Suchergebnisse

Green Public Procurement (GPP) is defined as a process of contracting products, services, and works with the least possible damage to the environment during their life cycle. In order to improve the knowledge about GPP, a study of the use of environmental tendering criteria in the Spanish public construction sector has been performed. The results of this study show that the use of environmental criteria in Spanish public sector construction procurement is low in comparison to a certain group of countries, known as "Green 7", in the European Union. Environmental criteria is the fourth criterion in importance, but its weight in the global of the process is much lower than other criteria such as price, memory of the construction process and the delivery time. National administrations use environmental criteria more frequently because they have more resources and staff training about environmental issues. Environmental criteria are more used in the tendering of civil projects and works whose budget exceeds ten million euro due to the environmental impact of these kind and/or size of projects.

PurposeSustainable housing and community recovery processes in the aftermath of tsunamis have to cope with direct impacts, such as fatalities, destroyed buildings, and loss of economic assets, as well as indirect impacts caused by shortcomings in recovery management. Recent studies on post‐tsunami recovery tend to focus on direct impacts, ranging from monitoring to prevention studies. Less attention is paid to recovery as a complex bundle of multi‐agent processes causing subsequent problems.Design/methodology/approachThe paper presents results from field studies evaluating post‐tsunami recovery processes in Sri Lanka against the concept of sustainable housing and community recovery. Semi‐structured observations and interviews were conducted on eight sites in the south‐western part of Sri Lanka during field visits 2005‐2006. The research involved beneficiaries and other citizens, representatives from government and administration, field workers (non‐governmental organizations), and scientists.FindingsEmpirical findings identify subsequent problems for specific capital forms, across different capital forms, and across different administrative levels. Moreover, critical issues refer to conceptualizing temporal horizons, comprehensive planning and decision making, stakeholders' involvement, and institutional embedding of recovery processes.Originality/valueAgainst this empirical background, the paper indicates improvement potentials referring to literature on comprehensive and adaptive planning to address the sustainable recovery challenges identified. The paper provides guidance for researchers, decision makers, planners, and field workers engaged in post‐disaster sustainable development.

This article was published by IET under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) licence. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this licence may be seen at http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode ; Purpose Diminishing local government budgets and the need to reduce highway works activities necessitate cost effective and efficient processes. This paper investigates streamlining road works administrative processes to enhance coordinated working at Derby City Council. Design/methodology/approach Case study research of a local authority was undertaken using Business Process Mapping. Specifically, Swimlane analysis enabled re-engineering of business processes from design stage, to works permit issuance. Process improvement recommendations were validated by nine industry experts through a focus group and semi-structured interviews. A logic map was developed for transferability to other Councils, identifying key attributes for a successful administrative road works management process. Findings Research revealed inherent silo working and processes built around fragmented IT systems creating process inefficiency. Validation found numerous practices and management styles were culturally embedded and common across Councils. Peer reviewed recommendations are made to improve working practices, including improving IT systems, removing process bottlenecks, and training staff. Research implications Whilst road works management policy is generally under-researched, it's strategic and negative impacts are widely acknowledged. This study highlights the day-to-day operational problems which are interconnected to the strategic impact, bridging an important gap in knowledge, as well as adding to Business Process Re-engineering literature. Originality/novelty The research adds to a limited of body of road works management policy research, and also presents a high-level logic map for Councils to adopt as appropriate.

This book presents a summary and synthesis of two decades of research on biogeochemical cycling and related processes in Walker Branch Watershed, a mixed deciduous watershed near Oak Ridge, Tennessee, which is one of only a few long-term, intensive ecosystem studies in the United States aimed at the quantification of land-water interactions in a forested landscape. In addition to a comprehensive site description, the book pulls together for the first time results from this study in the areas of forest meteorology, atmospheric deposition, hydrology, carbon dynamics and productivity, terrestrial nutrient cycling, stream chemistry and ecology, and mathematical modeling. The data sets obtained allow extrapolation to eastern deciduous forests in general and provide scientists and environmental managers with baselines against which future changes in forest ecosystem composition and behavior may be assessed. Researchers and professionals in environmental sciences will be interested in how these results compare and contrast with those of other major watershed studies. Students will especially appreciate the text as a well-rounded case study of watershed scale analysis

The paper examines the executive-legislature relations within the framework of the budget process. The paper is fundamentally structured on democratic presidentialism that necessitates the necessity of the application of the doctrine of separation of powers and principle of checks and balances which emphasized that despite all these, executive-legislature acrimony is given where each institution of governance comes into conflict with one another in discharging their constitutional responsibilities. Consequently, the paper concludes that, cooperation between and among these institutions though desirable but equally necessary in achieving effective budgetary process in the Nigeria's democratic governance

This article investigates the feasibility of producing an in-situ micro tool rod using micro-electrochemical spark machining (µ-ECSM) technology. The study included the examination of both electrical factors (such as voltage and duty factor) and non-electrical factors (such as electrolyte concentration and spindle speed) as the input parameters for the machining process. The responses measured in the study were the reduction in tool diameter and the surface roughness of the micro tool produced. The potassium hydroxide solution is used as a working fluid. The results indicate that voltage is the most crucial factor that influences micro tool fabrication. The utmost reduction in tool diameter, measuring 279.5 µm, occurred when utilizing machining parameters of 35V, 30%, 4 wt.%, and 600 rpm. Meanwhile, the lowest surface roughness for the micro tool was 3.42 µm, achieved with machining parameters of 35V, 10%, 4 wt.%, and 600 rpm. Additionally, the impact of machining settings on the micro tool electrode is covered.

The paper proposes an approach to the description of macroeconomic phenomena, which takes into account the effects of fading memory. The standard notions of the accelerator and the multiplier are very limited, since the memory of economic agents is neglected. We consider the methods to describe the economic processes with memory, which is characterized by the fading of a power-law type. Using the mathematical tools of derivatives and integrals of non-integer orders, we suggest a generalization of the concept of the accelerator and multiplier. We derive the equations of the accelerator with memory and the multiplier with memory, which take into account the changes of endogenous and exogenous variables on a finite time interval. We prove the duality of the concepts of the multiplier with memory and the accelerator with memory. The proposed generalization includes the standard concepts of the accelerator and the multiplier as special cases. In addition these generalizations provide a range of intermediate characteristics to take into account the memory effects in macroeconomic models.

Research of existing literature reveals some models (sequence of steps) for companies that want to plan distribution channels. None of these models uses strong contributions from transaction cost economics, bringing a possibility to elaborate on a "distribution channels planning model", with these contributions and organizing the steps according to a sequence that would be useful for companies when reviewing the distribution process. This sequence was refined through in‐depth interviews with companies. Presents the final version of our model incorporating the results from the interviews.

This paper provides a holistic view of the Business Process Re‐engineering (BPR) implementation process. It reviews the literature relating to the hard and soft factors that cause success and failure for BPR implementation, classifies these factors into subgroups, and identifies key factors of success and failure. Finally, it explains how these factors influence the process of BPR implementation.

To make a difference among the energy intensive process industries, this dissertation addresses production planning and supply chain planning problems related to industrial energy management issues. The energy issue is turning more and more important from different angles, involving price as well as environmental problems due to climate change leading to political pressure on all energy users. The process industry sector is one of the largest users of energy, and thus important to analyse. Process industries are also capital intensive and operate on large and expensive process equipment, making it imperative to plan their production well in order to reach preferable capacity utilisation. Therefore this dissertation strives to locate the most important energy management issues for the long term profitability of process industries, and investigates the symbiotic effects of including energy issues in production and supply chain planning. Three different studies at three case companies are carried out, analysed, and presented in five papers. The cases represent the process industry sectors: chemicals, pulp, and steel. Both qualitative case study methodologies as well as quantitative mathematical modelling and optimisation approaches have been practiced. The research questions are analysed from both an energy system and from a production process point of view, separately as well as combined. Energy is somewhat considered to be the main workforce for process industries and this dissertation exemplifies some of its most important dimensions in this context. Several prerequisites for putting energy management on the strategic agenda are located in a specialty chemical industry where the importance of introducing a strategic perspective on energy, the way energy is used, and the possibilities of increasing alternative revenue from utilising by- and/or co-products differently are pinpointed. Approaches for including energy issues in planning processes are also suggested in terms of a MILP model for the entire supply chain of a pulp company, including decisions on purchase and transportation of raw maerials, production allocation, energy mix, and distribution. Another example is presented based on the perspectives of economics of scale and lot sizing through economic order quantity principles in a steel company. By using real company data, energy smart approaches in planning and scheduling are developed with respect to the most important intersections between the production processes and their supporting energy system. The accumulated resource intensity and embedded energy could, and probably should, hence be more fairly reflected in the product price. The research finally shows some possible impact with including energy issues in a production and supply chain planning model. By planning differently, production prioritisations can be done, and it is not only possible without any large investments, but also prosperous with savings on both energy and money within reach. To conclude, planning of production and supply chain has either a direct or an indirect impact on the energy cost-effectiveness of a company. This dissertation argues that such impact also exists in its mutual form, and is very important when the energy issues are large enough, as they often are in the energy intensive process industry sector. Decision makers should thus beware of the short end of the stick that might be devastating in the long run, but also aware of all the possibilities that can bring success and prosperity when the future begins.

Background: Persons with disability run the danger of not profiting from the development process due to exclusion from basic services and opportunities. Still, the knowledge base on exclusion mechanisms is relatively weak and there is a danger that important aspects are not addressed as they are hidden behind established understandings that are not critically scrutinised.Objectives: The main purpose of this article was to highlight critical thoughts on prevailing knowledge of the relationship between disability and poverty, the policy base for addressing the rights of persons with disability, and culture as a key component in continued discrimination.Method: This article aimed at integrating three papers on the above topics presented at the 2011 African Network for Evidence-to-Action on Disability (AfriNEAD) Symposium. The researchers have therefore thoroughly examined and questioned the relationship between disability and poverty, the influence of policy on action, and the role of culture in reproducing injustice.Results: The article firstly claims that there are limitations in current data collection practice with regards to analysing the relationship between poverty and disability. Secondly, ambitions regarding inclusion of persons with disability in policy processes as well as in implementation of policies are not necessarily implemented in an optimal way. Thirdly, negative aspects of culture in discrimination and bad treatment of disabled need to be highlighted to balance the discussion on disability and culture.Conclusion: A critical view of prevailing understandings of disability and development is key to producing the knowledge necessary to eradicate poverty amongst persons with disability and other vulnerable groups. Not only do we need research that is actually designed to reveal the mechanisms behind the disability–poverty relationship, we need research that is less tied up with broad political agreements that is not necessarily reflecting the realities at ground level.

The dynamical behavior of domestic political hostility is modeled in terms of the interaction between hostile (challenger) and ruling (regime) groups. The conditions under which the conflict situation will either settle down in a steady state or evolve in time are derived for various forms of collective action costs. The model presented is a general framework for explaining the various outcomes of the repression/dissent nexus as special cases of the same fundamental process. We also obtain critical parameter values of discontent that bring about discontinuous jumps in the level of hostility.

Although the operative benefits of Six Sigma methodology in the business world are well accepted, the long-term benefits of the initiative are currently under discussion. This paper aims to analyze how Six Sigma methodology is related to the knowledge transfer process, a source of competitive advantage. For this purpose, we observe how team management in Six Sigma firms differs statistically from team management proposed by other quality management initiatives, and how Six Sigma team management is related to the knowledge integration and knowledge transfer processes. An ANOVA analysis and Partial Least Squares (PLS) approach were used to analyze data from 53 European Six Sigma firms, confirming the hypotheses developed. The results confirm that Six Sigma methodology offers new possibilities to companies and that implementation of Six Sigma has a positive effect on variables that influence long-term organizational performance, such as knowledge management. Relevant academic contributions and implications for practitioners are included. ; This work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (Projects ECO2010-15885; ECO2013-47027P), Junta de Andalucia (P11-SEJ-7294) and the European Union (European Regional Development Funds).

Computerised technology and geographical information systems (GIS) are increasingly used in developing countries. International aid organisations have been instrumental in providing initial financial and technical support for the introduction of GIS technology. The authors review the process and determinants of GIS diffusion in developing countries. Botswana is used as a case study to examine the extent and types of GIS applications in the government sector. (InWent/DÜI)