International Journal of Human Capital in Urban Management

Abstract BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: In the context of rapid urbanization, Algerian cities face significant challenges, particularly in resource management, urban mobility, and enhancing citizens' quality of life. This article examines the emergence of the smart city concept as a promising solution to address these urgent issues. By leveraging information and communication technologies, this innovative model aims to create more efficient urban environments.
METHODS: The study focuses on the smart city concept, particularly its application in Algeria. A comprehensive analysis of the technological, economic, social, and political dimensions was conducted to identify the factors that have impeded the effective implementation of urban modernization reforms in the country. The research included a survey, supplemented by interviews with key industry players, providing qualitative data on the obstacles encountered.
FINDINGS: The analysis reveals that, while some major cities have made significant progress, the implementation of smart city initiatives in Algeria remains limited and often ineffective. Key obstacles identified include insufficient technological infrastructure, significant economic constraints, low levels of citizen participation, and political challenges. These factors have hindered the sustainable and inclusive development of Algerian cities, thus limiting the potential of information and communication technologies to improve citizens' quality of life.
CONCLUSION: In summary, this study offers insights into the necessary steps to harness the potential of smart cities for the benefit of Algerian society. To overcome the identified challenges, it is essential to adopt an integrated approach that promotes collaboration among various stakeholders, strengthens infrastructure, and encourages citizen engagement. By doing so, Algeria could not only enhance urban management but also promote sustainable and inclusive development, which is essential for addressing the challenges posed by rapid urbanization.

Abstract BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: This study investigates the disposal practices of residential Bio-Medical Waste and the challenges faced by urban local bodies in managing such waste in Himachal Pradesh, India. With a notable rise in home-based healthcare, especially post-COVID-19, households are generating increasing amounts of waste from activities such as self-medication, chronic illness management, and the use of disposable medical items and personal protective equipment. Despite this trend, most households mix Bio-Medical Waste with general municipal waste due to limited awareness, the absence of segregation systems, and a lack of designated disposal facilities. This poses significant risks to public health, particularly for waste workers and the broader community, and strains municipal waste management infrastructure. Urban authorities, constrained by inadequate policies, insufficient infrastructure, and limited financial and technical capacity, struggle to address this emerging challenge.
METHODS: The study utilized a mixed-methods approach, including household surveys, field observations, and stakeholder interviews across Himachal Pradesh state and the urban local bodies of various districts. In this study, the regression analysis and factor analysis tools are used to achieve the research objectives
FINDINGS: The results revealed that an urgent need for clear policy frameworks, as 72% of ULBs lacked specific guidelines for residential Bio-Medical Waste, and no penalties for improper disposal in 85 percent of cases. Public education, dedicated Bio-Medical Waste collection systems, staggering 68 percent of surveyed households admitted to mixing Bio-Medical Waste with general garbage due to a lack of awareness (42%), absence of dedicated bins (35%), convenience (23%), households found it easier to dispose of Bio-Medical Waste with regular trash and health risks to workers engaged in municipal solid waste management in urban areas, 89% of workers are encountered to Bio-Medical Waste daily, with 62% reporting injuries (needle-sticks, infections), in 28% of cases, no formal training or personal protective equipment was provided, and only 10% of workers are aware of the hazards of Bio-Medical Waste.
CONCLUSION: The research provides valuable insights for policymakers and urban managers to design more resilient and inclusive Bio-Medical Waste management strategies for sustainable urban health governance.

Abstract Human Resource Architecture, one of the components of organizational architecture, is the process of identifying and combining the appropriate elements of human resource management to create and present a vision of human resources in the organization. Organization in which there is a coordination between employee behavior, human resource systems, resource activities, and the mission and goals of the organization. Governance is also an economic and political means of exercising power in a country's economic, political and social institutions, or as a set of traditions and institutions in which a sovereign operates, or for managing all relationships, and is defined as an executive term at all levels. The purpose of this study is to investigate the architectural performance of human resource management in municipalities.
METHODS: This study is quantitative and developmental research. In this study, non-interactive method and thematic analysis of documents were used. Initially, 30 documents were identified and examined, and then the text reading table using the Scopus index identified 7 fully related documents. Next, three open, axial and selective encodings are performed on the specified documents. MAXQDA2020 software was used for data analysis. Then, to verify the validity of the identified components of the cryptographic output, its validation was performed using a distribution of 75 questionnaires among middle and senior managers of the Municipality of Tehran, using LISREL software.
FINDINGS: Considering the coding, finally, human resource architecture with a governance approach in four dimensions (partnership and network governance; contractual and joint governance from above; outsourcing and job-oriented governance and hierarchical and knowledge-based governance) and 15 components of the category was classified. In partnership and network governance, the most repetition in component-related documents emphasizes on joined-up management (5 repetitions) and in contract and partnership governance, the most repetition is related to the commitment and accountability components (5 repetitions) and outsourced and job-oriented government with private component. (6 repetitions) and hierarchical and knowledge-based governance with an internalization component (4 repetitions). Based on the findings of confirmatory factor analysis, only the internalization component (T-Value <1.96) was not approved in the Municipality of Tehran.
CONCLUSION: From the coding, it is finally concluded that the human resource architecture with a four-way governance approach  of the partnership and network architecture; contractual and joint governance from above; Outsourcing and job-oriented architectures as well as hierarchical and knowledge-based architectures have  the most iterations in the reviewed literature.