What Business Models Best Suit the Private Sector in Achieving the SDGs

Since the United Nations Sustainable development goals and the 2030 agenda were initiated in 2015,it has provided governments with a comprehensive blueprint to take action and meet the challenges of the world’s most pressing issues today.But the private sector also plays a large role in contributing to the problems highlighted in the SDGs and companies ranging from many different industries have increasingly become more involved in developing new and innovative solutions to solve the issues highlighted in the SDGs.Social and environmental accountability has been one of the areas that the private sector has been focusing its attention on.Companies in the corporate sector across all industries have adopted Environmental,Social,and Governance(ESG)regulations and targets,that aim to ensure ethical responsibility within private companies and promote transparency about their role in promoting social and environmental well-being across the world.This has allowed many companies to align their values and business models to emphasize the importance of the SDGs.Furthermore,innovative technologies are being utilized to ensure that public reports about the company’s practices are fully accountable and transparent to the public community and the overall private sector.For example,some private companies are using Natural Language Processing and Artificial Intelligence to analyze sustainable practices highlighted in the company’s ESG reports and see if they are genuine and free of greenwashing.This shows that technologies are playing a key role in promoting corporate accountability in terms of sustainability and encouraging private companies to adhere to the guidelines highlighted within the SDGs.Furthermore,private companies have adapted their business models to better promote innovations and collaboration with governments,other private companies as well as NGOs.Since the SDGs were designed to be interconnected and not siloed into their own different challenges,many companies who adopt the SDGs as a major sustainability framework will often develop partnerships and connections with other private sector groups so that they could develop new innovative solutions to meet the challenges posed by current global issues.This is especially prevalent in the clean energy sector,which aims to solve SDG 7 and SDG 13 both important in eradicating the issue of climate change.For example,the solar energy private sector has been currently collaborating with a wide range of universities and research institutions in order to develop solar panels that are more energy efficient and affordable for everyday consumers,while still allowing the private companies to generate significant returns in revenue.When private sector Industries adopt the measures highlighted in the SDGs,not only does it allow them to work with other industries to contribute to combating the world’s most pressing issues,but also maintains and improves their sources of revenue and profit.Overall,in order to meet the world’s most pressing challenges and issues,the private sector has increasingly adopted the SDGs in their business models,so that they would be able to better collaborate with others to develop innovative solutions and to bridge commitment to sustainable development throughout different industries.

The influencing mechanism of pro-environmental behaviors in the private domain on those in the public domain

From the perspective of regulatory focus theory,the influencing mechanism of pro-environmental behaviors(PEBs)in the private domain on behaviors in the public domain were analyzed by revealing the mediating ef‐fect of the status quo maintenance and the moderating effect of the prevention focus orientation.The study re‐sults show that PEBs in the private domain significantly promote individuals’PEBs in the public domain.The status quo maintenance partially mediates the relationship between PEBs in the private and public domains.Specifically,individuals with a high-level prevention focus orientation strengthen the relationship between the PEBs in the private domain and the status quo maintenance,and that of the PEBs in the public domain.There‐fore,individuals with a high-level prevention focus will more likely engage in subsequent PEBs in the public domain after their initial PEBs in the private domain due to their increased status quo maintenance degree.Policymakers and practitioners should pay attention to the prevention-repetition effect and use the PEBs in the private domain to promote those in the public domain.

Estimating the Monetary Value of Hours Lost to the Nigerian Public Healthcare System When Full-Time Government Employee Doctors Engage in Dual Practice

Background: Dual Practice (DP) allows full-time public sector doctors to concurrently offer the same clinical services in the private sector. The debate against this practice seems to be largely influenced by its potential to reduce the contracted hours in the public sector and shift attention to private work. Purpose: The purpose of this secondary research is to estimate the monetary value of hours lost to the Nigerian public healthcare system when full-time government employee doctors are engaged in private practice. It attempts to quantify the amount of resource outflow from the public system due to absences and lateness arising from competition for time between the public system’s contracted hours and private practice. Methods: Sensitivity analysis in Excel 2010 was used to calculate doctors’ hourly pay in the public sector using the 2015 Consolidated Medical Salary Structure for medical and dental officers in Nigeria’s federal public service. The parameters used for the calculation were the official 40-hour working week and the average monthly gross pay of doctors on different grade levels. Hypothetical scenarios of hours lost due to absences associated with DP were created. The value of different hypothetical hour losses by the percentage of doctors assumed to engage in dual practice across all doctor grade levels was then computed. Results: The estimated annual value of hours lost from dual practice to a single public tertiary care hospital was N4,851,754 or 15,855 USD (best case scenario) and N19,407,017 or 63,422 USD (worst case scenario) for the normal routine work and N1,800,133 or 5883 USD (best case scenario) and N3,600,266 or 11,766 USD (worst case scenario) for the on-call duty. Conclusion: The government may have been paying salaries for large volumes of work not rendered in the public sector. The overall financial impact of dual practice in the Nigerian public system might be negative.

Implementation of Tuberculosis and Human Immune-Deficiency Virus Programs Collaborative Services in Public-Private Mix Direct Observed Therapy Short Course Facilities in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: Cross Sectional Facility Based Mixed Method

Background: Ethiopia is one of the countries with the highest Human Immune-deficiency Virus (HIV) and Tuberculosis (TB) infection rates in the world. To improve TB/HIV Programs outcomes through Public Private Partnership Mix (PPM) approach was in place since 2006. But the status of its implementation has never been assessed. Methods: In this cross sectional study we employed mixed methods;we interviewed 272 tuberculosis patients, reviewed their records, and facilitated six in-depth interviews and four focus group discussions. The survey was conducted from January through March 2014 in Addis Ababa. Result: Among the interviewees 51.5% were males and the mean age was (32.7 ± SD 12.4) years. PPM facilities were offering HIV counseling for all TB patients;whereas 87.5% of TB patients have received HIV testing services. The TB/HIV co-infection rate was 45.4%. And only 72.2% TB/HIV patients were enrolled into chronic disease care services, 64.8% were put on Cotrimoxazol Preventive Therapy (CPT) and 50% were put on standard highly active anti-retro viral therapy (HAART) services. All PPM facilities don’t have IPT (Isoniazid Prophylaxis Therapy). The TB/HIV collaborative services strongly linked with the public health sector which was documented by developing inclusive work plan which create access to supplies and conducting joint supportive supervisions. However, the majorities of PPM facilities don’t have Multi-Disciplinary Team and lacks some essential supplies. The predictor for uptake of CPT were: being females TB patients was 86% lower than their counter part males (AOR = 0.14;95% CI = 0.04 - 0.92 P = 0.002), patients who has attended their TB/HIV care at private for the profit facilities were 84% lower than those attend in private not for profit facilities (AOR = 0.16;95% CI = 0.49 - 0.55, P = 0.003). Conclusions: The TB/HIV collaborative services at program level are stronger but only half of patients didn’t get the comprehensive TB/HIV collaborative services to achieve recommended quality of care. Strengthening the services and ensuring the availability of essential supplies was highly recommended.

Private Rights Absorbed in Quasi-public Goods: A Probe into the Relationship of Intellectual Property Rights and Standardization

Standards are a double edge sword and have come to be the main technical tariff and a window for market access to international trade. Standards are closely related to intellectual property, especially patents. The essence of intellectual property in standardization lies in the fact that standards are a kind of quasi-public good, while patents are essentially private property. The absorption of patents into standards creates an opportunity for a patent holder to take advantage by making a profit. To prevent the abuse of patents in standards by the patent holder, SDOs (Standards Development Organizations) have to adjust the disclosure policies of the standards in patents.

Pro-Environmental Civic Participation in the USA: The Effects of Social Media, Pro-Environmental Lifestyle and Climate Experiences

This study addresses the link between social media use and pro-environmental civic participation considering the moderating effect of social media affordances (public realm) on one hand, and lifestyle behaviors and climate change experiences (personal realm) on the other. We combine communication theory and behavioral models and using a sample of USA individuals (N = 7225) based on the American Trends Panel to predict variations in pro-environmental behavior. We show that social networks rather than information are more effective in predicting pro-environmental behavior. Moreover, a pro-environmental lifestyle as well as climate change experiences at the community level increase the likelihood for pro-environmental participation. However, affordances related to socioeconomic variations generate variations to pro-environmental civic participation. We conclude that in order to capture the depth of pro-environmental civic participation, it is necessary to theoretically and empirically bridge between private and public expressions of pro-environmental awareness.

The Pursuit of Unhappiness:The Ground Theory to Explain Why People Choose to Be Unhappy Rather Than Happy

This article presents a ground theory to explain why some individuals choose to be unhappy rather than happy,supported by empirical data collected from a sample of 750 professionals in Greece’s public and private sectors.We begin by reviewing the existing literature on happiness and well-being,highlighting the debate between hedonic and eudaimonic perspectives.We then introduce our research questions and rationale,and describe our methods,sample,and psychometric tools used to measure happiness and other variables of interest.Our results indicate that various factors,including cultural influences,past experiences,and personal values,contribute to individuals’pursuit of unhappiness.We conclude with a thorough discussion of our results and their implications for future research and interventions aimed at promoting well-being.

The Influence of Surrounding Ground Floor Facilities on the Use of Privately Owned Public Spaces in Seoul

Seoul’s privately owned public space (POPS) initiative has achieved quantitative success since its introduction in the early 1990s. However, POPSs have been frequently criticized for failing to correspond with the urban context in which they are created and are thus often underused. Association between surrounding urban context and the use of POPS is acknowledged, but specific elements of the urban context associated with the use of POPS and the extent of association are unclear. In this study, the relationship between constituent elements of 48 POPSs including the surrounding ground floor facility use and the use of those spaces in Seoul’s central business district was measured by multiple regression analysis. The results present empirical evidence of a substantial relationship between assembly, mercantile, and business facilities on ground floors of surrounding buildings and the use of POPS. As the surrounding ground floor facility use showed an overriding relationship with the use of POPS that possibly overshadowed the influence of secondary determinants, the 48 POPSs were divided into two groups: those surrounded by commercial facilities and those surrounded by business facilities. The use of POPSs surrounded by commercial facilities was associated with additional variables including the proximity to transit stations and crosswalks. Models using the sample of POPSs surrounded by business facilities were not statistically significant. Based on these results, this paper emphasizes the importance of creating POPSs in connection with desirable surrounding facilities. This study also suggests that anticipation of the usage patterns of POPSs and establishment of guidelines supporting those patterns may be viable by investigating preexisting urban contexts.

Emerging Challenges in the Completion of Construction Projects through Public Private Partnerships: Empirical Literature Review

The process of engaging private sector in the provision of public infrastructure can improve economic value in service delivery and enable the government to utilize the capabilities and expertise held by private sector. This has a positive impact on the public in terms of improving their well-being. This literature review attempts to compare the challenges encountered in implementation of PPP projects across the world, with a view to determining cross cutting challenges and recommendations for developing countries. A literature review was conducted for empirical studies focusing on construction projects. The studies are reviewed by analyzing the methodology used and conclusions made to identify the geographical study area, Public Private Partnership project financing model, emerging challenges and recommendation for future project management. The literature search was based on four keywords: construction projects, completion of construction projects, public private partnership, challenges in construction projects. Thus, a total of 11 empirical studies were identified for review in Europe, Asia and Africa. The review revealed that most risk factors affecting project completion can be categorized as human and organizational factors and unknown geotechnical conditions that were not known beforehand. Specifically, project owners’ interference was also attributable to delays with the delays having significant implications for project execution. Risks have great impact on the performance of construction projects because they affect their quality, time and cost. The general remedy to such potential risk factors is adoption of reliable prediction mechanisms which would estimate those factors using a probabilistic model that does not rely on expert judgments as they tend to be unreliable.

Legal Regulation of Public-Private Partnership in the Republic of Macedonia

This paper deals with a very important issue,which concerns the possibility of establishing a public-private partnership(PPP),through which link is made between the public and the private sector,for the benefit of both sectors,which is a very important opportunity for the realization of different infrastructure projects,and of course tourism facilities can be created in this form.Particular attention is given to the legal regulation of this issue in the Republic of Macedonia.It is mainly expressed through the provisions of the Law on PPP,which makes a clear distinction between the public and the private partner.Public partner is a legal entity that gives an agreement for the establishment of a public private partnership.Private Partner is a domestic or foreign legal entity or natural person or consortium with whom the public partner concludes an agreement for a PPP.

Strategic Engagement of Private Facilities to Increase Public-Private Mix (PPM) Contribution to Nigeria Tuberculosis Case Notification

Introduction: Finding the missing Tuberculosis (TB) cases remains the single most important priority for TB control in Nigeria. Between 66% - 92% of all cases of respiratory diseases including those with symptoms suggestive of TB are first seen byprivate health providers. Dependable, quality surveillance systems and notification are key roles in health services delivery, particularly as it is related to TB control. However, poor notification has been a challenge. This study was to assess the contribution of the public private mix (PPM) to Nigeria Tuberculosis national case notification. Methods: It was a national cross-sectional study. Data were extracted from the National database and reviewed. Private facilities were engaged in 2017 and assessed over 2018-2020. Interventions included: enrolling private practitioners (Private-For-Profit, Faith Based Organization, Private Medicine Vendors and Community Pharmacists), engaging a private standalone Laboratory for Gene Xpert testing within the network of private facilities, use of Mobile App for easy screening and reporting, instituting a HUB and spoke, and incentives to private providers for participating. Each private provider had a customized approach. Trend analysis was performed using Cochran-Armitage χ2 test for linear trends. Level of significance was at a p value of Results: Total case notification increased from 104,904 cases in 2017 to 138,591 in 2020. There were 2.0% increase in 2018, 13.0% in 2019 and 15.0% in 2020 (p < 0.001). PPM contribution to case notification increased from 10,699 cases in 2017 to 12,625 in 2018, then 17,250 in 2019 and 38,865 in 2020. There were 18.0% increase in 2018, 36.6% in 2019 and 125.3% increase in 2020 (p ). Conclusion: Effective engagement of the private sector in TB control efforts in Nigeria using a variety of approaches resulting in improved TB notification is possible. The National TB Programme should engage all private practitioners such that each practitioner will practice at least one TB service model.

ComplexTrans-Global Rail-Road Transportation System Economical and Clustered Individual and Individualised Public Transport also Prevents the Spread of Covid 19

Land transport can no longer meet the requirements.European transport can be described by these words−crowded motorways and cities,dangerous emissions,ubiquitous traffic accidents,delays,expensive railways.Solutions are being sought to transfer a large part of passengers and especially freight transport to(high-speed)rail,and efforts are moving towards electromobility,car-sharing,5G-connectivity,autonomous driving,MaaS(Mobility as a Service)-coordinated transport or hyperloop-type solutions.However,all these solutions have additional challenges and limitations.Solutions are not being searched where they really exist-in the mutual adaptation of road and rail vehicles and their deep cooperation.The ComplexTrans project shows that simply adapting the dimensions and functions of road and rail vehicles can eliminate(or at least significantly reduce)all the problems of existing land transport.The main features of the ComplexTrans system are sufficient parking spaces,reduction of urban and non-urban congestion,electric vehicles with unlimited range and cheaper than standard cars,cheaper and more accessible battery charging,“autonomous ride”,solving the overlap between passenger and freight rail transport and making it self-financing,transferring intercity freight transport to rail,replacing part of continental air transport and many others.The cost-effective and clustered individual transport and individualised public transport of the ComplexTrans system also bring very significant reductions in the risk of transmission of covid-19 and other contagious diseases during transport.