Abstract
This article classifies and theorizes the strategies of divergence that local authorities employ when confronting the discretionary spaces offered by domestic migration law. We propose a ...distinction between strategies that are either within or outside the perceived boundaries of the law and those that adopt an explicit or an implicit approach to positioning, thus harnessing or downplaying the communicative potential of the law. Based thereon, we introduce a fourfold typology of strategies of divergences that include defiance, dodging, deviation, and dilution. This typology was developed and refined based on field research in local authorities in Greece, Turkey, Italy, and The Netherlands. The case material also leads us into a preliminary exploration of which types of cities and conditions may lead to the adoption of one strategy over another. As such, this article draws attention to the relevance of law within multi-level migration governance and to the meaning of legal ambiguity and discretion as shaped by law and legal interpretation. The strategies of divergence that mould discretionary spaces, in turn, either mitigate or exacerbate legal uncertainty and should be considered a significant factor to account for change in migration governance.
•Digital entrepreneurship stimulates the formation of bonds and local networks, attracting investment and people.•This study lies in identifying the digital processes adopted by local authorities ...associated with their governance.•Strategic planning of cities supported by the axes of intelligence and sustainability.•A change imposed on cities means that good governance practices must be the starting point.
Digital entrepreneurship is an inseparable axis of technological evolution and digitalization experienced in the twenty-first century, so the role played by the technological and related sectors requires the relevant investment of all economic and non-economic actors in places with administrative and political powers. Like any kind of entrepreneurship, digital entrepreneurship stimulates the formation of bonds and local networks, attracting investment and people. In addition, it stimulates the fight against depopulation in rural areas, such as the case studied here. The objective is to study local authorities’ level of digitalization and their capacity to improve their technological and digital information systems, through a qualitative methodology, specifically the case study method. The results show the relevance of local actors becoming digital entrepreneurs, as this impacts on economic development and is a means to counter the negative aspects of geographical isolation verified in recent years.
Household waste recycling rates vary significantly both across and within regions of the UK. This paper attempts to explain the variation by using a new data set of waste recycling rates and policy ...determinants for all of the UK's 434 local authorities over the period 2006Q2 to 2008Q4. Our results suggest that the method of recycling collection chosen by policy makers is an important factor influencing the recycling rate. We also find an inverse relationship between the frequency of the residual waste collection and the recycling rate.
► This paper attempts to explain the variation in recycling rates across the UK. ► The method of recycling collection is an important factor influencing the recycling rate. ► Inverse relationship between the frequency of the residual waste collection and recycling rate.
This article reports on a study of local online information for carers in England. It sets this in the context of the Care Act 2014 which gave local authorities (LAs) specific responsibility for ...providing information to carers. The study selected four varied case study LAs and explored the content of their websites to see what carers might find available and accessible. We found the LA websites differed, with some LAs making use of local voluntary sector groups to be the main information resource. Mentions of NHS services for carers appeared often less comprehensive and there was scant mention of private social care providers as being sources of advice and information. The article suggests that social workers should be careful of referring carers to LA websites without checking that they are sufficiently meaningful to the carer and accessible to the individual. Care is also needed in not taking internet accessibility for granted.
•British local authority staff understand climate science better than in 2003.•But budget cuts mean local government undertake very little adaptation action.•Climate change is a much lower priority ...compared to short-term statutory duties.•Adaptation goes farthest when its rebranded as resiliency to extreme weather.•Barriers to adaptation lie in a lack of political support & institutional capacity.
Local government has a crucial role to play in climate change adaptation, both delivering adaptation strategies devised from above and coordinating bottom-up action. This paper draws on a unique longitudinal dataset to measure progress in adaptation by local authorities in Britain, comparing results from a national-scale survey and follow-up interviews conducted in 2003 with a second wave of research completed a decade later. Whereas a decade ago local authority staff were unable to find scientific information that they could understand and use, we find that these technical-cognitive barriers to adaptation are no longer a major problem for local authority respondents. Thanks to considerable Government investment in research and science brokerage to improve the quality and accessibility of climate information, local authorities have developed their adaptive capacity, and their staff are now engaging with the ‘right’ kind of information in assessing climate change risks and opportunities. However, better knowledge has not translated into tangible adaptation actions. Local authorities face substantial difficulties in implementing adaptation plans. Budget cuts and a lack of political support from central government have sapped institutional capacity and political appetite to address long-term climate vulnerabilities, as local authorities in Britain now struggle even to deliver their immediate statutory responsibilities. Local authority adaptation has progressed farthest where it has been rebranded as resiliency to extreme weather so as to fit with the focus on immediate risks to delivering statutory duties. In the current political environment, adaptation officers need information about the economic costs of weather impacts to local authority services if they are to build the business case for adaptation and gain the leverage to secure resources and institutional license to implement tangible action. Unless these institutional barriers are addressed, local government is likely to struggle to adapt to a changing climate.
•Most LAs use fortnightly collection and collect PTTs and plastic bottles.•The contribution of KS collection scheme dominates over BSs and HWRCs.•Nearly a third of the LAs reported insufficient or ...poor data.•Only a mere 16% of the plastics collected are finally sent to reprocessors.•A recycling rate of approximately 23% was calculated.
The European Commission (EC) recently introduced a ‘Circular Economy Package’, setting ambitious recycling targets and identifying waste plastics as a priority sector where major improvements are necessary. Here, the authors explain how different collection modalities affect the quantity and quality of recycling, using recent empirical data on household (HH) post-consumer plastic packaging waste (PCPP) collected for recycling in the devolved administration of England over the quarterly period July-September 2014. Three main collection schemes, as currently implemented in England, were taken into account: (i) kerbside collection (KS), (ii) household waste recycling centres (HWRCs) (also known as ‘civic amenity sites’), and (iii) bring sites/banks (BSs). The results indicated that: (a) the contribution of KS collection scheme in recovering packaging plastics is higher than HWRCs and BBs, with respective percentages by weight (wt%) 90%, 9% and 1%; (b) alternate weekly collection (AWC) of plastic recyclables in wheeled bins, when collected commingled, demonstrated higher yield in KS collection; (c) only a small percentage (16%) of the total amount of post-consumer plastics collected in the examined period (141 kt) was finally sent to reprocessors (22 kt); (c) nearly a third of Local Authorities (LAs) reported insufficient or poor data; and (d) the most abundant fractions of plastics that finally reached the reprocessors were mixed plastic bottles and mixed plastics.
Abstract
Gambling harms are disproportionately experienced among disadvantaged groups and as such, adult social care (ASC) practitioners are well-placed to identify and support affected individuals. ...There exists no evidence-based ‘introductory’ question for practitioners to identify those at risk of gambling harms, which includes family and friends (‘affected others’). To develop an ‘introductory’ question for use in English ASC, we conducted a scoping review that identified fifteen potential questions. Questions were refined through expert panel review groups (n = 13), cognitive interviewing (n = 18), test–retest reliability checks (n = 20) and validity testing (n = 2,100) against gold-standard measures of problem gambling behaviour. The question development process produced two questions suitable for testing in local authority (LA) ASC departments. These were (i) ‘Do you feel you are affected by any gambling, either your own or someone else’s?’ and (ii) ‘If you or someone close to you gambles, do you feel it is causing you any worries?’ Each had good face validity, strong test–retest reliability, correlated highly with well-being measures and performed reasonably against validated measures of problem gambling. These two questions are currently being piloted by ASC practitioners in three English LAs to assess their feasibility for adoption in practice.
Gambling harms are recognised as a serious problem for which a public health approach is recommended. Harms may be experienced by the gambler, their family and friends, and the wider community. Adult social care services within English local authorities (LAs) have been suggested as an appropriate location to ask people about gambling-related harms, offer brief advice and signpost to support services. No evidence-based ‘introductory’ question exists for use in these settings for practitioners to identify both gamblers and affected others at risk of gambling harms. We report findings from a National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR)-funded study that developed and piloted an ‘introductory’ question and trained staff about gambling harms within three LAs in England. This article focuses on the development of the ‘introductory’ question, and testing it for reliability, validity and comprehensibility in readiness for testing in three LA settings. Findings regarding the testing of the question in practice are reported elsewhere. This project was co-developed with People with lived experience partners (Betknowmore UK), GamCare (who delivered the training) and LA practitioners.
Two aspects have been absent from the analyses of public sports policies in Portugal: the participation of local authorities in a comparative way and the distribution of resources by type of ...expenditure. In this sense, the present study aimed to analyze the aggregate expenditure municipalities from the Portuguese mainland, considering their evolution, the type of expenditure and the regional issue. The descriptive study used the investments made by municipalities. Secondary data were obtained from the National Institute of Statistics of Portugal (INE). The main results were: there was an increase in the volume of resources; there was a change in the pattern of spending in relation to the type of expenditure; the regions were responsible for unequal shares of resources and showed a distinction in the spending pattern by type of expenditure
Jaff discusses the predicament of Iraq which is facing conflict, environmental destruction, and climate change. According to the United Nations (UN), climate change refers to 'long-term shifts in ...temperatures and weather patterns due to natural and human activities'. Countries in conflict have neither the capacity nor the political will to deal with climate change and its consequences. Iraq, one of the most vulnerable states to suffer the effects of climate change is a case in point. Decades of conflict, political upheavals and weak governance have destroyed the country's infrastructure and environment Security and political challenges are more urgent priorities for local authorities than dealing with the risks and consequences from environment destruction and climate change in the longer term.
Residents' engagement in pro-environmental behavior is crucial in tackling the environmental challenges that cities face. Research shows that residents who are attached to their place of residence ...are more likely to engage in pro-environmental behavior and, consequently, place attachment has been prescribed as a pro-environmental policy. However, previous research has not explored which specific aspect of place attachment is most effective at promoting different types of pro-environmental behavior. Furthermore, in the context of big cities which typically host both natives and migrants, different resident groups may be attached to their places of residence due to different reasons. This implies that different types of place attachment policies may be required for each group of residents. Using survey data in Beijing, China, we find that the social bonding dimension of place attachment is most effective at promoting pro-environmental behavior and that this relationship is stronger for native born residents and those with longer residency length. We also find that the effect of place social bonding is stronger for high-effort than low-effort pro-environmental behavior. Our findings have implications for the design and implementation of place attachment policies for local authorities in Beijing and in other big cities where different groups of residents cohabit. Generally, our research results imply that place attachment policies that focus on promoting social connections amongst urban residents to their place of residence will be most effective.
•The effect of the dimensions of place attachment varies across types of pro-environmental behaviors.•Place social bonding promotes high-effort pro-environmental behaviour the most.•Residency characteristics influence place social bonding which then influences high-effort pro-environmental behaviors.
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