Intermediate Services Research Articles

Mapping the changes of CH4 emissions in global supply chains

This study aims to identify methane (CH4) emission flows along global supply chains from both production- and consumption-based perspectives and their temporal changes from 2000 to 2014. We employed the structural path analysis (SPA) method to examine the embodied CH4 emission trade through inter-sectoral and inter-regional supply chains. Production activities in the sector of Agriculture (such as crop and animal production) and consumption activities in Construction (such as infrastructure) were the most significant contributors to global CH4 emission increases during 2000–2014. Agriculture and Mining (such as coal mining) accounted for large shares of global embodied CH4 trade at the final consumption tier (i.e., the trade of final goods or services), while Food (such as beverages and tobacco) and Heavy manufacturing (such as steel or automobile manufacturing) were significant contributors to embodied CH4 emissions in the trade of intermediate goods or services directly used to produce final goods or services. This finding highlights the different potential of the sectors for CH4 abatement along global supply chains. The United States imported the most embodied CH4 emissions from foreign areas in 2000 in contrast to China, which dominated imports in 2014. Over 80% of China's embodied CH4 emissions in 2014 were related to intermediate production along global supply chains due to industrial upgrading. India surpassed China as the largest direct emitter for producing final goods or services. Given the critical role of non-CO2 greenhouse gases in global climate change, the spatiotemporal changes of CH4 emissions in global supply chains can help explore the justified allocation of reduction responsibility between countries and sectors connected by the chains.

Capabilities supporting digital servitization: A multi-actor perspective

Digital transformation in business solutions is offering opportunities for servitization to become more digitalized. In this context, digital servitization requires the actors involved to perform new roles and develop new capabilities. Although servitization actor capabilities in the digital transformation context have been addressed in prior studies, the literature lacks a detailed understanding of how they operate according to different service types and different actor roles. Through a systematic literature review, our study aims to expound the capabilities required for digital servitization, for Base, Intermediate, and Advanced services, and analyze who of the main actors of the service triad (manufacturer, intermediaries, and customer) should own such capabilities. This analysis resulted in a final sample of 47 main articles addressing capabilities. We show how the structure of the service triad shifts the digital service provision based on the capabilities required by each actor. For instance, Base Services demand less capabilities, thus, intermediary actors play a less important role since they just execute services usually on behalf of a manufacturer in a more discrete capacity. For Intermediate Services, the intermediary actor becomes more important, with capabilities needed to deliver the digital solution. In Advanced Services, customers' relationships with manufacturers become stronger, as this actor reassumes a central role in the solution offer, and intermediaries move to a supporting role again. Our analysis offers propositions for future research on digital servitization and practical implications on the capabilities required.

Features of grain product cluster: market reorientation

Grain cluster – is an organizational form of consolidation of the efforts of stakeholders, ensuring the competitiveness of the region. The goal is to determine ways to improve the cluster organization of interaction, which is due to the fact that as part of the cluster, the consolidation of the efforts of enterprises aimed to achieve production and economic results reaches the highest level. Methods – comparative, system analysis, statistical and economic, logical generalization. Results – the most important part of economic relations of the cluster is the mechanism of distribution relations, which occurs in the process of the exchange of intermediate products, resources and services, the distribution of income from the sale of final products on foreign market. The functioning of the distribution system ensures the parity of interests of the cluster members, based on the fact that in the grain cluster, income from the sale of manufactured products is distributed along the technological chain based on prices and tariffs, through centralized funds created by the cluster members. Conclusions – grain product cluster has a clear organizational structure, the most important part of which is the mechanism of distribution relations that arises during the exchange of intermediate products, resources and services, and distribution of income. The transport and logistics infrastructure is necessary to ensure the movement of products within the cluster and beyond it with the least material costs and losses in physical terms. The core of grain cluster should be enterprises engaged in production, grain storage and processing. Another part of it is processors: flour mills, feed mills and bakeries, pasta factories. The formation of clusters must be linked to the pricing mechanism in order to ensure equal efficiency for all participants.

Flood-Induced Disruption of an Inland Waterway Transportation System and Regional Economic Impacts

Record flooding in Spring 2019 caused Oklahoma’s only inland navigable waterway to close. Closure disrupted the supply chains of agricultural and manufacturing industries. This research quantified the economic loss experienced by the region’s economy due to the disruption of waterway transportation services. We used a multi-regional input–output model to analyze impacts for the state’s congressional districts. The study found expected losses in employment of 63 to 750 jobs, $14.5 million to $165 million in output, and $5.7 million to $68.7 million in value-added to the economy, depending on the expected duration of closure and on assumptions regarding the sourcing of intermediate goods and services. Economic impacts were disproportionately experienced in different congressional districts and across economic sectors, depending on how tightly integrated those districts were to the manufacturing or agricultural sectors.

What Effects Could Global Value Chain and Digital Infrastructure Development Policies Have on Poverty and Inequality after COVID-19?

It is clear that in the transition out of the COVID-19 crisis in Colombia there will be great need for formal job creation. One source that has been widely discussed in policy circles is strengthening linkages of Colombian firms with Global Value Chains (GVCs). Another source that has received recent attention, and deservedly so, is digital infrastructure development (DID)—which can boost telework and virtual human capital accumulation. Reduction in poverty and inequality through more and better formal employment is an important aspect of a jobs and economic transformation (JET) agenda. In this paper, we explore—through a computable general equilibrium model (CGE) and a microsimulation framework—to what extent reforms of the type envisioned in the JET agenda and which could generate GVC linkages, as well as through DID, for Colombia, and we project their impact on poverty and inequality up to 2030. Our findings show limited impact of the three types of policy changes considered for GVCs—namely (i) fall in barriers for seamless business logistics, (ii) reductions in tariffs, and (iii) lower barriers to foreign direct investment (FDI). The impact of DID on inequality is also moot. There is however a modest impact on poverty reduction in the combined policy of digital infrastructure with a boost in skilled labor. This finding can be linked to different factors. First, there are relatively few direct jobs created to benefit households with low levels of human capital. Second, there might be indirect job creation through backward linkages to local suppliers by firms linked to GVCs, but this effect would be a general equilibrium effect that our CGE model with a partial equilibrium microsimulation distributional module does not fully capture. Third, the positioning of Colombian firms to latch onto GVCs, and also generate demand for local intermediate inputs and services, is not optimal. Fourth, DID may generate more general labor market opportunities through telework and virtual learning expansions but could also induce larger wage gaps as the skill premium rises so that the net effect on inequality is ambiguous.

Ecologically Intermediate and Economically Final: The Role of the Ecosystem Services Framework in Measuring Sustainability in Agri-Food Systems

Ecosystem services can be defined as the ecosystem’s contribution to human activities. According to recent assessments, the agricultural sector is one of the most important economic users of ecosystem services in Europe. To assess, value, and account for ecosystem services related to the agri-food system offers the possibility to measure and investigate how agricultural management practices together with changing environmental conditions can affect ecological resilience. However, the accounting of ecosystem services’ flows needs to be carefully addressed, because the overlapping of services and benefits and the overlapping of what are considered intermediate and final services could create dangerous misunderstandings about the role and importance of ecosystem services in agriculture. This paper reports on the possible accounting approaches that can be used to assess crop provision, as well as their meanings and implications from an ecological to an economic perspective. The results demonstrate that an economic accounting-based assessment of ecosystem services needs to move from an ecological holistic view to a one-by-one disaggregation of ecosystem services in order to avoid underestimates that would ultimately affect the policy perception of the role of ecosystems with respect to the agri-food systems’ resilience.

An overview of Industry 4.0 Applications for Advanced Maintenance Services

Manufacturing today has experienced dynamic changes imposed by social-technical systems that address economic, social and sustainable requirements. Furthermore, the technologies in Industry 4.0 have also brought many smart applications to advance manufacturing to the next level of development. In a focused sense, maintenance plays a key role in manufacturing to create value propositions—extension of equipment useful life and enhancement in overall equipment effectiveness—for stakeholders towards economics and sustainability. In this context, the maintenance services that create the value propositions are not only delivered as after-sales maintenance services but developed to advanced maintenance services embedded into Industry 4.0 applications. To provide a clearer picture of the development, this work aims to review and categorize the maintenance services in three groups—basic services, intermediate services, advanced services—associated with technologies in Industry 4.0 across the life-cycle maintenance service.

Risk factors for stress in professionals at the North emergency care unit in Palmas, Tocantins, Brazil.

Emergency care units provide intermediate complexity care services, are open 24 hours a day, and are frequently required to attend to high levels of demand, especially so during the Covid-19 pandemic. On-duty shift work at emergency care units is highly conducive to causing excessive stress. To identify the risk factors for excessive stress among workers at the North emergency care unit, in Palmas, Tocantins, Brazil. A questionnaire was administered covering basic information and data on lifestyle to the workers at the unit, in addition to the Epworth Sleepiness Scale and a single-item instrument for diagnosis of stress. It was possible to recruit 44 participants. It was observed that 57% of the participants exhibited stress and 31.82% had excessive sleepiness. Having more than one job, drinking alcohol, having attended higher education, and having excessive sleepiness increased the likelihood of exhibiting stress. There was a statistical significant association of very large magnitude between performing housework and exhibiting symptoms of stress (p = 0.028; rɸ = 0.36). The high percentage of workers with stress found among the study participants reveals a need for measures to review their working processes, such as creating space for dialogue between workers and management or implementing shared management, with the objective of minimizing development of work-related disorders, with benefits both for the workers and the Unit.

The densification of Chinese production chains in the context of vertically fragmented production

Industrial densification is illustrated by greater involvement of local actors in value chains, and a lower degree of industrial density is commonly presented as an attribute of in-depth integrated economies into global value chains (GVC). This paper contributes to the characterization of China's industrial densification using an empirical strategy that is not limited to a proxy of GVC participation. Our results indicate that China has intensified the process of industrial densification over the post-Global Crisis period, especially high-technology-oriented industries, fostering domestic demand for final and intermediate goods and services produced domestically. This means that strengthening local actors' productive links is consistent with the Chinese strategy of reducing dependence on imported inputs, increasing the share of intermediate and final goods and services produced domestically, and spurring China's local production importance in innovative industries.

Home-based Extended Rehabilitation for Older people (HERO): study protocol for an individually randomised controlled multi-centre trial to determine the clinical and cost-effectiveness of a home-based exercise intervention for older people with frailty as extended rehabilitation following acute illness or injury, including embedded process evaluation

BackgroundThe majority of older people (> 65 years) in hospital have frailty and are at increased risk of readmission or death following discharge home. In the UK, following acute hospitalisation, around one third of older people with frailty are referred on for rehabilitation, termed ‘intermediate care’ services. Although this rehabilitation can reduce early readmission to hospital (< 30 days), recipients often do not feel ready to leave the service on discharge, suggesting possible incomplete recovery. Limited evidence suggests extended rehabilitation is of benefit in several conditions and there is preliminary evidence that progressive physical exercise can improve mobility and function for older people with frailty, and slow progression to disability. Our aim is to evaluate the effectiveness of the Home-based Older People’s Exercise (HOPE) programme as extended rehabilitation for older people with frailty discharged home from hospital or intermediate care services after acute illness or injury.MethodsA multi-centre individually randomised controlled trial, to evaluate the clinical and cost-effectiveness of the HOPE programme. This individualised, graded and progressive 24-week exercise programme is delivered by NHS physiotherapy teams to people aged 65 and older with frailty, identified using the Clinical Frailty Scale, following discharge from acute hospitalisation and linked intermediate care rehabilitation pathways. The primary outcome is physical health-related quality of life, measured using the physical component summary score of the modified Short Form 36- item health questionnaire (SF36) at 12 months. Secondary outcomes include self-reported physical and mental health, functional independence, death, hospitalisations, care home admissions. Plans include health economic analyses and an embedded process evaluation.DiscussionThis trial seeks to determine if extended rehabilitation, via the HOPE programme, can improve physical health-related quality of life for older people with frailty following acute hospitalisation. Results will improve awareness of the rehabilitation needs of older people with frailty, and provide evidence on the clinical and cost-effectiveness of the targeted exercise intervention. There is potential for considerable benefit for health and social care services through widespread implementation of trial findings if clinical and cost-effectiveness is demonstrated.Trial registrationISRCTN 13927531. Registered on April 19, 2017.

A Comparative and Comprehensive Analysis of Smart Contract Enabled Blockchain Applications

Blockchain is a disruptive innovation that is already reshaping corporate, social, and political connections, as well as any other form of value exchange. Again, this isn't simply a shift; it's a fast-moving phenomenon that has already begun. Top financial institutions and a large number of businesses have begun to investigate blockchain in order to cut transaction costs, speed up transaction times, reduce fraud risk, and eliminate the need for middlemen or intermediate services. Blockchain is believed to be the component that completes the Internet puzzle and makes it more open, more accessible, and more reliable. In this article, we first introduced the blockchain technology and smart contracts and their merits and demerits. Second, we present a comparative and comprehensive analysis of smart contract-enabled blockchain applications. Toward the end, we discussed the future development trends of smart contract enabled blockchain applications. This document is intended to serve as a guide and resource for future research initiatives.

Kyoto Protocol and global value chains: Trade effects of an international environmental policy

Deepening globalization and international fragmentation of production (IFP) have provided an appropriate foundation for offshore production processes to exploit comparative advantage wherever possible. Unilateral environmental regulations can increase the outsourcing probability of polluting production processes in regions with looser environmental regulations and can consequently alter trade patterns by changing comparative advantage. The Kyoto Protocol (KP) is considered as one of the international but unilateral environmental regulations for coping with climate changes. This protocol was implemented to mitigate emissions in industrial economies, and its potential side effects such as production relocation have always been controversial. Therefore, this study aimed to estimate the impacts of the KP on trade patterns of the ratifying countries within the context of global value chains (GVCs). For this purpose, the difference-in-differences (DiD) regression and the generalized synthetic control method (GSCM) were used to model the panel data during 1990–2017. The estimation results indicated that the KP ratification decreased the forward participation of the committed countries, while increased their backward participation. As a result, it deepened their relative downstream positions in the GVCs. Accordingly, the KP reduced the share of intermediate goods and services exports in committed countries that ratified KP but increased the share of foreign intermediate goods and services in their exports. In addition, some environmental implications and outcomes of these results, especially for the Paris Agreement, were discussed.

The meaning of confidence from the perspective of older people living with frailty: a conceptual void within intermediate care services.

BackgroundConfidence is a cornerstone concept within health and social care’s intermediate care policy in the UK for a population of older people living with frailty. However, these intermediate care services delivering the policy, tasked to promote and build confidence, do so within an evidence vacuum.ObjectivesTo explore the meaning of confidence as seen through the lens of older people living with frailty and to re-evaluate current literature-based conceptual understanding.DesignA phenomenological study was undertaken to bring real world lived-experience meaning to the concept of confidence.MethodsSeventeen individual face-to-face interviews with older people living with frailty were undertaken and the data analysed using van Manen's approach to phenomenology.ResultsFour themes are identified, informing a new conceptual model of confidence. This concept consists of four unique but interdependent dimensions. The four dimensions are: social connections, fear, independence and control. Each is ever-present in the confidence experience of the older person living with frailty. For each dimension, identifiable confidence eroding and enabling factors were recognised and are presented to promote aging well and personal resilience opportunities, giving chance to reduce the impact of vulnerability and frailty.ConclusionsThis new and unique understanding of confidence provides a much needed evidence-base for services commissioned to promote and build confidence. It provides greater understanding and clarity to deliver these ambitions to an older population, progressing along the heath-frailty continuum. Empirical referents are required to quantify the concept’s impact in future interventional studies.

Trends in functional disability and cognitive impairment among the older adult in China up to 2060: estimates from a dynamic multi-state population model

BackgroundAvailable evidence suggests that cognitive impairment (CI), which leads to deficits in episodic memory, executive functions, visual attention, and language, is associated with difficulties in the capacity to perform activities of daily living. Hence any forecast of the future prevalence of functional disability should account for the likely impact of cognitive impairment on the onset of functional disability. Thus, this research aims to address this gap in literature by projecting the number of older adults in China with functional disability and cognitive impairment while accounting for the impact of cognitive impairment on the onset of functional disability.MethodsWe developed and validated a dynamic multi-state population model which simulates the population of China and tracks the transition of Chinese older adults (65 years and older) from 2010 to 2060, to and from six health states—(i) active older adults without cognitive impairment, (ii) active older adults with cognitive impairment, (iii) older adults with 1 to 2 ADL limitations, (iv) older adults with cognitive impairment and 1 to 2 ADL limitations, (v) older adults with 3 or more ADL limitations, and (vi) older adults with cognitive impairment and 3 or more ADL limitations.ResultsFrom 2015 to 2060, the number of older adults 65 years and older in China is projected to increase, of which the number with impairment (herein referred to as individuals with cognitive impairment and/or activity of daily living limitations) is projected to increase more than fourfold from 17·9 million (17·8–18·0) million in 2015 to 96·2 (95·3–97·1) million by 2060. Among the older adults with impairment, those with ADL limitations only is projected to increase from 3·7 million (3·6–3·7 million) in 2015 to 23·9 million (23·4–24·6 million) by 2060, with an estimated annual increase of 12·2% (12·1–12·3); while that for cognitive impairment only is estimated to increase from 11·4 million (11·3–11·5 million) in 2015 to 47·8 million (47·5–48·2 million) by 2060—this representing an annual growth of 7·07% (7·05–7·09).ConclusionOur findings suggest there will be an increase in demand for intermediate and long-term care services among the older adults with functional disability and cognitive impairment.

FACTORS RESPONSIBLE FOR EXPANSION OF BELARUSIAN-ROMANIAN TECHNOLOGICAL COOPERATION

The article reveals the factors that determine the need to expand the Belarusian-Romanian technological cooperation in the context of the new industrialization of the two countries, namely: the change in the dynamics of foreign trade under the influence of the growing domestic demand of developing countries; reducing the share of intermediate goods and services in international trade; the growing impact of new and emerging technologies on world trade; the need for a new industrialization within the social paradigm Industry 4.0; an unprecedented degree of concentration in several countries of the most important raw materials required for the modern stage of industrialization; an unprecedented rise in global social inequality.

Retrospective analysis of referrals to the North East of England intermediate oral surgery service

AbstractIntroductionThe intermediate oral surgery service in North East England was introduced in 2009 following changes in the primary care contract in 2005 allowing primary care organisations to locally commission services to meet population need. The aim of this service introduction was to reduce pressures on secondary care and improve efficiency and costs of oral surgery service provision. Where there are geographical variations in the number of referrals received to intermediate oral surgery services in North East England, this study aimed to identify the reasons for these.Materials and methodsA retrospective analysis of referrals to the National Health Service (NHS) Intermediate North East of England Oral Surgery Service was completed. Analysis of 48,286 referrals from 2009 to 2019 was assessed from two NHS specialist oral surgery providers. Primary care practice referrals were located to practice postcode; the sum of referrals from each postcode accumulated over this period. Referral variations were compared with NHS primary care contract sizes, distance to specialist provider and Index of Multiple Deprivation of provider location to identify correlations.ResultsData indicate a significant range in primary care referral frequency over the 10‐year period. Referrals from primary care providers ranged from 1 to 2334 over the 10‐year period. No correlation is seen between distance to provider (r2 = 0.058), contract size (r2 = 0.087), deprivation levels (r2 = 0.01) and the referral rate.ConclusionThe large variation in referral rate provides data for commissioners of dental services including managed clinical networks (MCNs) to outline high referring primary care practices and plan for future service development.

Energy Consumption in China’s Construction Industry: Energy Driving and Driven Abilities from a Regional Perspective

Abstract The construction industry is one of the largest energy consumers in China. It not only uses energy directly but also consumes a large amount of embodied energy hidden in intermediate goods and services from other industries. This paper utilizes the multi-regional input-output (MRIO) model to measure the embodied energy consumption in China’s construction industry at the province level. To quantify the backward and forward linkages between the construction industry and other industries, the energy-driven and energy-driving abilities of the construction industry are investigated for 30 provinces. The results show that the values of the energy-driven coefficients are significantly larger than the energy-driving coefficients, indicating that the construction industry is highly dependent on products from other industries and other regions, not vice versa. The construction industries in the southwest and northwest regions of China have the highest energy-driven coefficients, showing that the construction industries in west China heavily rely on indirect energy embodied in goods and services. This particularly applies in Guangxi and Hainan provinces, which have the highest energy-driven abilities and the lowest energy-driving abilities. The findings can facilitate the policy-makers to examine the critical energy-saving paths.

The practice environment\u2019s influence on patient participation in intermediate healthcare services \u2013 the perspectives of patients, relatives and healthcare professionals

BackgroundIntermediate care (IC) bridges the clinical pathway of older patients transitioning from the hospital to home. Currently, there is a strong consensus that the practice environment is an important factor in helping older people overcome their limitations and regain function after illness or injury. Regardless of the arising attention related to person-centred care, the practice environment is yet to be recognised as a vital part of care, and a small extent of focus has been given the environmental dimensions of IC services. Thus, more research is required regarding the complex relationships between older people and the practice environment. This study explores the perspectives of older patients, their relatives and healthcare professionals related to the practice environment’s influence on patient participation among older people in the context of intermediate healthcare services.MethodsUsing purposive sampling and theoretical approaches, including frameworks of patient participation, the practices environment and person-centred care, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 older patients, 12 relatives and 18 healthcare professionals from three different IC institutions in Norway to discuss their experiences and preferences regarding patient participation. A thematic analysis was used to explore patterns across the interviews.ResultsThree main themes were identified: ‘location and access to physical facilities’, ‘symbolic expression of patients’ and professionals’ possibilities’ and ‘participating in meaningful activities’. The findings show that both the physical and the psychosocial environments influenced older patients’ various types of participation in IC services.ConclusionsTo optimise rehabilitation care for older people, the ward configuration should focus on supportive environments that facilitate patient participation and provide options for the patients and relatives to independently access the facilities, balancing the personal capabilities with the environmental demands. To foster patient participation, the practice environment should thus align with the model of person-centred rehabilitation.

КЛАСТЕРНЫЙ МЕТОД И МЕХАНИЗМЫ ВЗАИМОДЕЙСТВИЯ В ОРГАНИЗАЦИИ ЗЕРНОВОГО ПРОИЗВОДСТВА

The mechanism of distribution relations regarding the exchange of intermediate products, resources and services and the distribution of income from the sale of final products on the external market is an important part of economic relations within the cluster. The distribution mechanism ensures that the interests of cluster subjects are respected, and the mechanism of the grain product cluster is based on the fact that revenues from the sale of final products are distributed along the chain of the technological cycle, distributed through prices, tariffs, and centralized funds created by the cluster participants. In the grain-product complex, when using market prices, some enterprises become profitable, some-unprofitable, and when clustering, these processes can be preserved. An important element of the regional grain cluster is large grain companies and holdings that have concentrated large grain receiving enterprises for receiving, drying, storing and shipping grain. They include high-performance flour milling enterprises that have modern equipment from international manufacturers. These companies also include large, medium and small agricultural enterprises that produce grain, which have developed their own technological strategy and production structure, tactics, market behavior, and pricing policy. Regulatory mechanisms should be used to regulate relationships between cluster entities, ensure interests, coordinate individual and corporate goals, and regulate internal assortment, resource, price, and other proportions: standards of exchange and distribution relations; prices for products and final products sold. The issues of forming optimal economic relations between regional cluster entities, ensuring the implementation of individual and corporate goals, and regulating assortment, resource, and price interests are complex. The main part of economic relations within a cluster is the mechanism of distribution relations arising from the exchange of intermediate products, resources and services and the distribution of income from the sale of final products on the foreign market. The distribution mechanism should ensure that the interests of cluster members are realized. It should also be noted the peculiarity of regional clusters as a broad field of activity of enterprises.

Energy Efficiency Measurement: A VO TFEE Approach and Its Application

Energy efficiency is crucial to the 2030 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), but its widely measured indicator, energy intensity, is still insufficient. For this reason, in 2006, total factor energy efficiency (TFEE) was proposed with capital, labor, and energy as inputs and GDP as the desirable output. The later TFEE approach further incorporated pollution as the undesirable output. However, it is problematic to regard GDP (the total value of final products) as the desirable output, because GDP does not include the intermediate consumption, which accounts for a large part of the production activities and may even be larger than the value of GDP. GDP is more suitable for measuring distribution, while VO (value of output) is more appropriate for sustainable production analysis. Therefore, we propose a VO TFEE approach that takes VO as the desirable output instead and correspondingly incorporates the other intermediate materials and services except energy into inputs. Finally, the empirical analysis of the textile industry of EU member states during 2011–2017 indicates that the VO TFEE approach is more stable and convergent in measuring energy efficiency, and is more suitable for helping policymakers achieve the SDGs of energy saving, emissions reduction, and sustainable economic development.