Mapping Climate Services for Disaster Risk Management: A Systematic Review and Research Gaps from a Policy Process Perspective

Climate services (CS) are crucial for mitigating and managing the impacts and risks associated with climate-induced disasters. While evidence over the past decade underscores their effectiveness across various domains, particularly agriculture, to maximize their potential, it is crucial to identify emerging priority areas and existing research gaps for future research agendas. As a contribution to this effort, this paper employs the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) methodology to review the state-of-the-art in the field of climate services for disaster risk management. A comprehensive search across five literature databases combined with a snowball search method using ResearchRabbit was conducted and yielded 242 peer-reviewed articles, book sections, and reports over 2013-2023 after the screening process. The analysis revealed flood, drought, and food insecurity as major climate-related disasters addressed in the reviewed literature. Major climate services addressed included early warning systems, (sub)seasonal forecasts and impact-based warnings. Grounded in the policy processes’ theoretical perspective, the main focus identified and discussed three prevailing policy-oriented priority areas: 1) development of climate services, 2) use-adoption-uptake, and 3) evaluation of climate services. In response to the limitations of the prevalent supply-driven and top-down approach to climate services promotion, co-production emerges as a cross-cutting critical aspect of the identified priority areas. Despite the extensive research in the field, more attention is needed, particularly pronounced in the science-policy interface perspective, which in practice bridges scientific knowledge and policy decisions for effective policy processes. This perspective offers a valuable analytical lens as an entry point for further investigation. Hence, future research agendas would generate insightful evidence by scrutinizing this critical aspect given its importance to institutions and climate services capacity, to better understand intricate facets of the development and the integration of climate services into disaster risk management.

Research on Policy Diffusion Path and Reproduction of River Chief System

The River Chief System (RCS) has evolved from local innovative practices to a national water governance strategy to address the current challenges in China’s water environmental management. In contrast to existing research that focuses on the strengths, weaknesses, and improvements of RCS, this study uses literature study to reveal the dynamic evolution of RCS through three phases, with RCS spreading from developed coastal areas to central and western inland regions. RCS’s diffusion path involves vertical diffusion between central and local levels and horizontal diffusion among local governments. Moreover, RCS has also achieved conceptual spillover, gradually expanding into other governance domains, such as the Lake Chief System, the Field Chief System, the Forestry Chief System, and the integration of multiple chief roles. However, it is essential to scrutinize the phenomenon of applying similar governance mechanisms to different areas, as it may result in challenges such as overburdening local governments, insufficient public participation, oversimplification of differences in natural resource endowments, and limited applicability. This study also provides suggestions on how to address these challenges. The study contributes theoretical insights and policy implications, providing a foundation for practical policy innovation.

Health Systems Strengthening to Tackle the Global Burden of Pediatric and Congenital Heart Disease: A Diagonal Approach

1 Background Congenital heart disease(CHD)is the most common major congenital anomaly,affecting approximately one in every 100 live births[1].Among congenital anomalies,66%of preventable deaths are due to CHD,and 58%of the avertable morbidity and mortality due to congenital anomalies would result from scaling congenital heart surgery services[2].Every year,nearly 300,000 children and adults die from CHD,the majority of whom live in low-and middle-income countries(LMICs)[3].Approximately 49%of all individuals with CHD will require surgical or interventional care at some point in their lifetime[4];as a result of advances in access to and the delivery of such services,over 95%of children born with CHD in high-income countries now live into adulthood[3].Here,adults have surpassed children in the number of CHD cases at a ratio of 2:1[5].

New Industrialization: Characteristics, System Development and Implementation Pathway

New industrialization in China, different from its past economic development pattern or patterns in developed nations, is the country’s theoretical innovation based on the positive and negative experiences of industrialization at home and worldwide. New industrialization has various novel characteristics, including new sources of efficiency, new factors of production, new organizational forms, and new constraints. In addition, it has certain particularities arising from modernization with Chinese characteristics. This article summarizes the characteristics of new industrialization from the perspectives of people-centered approach, quality-first concept, independent innovation, green low-carbon economics, digital-real integration, and open circulation. There are four systems for promoting new industrialization: A self-sustained scientific and technological system, a high-end advanced manufacturing system, a green low-carbon circular system, and a division of labor system with domestic and international circulation. The Chinese new industrialization proposes the pathway and policy measures considering the new global situation and the requirements of new goals of strengthening organization and leadership, reducing factor cost, accelerating independent technological innovation, smoothing domestic and international circulation, and optimizing competition environment.

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.

Nationalist Trends in the Transformation of New Zealand’s Maori Language Policy

Language is an important carrier of human culture and a specific method for communication between humans.It is one of the most important symbols of human identity and flags of dividing group identity.At present,in the modern national state,the government is paying more attention to language policy and being more and more prudent to it.In the process of making and implementing language policy,the government must take into account a range of factors such as the country’s national history,politics,culture,economy,and relations between different social groups.From the mid-nineteenth century,when New Zealand became a British colony,until the mid-twentieth century,the Maori people were inspired to defend their rights and respect for themselves by the rise of Maori nationalist ideology and Maori political radicalism in a struggle that lasted more than 100 years.Until 1994,there were more than 800 kohanga reo,early childhood institutions that established Maori language instruction independent of the school system,and the nationalism drives to revitalize the Maori national language was at its peak.The process of revolution on Maori language policies in New Zealand reflects a trend of nationalist thoughts from Maori becoming more deep.Exploring the process of change in New Zealand’s Maori language policy will help to develop the study of the social history of indigenous peoples during the colonial period and will contribute to the study of the development of colonized countries and regions in the post-colonial period.The change in New Zealand’s Maori language policy has provided an important example of the preservation and revitalization of the indigenous languages of the world’s former colonies,which is of great significance for the preservation of linguistic and cultural diversity.

Building a Business and Strategic Intelligence Policy as a Strategy for Promoting Congolese Business Progress and Healthy Economic Development in Eastern DRC

The aim of this study was to verify the existence of business and strategic intelligence policies at the level of Congolese companies and at the state level, likely to foster progress and healthy development in the east of the DRC. The study was based on a mixed perspective consisting of objective analysis of quantitative data and interpretative analysis of qualitative data. The results showed that business and strategic intelligence policies have not been established at either company or state level, as this is an area of activity that is not known to the players in companies and public departments, and there are no units or offices in their organizational structures responsible for managing strategic information for competitiveness on the international market. In addition, there is a real need to establish strategic information management units within companies, upstream, and to set up a national strategic information management department or agency to help local companies compete in the marketplace, downstream. This reflects the importance and timeliness of building business and strategic intelligence policies to ensure economic progress and development in the eastern DRC. Business and strategic intelligence provides companies with an appropriate tool for researching, collecting, processing and disseminating information useful for decision-making among stakeholders, in order to cope with a crisis or competitive situation. The study suggests a number of key recommendations based on its findings. To the government, it is recommended to establish the national policy of business and strategic intelligence by setting up a national agency of strategic intelligence in favor of local companies;and to companies to establish business intelligence units in their organizational structures in favor of stakeholders to foster advantageous decision-making in the competitive market and achieve progress. Finally, the study suggests that studies be carried out to fully understand the opportunities and impact of business and strategic intelligence in African countries, particularly in the DRC.

Matching actions to needs: shifting policy responses to the changing health needs of Chinese children and adolescents

China is home to the second largest population of children and adolescents in the world.Yet demographic shifts mean that the government must manage the challenge of fewer children with the needs of an ageing population,while considering the delicate tension between economic growth and environmental sustainability.We mapped the health problems and risks of contemporary school-aged children and adolescents in China against current national health policies.We involved multidisciplinary experts,including young people,with the aim of identifying actionable strategies and specific recommendations to promote child and adolescent health and wellbeing.Notwithstanding major improvements in their health over the past few decades,contemporary Chinese children and adolescents face distinct social challenges,including high academic pressures and youth unemployment,and new health concerns including obesity,mental health issues,and sexually transmitted infections.Inequality by gender,geography,and ethnicity remains a feature of health risks and outcomes.We identified a mismatch between current health determinants,risks and outcomes,and government policies.

China’s Monetary Policy Impacts on Money and Stock Markets

This study investigated the impact of China’s monetary policy on both the money market and stock markets,assuming that non-policy variables would not respond contemporaneously to changes in policy variables.Monetary policy adjustments are swiftly observed in money markets and gradually extend to the stock market.The study examined the effects of monetary policy shocks using three primary instruments:interest rate policy,reserve requirement ratio,and open market operations.Monthly data from 2007 to 2013 were analyzed using vector error correction(VEC)models.The findings suggest a likely presence of long-lasting and stable relationships among monetary policy,the money market,and stock markets.This research holds practical implications for Chinese policymakers,particularly in managing the challenges associated with fluctuation risks linked to high foreign exchange reserves,aiming to achieve autonomy in monetary policy and formulate effective monetary strategies to stimulate economic growth.

Concept, Interests and Systems: Logical Consciousness of the China Campus Football Policy Trip

Based on the “Healthy China 2030 Planning Outline”, the literature method and logical analysis method are used to review and analyze the implementation process of China’s school football policy from three dimensions: value, interest appeal and institutional background. The study believes that in order to break through the bottleneck of policy implementation and improve the effect of policy implementation, it is necessary to establish correct values and form broad recognition of policies;meet the reasonable interests of all parties and form a synergy for policy implementation;optimize the institutional environment for policy implementation and form effective incentives.

Blockchain-Based Secure and Fair IoT Data Trading System with Bilateral Authorization

These days,data is regarded as a valuable asset in the era of the data economy,which demands a trading platform for buying and selling data.However,online data trading poses challenges in terms of security and fairness because the seller and the buyer may not fully trust each other.Therefore,in this paper,a blockchain-based secure and fair data trading system is proposed by taking advantage of the smart contract and matchmaking encryption.The proposed system enables bilateral authorization,where data trading between a seller and a buyer is accomplished only if their policies,required by each other,are satisfied simultaneously.This can be achieved by exploiting the security features of the matchmaking encryption.To guarantee non-repudiation and fairness between trading parties,the proposed system leverages a smart contract to ensure that the parties honestly carry out the data trading protocol.However,the smart contract in the proposed system does not include complex cryptographic operations for the efficiency of onchain processes.Instead,these operations are carried out by off-chain parties and their results are used as input for the on-chain procedure.The system also uses an arbitration protocol to resolve disputes based on the trading proof recorded on the blockchain.The performance of the protocol is evaluated in terms of off-chain computation overhead and on-chain gas consumption.The results of the experiments demonstrate that the proposed protocols can enable the implementation of a cost-effective data trading system.

Policy Iteration for Optimal Control of Discrete-Time Time-Varying Nonlinear Systems

Aimed at infinite horizon optimal control problems of discrete time-varying nonlinear systems,in this paper,a new iterative adaptive dynamic programming algorithm,which is the discrete-time time-varying policy iteration(DTTV)algorithm,is developed.The iterative control law is designed to update the iterative value function which approximates the index function of optimal performance.The admissibility of the iterative control law is analyzed.The results show that the iterative value function is non-increasingly convergent to the Bellman-equation optimal solution.To implement the algorithm,neural networks are employed and a new implementation structure is established,which avoids solving the generalized Bellman equation in each iteration.Finally,the optimal control laws for torsional pendulum and inverted pendulum systems are obtained by using the DTTV policy iteration algorithm,where the mass and pendulum bar length are permitted to be time-varying parameters.The effectiveness of the developed method is illustrated by numerical results and comparisons.

Government subsidies, dual-credit policy, and enterprise performance: Empirical evidence from Chinese listed new energy vehicle companies

The development of the new energy vehicle industry has become a key force driving the goals of carbon peak and carbon neutralization.To better guide future strategies,this study investigates the dual impact of subsidy and dual-integral policies on the performance of new energy vehicle enterprises.This study first theorizes the influential mechanism according to the institutional-based approach and technical innovation theory,and then collects data from listed companies in the new energy vehicle industry from 2016 to 2020.The hypotheses are examined using a two-way fixed-effects model.The findings show that:(1)subsidy policies are can still improve enterprise performance,but not through green technology innovation;(2)the dual-credit policy can improve enterprise performance through green technology innovation;and(3)under current policy conditions,with subsidies declining annually,the interaction effects between the subsidy and dual-integral policies will also decrease.Thus,this study suggests that non-monetary industrial policy,represented by the dual credit policy is a more effective alternative to government subsidies.

Optimal Replacement Policy for Cold Standby System

Investigators are attracted by the complexity and significance of preventive maintenance problem,and there are hundreds of maintenance models and methods to solve the maintenance problems of companies and army,going with a lot of investigative harvests. However,one-component system or series system is focused by most of the literature.The problem of preventive maintenance（PM） on cold standby repairable system does not attach importance despite the fact that the cold standby repairable system is ubiquitous in engineering systems.In this paper,an optimal replacement model for gamma deteriorating system is studied.This methodology presented uses a gamma distribution to model the material degradation,and the impact of imperfect maintenance actions on system reliability is investigated.After an imperfect maintenance action,the state of a degrading system is assumed as a random variable and the maintenance time follows a geometric process.A maintenance policy（N）is applied by which the system will be repaired whenever it experiences the Nth PM,and an optimal policy（N~＊） could be determined numerically or analytically for minimizing the long-run average cost per unit time.A numerical example about how to confirm the optimal maintenance time by the inspecting information of liquid coupling device is given to demonstrate the use of this policy.This paper presents a condition-based replacement policy for cold standby repairable system under continuous monitoring.Its contribution embody in two aspects,relaxing the restrictions of hypothesis and investigating the condition-based maintenance policy of the cold standby repairable system which is ignored by others.

Non-Symmetry of China’s and US Monetary Policy Spillovers:Theoretical Modelling and Empirical Analysis

This study develops a structural vector autoregression(SVAR)framework to empirically examine the reciprocal transmission channels of monetary policies between China and the United States.The primary objective is to discern potential disparities in the spillover effects of monetary policies and ascertain any contrasting mechanisms underlying these effects across the two countries.Based on our research,it appears that there exists a certain level of non-symmetry in the spillover effects of monetary policy between the two countries.Moreover,this paper provides adequate analysis of disparities in the trade framework,capital control,and financial market operations of both countries in constructing a dynamic stochastic general equilibrium(DSGE)model that incorporates financial frictions for the examination of the theoretical rationale.The empirical findings indicate that China’s monetary policy creates a spillover effect primarily through trade.In China,following an increase in its interest rates,the domestic economic activity will experience a contraction,leading to a decline in both investment and output.Consequently,this will result in a decrease in China’s imports of investment goods from the United States,impacting the output of the US economy.In contrast,the US monetary policy exerts a spillover effect primarily through finance.An increase in interest rates by the United States is associated with a notable outflow of capital from China.This leads to a rise in the financing costs for Chinese firms,consequently diminishing their overall net worth.In light of the financial accelerator effect,corporate external financing risk premium will continue to increase,exacerbating the downward trajectory of China’s output.

SMINER:Detecting Unrestricted and Misimplemented Behaviors of Software Systems Based on Unit Test Cases

Despite the advances in automated vulnerability detection approaches,security vulnerabilities caused by design flaws in software systems are continuously appearing in real-world systems.Such security design flaws can bring unrestricted and misimplemented behaviors of a system and can lead to fatal vulnerabilities such as remote code execution or sensitive data leakage.Therefore,it is an essential task to discover unrestricted and misimplemented behaviors of a system.However,it is a daunting task for security experts to discover such vulnerabilities in advance because it is timeconsuming and error-prone to analyze the whole code in detail.Also,most of the existing vulnerability detection approaches still focus on detecting memory corruption bugs because these bugs are the dominant root cause of software vulnerabilities.This paper proposes SMINER,a novel approach that discovers vulnerabilities caused by unrestricted and misimplemented behaviors.SMINER first collects unit test cases for the target system from the official repository.Next,preprocess the collected code fragments.SMINER uses pre-processed data to show the security policies that can occur on the target system and creates a test case for security policy testing.To demonstrate the effectiveness of SMINER,this paper evaluates SMINER against Robot Operating System(ROS),a real-world system used for intelligent robots in Amazon and controlling satellites in National Aeronautics and Space Administration(NASA).From the evaluation,we discovered two real-world vulnerabilities in ROS.

Promoting or inhibiting? Green fiscal policy and urban green innovation

Can green fiscal policy(GFP)incentivize the proliferation of urban green innovation(GI)and be a novel cata‐lyst for energy conservation and emission reduction within the“dual-carbon”framework?This paper explores GFP ramifications for GI by implementing a difference-in-differences model in a natural experiment centered on the“Comprehensive Demonstration City of Energy Saving and Emission Reduction Fiscal Policies”.The em‐pirical analysis reveals several key findings:(1)GFP exhibits significant augmentation at the GI level,with an observable evolutionary trend of increasing marginal impact.Importantly,these outcomes withstand rigorous robustness tests,including propensity score matching.(2)A mechanism analysis elucidates the dual impact of GFP on GI growth.GFP directly fosters GI advancement indirectly by promoting talent aggregation,expanding scientific and technological investment,and attracting external financial resources.(3)A heterogeneity analy‐sis demonstrates that GFP enhancement of GI is closely associated with the patent category,manifesting a dis‐tinct pattern of“eastern region>other regions”and“non-resource cities>resource cities”.The study’s em‐pirical findings offer crucial real-world insights to guide the Chinese government in formulating a more effi‐cient GFP and facilitating the expansion of innovative endeavors while contributing to environmentally sus‐tainable and high-value development.

Is pass‑through of the exchange rate to restaurant and hotel prices asymmetric in the US?Role of monetary policy uncertainty

This study examines the exchange rate pass-through to the United States(US)restaurant and hotel prices by incorporating the effect of monetary policy uncertainty over the period 2001:M12 to 2019:M01.Using the nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag(NARDL)model,empirical evidence indicates asymmetric pass-through of exchange rate and monetary policy uncertainty.Moreover,a stronger pass-through effect is observed during depreciation and a negative shock in monetary policy uncertainty,corroborating asymmetric pass-through predictions.Our results further show that a positive shock in energy prices leads to an increase in restaurant and hotel prices.Furthermore,asymmetric causality indicates that a positive shock in the exchange rate causes a positive shock to restaurant and hotel prices.We found feedback causal effects between positive and negative shocks in monetary policy uncertainty and positive and negative shocks in the exchange rate.Additionally,we detected a one-way asymmetric causality,flowing from a positive(negative)shock to a positive(negative)shock in energy prices.Therefore,these findings provide insights for policymakers to achieve low and stable prices in the US restaurant and hotel industry through sound monetary policy formulations.Highlights.The drivers of restaurant and hotel business in tourism destinations are examined.There is asymmetric pass-through of exchange rate and monetary policy uncertainty.A stronger pass-through is observed during appreciation and a negative shock to monetary policy uncertainty.There is asymmetric causality from positive shock in exchange rate to postive shock in restaurant and hotel prices.

Investment Promotion for Development Zones in China:Underlying Rationale and Policy Options

Development zones(DZs)have emerged as a significant policy initiative for promoting regional coordination and facilitating resources allocation.They serve as an organizational framework for fostering industrial agglomeration and driving high-quality development.DZs attract and accommodate resource factors,firms,and projects,thereby functioning as a central catalyst for economic growth.This study utilizes data collected at the“DZ,City and Countrycountry”levels through manual compilation,textual analysis,and innovation measurement.It aims to empirically examine the theoretical rationale and practical preferences for promoting business and investment in China’s DZs.This study considers several factors such as industry attribute,firm attribute,agglomeration theory,and industrial chain layout.Based on our research findings,DZs exhibit distinct preferences.First,industry attribute:DZs align with both national and regional strategic planning and adhere to the industrial endowments of the respective areas.Second,firm attribute:DZs prioritize attracting firms that are productive and innovative,and have an international presence,rather than those that primarily contribute to taxes and job creation.Third,DZs are guided by the agglomeration theory,which suggests that they prefer firms that generate strong agglomeration externalities.Lastly,DZs also consider the industrial chain layout,aiming to attract firms that not only align with their existing industrial strengths but also extend to the upstream and downstream supply chain links.These conclusions are substantiated by the performance of robustness test.The success of DZs in China can be attributed to the five key principles:Adherence to national and regional strategic planning,prioritizing the actual industrial foundation,incorporating the theory of agglomeration externalities,strengthening corporate competitiveness,and expanding industrial chains.

The role of land as the central piece to sustainable food systems:Lessons learned from Portugal national food-related policies

This paper discusses to what extent land is considered in food-related policies from a systemic perspective.Based on existing literature and international agendas priorities,we argue that access to and preservation of land for food along the food chain play a major role in sustainable food systems.To further explore this argument,we address the following question:Where does land stand in sectorial and national food-related policies?The mul-tiple dimensions and implications of food systems and the international agenda’s priorities namely the“Right to adequate Food”,“Food Sovereignty”and the“Right to Land”,were used as our conceptual framework.To work out how land is being considered in food sectorial policies,both quantitative and qualitative methods were applied to examine ten Portuguese national food-related policies.Results are showing a lack of consideration for land access and land preservation,needed all along the food chain to build a national sustainable food system.On the other hand,there is a gap between current grassroots priorities international agendas and food-related national policies.Such a situation strongly suggests that building a sustainable food system needs a clear food territorial perspective,still neglected,and shifting from sectorial policies towards a more integrated food system approach,that will include land as a central piece.