Digital Decision-Support Tools (AI) for Sustainable and Equitable Policy Making

Addressing climate change necessitates coordinated efforts across multiple sectors, with agriculture representing a significant source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This requires sophisticated mitigation strategies at the farm level. Digital decision support tools (DSTs) tailored for this purpose play a crucial role in accelerating farm-level decarbonization. Ensuring the reliability and accuracy of these DSTs mandates thorough model robustness validation. This study validates a farm-level GHG accounting and decarbonization DST using Sobol and Morris global sensitivity analyses to evaluate output robustness and to identify key input parameters critical for reliable mitigation planning. Both sensitivity analysis methods provide a comprehensive assessment of the tool’s robustness and highlight parameters most influencing farm-level GHG emission outcomes. Results show consistent outcomes across sensitivity approaches, reinforcing confidence in the tool’s application for emission reduction planning. The sensitivity analysis results indicate that the tool delivers reliable outcomes across various sensitivity analysis methods, thereby enhancing confidence in its suitability for decarbonization planning. Furthermore, the findings of this study provide a methodological foundation for future advancements and expanded use within the agriculture sector. This supports the DST’s effectiveness in prioritizing mitigation strategies and planning emission reduction pathways at the farm scale, while providing a transparent template to guide future tool improvements and broader agricultural applications.

The rapid integration of e-health technologies-such as telehealth, mobile health (mHealth), and electronic health records-has transformed primary care delivery, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, this transformation has revealed significant vulnerabilities in data privacy and security, particularly in decentralized and resource-limited primary care settings. This scoping review aims to map current evidence on privacy and security concerns related to e-health technologies in primary care and to identify mitigation strategies and research gaps. A systematic search was conducted in PubMed, ACM, Scopus, and Web of Science for studies published between 2019 and 2024. Eligible studies addressed both privacy/security issues and e-health technology use in primary care. A two-stage screening process and full-text review were applied. Data were extracted and thematically synthesized. Fifty-two studies were included. E-health technologies examined included teleconsultations, patient portals, digital decision support tools, and artificial intelligence (AI)-based systems. Among included studies, telehealth accounted for 28%, mHealth and wearables 20%, electronic health records 16%, and AI applications 6%. Common concerns involved data breaches, insufficient encryption, lack of interoperability, consent ambiguity, and challenges in securing virtual consultations. Vulnerable groups-such as older adults and low-literacy populations-faced higher risks. Recommended strategies included privacy-by-design principles, secure infrastructure, user-centered design, clearer governance policies, provider training, and hybrid care models. Addressing privacy and security in e-health requires more than technical solutions. Equitable, safe, and trustworthy systems must incorporate legal, ethical, and human-centered approaches. In primary care, privacy must be positioned as a core element of digital health equity, not an optional enhancement.

DKI Jakarta is now a megapolitan area that has complex problems. The existence of regional autonomy has made it difficult to regulate and manage several sources of problems occurring in DKI Jakarta today such as Flooding, Water Resources Quality, Green Open Space, and Waste Management. The Government Cooperation Coordinating Board (BKSP) as a policy of synchronizing and coordinating development in DKI Jakarta and its satellite regions has proven ineffective in overcoming the problem. There are several models in urban governance such as the formation of coordinating bodies, special bodies, and metropolitan governance. this paper tries to provide recommendations for urban institutional governance in DKI Jakarta along with their implications for finance, functional assignment and government systems. Keywords: Urban Governance; Megapolitan Areas; Integrating of Authorities; Local Government

Biopharma Is Going Digital … Bit by Bit

Research on urban service delivery strategies lacks a multilevel approach able to account for the influence of authority structures on effective reform. A comparative analysis of efforts to increase recycled wastewater production in the United States (specifically California) and Australia is used to evaluate the effectiveness of centralized and decentralized urban governance systems in reform efforts and, more importantly, the institutional and political mechanisms underlying these differences. The results show that Australia, with a more centralized system, has more effectively set and implemented an urban water governance agenda that includes recycled urban wastewater. However, in both places local resistance has been a barrier to effective change. These findings demonstrate that reform capacity and policy success may differ between governance systems while common barriers and political dynamics persist.

Civil engineering today faces the challenge of responding to climate change, rapid urbanization, and the need to reduce environmental impacts. These factors drive the search for more sustainable approaches and the adoption of digital technologies. This article addresses three principal dimensions: advanced low-impact materials, resilient structural designs, and digital tools applied throughout the infrastructure life cycle. To this end, a systematic search was conducted considering studies published between 2020 and 2025, including both experimental and review works. The results show that materials such as geopolymers, biopolymers, natural fibers, and nanocomposites can significantly reduce the carbon footprint; however, they still face regulatory, cost, and adoption barriers. Likewise, modular, adaptable, and performance-based design proposals enhance infrastructure resilience against extreme climate events. Finally, digital tools such as Building Information Modeling, digital twins, artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, and 3D printing provide improvements in planning, construction, and maintenance, though with limitations related to interoperability, investment, and training. In conclusion, the integration of materials, design, and digitalization presents a promising pathway toward safer, more resilient, and sustainable infrastructure, aligning with the Sustainable Development Goals and the concept of smart cities.

The increasing prevalence of dementia coincides with a shrinking healthcare workforce, highlighting the importance of dementia prevention. Digital health tools are smart devices and connected equipment that improve health and can be used by individuals themselves, such as apps, platforms, or wearables. These tools can be used to empower people in the general population to take care of their brain health and dementia prevention. We aimed to exploratively investigate the intention to use and perceived satisfaction with MijnBreincoach, a Dutch digital tool for dementia prevention among the general public, and their associated variables. For this observational, cross-sectional study, data was gathered via convenience and purposive sampling using a questionnaire among cognitively unimpaired people and people with self-reported cognitive complaints. The questionnaire covered variables, including gender, age, employment situation, educational attainment, perceived financial scarcity, health literacy, dementia risk, motivation for dementia prevention-related behaviour change, digital proficiency, digital acceptability, and technology adoption. MijnBreincoach was included as a use case to assess the outcome variables ‘intention to use’ and ‘perceived satisfaction’. Analyses included exploratory descriptives, correlations, and robust backward stepwise regression using Generalized Linear Models with 5-fold cross-validation. Study participants (n = 673; mean age = 60.6 ± 13.9; female = 68%; education (low = 26.1%; medium = 35%; high = 38.9%)) had a mean intention to use of 3.1 ± 3 (min = 1; max = 5) and mean perceived satisfaction of 6.4 ± 2.4 (min = 0; max = 10). Educational attainment, digital proficiency, digital acceptability, technology adoption, and cues to action explain almost half (44%) of the variance in intention to use. For perceived satisfaction, 28.2% of the variance was explained by digital proficiency and technology adoption. In general, the Dutch general public has a moderate intention to use and perceived satisfaction with a digital tool for dementia prevention. Yet, large variation in scores was observed, which provides opportunity to tailor support for the use of these digital tools to different target groups.

This study aimed to characterize physical activity (PA) and sedentary behavior (SB) profiles in older gastrointestinal (GI) cancer survivors, assess their interest in interventions to modify these behaviors, and evaluate the acceptability of digital tools for delivering interventions to modify these behaviors. Survivors (M = 65years) from an outpatient survivorship clinic at the Penn State Cancer Institute completed a questionnaire during a clinic appointment. Most survivors failed to attain the recommended level of PA (79%) or exceeded an average of 8h of daily SB (42%). Access to internet and text messaging capabilities were high (70%), yet few survivors had access to smartphones or tablets (< 40%) or reported interest in using digital tools to improve PA or reduce SB (< 30%). Digital PA and SB interventions were more acceptable to younger survivors, survivors reporting more SB, and survivors engaging in more PA. The monetary value ascribed to digital health interventions did not differ as a function of mode of delivery (i.e., text messages, web, e-mail, tablet computer apps, or smartphone apps). Older GI cancer survivors can benefit from interventions to increase PA and decrease SB. Interest in such interventions was moderate and the acceptability of digital health tools for these interventions was limited. At the present time, behavioral interventions for older GI cancer survivors should not be delivered exclusively through digital tools and strategies to improve adoption of various technologies should be implemented when using these tools to modify PA and SB.

Despite state actors’ uses of informal practices in urban governance, their prominence in changing policy is little acknowledged by scholars. Their effects are even less examined. Such informal practices inextricably link with and impact on formal ones, and have consequences for the state and citizens, especially at the local level. This article presents three cases of contested urban governance from Johannesburg’s post-apartheid city administration. The cases reveal pivotal informal practices in response to challenges encountered in local urban governance, informed by multiple complex and (sometimes absent) formal practices, contexts, timings and players. Responding to different pressures, local-level state actors deliberately applied different sorts of informal practices. These pressures included the need to cope with immediate problems, conflictual relationships, political agendas, lobbying groups, competing priorities and resource limitations. The effects of informal practices on the local government’s organisational capability and citizens’ social inclusion are evident and varied. Findings imply that the state’s informal practices and their effects shape governance in ways that undermine or uphold democratic ideals, thus warranting more mindful scrutiny than given so far.

Most of the world's population lives in urban areas, and the population concentration in urban centres significantly affects water flows and ecological functions. We consider urban water as a smaller water cycle within the global water cycle. It thus has ecological and social characteristics. As we face the so-called water crisis, comprehending urban water use, delivery, and management is essential. Yet prior to 2005, limited scholarly attention was directed towards understanding the nuances and challenges of urban water governance. This has now shifted, with urban water governance regarded as a critical field of research. But the field remains fragmented, which limits knowledge cumulation and ability to deal with urban water governance issues. We aim at clarifying the field to overcome this difficulty and ease a systemic understanding of urban water governance. We depict urban water governance as a particular and generic object. To present its multiple dimensions and challenges, we define the generic dimensions, i.e., water, urban, and governance, to then focus on associations of generic dimensions.

This paper examines modern digital tools that facilitate the management of the life cycle of energy-efficient buildings. It describes how the integration of sensor systems, cloud services, analytical platforms, and digital twins creates a unified management system that enables buildings to autonomously respond to environmental changes. Such solutions ensure continuous information exchange across all stages – from design to operation – allowing for timely detection of deviations, planning of maintenance activities, and forecasting of energy consumption. A model is proposed that integrates three core processes – monitoring, modeling, and digital support. Monitoring enables real-time tracking of technical systems, recording of indoor climate indicators, energy consumption levels, temperature, humidity, and equipment performance. Modeling allows the analysis of collected data, the development of forecasts, evaluation of energy efficiency solutions, and the creation of energy consumption scenarios that account for external factors. Digital support, in turn, ensures a continuous connection between the physical building and its virtual counterpart – the digital twin, which provides opportunities for what-if analysis and data-driven decision-making based on accurate simulations. Particular emphasis is placed on the advantages of analytical software such as Power BI, Tableau, and Qlik, which enable data integration from multiple sources, the creation of interactive control dashboards, and the visualization of complex processes in a clear and accessible format for both managers and technical specialists. Based on these tools, a Key Performance Indicator (KPI) system has been developed, encompassing energy, technical, economic, and environmental dimensions of building performance. The use of digital technologies makes it possible to transition from reactive to proactive management, where the system not only responds to events but also anticipates them. This approach helps reduce energy costs, extend equipment life cycles, enhance user comfort, and ensure the stable operation of buildings. Furthermore, it contributes to shaping a new philosophy of construction management focused on sustainability, energy conservation, and effective interaction between humans, technology, and the environment. Digital tools thus become not merely instruments of automation but the foundation of intelligent building management in the digital age.

Purpose: The study investigated the relationship between Monitoring and Evaluation systems and performance of Urban local governments in Jinja District of Eastern Uganda. Specifically, the study focused on establishing the relationship between M&amp;E systems inputs, M&amp;E systems process, M&amp;E systems outputs and performance of Urban local governments in Jinja District.&#x0D; Methodology: The study used a cross sectional study design employing both qualitative and quantitative research approaches. The population (112) of the study consisted of the Town clerks, Political leaders and Town council employees to which simple random sampling was applied. Quantitative data was collected from a sample of 76 respondents using researcher administered questionnaire. Responses were rated on a 5-Likert scale and analyzed for descriptive and inferential statistic using SPSS software presented in tables. Qualitative data was collected from 10 key informants using interview guides analyzed using content analysis and presented as text.&#x0D; Findings: Correlational analysis revealed that a significant and a strong positive linear relationship between performance of urban local governments in Jinja District and M&amp;E systems inputs (r= 0.730**, p &lt; 0.05), M&amp;E system process (r= 0.814**, p &lt; 0.05) and M&amp;E system outputs (r= 0.739**, p &lt; 0.05). Regression analysis showed a significant and positive influence of M&amp;E system inputs (β=-.203, p=.001, &lt;0.05), M&amp;E system process (β=.071, p=.001, &lt;0.05) and M&amp;E system outputs (β=.315, p=.000, &lt;0.05) on the performance of urban local governments in Jinja District.&#x0D; Unique contribution to theory, practice and policy: There are weaknesses in the M&amp;E systems in urban local governments in Jinja District in terms of failure to track results despite the huge investments in area of M&amp;E. Therefore, there is need to strengthen the M&amp;E systems of urban local governments in Jinja district by; placing trained M&amp;E human resource; developing M&amp;E frameworks and developing costed M&amp;E work plans Future studies should examine the perception of local government employees on the institutionalization of M&amp;E system in the public sector of Uganda.

In an era where the resilient planning of cities is mainly done by a multitude of digital tools for thinking, predicting, building, and observing, the data used remains globally in a static condition[1], however the city and its environment are in a perpetual state of change and must include dynamic data for being as close to reality as possible[2].Coming from the industrial world, the emerging concept of the "Digital Twin" (DT) is positioned as a tool linking the 3D digital model and the implementation of continuous and dynamic information (from sensors among others), allowing to introduce the notion of piloting and maintenance of doubled physical objects[3]. Applied at different scales and functions the "DT" becomes a unique database allowing both the simulation of different climate risk scenarios and the real-time assessment of the existing environment[4].Based on the existing literature[5] and on experimental projects such as European or National "DT" projects designed for resilient planning such as LEAD, DUET or DIAMS[6], this communication will first focus on the analysis of different dynamic and static environmental indicators used (definitions and management of the data). In a second step, we will concentrate on the different actors of these "DT" by questioning their expectations and needs (visualizations and simulations of the different impacts due to climate change as well as the maintenance of real subjects). But also by analyzing their processes of use to understand the advantages and the limits noticed during their experimentations. Finally, we will ask ourselves how this tool could evolve thanks to the feedback from these tests.The aim is to evaluate the role that the "DT" can have on the dynamic and resilient planning of territories and conversely the impacts of programming on the use of this tool.&amp;#160;Keywords: Digital Twin, dynamic planning, urban resiliency R&amp;#233;f&amp;#233;rences&amp;#160;: [1] Ramalho, Cristina E., et Richard J. Hobbs. &amp;#8220;Time for a Change: Dynamic Urban Ecology&amp;#8221; Trends in Ecology &amp; Evolution 27, no 3 (2012): 179&amp;#8209;88. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2011.10.008. [2] Chunyang He et al., &amp;#8220;Alternative Future Analysis for Assessing the Potential Impact of Climate Change on Urban Landscape Dynamics&amp;#160;&amp;#8221;, Science of The Total Environment 532 (1 novembre 2015): 48&amp;#8209;60, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.05.103. [3] A. Fuller, Z. Fan, C. Day and C. Barlow, "Digital Twin: Enabling Technologies, Challenges and Open Research," in IEEE Access, vol. 8, pp. 108952-108971, (2020), doi: 10.1109/ACCESS.2020.2998358. [4] Guillaud, M., &amp; Ch&amp;#233;reau, M. (2022). "3. Des outils techniques accessibles et des donn&amp;#233;es ouvertes ". In Inventer les villes durables (p. 119&amp;#8209;133). Dunod. https://www.cairn.info/inventer-les-villes-durables--9782100834204-p-119.htm [5] Shahat, Ehab, Chang T. Hyun, et Chunho Yeom. &amp;#171;&amp;#160;City Digital Twin Potentials: A Review and Research Agenda&amp;#160;&amp;#187;. Sustainability 13, no 6 (janvier 2021): 3386. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13063386. [6] &amp;#160;&amp;#160; Objectives Lead Project. (2023). https://www.leadproject.eu/objectives/ &amp;#160;About digital urban european twins. (s.&amp;#160;d.). DUET. https://www.digitalurbantwins.com/digitaltwindemo &amp;#160;Planification urbaine pour les collectivit&amp;#233;s pilotes DIAMS. (s.&amp;#160;d.). https://www.airdiams.eu/planification-urbaine-pour-les-collectivites-pilotes

ABSTRACTThe major objective of this introductory article is to set the wider policy context for the present special issue with a particular focus to examine how the massification and internationalisation of higher education has taken place in Asia. More specifically, this introduction highlights the major arguments of articles being adopted in this issue. The contributions have been selected and gathered from presentations in various regional and international research events held in the last few years. Having experienced the growing pressure for enhancing their global competitiveness, governments in Asia are determined to expand their higher education systems to provide more learning opportunities for addressing pressing educational demand, putting additional resources to internationalising student experience and raising the research profile in order to quest for regional education hub and world-class university status. However, the rapid expansion of higher education has indeed created more university graduates than the labour market could fully absorb. It has become problematic when the global market currently experiences economic stagnation. This special issue sets out against such a political economy context to examine issues related to changing labour conditions, youth mobility and challenges for education and urban governance.

Citizen participation in urban governance guarantees effective way of making government more accountable and responsive, minimizing cost, and changing the system of deprivation to broad-based social inclusion. In Nigeria, citizen participation is significantly losing its priorities, despite drastic political and economic reform in the planning legislation from the colonial period to post independent era, especially in traditional cities. For traditional city which requires a relatively high number of redevelopment projects, citizen participation as a component of decision making process, is more complex and difficult due to ineffective level of participation. This could be as a result of challenges of citizen empowerment in participatory process. Most studies on citizen participation still failed to examine empowerment level of citizens in the practices of urban governance in traditional cities. This study, therefore aims at assessing citizen participation in urban governance by examining empowerment level of citizens in traditional city of Bida, Nigeria. Questionnaires were administered using random sampling method to select participants The findings reveal that, tokenism dominates level of empowerment which is insignificant to guarantee effective citizen participation in urban governance. This study suggests areas to improve citizen empowerment and invariably could be used by the practitioners and law makers of public participation to facilitate citizens’ involvement in urban governance in the traditional cities of African countries, like Bida-Nigeria.