Identification of Critical Success Factors (CSFs) for Public Private Partnership (PPP) Construction Projects in Syria

The collaboration between the public and the private sectors is an important issue that has attracted the attention of most governments around the world. Public Private Partnership (PPP) is one important approach among many that meets this goal. Syria, in the present time, needs this type of contract to reduce the huge pressure on the treasury by attracting the required funds for developing, extending and operating many vital infrastructure projects. In fact, the best results obtained from PPP contracts depend on determining the Critical Success Factors (CSFs), which are influenced by the local strategies and related to the nature of each of these factors and its importance, without neglecting the nature of the project under consideration. This research aims at identifying the critical success factors that influence PPP projects in Syria based on previous similar studies supported by a structured questionnaire survey. It also attempts to uncover the current PPP practice and highlight the main obstacles that hinder its implementation in the Syrian construction industry. The identified CSFs are ranked according to their importance, for public and private sectors independently and collectively. This research ultimately aims at developing a new practical framework to help decision makers both in public and private sectors in selecting the optimum PPP contract for the construction industry in Syria taking the most important CSFs into account

Developing communication tools for resource management in western Alaska: an evaluation of the Western Alaska Landscape Conservation Cooperative coastal projects database

Master's Project (M.S.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2017Science communication is an essential component in decision-making for resource management in Alaska. This field aids in bridging knowledge gaps between scientists and diverse stakeholders. In 2014, the Western Alaska LCC developed a database cataloging the current coastal change projects in order to facilitate collaboration amongst researchers, managers, and the surrounding communities. In order to better inform similar outreach projects in other LCC regions, this MNRM project entailed an evaluation of this database between April and September 2016 and comprised a ten-question phone interview with the database participants and other involved personnel. Results from this evaluation can help refine the database to better suit its users' needs in the future, and it can also inform the creation of similar tools in other LCC regions. This project evaluated the use and usability of the Western Alaska LCC Coastal Change Database. First, I review coastal change and its impacts on Western Alaska. Next, I explore how institutions can respond to these changes and what resources they can use, including decision-support tools. I then provide examples of different decision-support tools (both in academic literature and in Alaskan projects) and discuss methodologies for evaluating their use. Interview results are then reported. The evaluation of the WALCC Coastal Change Database indicated that the tool was mostly used to enhance general understanding of the research occurring in the region. Respondents were less likely to use it for time-intensive tasks such as collaboration. Respondents also indicated that a place exists for tools like this database to flourish, but they need 1) persistent outreach, 2) a dynamic design, and 3) immediate benefits for users' time. In the future, regular updates and frequent outreach could improve the database's usability and help maintain its credibility

Information and communication on the designation and management of Natura2000 sites. Main Report 3: Towards Integrated Management

Following the selection of Special Protection Areas (SPA) and Sites of Community Importance (SCI) according to the Birds and the Habitats Directives, most European Member States are now in process of formally designating SPAs and SCIs as Special Areas of Conservation (SAC) or Natura2000 sites. These protected areas collectively form the European Union’s Natura2000 network. Member States are also selecting and implementing adequate management approaches and instruments to maintain and restore the favourable conservation status of protected species and habitat types and to prevent damage to the integrity of the sites. Both actions follow Articles 6.1 and 6.2 of the Habitats Directive. To help the Member States, the European Commission wishes to improve the knowledge and exchange of information and good practice both on the designation process of SPAs and SACs and on the establishment of conservation measures and instruments for these areas. Furthermore, the Commission wants to stress the importance of the sites and their management by involving a wider group of stakeholders in the development of so-called integrated management, in accordance with Article 2 of the Habitats Directive. The project ‘PREPARATORY ACTIONS- Lot 2: Information and communication on the designation and management of sites’ (tender ENV.B.2/SER/2007/0076) is intended to help the Commission to achieve these objectives. In this report we will elaborate on the concept of integrated management as an option for managing the sites. In the first part the meaning of integrated management will be explored. In a second part we give some examples of management approaches that we think illustrate best the concept of integrated management and its potential to achieve the Natura2000 goals

Community-oriented Service-Learning: A university experience for preventing cannabis abuse in vulnerable adolescents and young people

Learning integrated into community action promotes a more active citizenry. More specifically, service-learning (S-L) embedded into higher education can represent a big challenge yet also an opportunity to involve the whole university community in social and community development. This paper addresses this teaching method by identifiying and reviewing the different components that define S-L, that is: civic engagement, social responsibility, civic education, partnership, and reflection. The ways in which S-L can be introduced into the curriculum are explained, through detailing experiences already carried out in the teaching of psychology. Current available data on its efficacy in university education are analyzed. The focus now turns to a university experience involving Community Psychology students across Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees. During this experience, students on both programmes make their final-year projects to develop a prevention resource aimed at young people at high risk of problematic cannabis use. Ultimately, this program not only teaches students the principles of Community Psychology but also give them an opportunity to put them into practice

Opportunity-Rich Schools and Sustainable Communities: Seven Steps to Align High-Quality Education With Innovations in City and Metropolitan Planning and Development

Details challenges and steps for linking quality education and community and economic vitality, including establishing a shared vision and metrics, aligning investments for prosperity, and expanding access via transportation. Lists promising practices

Charting New Ground: The Ethical Terrain of Nonprofit Journalism

A different kind of revenue, one that has nothing to do with advertising or subscriptions, is playing a larger role in journalism today. Nonprofit funding, once largely the province of public broadcasting, is becoming an important source of support for a new cohort of non-commercial news organizations -- many of them digital natives -- and a growing number of commercial news publishers, which are partnering with nonprofit media and in some cases accepting direct grants themselves. But the ethics of taking grants from foundations and gifts from donors to produce news is still evolving and not without controversy. In New York, a major public TV station returned a large journalism grant for a documentary series because of the donor's connection to the topic being covered. In New Orleans, a nonprofit media organization's reporting about a university president may have cost the organization's its office space at the school. In Texas, a nonprofit established new transparency rules after criticism that it was not revealing enough about donors and event backers. The role of nonprofit media outlets also seems likely to grow. In Philadelphia, the new owner of city's major newspapers is transferring ownership of the publications to a new nonprofit organization, a case being closely watched to see if it might become a model. This report, by the American Press Institute, explores the ethical terrain of nonprofit journalism by examining the kinds of grants made, the nature of communication between funders and grantees, the existence of journalistic firewalls, and the prevalence of written guidelines. The report is based on two main elements: surveys of funders, nonprofit news organizations and commercial partners about a range of funding and ethical issues; and five essays commissioned by people from various media and foundation stakeholder groups that explore different areas of ethical complexity. In a second phase, the study will be followed by recommendations for ethical guidelines