Implementing the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement: A Case Study of the Vhembe West District, South Africa

This qualitative study was undertaken to investigate how district officials implemented Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement in the Vhembe West District in South Africa.Interview data were collected and used for themes identification.The study identified the following challenges that the district officials experienced as they performed their duties:insufficient resources,lack of finances to buy learning and teaching support materials,infrastructure failures,the district’s inadequate support to schools,shortage of district officials in certain disciplines,unclear roles,lack of collaboration,unavailability of followup visits,the shortage of computers for the district officials and teacher support materials,bribery and corruption of selling principalship posts,slow filling of district officials posts,and inappropriate skills for school management and leadership.The study concluded that qualified district officials should be appointed,ongoing support from the Department of Basic Education and provision of resources in ensuring smooth curriculum implementation is needed,and bribery and corruption should be stopped when school principal appointments are made.This study also concludes that the district officials should be continuously capacitated so that they should be able to meet curriculum challenges,and the Department of Basic Education should speed up the curriculum delivery by ensuring that the vacancies are filled up.

Paired Assistance:Policy Rationale and Economic Performance as Illustrated by Xizang and Xinjiang

This study highlights the changing priorities of China’s paired assistance throughout the past decades,as well as its theoretical implications and economic growth effects for recipient regions.Using panel data from 32 prefecture-level cities from 1990 to 2020,this study uses the multiperiod difference-in-differences approach to examine how paired assistance has contributed to economic growth in Xizang Autonomous Region and Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.The findings indicate that,first,the implementation of the paired assistance policy has boosted economic growth in Xizang and Xinjiang.Second,paired assistance has stimulated economic growth in recipient communities by improving infrastructure.Third,paired assistance has contributed to economic growth in recipient communities by providing improved public services such as education and healthcare.Improvements to public services have a relatively smaller indirect effect in short term than infrastructure development on economic growth.Yet both education and healthcare are crucial to people’s quality of life in recipient communities.This paper has refined and broadened research on the effects of paired assistance,providing preference for future policymaking.

Big data assessment on the operating characteristics of on-line taxis and thoughts on relevant policies

A double-dimensional big data assessment method on the characteristics of on-line taxi traffic operation is proposed to provide a scientific basis for carrying out the taxi industry reform and standardizing the on-line taxi hailing management work. Taking Shenzhen as an example, multi- source data such as on-line taxi license plate data, plate identification data and taxi （including on-line taxis） operation data are combined with the results of the stated preference （SP） survey on taxi operating characteristics to assess the overall operation characteristics of on-line taxis. The results show that the current on-line taxis in Shenzhen can be divided into three categories, that is, full-time on-line taxis, non- active on-line taxis and part-time on-line taxis, accounting for 4%, 55%, and 41%, respectively, of the total quantity. In terms of the characteristics of space-time operations, full-time on-line taxis have similar operating characteristics as those of traditional taxis; the operation of non-active on-line taxis and part-time on-line taxis coincides with commuting requirements during morning and evening peak hours. However, part-time on-line taxis operate for a much longer time period at night. Due to the convenient hailing and favorable price, on-line taxis have a significant impact on trip modes of citizens; and the substitution eflbct of on-line taxis on traditional buses and cruising taxis is obvious. It is beneficial for helping the government departments to objectively understand the development law of the on-line taxi industry and providing decision reference for the formulation of relevant management policies during the critical development stage of on-line taxi industry.

A Simulation Model for Road and Maritime Environmental Performance Assessment

The White Paper published in 2011, Roadmap to a Single European Transport Area [1], urges on a 30% modal shift of road freight over 300 km to other modes (rail, maritime and inland waterways) by 2030, and more than 50% by 2050. However the environmentally friendly performance of maritime transport regarding air pollutant emissions in comparison with road transport is in doubt. This paper presents a three dimension simulation model, in which performed transport work, arisen emissions and produced impact are estimated and inter-related for the assessment of the environmental performance of both road and maritime transport. The simulation model will be a valuable decision making tool for policymakers as it enables the precise assessment of considered transport alternatives in the EU27 until 2020, and hence supports the design of future intervening actions.

Policy Assessment and Recommendations for Forestry-based Ecological Poverty Alleviation: An Empirical Study from the Prefectures of Nujiang and Aba, Southwestern China

China has adopted a long-term campaign against poverty. In recent decades, there is an increasing understanding that ecological poverty alleviation can meet the dual goals of environmental protection and rural poverty reduction. China is pivoting towards forestry-based poverty reduction in the severely poverty-stricken areas. However, several key factors remain elusive, including the extent to which the poor people benefit from forestry programs, whether they are satisfied with the policies and whether the policies are effective for poverty alleviation. Based on data collected through a questionnaire survey of 79 households in the prefectures of Nujiang and Aba, southwestern China, the analytic hierarchy process(AHP) approach was used to examine the effectiveness of the forestry-based poverty alleviation policy. The results showed that four poverty alleviation pathways, including industry, employment, micro-finance and pairing assistance in villages, had obviously increased the incomes of the filing poor households and solved the problem of "Two Worries-free and Three Guarantees". The poor were satisfied with the forestry-based ecological poverty alleviation policies and these policies had good effects in fighting against poverty. However, there are still some shortcomings, such as a lack of active participation, imperfect targeted identification, lack of funds and limited sources of funds during the policy implementation. Our results highlight the importance of the forestry industry and the public welfare position in the alleviation of poverty in the poverty-stricken areas. Synergies between ecological protection and poverty reduction are possible through sound forestry-based policies. This article recommends five policies to simultaneously realize the potential of poverty alleviation and environment protection through forestry development.

Hierarchical methodological framework to improve Policy Environmental Assessment:Based on policy layer research

This study explores the current implementation challenges of the Policy Environmental Assessment(PEA),including the implementation of a far richer,more diverse(at macro level),and better understanding of PEA and integration with decision making.The results contribute to the analysis of PEA through different hierarchies of assessment.Stemming from the theory and practice of policy,a concept of PEA hierarchies is proposed including the uppermost PEA,upper-lower PEA,and lowermost PEA.Afterward,the differences of the three hierarchies are interpreted,in terms of aims,principles,processes,and methods.The evaluation of the policy environmental impacts from different lens helps solve the complexities of policies and identify opportunities for improvement of PEA.

Assessing the effect of desertification controlling projects and policies in northern Shaanxi Province, China by integrating remote sensing and farmer investigation data

To combat desertification, the Chinese govern- ment has launched a series of Desertification Controlling Projects and Policies over the past several decades. However, the effect of these projects and policies remains controversial due to a lack of suitable methods and data to assess them. In this paper, the authors selected the farming- pastoral region of the northern Shaanxi Province in China as a sample region and attempted to assess the effect of Desertification Controlling Projects and Policies launched after 2000 by combining remote sensing and farmer investigation data. The results showed that the combina- tion of these two complementary assessments can provide comprehensive information to support decision-making. According to the remote sensing and Net Primary Production data, the research region experienced an obvious desertification reversion between 2000 and 2010, and approximately 70% of this reversion can be explained by Desertification Controlling Projects and Policies. Farmer investigation data also indicated that these projects and policies were the dominating factor contributing to desertification reversion, and approxi- mately 70% of investigated farmers agreed with this conclusion. However, low supervision and subsidy levels were issues that limited the policy effect. Therefore, it is necessary for the government to enhance supervision, raise subsidy levels, and develop environmental protection regulations to encourage more farmers to participate in desertification control.

A multi-scale agent-based model of infectious disease transmission to assess the impact of vaccination and non-pharmaceutical interventions:The COVID-19 case

Mathematical and computational models are useful tools for virtual policy experiments on infectious disease con-trol.Most models fail to provide flexible and rapid simulation of various epidemic scenarios for policy assessment.This paper establishes a multi-scale agent-based model to investigate the infectious disease propagation between cities and within a city using the knowledge from person-to-person transmission.In the model,the contact and infection of individuals at the micro scale where an agent represents a person provide insights for the interactions of agents at the meso scale where an agent refers to hundreds of individuals.Four cities with frequent population movements in China are taken as an example and actual data on traffic patterns and demographic parameters are adopted.The scenarios for dynamic propagation of infectious disease with no external measures are compared versus the scenarios with vaccination and non-pharmaceutical interventions.The model predicts that the peak of infections will decline by 67.37%with 80%vaccination rate,compared to a drop of 89.56%when isolation and quarantine measures are also in place.The results highlight the importance of controlling the source of infection by isolation and quarantine throughout the epidemic.We also study the effect when cities implement inconsis-tent public health interventions,which is common in practical situations.Based on our results,the model can be applied to COVID-19 and other infectious diseases according to the various needs of government agencies.