus has shifted to how to empower.A comparative study of two cases in this paper finds that full empowerment is the key to effective governance in participatory governance.Full empowerment can motivate a community to participate through the empower of rights and resources and can improve community participation capacity through the introduction of technical services.The full empowerment encourages a community to undertake its due responsibility and thus forms a mechanism of the simultaneous downward shift of right and responsibility;the refined technical services enhance community participation capacity and thus develop the mechanism of self-management and adaptation,and the interactions between multiple agents produces a coordinating mechanism for government empowerment and community acceptance.

Identity Dynamics and Conflict in Collaborative Processes: The Case of Participatory Management of Protected Areas in Benin

The research reported in this paper investigated the role of identity construction in the emergence and escalation of conflict in the participatory management of protected areas in Benin. The study shows that social identity salience was dynamic and played an important role in the emergence and escalation of conflict in the studied cases. Conflicts emerged when identities became salient as a result of the stake-holders’ framing of contextual factors as a threat to their identity. The conflicts escalated when decisions and actions undertaken in the management process were framed as top-down and as posing a threat to the identities of the stakeholders. We conclude that, although the government in the management of the protected areas introduced participation, unilateral decisions taken about the way the conflicts should be managed caused disappointment and distrust, and thus led to a greater distance between the parties involved and to conflict escalation.

Participatory Governance and Decision-Making： Oil and Gas in Santos （Brazil）

The growth of industry and services occurred on a world scale in recent decades, is correlated to large events that propel whole nations to think of local development strategies, integrated and sustainable, based on structural and conjunctural changes, and brought on by human factors or natural causes in dependent of the human will, and lies in the context of innovative models of supply chain arrangements, as is the case of participatory governance network of production of oil and gas. The present study aim is identify and analyze the impacts, local and regional, due to the introduction of the production of oil and gas （originating layer known aspre-salt） in the city of Santos, Sao Paulo, Brazil. The current state of development of a software monitoring indicator is aimed at assessing the present stage and monitor the process of participatory governance in the network of production of oil and gas in Santo is presented here.

Participatory Road Planning System in Japan and Its Enlightenment

Japan has introduced public participation into road planning processes in recent years. This paper firstly describes the Japanese institutional system of public participation in infrastructure planning; then it focuses on the institutionalization of participatory road planning procedure and road planning framework. Taking Yokohama Northwest Line for an example, it explains the planning procedure and public participation techniques in detail and analyzes the special advanced characteristics of the procedure. Finally, it suggests that China could learn the following experience from Japan: the institutionalization of participatory planning procedure, detailed division of road planning stages, setup of third-party organization, full publicity of information, and adoption of public suggestion, and implementation of multiple involvement techniques.

Analysis of Participatory Approach Applied in Creating a New Protected Area Anjozorobe Angavo

The political will in compliance with the Convention on Biological Diversity brings to the establishment of MSPA （Madagascar system of protected areas）. The aim is to conserve biodiversity, alleviate poverty and develop the country. Participation and involvement of local population in natural resources management, consultation with all sectors and responsibilization of regional and local authorities in protected areas management are all the basic principles of MSPA. The paper brought focus in the understanding of this participation of local actors （populations, local authorities） and in their interests to participate in the protected area management in Anjozorobe Angavo. The research has been conducted by doing investigations and meetings with local actors. A typology of participations had been done. It has been indeed noticed that the understanding was differentiated then motivations to participate were not always the environmental one. The populations＇ participation could be either by convenience, or for personal interest, or imposed participation, or conscious participation. But in order to reach the purpose of the protected areas sustainable management, the operator should admit that the participation in protected areas management is imposed naturally and should consider those differences in visions; at last, the approach should motivate local populations to participate consciously.

Research on the Construction of a Fully-participatory Extracurricular Learning Platform with Multiple Linkage Effects

In the existing research at home and abroad,the construction of extracurricular learning platform is still only focused on solving the problems of curriculum learning itself.At the same time,there are no cases of multiple linkage effects,including integrating alumni resources,promoting the construction of alumni association,promoting students'internship and employment,strengthening ties with enterprises and so on.On the basis of the original function of the alumni management system,this paper expands the sections and adds the main body of students to enrich the functions of the platform.This paper constructs a fully-participatory extracurricular learning platform with multiple linkage effect,which provides a reference for other majors inside and outside the school to establish extracurricular learning platform.

Participatory and integrated watershed management and community based organgzanon

In Iran, and in order to encourage local watershed management, community based organizations （CBO） like ＂cooperatives of watershed＂, ＂construction groups＂ and ＂watershed management groups＂ have been established to obtain resident＇s cooperation in activities eormeeted with protection, reclamation and exploitation of natural resources in the basins that lead to sustainability within watershed management. This study was done as a ease study to explore the role of Remeleh Group （RG） as a CBO in the management of the ＂Kharkheh＂ sub-basin. Participatory action and learning method was used. Participatory tools including natural resources mapping, flow diagram, transect walk, semi-structured interview and brainstorming were applied. Making the conclusion, it was found that the CBO of Remeleh Group cause： （1） Enhancement of social capital through encouraging cooperation and participatory practices, creating new communication among local residents and outsiders, reducing conflicts and promoting the solidarity among communities in the sub basin of Karldaeh; （2） Sustain livelihood and economic situation through agricultural intensification and livelihood diversification （gardening and agriculture together and reducing migration）; （3） Conservation of environmental and natural recourses via the implementation of watershed activities like vine, terracing, bunding and destocking, seedling, and check dams; （4） Empower local people through carrying out training on the watershed practices.

Bringing Rain to the Land: Rainfall Simulation as a Participatory Teaching Aid to Understanding Erosion

There is a need for science and community knowledge and resources to be combined in the mitigation and rehabilitation of land degradation, as a large portion of degraded land in South Africa is communal land. Rainfall simulation was used at Okhombe valley, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa as a tool to collect scientific data regarding the erosion rates on cattle access paths and to demonstrate erosion driving forces to the community members. The community members were able to experience erosion taking place through rainfall simulation and observe the impact of slope and basal cover change on erosion rates. Cattle access paths and rehabilitated access paths showed similar runoff rates (Figure 1), however the sediment concentration varied between the severely degraded cattle access paths and the rehabilitated land. Through the rainfall demonstration a better understanding of the driving factors in the erosion process, an understanding of why particular mitigation techniques work and where such mitigation measures would be effective were identified. With the combination of scientific techniques and community knowledge and resources a step can be taken towards sustainable land degradation mitigation and rehabilitation in the communal areas of South Africa.

How Participatory is Participatory Flood Risk Mapping? Voices from the Flood Prone Dharavi Slum in Mumbai

Participatory flood risk mapping(PFRM) is a well-recognized and widely implemented tool for meaningful community involvement in disaster risk reduction(DRR). The effectiveness of PFRM remains anecdotal. The PFRM exercise has rarely been applied identically in two different places by two different organizations, which produces varied and uncertain outcomes. In the absence of any agreed and comprehensive framework for participatory DRR, existing studies struggle to provide a scientific account of how the structure, design, and process of PFRM ensure the effective participation of local communities.This study, examines what factors and methods make PFRM an effective participatory DRR tool. In this study,we first identified the process-based criteria of participation. Then we briefly introduced a participatory flood risk mapping exercise conducted in a flood-prone informal settlement in Dharavi, Mumbai. The exercise was carefully designed to meet the process criteria of effective participation. Finally, using qualitative research methods, we evaluated the effectiveness of our PFRM from the local community perspective. The findings show that ensuring community livelihood security and true involvement of marginalized groups, preparing an action plan, and incorporating fun and cultural connotations into the facilitation process are critical components that enhance community participation through PFRM in DRR.

Institutional performance and participatory paradigms: Comparing two groups of watersheds in semi-arid region of India

Watershed development programmes carried out in different agroclimatic conditions in India resulted in beneficial impact in terms of productivity enhancement and natural resources conservation, but less attention paid to institutional and participatory aspects. This paper explored the performance of various institutions regarding execution of watershed development programmes in semi-arid region of India. Recorded observations from documents maintained at watershed level and information collected through primary survey as well as focus group discussion with different types of stakeholders were used for analysis. The results indicated lacunae in participatory aspects during programme implementation process like monitoring activities, management of common property resources and equity. Gap in linkages and differential level of performance of various watershed level functionaries indicates the necessity for corrections in the structures and linkages pattern for sustainability of the infrastructure and institutions. The study also showed unequal priorities by the implementing agencies towards in-stitutions, land and water resources development, production enhancement activities and fodder re-sources development as well as rationalities of technical, economic, financial, political and social aspects among the watersheds.

A Pluralistic and Participatory Community Governance Model for Urban China in the Era of Economic and Spatial Restructuring

As China’s socio-economic development is entering into a transitioning era,urban residents’demands are becoming more diversified,complicated,and fragmented.Ought to address issues regarding community environmental renovation,infrastructure and facilities constructions,and efficient public service supplies,measures should be adopted to adjust the urban community governance model in China to face emergent challenges.Against this background,this paper argues that the"participating actors,""community management and organization framework,""related laws,regulations,and policies,"and"resources allocation and management"are the four crucial dimensions in urban community governance.We then adopted these four underpinnings as the theoretical framework to unravel the complex dynamics of community governance in contemporary urban China.This paper argues that the current community governance system falls short in accommodating the growing demands of community development due to"ambiguity of participating actors,""excessive administrative intervention on community management,""insufficient legislation supports,"and a"deficiency in financing management system."Therefore,this paper argues that through the pluralization of public participation,diversification of community organization modes,and the enhancement of participation accessibility,community governance performance in urban China could be drastically improved.Therefore,a pluralistic and participatory community governance model is proposed in this paper to provide additional policy implications for community governance in urban China.

Preserving environmental quality of ecotourism sites through community participation in Purulia District of West Bengal,India

The importance of valuing environmental resources,especially in ecotourism sites,has become increasingly important over the last two decades.Ecotourism is now considered as an important source of livelihood of local stakeholders in backward regions.Therefore,the preservation of ecotourism sites through community participation seems very important to maintain continued flow of tourists.This study aimed at recognizing the importance of community participation for the preservation of ecotourism sites.For this,this study executed a survey based on non-probability sampling in two ecotourism sites(Garpanchkot and Baranti)covering 100 respondents in Purulia District,West Bengal of India.The central issue of this study was to assess the tendency of community participation for the conservation of ecotourism sites and find the optimum condition for offering participatory labour time.This study showed that the participation of young people is high,and the majority of respondents are aware of the importance in protecting ecotourism sites.Because respondents were too poor to offer money,the contingent valuation method(CVM)was used to elicit their willingness to pay(WTP)participatory labour time for the conservation of ecotourism sites.Respondents’age,income,education level,caste,and their perceived environmental quality had significant relationship with their WTP participatory labour time by applying the ordinary least square(OLS)model.It was found that the mean WTP participatory labour time of each respondent in a month is approximately 3.64 h.The significance of this study is that community participation can improve the sense of belonging,trust,and credibility of ecotourism sites,making them more appreciative of the value and protection of these sites.

A Federated Learning Framework with Blockchain-Based Auditable Participant Selection

Federated learning is an important distributed model training technique in Internet of Things(IoT),in which participant selection is a key component that plays a role in improving training efficiency and model accuracy.This module enables a central server to select a subset of participants to performmodel training based on data and device information.By doing so,selected participants are rewarded and actively perform model training,while participants that are detrimental to training efficiency and model accuracy are excluded.However,in practice,participants may suspect that the central server may have miscalculated and thus not made the selection honestly.This lack of trustworthiness problem,which can demotivate participants,has received little attention.Another problem that has received little attention is the leakage of participants’private information during the selection process.We will therefore propose a federated learning framework with auditable participant selection.It supports smart contracts in selecting a set of suitable participants based on their training loss without compromising the privacy.Considering the possibility of malicious campaigning and impersonation of participants,the framework employs commitment schemes and zero-knowledge proofs to counteract these malicious behaviors.Finally,we analyze the security of the framework and conduct a series of experiments to demonstrate that the framework can effectively improve the efficiency of federated learning.

Network analysis of the relationships between depressive symptoms and social participation activities among Chinese older adults and its implications for nursing

Objective:Network analysis was used to explore the complex inter-relationships between social participation activities and depressive symptoms among the Chinese older population,and the differences in network structures among different genders,age groups,and urban-rural residency would be compared.Methods:Based on the 2018 wave of the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey(CLHLS),12,043 people aged 65 to 105 were included.The 10-item Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression(CESD)Scale was used to assess depressive symptoms and 10 types of social participation activities were collected,including housework,tai-chi,square dancing,visiting and interacting with friends,garden work,reading newspapers or books,raising domestic animals,playing cards or mahjong,watching TV or listening to radio,and organized social activities.R 4.2.1 software was used to estimate the network model and calculate strength and bridge strength.Results:21.60%(2,601/12,043)of the participants had depressive symptoms.The total social participation score was negatively associated with depressive symptoms after adjusting for sociodemographic factors.The network of social participation and depressive symptoms showed that“D9(Inability to get going)”and“S9(Watching TV and/or listening to the radio)”had the highest strength within depressive symptoms and social participation communities,respectively,and“S1(Housework)”,“S9(Watching TV and/or listening to the radio)”,and“D5(Hopelessness)”were the most prominent bridging nodes between the two communities.Most edges linking the two communities were negative.“S5(Graden work)-D5(Hopelessness)”and“S6(Reading newspapers/books)-D4(Everything was an effort)”were the top 2 strongest negative edges.Older females had significantly denser network structures than older males.Compared to older people aged 65e80,the age group 81e105 showed higher network global strength.Conclusions:This study provides novel insights into the complex relationships between social participation and depressive symptoms.Except for doing housework,other social participation activities were found to be protective for depression levels.Different nursing strategies should be taken to prevent and alleviate depressive symptoms for different genders and older people of different ages.

Low-frequency oscillation of train-network system considering traction power supply mode

The low-frequency oscillation(LFO)has occurred in the train-network system due to the introduction of the power electronics of the trains.The modeling and analyzing method in current researches based on electrified railway unilateral power supply system are not suitable for the LFO analysis in a bilateral power supply system,where the trains are supplied by two traction substations.In this work,based on the single-input and single-output impedance model of China CRH5 trains,the node admittance matrices of the train-network system both in unilateral and bilateral power supply modes are established,including three-phase power grid,traction transformers and traction network.Then the modal analysis is used to study the oscillation modes and propagation characteristics of the unilateral and bilateral power supply systems.Moreover,the influence of the equivalent inductance of the power grid,the length of the transmission line,and the length of the traction network are analyzed on the critical oscillation mode of the bilateral power supply system.Finally,the theoretical analysis results are verified by the time-domain simulation model in MATLAB/Simulink.

Optimal dispatching strategy for residential demand response considering load participation

To facilitate the coordinated and large-scale participation of residential flexible loads in demand response(DR),a load aggregator(LA)can integrate these loads for scheduling.In this study,a residential DR optimization scheduling strategy was formulated considering the participation of flexible loads in DR.First,based on the operational characteristics of flexible loads such as electric vehicles,air conditioners,and dishwashers,their DR participation,the base to calculate the compensation price to users,was determined by considering these loads as virtual energy storage.It was quantified based on the state of virtual energy storage during each time slot.Second,flexible loads were clustered using the K-means algorithm,considering the typical operational and behavioral characteristics as the cluster centroid.Finally,the LA scheduling strategy was implemented by introducing a DR mechanism based on the directrix load.The simulation results demonstrate that the proposed DR approach can effectively reduce peak loads and fill valleys,thereby improving the load management performance.