Search results for: challenges of management

Authors: Manzurul Alam, John Griffiths, David Holloway, Megan Paull, Anne Clear

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Background: This paper investigates the nature of risk management practices in non-profit organizations. It is argued here that the risk exposure of these organizations has increased as a result of their entrepreneurial activities. This study explores how a particular non-profit organization formulates its risk strategies in the face funding restrictions. Design/Method/Approach: The study adopts a case study approach to report the results on how a non-profit organization diversifies its activities, tackles risks arising from such activities and improves performance. Results: The findings show that the organization made structural adjustments and leadership changes which helped to adjust their risk strategies. It also reports the organizational processes to deal with risks arising from both related and unrelated diversification strategies. Implications: Any generalization from this case example needs to be taken with caution as there are significant differences between non-profit organizations operating in different sectors. Originality: The paper makes a significant contribution to the non-profit literature by highlighting the diversification strategies along with risk performance.

Keywords: risk management, performance management, non-profit organizations, financial management

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Authors: Josephine Emebiziogo Anene-Okeakwa

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This study investigates the challenges and opportunities for gender equality in vocational education in Awka South, Anambra State, Nigeria. Recognizing the critical role of vocational education in economic development, the research aims to evaluate the current state of gender equality, identify key barriers faced by female students, assess the impact of government policies, and explore opportunities for enhancing gender equality in this sector. Ten vocational schools within Awka South were randomly selected, and a total of 1,000 questionnaires were distributed among students, with 991 completed and returned, yielding a high response rate of 99.1%, and the retrieved data were analyzed using SPSS. The findings indicate significant gender disparities in vocational education enrollment and participation, with male students overwhelmingly outnumbering female students in most technical and engineering-related programs. Key barriers identified include cultural norms discouraging females from pursuing technical fields, economic constraints, lack of female role models, and social stereotypes regarding gender roles. Despite various government policies aimed at promoting gender equality, their implementation and effectiveness remain inadequate, as reflected in persistent gender disparities. However, opportunities for improving gender equality were identified, such as implementing gender-sensitive curricula, expanding mentorship programs for female students, and adopting best practices from other countries. The study recommends enhancing access to vocational training resources, implementing gender-sensitive curricula, expanding mentorship programs, and strengthening the implementation and monitoring of government policies. Addressing these challenges through targeted interventions is essential for achieving gender parity in vocational education, thereby empowering female students and contributing to Nigeria's socio-economic development.

Keywords: vocational education, gender equality, barriers, government policies

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Authors: Akiko Ohta, Masahiro Minami, Yusra Qadir, Jennifer York

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The Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) is a home instruction program for mothers of children 3 to 5 years old. Using role-play as a method of teaching, the participating mothers work with their home visitors and learn how to deliver the HIPPY curriculum to their children. Applying HIPPY, Reviving Hope and Home for High-risk Refugee Mothers Program (RHH) was created to provide more personalized peer support and to respond to ongoing settlement challenges for isolated and vulnerable Government Assisted Refugee (GAR) mothers. GARs often have greater needs and vulnerabilities than other refugee groups. While the support is available, they often face various challenges and barriers in starting their new lives in Canada, such as inadequate housing, low first-language literacy levels, low competency in English or French, and social isolation. The pilot project was operated by Mothers Matter Centre (MMC) from January 2019 to March 2021 in partnership with the Immigrant Services Society of BC (ISSofBC). The formative evaluation was conducted by a research team at Simon Fraser University. In order to provide more suitable support for GAR mothers, RHH intended to offer more flexibility in HIPPY delivery, supported by a home visitor, to meet the need of refugee mothers facing various conditions and challenges; to have a pool of financial resources to be used for the RHH families when necessitated during the program period; to have another designated staff member, called a community navigator, assigned to facilitate the support system for the RHH families in their settlement; to have a portable device available for each RHH mother to navigate settlement support resources; and to provide other variations of the HIPPY curriculum as an option for the RHH mothers, including a curriculum targeting pre-HIPPY age children. Reflections on each program component was collected from RHH mothers and staff members of MMC and ISSofBC, including frontline workers and management staff, through individual interviews and focus group discussions. Each of the RHH program components was analyzed and evaluated by applying Moore’s four domains framework to identify key information and generate new knowledge (data). To capture RHH mothers’ program experience more in depth based on their own reflections, the photovoice method was used. Some photos taken by the mothers will be shared to illustrate their RHH experience as part of their life stories. Over the period of the program, this evaluation observed how RHH mothers became more confident in various domains, such as communicating with others, taking public transportations alone, and teaching their own child(ren). One of the major factors behind the success was their home visitors’ flexibility and creativity to create a more meaningful and tailored approach for each mother, depending on her background and personal situation. The role of the community navigator was tested out and improved during the program period. The community navigators took the key role to assess the needs of the RHH families and connect them with community resources. Both the home visitors and community navigators were immigrant mothers themselves and owing to their dedicated care for the RHH mothers; they were able to gain trust and work closely and efficiently with RHH mothers.

Keywords: refugee mothers, settlement support, program evaluation, Canada

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Authors: Eleftheria Atta, Yianna Vovides, Marios Katsioloudes

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In the fusion of neoliberalism and globalization, Higher Education (HE) is becoming increasingly complex. The changing patterns of the economy worldwide caused the development of high value-added economy HE has been viewed as a social investment, significant for the development of knowledge-based societies and economies. In order to contribute to economic competitiveness universities are required to produce local and employable workers in order to fit into the neoliberal economic environment. The emergence of neoliberal performativity, which measures outcomes, is a key aspect in a neoliberal era. It facilitates the redesign of institutions making organizations and individuals to think about themselves in relation to their performance. Performativity and performance management systems lead academics to become more effective, professionally advance, improve and become better than others and therefore act competitively. Besides the aforementioned complexities, universities also encounter the challenge of maintaining a set of values to guide an institution’s actions and which have always been highly respected in developing a HE institution. The formulation of a clear set of values also determines the institutional culture which will be maintained. It is evident that values create a significant framework for the workplace and may determine positive institutional results. Universities are required to engage in activities for capacity building which will improve their students’ competence as well as offer opportunities to administrative and academic staff to professionally develop in light of neoliberal performativity. Additionally, the University is now considered as an innovation ecosystem playing a significant role in providing education, research and innovation to help create solutions to meet social, environmental and economic challenges. Thus, Universities become central in orchestrating multi-actor innovation networks. This presentation will discuss the establishment of an institutional unit entitled ‘Human Development Unit’ (HDU) in a European start-up university. The activities of the HDU are envisioned as drivers for innovation that would enable the university as a whole to maintain its position in a fast-changing world and be ready to face adaptive challenges. In addition, the HDU provides its students, staff, and faculty with opportunities to advance their academic and professional development through engagement in programs that align with institutional values. It also serves as a connector with the broader community. The presentation will highlight the functions of three centers which the unit will coordinate namely, the Student Development Center (SDC), the Faculty & Staff Development Center (FSDC) and the Continuing Education Center (CEC). The presentation aligns with the aim of the conference as it welcomes presentations to discuss innovations and challenges encountered in HE. Particularly, this presentation seeks to discuss the establishment of an innovative unit at a start-up university which will contribute to creating an institutional culture shaped by the value of academic excellence for students as well as for staff, shaping and defining the functions and activities of the unit. The establishment of the proposed unit is crucial in a start-up university both to differentiate from other competitors but also to sustain its presence given the pressures in a neoliberal HE context.

Keywords: academic excellence, globalization, human development unit, neoliberalism

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Authors: Marlene Kuhn, Franziska Schäfer, Heiner Otten

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Today´s production processes experience a constant increase in complexity paving new ways for progressive forms of leadership. In the customized production, individual customer requirements drive companies to adapt their manufacturing processes constantly while the pressure for smaller lot sizes, lower costs and faster lead times grows simultaneously. When production processes are becoming more dynamic and complex, the conventional quality management approaches show certain limitations. This paper gives an introduction to complexity science from a quality management perspective. By analyzing and evaluating different characteristics of complexity, the critical complexity parameters are identified and assessed. We found that the quality of leadership plays a crucial role when dealing with increasing complexity. Therefore, we developed a concept for qualitative leadership customized for the management within complex processes based on a maturity model. The maturity model was then applied in the industry to assess the leadership quality of several shop floor managers with a positive evaluation feedback. In result, the maturity model proved to be a sustainable approach to leverage the rising complexity in production processes more effectively.

Keywords: maturity model, process complexity, quality of leadership, quality management

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Authors: Cory Cannon

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In the current era of shrinking budgets, increasing amounts of worldwide natural disasters, state and non-state initiated conflicts within the world. The response has involved multinational coalitions to conduct effective military operations. The need for a Knowledge Management strategy when developing these coalitions have been overlooked in the past and the need for developing these accords early on will save time and help shape the way information and knowledge are transferred from the staff and action officers of the coalition to the decision-makers in order to make timely decisions within an ever changing environment. The aim of this paper is to show how Knowledge Management has developed within the United States military and how the transformation of working within a Combined/ Joint environment in both the Middle East and the Far East has improved relations between members of the coalitions as well as being more effective as a military force. These same principles could be applied to multinational corporations when dealing with cultures and decision-making processes.

Keywords: civil-military, culture, joint environment, knowledge management

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Authors: Mohammed Alassim

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In 2014, a UN survey stated that: "The greatest challenge to the adoption of whole-of government, which fundamentally rests on increased collaboration, is resistance to change among government actors". Change management has experienced both theoretically and practically many transformation over the years. When organizations have to implement radical changes, they have to encounter a plethora of issues which leads to ineffective or inefficient implementation of change in most cases. 70% of change projects fail because of human issues. It has been cited that” most studies still show a 60-70% failure rate for organizational change projects — a statistic that has stayed constant from the 1970’s to the present.”. E-government involves not just technical change but cultural, policy, social and organizational evolution. Managing change and overcoming resistance to change is seen as crucial in the success of E-government projects. Resistance can be from different levels in the organization (top management, middle management or employees at operational levels). There can be many reasons for resistance including fear of change and insecurity, lack of knowledge and absence of commitment from management to implement the change. The purpose of this study is to conduct in-depth research to understand the process of change and to identify the critical factors that have led to resistance from employees at different levels (top management, Middle management and operational employees) during e-government initiatives in the public sector in Saudi Arabia. The study is based on qualitative and empirical research methods conducted in the public sector in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This research will use triangulation in data method (interview, group discussion and document review). This research will contribute significantly to knowledge in this field and will identify the measures that can be taken to reduce resistance to change, Upon analysis recommendations or model will be offered which can enable decision makers in public sector in Saudi Arabia how to plan, implement and evaluate change in e-government initiatives via change management strategy.

Keywords: change management, e-government, managing change, resistance to change

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Authors: Clara Inés Pardo Martínez

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In emerging economies, recycling is an opportunity for the cities to increase the lifespan of sanitary landfills, reduce the costs of the solid waste management, decrease the environmental problems of the waste treatment through reincorporate waste in the productive cycle and protect and develop people’s livelihoods of informal waste pickers. However, few studies have analysed the possibilities and strategies to integrate formal and informal sectors in the solid waste management for the benefit of both. This study seek to make a strength, weakness, opportunity, and threat (SWOT) analysis in three recycling associations of Bogotá with the aim to understand and determine the situation of recycling from perspective of informal sector in its transition to enter as authorized waste providers. Data used in the analysis are derived from multiple strategies such as literature review, the Bogota’s recycling database, focus group meetings, governmental reports, national laws and regulations and specific interviews with key stakeholders. Results of this study show as the main stakeholders of formal and informal sector of waste management can identify the internal and internal conditions of recycling in Bogotá. Several strategies were designed based on the SWOTs determined, could be useful for Bogotá to advance and promote recycling as a key strategy for integrated sustainable waste management in the city.

Keywords: Bogotá, recycling, solid waste management, SWOT analysis

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Authors: Nisa Nur Duman, Sümeyya Kiliç

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In global competition conditions, survival of the plants by obtaining competitive advantage relies on the effective usage of existing sources. By this way, the plants can minimize their costs without losing their quality. They also take advantage took advantage on their competitors and enlarge customer portfolio by increasing profit margins. Changing structure of market and customer demands also change the structure of the competition between companies. Furthermore, competition is not only between the companies. By this manner, supply chain and supply chain management get importance by considering company performances. Companies that want to survive, search the ways of decreasing costs and the ways of meeting customer expectations. One of the important tools for reaching these goals is inventory managemet. The best inventory management system is meeting the demands by considering plant goals.

Keywords: Supply chain, inventory management, apparel sector, garment industry

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Authors: S. S. Rwanga, J. M. Ndambuki, Y. Woyessa

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Development of a groundwater management model is an important step in the exploitation and management of any groundwater aquifer as it assists in the long-term sustainable planning of the resource. The current study was conducted in Central Limpopo province of South Africa with the overall objective of determining how much water can be withdrawn from the aquifer without producing nonreversible impacts on the groundwater quantity, hence developing a model which can sustainably protect the aquifer. The development was done through the computation of Groundwater Sustainability Index (GSI). Values of GSI close to unity and above indicated overexploitation. In this study, an index of 0.8 was considered as overexploitation. The results indicated that there is potential for higher abstraction rates compared to the current abstraction rates. GSI approach can be used in the management of groundwater aquifer to sustainably develop the resource and also provides water managers and policy makers with fundamental information on where future water developments can be carried out.

Keywords: development, groundwater, groundwater sustainability index, model

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Authors: S. Boulenouar, M. Sefir, M. Benahmed

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All facilities need medication and other pharmaceuticals for their operation. Management and supply is therefore to provide the different services of the facility goods and services in required quantity and quality. The permanent availability of drugs in the facilities is very difficult because most face many difficulties at the inventory management and drug supplies. Therefore, it is necessary for each health facility to know the causes for the malfunction of its management system to cope with them. It is in this context that we have undertaken to conduct this study to know the causes which should be taken into consideration by the concerned authorities to carry out their mission, which is to provide quality health care for the population. In terms of financial resources, the budget for medicines represents a significant part of the budget of the pharmacy. Our study shows that the share of the hospital budget reserved for the drugs procurement represent on average 70% of the budget of the pharmacy. The results show a state of lack of anticancer drugs at Oran teaching hospital. The analysis of the management process allowed us to know the level that the problem of stock-outs of anti-cancer drugs is at. Suggestions were made to that effect to improve the availability for these products and to respond better to the needs of patients.

Keywords: anticancer drugs, health care facility, budget, hospital pharmacist, hospital service

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Authors: Alexandre D. Ferraz, Dario H. Alliprandini, Mauro Sampaio

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Companies and other institutions are constantly seeking better organizational performance and greater competitiveness. In order to fulfill this purpose, there are many tools, methodologies and models for increasing performance. However, the Lean Management approach seems to be the most effective in terms of achieving a significant improvement in productivity relatively quickly. Although Lean tools are relatively easy to understand and implement in different contexts, many organizations are not able to transform themselves into 'Lean companies'. Most of the efforts in its implementation have shown single benefits, failing to achieve the desired impact on the performance of the overall enterprise system. There is also a growing perception of the importance of management in Lean transformation, but few studies have empirically investigated and described the 'Lean Management'. In order to understand more clearly the ideas that guide Lean Management and its influence on the maturity level of the production system, the objective of this research is analyze the relationship between the Lean Management principles and the Lean maturity level in the organizations. The research also analyzes the principles of Lean Management and its relationship with the 'Lean culture' and the results obtained. The research was developed using the case study methodology. Three manufacturing units of a German multinational company from industrial automation segment, located in different countries were studied, in order to have a better comparison between the practices and the level of maturity in the implementation. The primary source of information was the application of a research questionnaire based on the theoretical review. The research showed that higher the level of Lean Management principles, higher are the Lean maturity level, the Lean culture level, and the level of Lean results obtained in the organization. The research also showed that factors such as time for application of Lean concepts and company size were not determinant for the level of Lean Management principles and, consequently, for the level of Lean maturity in the organization. The characteristics of the production system showed much more influence in different evaluated aspects. The present research also left recommendations for the managers of the plants analyzed and suggestions for future research.

Keywords: lean management, lean principles, lean maturity level, lean manufacturing

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Authors: Rashid Masoud Ali Al-Mazrui, Ramadhani Mashaka Shabani

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Islamic banks and financial institutions are exposed to the same risks as conventional banking. These risks include the rate return risk, credit or market risk, liquidity risk, and operational risk among others. However, being a financial institution that operates Islamic banking and finance operations, there is additional risk associated with its operations different from conventional finance, such as displacing commercial risk. They face Shari'ah compliance risks because of their failure to follow Shari'ah principles. To have proper mitigation and risk management, banks should have proper risk management policies to mitigate risks. This paper aims to study the risk management taken by Islamic banks in comparison with conventional banks. Also, the study evaluates the provisions for risk management taken by selected Islamic banks and conventional banks. The study employs qualitative analysis using secondary data by applying a content analysis approach with a sample size of 4 Islamic banks and four conventional banks ranging from 2010 to 2020. We find that these banks all use the same technique, except for the associated risk. The extra ways are used, but only for additional risks that are available to Islamic banking and finance.

Keywords: emerging risk, risk management, Islamic banking, conventional bank

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Authors: Giacomo Barbieri

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In soilless culture, the management of the nutrient solution is the most important aspect for crop growing. Fertigation dose, frequency and nutrient concentration must be planned with the objective of reaching an optimal crop growth by limiting the utilized resources and the associated costs. The definition of efficient fertigation strategies is a complex problem since fertigation requirements vary on the basis of different factors, and crops are sensitive to small variations on fertigation parameters. To the best of author knowledge, a small-scale test bench that is flexible for both nutrient solution preparation and precise irrigation is currently missing, limiting the investigations in standard practices for soilless culture. Starting from the analysis of the state of the art, this paper proposes a small-scale system that is potentially able to concurrently test different fertigation strategies. The system will be designed and implemented throughout a three year project started on August 2018. However, due to the importance of the topic within current challenges as food security and climate change, this work is spread considering that may inspire other universities and organizations.

Keywords: soilless culture, fertigation, test bench, small-scale, automation

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Authors: Amir Ahmadi, Hossein Ahmadi, Alireza Ahmadi

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Emotional Intelligence (EI) has been defined as the ability to empathize, persevere, control impulses, communicate clearly, make thoughtful decisions, solve problems, and work with others in a way that earns friends and success. These abilities allow an individual to recognize and regulate emotion, develop self-control, set goals, develop empathy, resolve conflicts, and develop skills needed for leadership and effective group participation. Due to the increasing complexity of organizations and different ways of thinking, attitudes and beliefs of individuals, conflict as an important part of organizational life has been examined frequently. The main point is that the conflict is not necessarily in organization, unnecessary; but it can be more creative (increase creativity), to promote innovation. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relation between principals emotional intelligence as one of the factors affecting conflict management among teachers. This relation was analyzed through cluster sampling with a sample size consisting of 120 individuals. The results of the study showed that at the 95% level of confidence, the two secondary hypotheses (i.e. relation between emotional intelligence of principals and use of competition and cooperation strategies of conflict management among teachers) were confirmed, but the other three secondary hypotheses (i.e. the relation between emotional intelligence of managers and use of avoidance, adaptation and adaptability strategies of conflict management among teachers) were rejected. The primary hypothesis (i.e. relation between emotional intelligence of principals with conflict management among teachers) is supported.

Keywords: emotional intelligence, conflict, conflict management, strategies of conflict management

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Authors: Mubarak Saadu Nabunkari, Abdullahi Abdu Ibrahim, Muhammad Ilyas

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This study looks at how Internet of Things (IoT) devices are used in healthcare to monitor and treat patients better. However, using these devices in healthcare comes with security problems. The research explores using Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) systems with healthcare IoT devices to solve these security challenges. Reviewing existing literature shows the current state of IoT security and emphasizes the need for better protection. The main worry is that healthcare IoT devices can be easily hacked, putting patient data and device functionality at risk. To address this, the research suggests a detailed security framework designed for these devices. This framework, based on literature and best practices, includes important security measures like authentication, data encryption, access controls, and anomaly detection. Adding SIEM systems to this framework helps detect threats in real time and respond quickly to incidents, making healthcare IoT devices more secure. The study highlights the importance of this integration and offers guidance for implementing healthcare IoT securely, efficiently, and effectively.

Keywords: cyber security, threat intelligence, forensics, heath care

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Authors: Kathrin Endres, Daniela Greven

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Although chatbots are a widely known and established communication instrument in B2C customer services, B2B industries still hesitate to implement chatbots due to the incertitude of customer acceptance. While many studies examine the chatbot acceptance of B2C consumers, few studies are focusing on the B2B sector, where the customer is represented by a buying center consisting of several stakeholders. This study investigates the challenges of chatbot acceptance in B2B industries compared to challenges of chatbot acceptance from current B2C literature by interviewing experts from German chatbot vendors. The results show many similarities between the customer requirements of B2B customers and B2C consumers. Still, due to several stakeholders involved in the buying center, the features of the chatbot users are more diverse but obfuscated at the same time. Using a factorial survey, this study further examines the customer acceptance of varying situations of B2B chatbot designs based on the chatbot variables transparency, fault tolerance, complexity of products, value of products, as well as transfer to live chat service employees. The findings show that all variables influence the propensity to use the chatbot. The results contribute to a better understanding of how firms in B2B industries can design chatbots to advance their customer service and enhance customer satisfaction.

Keywords: chatbots, technology acceptance, B2B customer service, customer satisfaction

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Authors: Hani Albogami

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The internal audit function is considered as one of the internal corporate governance mechanisms that may have an impact on improving earnings quality by constraining earnings management. The internal audit function is also a unique corporate governance mechanism because internal auditors have more involvement with the day-to-day operations comparing to the audit committee, and also internal auditors audit their companies the whole year compared to the external auditor who audits only a certain time of the year. The relationships between internal audit function and earnings management can be understood by some theories. Therefore, this paper provides a theoretical background of the influence of the quality of internal audit function on earnings management. In particular, the agency theory, institutional theory, singling theory, and resource dependency theory are adapted by this paper to provide some understanding and analyses that can be a basis for future research to contribute to the corporate governance academic studies.

Keywords: internal audit, corporate governance, earnings management, accounting

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Authors: MUSAWIRA IFTIKHAR

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The field of membrane materials is the most dynamic due to the constantly evolving requirements advancement of materials, to address challenges such as biocompatibility, protein-bound uremic toxins, blood coagulation, auto-immune responses, oxidative stress, and poor clearance of uremic toxins. Hemodialysis is a membrane filtration processes that is currently necessary for daily living of the patients with ESRD. Tens of millions of people with ESRD have benefited from hemodialysis over the past 60–70 years, both in terms of safeguarding life and a longer lifespan. Beyond challenges associated with the efficiency and separative properties of the membranes, ensuring hemocompatibility, or the safe circulation of blood outside the body for four hours every two days, remains a persistent challenge. This review explores the ongoing field of metal–Organic Frameworks (MOFs) and their applications in hemodialysis, offering a comprehensive examination of various MOFs employed to address challenges inherent in traditional hemodialysis methodologies. this This review included includes the experimental work done with various MOFs as a filler such as UiO-66, HKUST-1, MIL-101, and ZIF-8, which together lead to improved adsorption capacities for a range of uremic toxins and proteins. Furthermore, this review highlights how effectively MOF-based hemodialysis membranes remove a variety of uremic toxins, including p-cresol, urea, creatinine, and indoxyl sulfate and potential filler choices for the future. Future research efforts should focus on refining synthesis techniques, enhancing toxin selectivity, and investigating the long-term durability of MOF-based membranes. With these considerations, MOFs emerge as transformative materials in the quest to develop advanced and efficient hemodialysis technologies, holding the promise to significantly enhance patient outcomes and redefine the landscape of renal therapy.

Keywords: membrane, hemodailysis, metal organic frameworks, seperation, protein adsorbtion

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Authors: Abongile Zweni, Grate Moyo, Ricardo Peters, Bingwen Yan

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Budgets are one of the most important tools that organisations, big or small, need to use as management tools. When organisations, particularly Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs), do not use budgets, they are bound to fail in their infancy stage. The aim of this study was to assess whether or not SMMEs in South Africa used budgets as an effective management tool during the COVID-19 pandemic. For the purposes of this study, data was collected using an online questionnaire (survey). This study used the quantitative research approach. The study used descriptive statistics to analyse the research question. The study found that most SMMEs did not use budgets during the COVID-19 pandemic; one of the reasons, amongst others, was that most of them had to close down during the lockdown, and some of them did not even qualify for government bailout or government grants.

Keywords: budget management, SMMEs, COVID-19, South Africa

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Authors: Kelly Danielly Da Silva Alcantara, Daniel Fernando Molina Junqueira, Graziella Colato Antonio

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The Law No. 12,305/10, established by the National Solid Waste Policy (PNRS), provides major changes in the management and managing scenario of solid waste in Brazil. The PNRS established since changes from population behavior as environmental and the consciousness and commitment of the companies with the waste produced. The objective of this project is to conduct a benchmarking study of the management models of Waste Management Municipal Solid (MSW) in national and international levels emphasizing especially in the European Union (Portugal, France and Germany), which are reference countries in energy development, sustainability and consequently recovery of waste generated. The management that encompasses all stages that are included in this sector will be analyzed by benchmarking, as the collection, transportation, processing/treatment and final disposal of waste. Considering the needs to produce clean energy in Brazil, this study will allow the determination to the best treatment of the waste in order to reduce the amount of waste and increase the lifetime of the landfill. Finally, it intends to identify the energy recovery potential through a study analysis of economic viability, energy and sustainable based on a holistic approach.

Keywords: benchmarking, energy recovery, landfill, municipal solid waste

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Authors: Mario M. J. Musonda

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Access to health care is a human right, which includes having timely access to affordable and quality essential medicines at the right place and in sufficient quantity. However, inefficient public sector supply chain management contributes to constant shortages of essential medicines at health facilities. Literature review involved a desktop study of published research studies and reports on risk management, supply chain management of essential medicines and their integration to increase the efficiency of the latter. The research was conducted on a sample population of offices under Ministry of Health Headquarters, Lusaka Provincial and District Offices, selected health facilities in Lusaka, Medical Stores Limited, Zambia Medicines Regulatory Authority and Cooperating Partners. Individuals involved in study were selected judgmentally by their functions under selection and quantification, regulation, procurement, storage, distribution, quality assurance, and dispensing of essential medicines. Structured interviews and discussions were held with selected experts and self-administered questionnaires were distributed. Collected and analysed data of 35 returned and usable questionnaires from the 50 distributed. The highest prioritised risks were; inadequate and inconsistent fund disbursements, weak information management systems, weak quality management systems and insufficient resources (HR and infrastructure) among others. The results for this research can be used to increase the efficiency of the public sector supply chain of essential medicines and other pharmaceuticals. The results of the study showed that there is need to implement effective risk management systems by participating institutions and organisations to increase the efficiency of the entire supply chain in order to avoid and/or reduce shortages of essential medicines at health facilities.

Keywords: essential medicine, risk assessment, risk management, supply chain, supply chain risk management

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Authors: Y. Y. Babanyara, D. B. Ibrahim, T. Garba

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Proper management of medical waste is a crucial issue for maintaining human health and the environment. The waste generated in the hospitals has the potential for spreading infections and causing diseases. The study is aimed at assessing the medical waste management practices in Nigeria. Three instruments, questionnaire administration, in-depth interview and observation method for data collection were adopted in the study. The results revealed that the hospital does not quantify medical waste. Segregation of medical wastes is not conducted according to definite rules and standards. Wheeled trolleys are used for on-site transportation of waste from the points of production to the temporary storage area. Offsite transportation of the hospital waste is undertaken by a private waste management company. Small pickups are mainly used to transport waste daily to an off-site area for treatment and disposal. The main treatment method used in the final disposal of infectious waste is incineration. Non-infectious waste is disposed off using land disposal method. The study showed that the hospital does not have a policy and plan in place for managing medical waste. The study revealed number of problems the hospital faces in terms of medical waste management, including; lack of necessary rules, regulations and instructions on the different aspects of collections and disposal of waste, failure to quantify the waste generated in reliable records, lack of use of coloured bags by limiting the bags to only one colour for all waste, the absence of a dedicated waste manager, and no committee responsible for monitoring the management of medical waste. Recommendations are given with the aim of improving medical waste management in the hospital.

Keywords: medical waste, treatment, disposal, public health

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Authors: Alexandra Lipitakis, Evangelia A. E. C. Lipitakis

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In this article, a class of e-business strategy planning parameters are introduced and their effect on financial and non-financial performance of e-businesses and organizations is investigated. The relationships between these strategic planning parameters, i.e. Formality, Participation, Sophistication, Thoroughness, Synergy and Cooperation, Entropic Factor, Adaptivity, Uncertainty and Financial and Non-Financial Performance are examined and the directions of these relationships are given. A conceptual model has been constructed and quantitative research methods can be used to test the considered eight hypotheses. In the framework of e-business strategy planning this research study clearly demonstrates how strategic planning components have positive relationships with e-business strategy management and performance.

Keywords: e-business management, e-business model, e-business performance assessments, strategy management methodologies, strategy planning, quantitative methods

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Authors: Jiaying Gao, Thammananya Sakcharoen, Wilailuk Niyommaneerat

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Haikou is the capital of Hainan, a major tourism province in China with rich ecotourism resources. There is a need to strengthen tourism destination management in Haikou toward sustainable development as a tourism city. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between tourism destination management and sustainable tourism in Haikou. Exploratory factor analysis was used to extract six dimensions of this study. Three dimensions (10 factors) of tourism destination management were analyzed in terms of economic development, social and cultural development, and conservation of ecosystem. Sustainability awareness, tourism development experience, and tourism public infrastructure in three dimensions (12 factors) of sustainable tourism. There were 426 questionnaire respondents, including 225 tourists, 172 residents, 12 tourism agency persons, 10 government persons, 3 self-employed, and 4 others. The Structural equation modeling (SEM) model was finally conducted to test the hypotheses empirically and explore the impact relationship. The study found a significant relationship between tourism destination management and sustainable tourism: social and cultural development had the greatest significant positive impact on the tourism development experience (0.788***). Social and cultural development also showed a significant positive impact and great impetus on tourism public infrastructure (0.561***). A negative effect relationship (-0.096***) emerged between ecosystem conversion and tourism development experience. It showed a positive relationship between economic development and social and cultural development of tourism destination management in promoting sustainable tourism. There are still some gaps for improvement, such as the need for sustainable ecological management to promote local sustainable tourism trends and enhance tourism experience development, which may require a long-term process of mitigation.

Keywords: Haikou (Hainan, China), influence relationship, sustainable tourism, tourism destination management

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Authors: Janusz Bobulski, Kamila Pasternak

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Despite many years of effort and research, the problem of waste management is still current. So far, no fully effective waste management system has been developed. Many programs and projects improve statistics on the percentage of waste recycled every year. In these efforts, it is worth using modern Computer Vision techniques supported by artificial intelligence. In the article, we present a method of identifying plastic waste based on the asymmetry analysis of the histogram of the image containing the waste. The method is simple but effective (94%), which allows it to be implemented on devices with low computing power, in particular on microcomputers. Such de-vices will be used both at home and in waste sorting plants.

Keywords: waste management, environmental protection, image processing, computer vision

Procedia PDF Downloads 101

Authors: Hardisiswo Soedjana, Inne Caroline

Abstract:

Deep dermal or full thickness burns are inevitably lead to post-burn contractures. These contractures remain to be one of the most concerning late complications of burn injuries. Surgical management includes releasing the contracture followed by resurfacing the defect accompanied by post-operative rehabilitation. Optimal treatment of post-burn contractures depends on the characteristics of the contractures. This study is aimed to describe clinical characteristics, problems, and management of post-burn contractures in adults and children. A retrospective analysis was conducted from medical records of patients suffered from contractures after burn injuries admitted to Hasan Sadikin general hospital between January 2016 and January 2018. A total of 50 patients with post burn contractures were included in the study. There were 17 adults and 33 children. Most patients were male, whose age range within 15-59 years old and 5-9 years old. Educational background was mostly senior high school among adults, while there was only one third of children who have entered school. Etiology of burns was predominantly flame in adults (82.3%); whereas flame and scald were the leading cause of burn injury in children (11%). Based on anatomical regions, hands were the most common affected both in adults (35.2%) and children (48.5%). Contractures were identified in 6-12 months since the initial burns. Most post-burn hand contractures were resurfaced with full-thickness skin graft (FTSG) both in adults and children. There were 11 patients who presented with recurrent contracture after previous history of contracture release. Post-operative rehabilitation was conducted for all patients; however, it is important to highlight that it is still challenging to control splinting and exercise when patients are discharged and especially the compliance in children. In order to improve quality of life in patients with history of deep burn injuries, prevention of contractures should begin right after acute care has been established. Education for the importance of splinting and exercise should be administered as comprehensible as possible for adult patients and parents of pediatric patients.

Keywords: burn, contracture, education, exercise, splinting

Procedia PDF Downloads 110

Authors: Ajmal Khan Kassi, Humayun Javed, Syed Abdul Qadeem

Abstract:

The study was conducted to find out the best management practices against American bollworm on Okra variety Arka Anamika during 2016. The three different management practices viz. Release of Trichogramma chilonis, hoeing and weeding, clipping and lufenuron insect growth regulator (IGR) which were tested individually and with all possible combinations for the controlling of American bollworm at 3 diverse areas viz. University Research Farm Koont, NARC and Farmer Field Taxila. All the treatment combinations regarding damage of fruit showed significant results. The minimum fruit infestation i.e. 3.20% and 3.58% was recorded with combined treatment (i.e. T. chilonis + hoeing + weeding + lufenuron) in two different localities. This combined treatment also resulted in maximum yield at NARC and Taxila i.e. 57.67 and 62.66 q/ha respectively. This treatment gave the best results to manage H. armigera. On the basis of different integrated pest management techniques, Arka Anamika variety proved to be comparatively resistant against H. armigera in different localities. So this variety is recommended for the cultivation in Pothwar region to get maximum yield.

Keywords: management, american bollworm, arka anamika, okra

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Authors: Natia Kvachakidze

Abstract:

Translating fiction is a complicated and multidimensional issue. However, studying and analyzing literary translations is not less challenging. This becomes even more complex due to the existence of several alternative translations of one and the same literary work. However, this also makes the research process more interesting at the same time. The aim of the given work is to distinguish major obstacles and challenges translators come across while working on Ernest Hemingway’s short fiction, as well as to analyze certain peculiarities and characteristic features of some existing Georgian translations of the writer’s work (especially in the context of various alternative versions of some well-known short stories). Consequently, the focus is on studying how close these translations come to the form and the context of the original text in order to see if the linguistic and stylistic characteristics of the original author are preserved. Moreover, it is interesting not only to study the relevance of each translation to the original text but also to present a comparative analysis of some major peculiarities of the given translations, which are naturally characterized by certain strengths and weaknesses. The latter is at times inevitable, but in certain cases, there is room for improvement. The given work also attempts to humbly suggest certain ways of possible improvements of some translation inadequacies, as this can provide even more opportunities for deeper and detailed studies in the future.

Keywords: Hemingway, short fiction, translation, Georgian

Procedia PDF Downloads 71

Authors: Denis Spirjakin, Alexander Baranov, Saba Akbari, Natalia Kalenova, Vladimir Sleptsov

Abstract:

In this paper we propose the approach to power management in wireless combustible gas sensors. This approach makes possible drastically prolong sensor nodes autonomous lifetime. That is necessary to tie battery replacement to every year technical service procedures which are claimed by safety standards. Using this approach the current consumption of the wireless combustible gas sensor node was decreased from 80 mA to less than 2 mA and the power consumption from more than 220 mW to 4.6 mW. These values provide autonomous lifetime of the node more than one year.

Keywords: Gas sensors, power management, wireless sensor network

Procedia PDF Downloads 710