Area Of Management Research Articles

Global drivers of mangrove loss in protected areas.

Despite increasing efforts and investment in mangrove conservation, mangrove cover continues to decline globally. The extent to which protected area (PA) management effectively prevents mangrove loss globally across differing management objectives and governance types is not well understood. We combined remote sensing data with PA information to identify the extent and the drivers of mangrove loss across PAs with distinct governance types and protection levels based on categories developed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Mangrove loss due to storms and erosion was prevalent across all governance types and most IUCN categories. However, the extent of human-driven loss differed across governance types and IUCN categories. Loss was highest in national government PAs. Private, local, shared arrangement, and subnational government agencies had low human-driven mangrove loss. Human-driven loss was highest in PAs with the highest level of restrictions on human activities (IUCN category I) due to mangrove conversion to areas for commodity production (e.g., aquaculture), whereas PAs that allowed sustainable resource use (e.g., category VI) experienced low levels of human-driven mangrove loss. Because category I PAs with high human-driven loss were primarily governed by national government agencies, conservation outcomes in highly PAs might depend not only on the level of restrictions, but also on the governance type. Mangrove loss across different governance types and IUCN categories varied regionally. Specific governance types and IUCN categories thus seemed more effective in preventing mangrove loss in certain regions. Overall, we found that natural drivers contributed to global mangrove loss across all PAs, whereas human-driven mangrove loss was lowest in PAs with subnational- to local-level governance and PAs with few restrictions on human activities.

Recruitment, selection and retention of health professionals in indirect management and private management entities

The recruitment and retention of professionals in indirectly managed and privately managed health care institutions is governed by a different regulatory framework than in directly managed institutions. That legal framework is the Workers' Statute, which contains its own regulatory elements in terms of bargaining power and general basic conditions, among others. The regulatory framework of the Workers' Statute allows for a broad capacity for management, negotiation and agreement in the field of human resources management, and specifically in the processes of recruitment, selection and retention, but for some years now basic legislation and interventions by public control bodies have been incorporated which have modified this discretionarily for indirect management entities, bringing them closer and closer to the system of administrative management for civil servants/statutory employees, and consequently limiting the capacity for decision making and adaptation typical of business/private management. This article attempts to explain the similarities and differences between the different areas of management and to explore the weaknesses and opportunities of each of them in terms of recruitment, selection, and retention policies, offering a specific reflection on the selection of executives and managers, as well as an analysis and assessment of the retention of professionals in healthcare institutions.

Deliberative Governance Principles in Forest Areas Management with Special Purposes

Deliberative Governance Principles in Forest Areas Management with Special Purposes

Earthquake, flood and resilience management through spatial planning, decision and information system

Assessment and planning of crisis management with the natural disasters approach include many components. In this regard, floods and earthquakes are some of the fundamental pillars in this field. With this view, paying attention to the current and future planning and research priorities of the world shows that crisis management in flood-prone and earthquake-prone areas and increasing resilience are the most important priorities for sustainable development studies and planning in the world. The western region of Iran (Lorestan province) has a special place due to the prominent features of flood and seismicity. This study aims to investigate the current situation regarding floods and earthquakes and increase the resilience of settlements with emphasis on the study area. After studying the current structure of flood and earthquake zoning according to multi-factor criteria, zoning was performed based on the integration of GIS and AHP information systems, and at the output of the work, high-risk settlements were determined separately for rural and urban areas with geographical coordinates, and then areas with low, very low, medium, high, and very high resilience were presented separately for rural and urban settlements. Also, after analyzing the SWOT model, strategies to increase the resilience of settlements to floods and earthquakes were presented. The study method of this research and the results, strategies, and operational options presented while being used in the study area are also applicable in other areas.

Moving Trend Analysis Methodology for Hydro-meteorology Time Series Dynamic Assessment

AbstractIn the last 30 years, there are many publications in the literature due to global warming and climate change impacts exhibiting non-stationary behaviors in hydro-meteorology time series records especially in the forms of increasing or decreasing trends. The conventional trend analyzes cover the entire recording time with a single straight-line trend and slope. These methods do not provide information about up and down partial moving trends evolution at shorter durations along the entire record length. This paper proposes a dynamic methodology for identifying such evolutionary finite duration moving trend method (MTM) identifications and interpretations. The purpose of choosing MTM was to investigate the dynamic partial trend evolution over the recording period so that dry (decreasing trend) and wet (increasing trend) segments could be objectively identified and these trends could assist in water resources management in the study area. The moving trend analysis is like the classical moving average methodology with one important digression that instead of arithmetic averages and their horizontal line representations, a series of finite duration successive increasing and decreasing trends are identified over a given hydro-meteorology time series record. In general, partial moving trends of 10-year, 20-year, 30-year and 40-year occur above or below the overall trend and thus provide practical insight into the dynamic trend pattern with important implications. The moving trend methodology is applied to annual records of Danube River discharges, New Jersey state wise temperatures and precipitation time series from the City of Istanbul.

Borich 요구도와 The Locus for Focus model을 활용한 대학생의 챗GPT 현 수준 및 중요도 분석

Objectives The purpose of this study is to analyze the perception level of university students regarding ChatGPT using the Borich Needs and The Locus for Focus model. Methods For this purpose, a total of 199 undergraduate students from University A in the metropolitan area were selected as participants, and the research was conducted using SPSS 25.0 and Excel software programs. Statistical significance was analyzed using t-tests to examine the differences between the current level and im-portance in IPA analysis.Borich'sNeeds and The Locus for Focus Model were examined in a 2x2 matrix, divided into four quadrants. Results The key findings of this study are as follows: First, in the IPA analysis, the reinforcement and maintenance area(HH) revealed 2 items related to understanding ChatGPT, 5items related to ChatGPT principles and applica-tions, and 1 item related to data and machine learning. The concentration management area(HL) included 1 item related to ChatGPT principles and applications, and 3 items related to data and machine learning. The low priority area(LL) consisted of 1 item related to understanding ChatGPT, 2 items related to ChatGPT principles and applica-tions, and 4 items related to social impact. The excessive area(LH) was characterized bybiaseddata in the social impact category. Second, it was found that the differences between importance and current level were higher in terms of importance for all items, except for those related to data bias. This difference was statistically significant. The priority order according to Borich's needs includes 'structuredand unstructured data', 'sensorsand perception', 'computer vision', 'concepts of AI agents' and 'conceptsand application learning of machines'. Third, The Locus for Focus model analysis revealed that the HH area consisted of 9 items, including 'speech recognition and language understanding', 'problem solving and exploration', 'representation and deduction of information', 'concepts and ap-plication learning of machines', 'concepts and application of artificial neural networks', 'data attributes', 'structured and unstructured data', 'classification models', and 'machine learning model implementation'. Fourth, a total of 6 items, including 'speech recognition and language understanding', 'representation and deduction of information', 'concepts and application learning of machines', 'concepts and application of artificial neural networks', 'structured and unstructured data', and 'classification models' were consistently rated as high priority and demanded the high-est attention. Conclusions The findings of this study indicate the need to explore ways to apply ChatGPT in education. Furthermore, it proposes a long-term education plan to enhance awareness of the social impact of ChatGPT and provide practical strategies for learning and applying it.

Population Trend of Colonially Nesting Heron Species in Greece

Heron colonies are dynamic components of wetlands. Therefore, their systematic monitoring is important for the management of both birds and wetlands. During the period 1988–2018, we counted breeding pairs of seven colonial breeding heron species at 65 colonies across 37 wetlands in Greece. We considered as annual variables of a population: (a) years since 1988, (b) Natura 2000 network inclusion, (c) protected area management authority overseeing, (d) wetland type (new or restored), and (e) new colonies (established after 2003). The Cattle Egret Bubulcus ibis and the Squacco Heron Ardeola ralloides had a positive breeding population trend. The Black-crowned Night Heron Nycticorax nycticorax, Little Egret Egretta garzetta, and Grey Heron Ardea cinerea had a negative trend, while the Purple Heron Ardea purpurea population was stable. The Great White Egret Ardea alba bred sporadically at only a few sites which precluded the evaluation of its population trend. The informative population variables differed among species, even of those at the same colony, which suggests trends are also affected by conditions at wintering grounds. The study highlights the need for the systematic monitoring of heron colonies and the protection of foraging/breeding areas in order to reverse the observed negative population trends.

Effect of Mergers and Acquisitions in the Indian Banking Sector: A Case Study on Bank of Baroda

Effect of Mergers and Acquisitions in the Indian Banking Sector: A Case Study on Bank of Baroda

Machine Learning in Credit Risk Forecasting —— A Survey on Credit Risk Exposure

Credit risk is one of the most important elements in risk management area. Traditional regression types of credit risk models are straightforward to implement and model outputs are easy to interpret. However, the model accuracy can always be suboptimal to fit the real credit risk data series. Especially, the model performance even deteriorates under extreme economic scenarios. In contrast, the modern machine learning models can handle different drawbacks of regression types of models. In this paper, we survey the recent literatures on applying the machine learning or deep learning methods in credit risk forecast with special focus on study the superiorities of these techniques. Besides of delivering better prediction accuracies, we uncover other four advantages for machine learning type of default forecast which have been shown in few literatures. We also survey the less studied machine learning or deep learning type of prepayment forecast. By reviewing past literatures from both default and prepayment risk aspects, we can gain comprehensive overview of utilizing machine learning techniques in credit risk forecasting and valuable insights for future risk management research.

National Park Service Internal Structures Toward Agency Resilience: A Mixed-Methods, Multi-Site, Mesoscale Investigation

Agencies focused on protected areas’ conservation and recreation require internal capacity-building to enhance their organizational resilience (the ability to adapt and persist). Yet, internal capacity-building is often underemphasized as agencies attend to external relationships. This omission can lessen an agency’s ability to adapt to emergent stressors and opportunities. Specifically, relationships within an agency’s groups (i.e., divisions)—the intra-organizational mesoscale between individuals and whole organizations—can increase an agency’s ability to efficiently build resilience-enhancing adaptive capacity. The U.S. National Park Service (NPS) adopted this mesoscale in their Urban Agenda goal of One NPS, or building resilience-enhancing, agency-wide internal relationships. We investigated intra-organizational relationships in this context, examining relationships within (i.e., bonds) and across (i.e., bridges) three NPS groups: parks (physical spaces), programs (community outreach), and offices (administrative functions). Pairing qualitative interviews with quantitative social network analysis in Detroit, Tucson, and Boston, we examined internal relationship prevalence, supports, and opportunities. The NPS has program and office presence in each of these three urban areas but different proximities to national park units, which are the typical face of the NPS. Across these urban areas, we found that the parks group exhibits more bonds (park-to-park relationships), the programs group exhibits more bridges (program-to-park or program-to-office), and the offices group exhibits a mixture of bonds and bridges. To further One NPS and organizational resilience, cultivating bridges among the three groups is key. This investigation may inform a more strategic focusing of an agency’s limited resources. We highlight five directions for protected area managers’ consideration toward this aim: build bridges locally among groups; consider group composition when identifying divisions (i.e., programs appear more heterogeneous or dissimilar from each other than do the park and office groups); reflect on parks’ centrality to NPS identity and relationships; seek organizational structures supportive of relationship development; and focus on the organizational mesoscale for resilience-enhancing adaptive capacity. These directions for strategic focusing of organizational resources are based in the longstanding work of the NPS but ultimately transcend this single agency, providing targeted guidance for protected area agencies in building internal capacity toward external, public-oriented goals.

Institutional, Ecological, Economic, and Socio-Cultural Sustainability—Evidence from Ponjavica Nature Park

The Nature Park Ponjavica (NP) is the habitat of strictly protected plant and animal species, located in AP Vojvodina, in southern Banat (Northern Serbia). The area of the park covers 302.96 ha. Protection zones I, II, and III have been established in the protected area of the NP. The NP includes the middle course of the Ponjavica River, which has preserved characteristics of watercourses of plain areas and coastal remains of wetland habitats. The most valuable area of this park in terms of protection is an island with an area of slightly less than 1 hectare. According to the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature), the NP is classified as the fourth category—Habitat and species management area. The good geographical position of NP is one of its main characteristics. The NP can be a destination where specific forms of tourism can be developed, such as ecotourism, nature-based tourism, birdwatching, scientific and research tourism, etc. Numerous historical sites represent a significant potential for the development of cultural tourism. The research examined the influence of institutional, economic, ecological, and socio-cultural sustainability on the respondents’ satisfaction. The quantitative methodology in this research included a questionnaire as a survey instrument for respondents. A total of 547 residents were surveyed. The results of the research indicate that there is considerable satisfaction among residents with sustainable tourism. The results of the research can help in the development of numerous tourism development strategies in which the wetland is the primary resource.

People with Inflammatory Bowel Disease Prefer Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Fatigue Management: A Conjoint Analysis.

Psychological interventions are a promising area for fatigue management in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). However, most interventions trialled to date have been pilots with limited direct input from patients about the type of intervention they want. Thus, this study aimed to explore patient preferences for a psychological IBD fatigue intervention. An international online cross-sectional survey was conducted with adults with self-reported IBD. A conjoint analysis was employed to elicit, through a series of forced-choice scenarios, patient preferences for a fatigue intervention. For this study, the attributes manipulated across these forced-choice scenarios were type of intervention, modality of delivery, and duration of intervention. Overall, 834 people with IBD were included in analysis. Respondents ranked the type of psychological intervention as most important for overall preference (with cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) preferred over the other approaches), followed by modality of delivery, but placed very little importance on how long the intervention runs for. Patients with IBD appear to most strongly preference a short online CBT intervention for managing their IBD-related fatigue. This study helps provide therapists and program developers clear direction on patient preferences when it comes to developing new psychological programs that address fatigue in IBD.

Enhancing thermal conductance between graphene and epoxy interfaces through non-covalent cation-π interactions

Although graphene has high thermal conductivity, its application in thermal management remains challenging because of the large interfacial thermal resistance between graphene and adjacent materials. This work demonstrates that non-covalent cationic-π interaction can significantly improve the thermal conductance between graphene and substrate interfaces. Cationic polyacrylamide (CPAM) bridges substrate and graphene with hydrogen bonding and cation-π interaction, respectively. The cation-π interaction between graphene and CPAM is confirmed by Raman, UV–Vis and NMR spectroscopy. The results show that CPAM increases the interfacial adhesion of graphene/epoxy from 18.7 ± 2.2 mN to 37.4 ± 7.6 mN (100.0 % improvement) and improves the interfacial thermal conductivity (ITC) from 22 ± 2 MW/m2K to 51 ± 5 MW/m2K (131.8 % improvement). Enhancing the ITC of graphene/epoxy by introducing CPAM assembled layer has advantages over covalent modifications because it provides a similar level of ITC improvement rate, but has little effect on the intrinsic thermal conductivity of graphene. Finally, it is demonstrated that the sample with graphene/cationic polyelectrolyte/substrate structure exhibits great potential for applications in the area of thermal management and printed circuit boards.

PAHs in franciscana dolphins from the Southwestern Atlantic Ocean: Concentration and maternal transfer assessments

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are organic compounds ubiquitous in the environment and known for their toxic, mutagenic, and carcinogenic effects. These compounds can bioaccumulate in the biota and be transferred through trophic webs. The franciscana dolphin (Pontoporia blainvillei), as top predators, can be an environmental sentinels. Thus, this study aimed to provide data about PAHs concentration in their hepatic tissue collected on the coast of Espírito Santo (Franciscana Management Area, FMA Ia), Rio de Janeiro (FMA IIa), and São Paulo states (FMA IIb), in Southeastern Brazil. PAHs were detected in 86 % of franciscana dolphins (n = 50). The highest ∑PAHsTotal median concentration was reported in FMA Ia followed by FMA IIb and FMA IIa (1055.6; 523.9, and 72.1 ng.g-1 lipid weight, respectively). Phenanthrene was detected in one fetus and two neonates, showing maternal transfer of PAHs in these dolphins. Evaluating PAHs with potential toxic effects is of utmost importance for the conservation of a threatened species.

Mechanical Recycling of Carbon Fiber-Reinforced Polymer in a Circular Economy

This review thoroughly investigates the mechanical recycling of carbon fiber-reinforced polymer composites (CFRPCs), a critical area for sustainable material management. With CFRPC widely used in high-performance areas like aerospace, transportation, and energy, developing effective recycling methods is essential for tackling environmental and economic issues. Mechanical recycling stands out for its low energy consumption and minimal environmental impact. This paper reviews current mechanical recycling techniques, highlighting their benefits in terms of energy efficiency and material recovery, but also points out their challenges, such as the degradation of mechanical properties due to fiber damage and difficulties in achieving strong interfacial adhesion in recycled composites. A novel part of this review is the use of finite element analysis (FEA) to predict the behavior of recycled CFRPCs, showing the potential of recycled fibers to preserve structural integrity and performance. This review also emphasizes the need for more research to develop standardized mechanical recycling protocols for CFRPCs that enhance material properties, optimize recycling processes, and assess environmental impacts thoroughly. By combining experimental and numerical studies, this review identifies knowledge gaps and suggests future research directions. It aims to advance the development of sustainable, efficient, and economically viable CFRPC recycling methods. The insights from this review could significantly benefit the circular economy by reducing waste and enabling the reuse of valuable carbon fibers in new composite materials.

Bridging Geo-Data and Natural Gas Pipeline Design Standards: A Systematic Review of BIM-GIS Integration for Natural Gas Pipeline Asset Management

In today’s world, effective management and the use of spatial data are of great importance in many sectors. Industries such as land management, asset management, and infrastructure management are areas where spatial data are heavily utilized. Advanced technologies such as Geographic Information Systems (GISs) and Building Information Modeling (BIM) are used in the processes of collecting, analyzing, and managing geographically enabled data (geo-data). These technologies enable the effective processing of large datasets, improve decision-making processes based on geographic information, and facilitate more efficient collaboration across sectors. This study conducts an in-depth examination of the existing literature on asset management, infrastructure management, and BIM-GIS integration using bibliometric analysis and systematic literature review methods. Bibliometric analysis is employed to determine statistical values such as current research trends, frequently cited authors, most used keywords, and country performances in the relevant field. This study’s results highlight future research trends and significant gaps in the areas of asset management, infrastructure management, natural gas pipelines, and BIM-GIS integration. In particular, this study demonstrates the critical importance of asset management and BIM-GIS integration for sustainable infrastructure design, construction, and management. In this context, attention is drawn to the importance of data standardization, digitization, systematic integration, and contemporary land management requirements.

Urban lakes change extraction using time series GaoFen-1 satellite imagery

Abstract. Urban lakes serve an indispensable role in maintaining the ecological balance of cities, ensuring flood safety, and providing recreational spaces for tourism. With the development of human activities and economic, the extent of urban lakes are inevitably influenced. Currently, the ability to detect detailed temporal changes in urban lake areas using high resolution data still has limitations. This study proposed a novel method by combining time series Gaofen-1 (GF-1) remote sensing data and random forest machine learning algorithm to explore the urban lakes change Zhushan Lake located in Wuhan. The research conducted the extraction of surface water for Zhushan Lake and its surrounding pit-ponds from 2013 to 2020. And then, a quantitative analysis of the characteristics and driving factors of lake changes is conducted. We find that (1) the accuracy of surface water extraction using the random forest classification method consistently exceeded 96%. The Kappa coefficient ranges from a minimum of 0.86 to a maximum of 0.99. (2) A noticeable decline was observed in the water areas of Zhushan Lake and its surrounding pit-ponds, predominantly along the northwestern shoreline and in the eastern pond regions. This decline is primarily attributed to pressures from building construction. The methodology proposed in this study is suitable for the area management of lakes in urban areas.

"Biodiversity Offsetting" in Uganda's Protected Areas: A Pathway to Restoration of Forest Biodiversity?

With limited national financing for conservation, there is an increasing interest in using biodiversity offset funds to strengthen protected area management. Offsetting measures can potentially be used in the restoration of degraded protected areas. However, there are concerns related to the uncertainty of restoration outcomes and time-lags before the expected benefits can be observed. Using a case of the Gangu Central Forest Reserve in central Uganda, we contribute empirical findings showing the potential and limitations of biodiversity offsetting by means of the restoration of a degraded forest reserve. We use forest cover change analysis and community surveys to determine forest changes after eight years of offset implementation, and forest inventories to analyse the current forest structure and composition to ascertain taxonomic diversity recovery. The results revealed that biodiversity offsetting led to a 21% increase in Tropical High Forest cover, and enhanced restoration of forest species composition and diversity. However, attaining permanence of the restoration benefits requires the regulation of community forest resource access and use. Strengthening forest management capacity to monitor the offset sites and compensating impacted communities for foregone forest resource benefits are crucial for the successful implementation of biodiversity offsets.

Relationships between Organizational Culture, Organizational Commitment, and Organizational Citizenship Behavior

Organizations that are going to prosper and grow, particularly in the area of human resource management, must be able to recognize new opportunities in order to be ready for the future. The researcher is eager to look at the interactions between three important factors: organizational culture, organizational commitment, and organizational citizenship behavior, based on a survey of relevant literature. Organizational culture is the social glue that keeps workers united and fosters a feeling of community within the company. Previous research has shown that indicators of organizational success are significantly impacted by organizational commitment. An organization’s efficacy can also be significantly increased by practicing organizational citizenship. Current study indicates that employees’ organizational commitment is positively impacted by organizational culture. Furthermore, the results demonstrated that organizational culture has a discernible impact on organizational citizenship behavior. Based on the results of the aforementioned investigations, the researcher concludes that organizational commitment has a considerable impact on organizational citizenship behavior. The study’s results, according to the researcher, should eventually provide light on significant variables affecting organizational development. The final result of this study is that the researcher presents a model of the relationship between three important human resource factors: organizational culture, organizational commitment, and organizational citizenship behavior, as a guideline for organizational administration and human resource management development in the future.

Evaluation of integrated community case management of the common childhood illness program in Gondar city, northwest Ethiopia: a case study evaluation design

BackgroundIntegrated Community Case Management (ICCM) of common childhood illness is one of the global initiatives to reduce mortality among under-five children by two-thirds. It is also implemented in Ethiopia to improve community access and coverage of health services. However, as per our best knowledge the implementation status of integrated community case management in the study area is not well evaluated. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the implementation status of the integrated community case management program in Gondar City, Northwest Ethiopia.MethodsA single case study design with mixed methods was employed to evaluate the process of integrated community case management for common childhood illness in Gondar town from March 17 to April 17, 2022. The availability, compliance, and acceptability dimensions of the program implementation were evaluated using 49 indicators. In this evaluation, 484 mothers or caregivers participated in exit interviews; 230 records were reviewed, 21 key informants were interviewed; and 42 observations were included. To identify the predictor variables associated with acceptability, we used a multivariable logistic regression analysis. Statistically significant variables were identified based on the adjusted odds ratio (AOR) with a 95% confidence interval (CI) and p-value. The qualitative data was recorded, transcribed, and translated into English, and thematic analysis was carried out.ResultsThe overall implementation of integrated community case management was 81.5%, of which availability (84.2%), compliance (83.1%), and acceptability (75.3%) contributed. Some drugs and medical equipment, like Cotrimoxazole, vitamin K, a timer, and a resuscitation bag, were stocked out. Health care providers complained that lack of refreshment training and continuous supportive supervision was the common challenges that led to a skill gap for effective program delivery. Educational status (primary AOR = 0.27, 95% CI:0.11–0.52), secondary AOR = 0.16, 95% CI:0.07–0.39), and college and above AOR = 0.08, 95% CI:0.07–0.39), prescribed drug availability (AOR = 2.17, 95% CI:1.14–4.10), travel time to the to the ICCM site (AOR = 3.8, 95% CI:1.99–7.35), and waiting time (AOR = 2.80, 95% CI:1.16–6.79) were factors associated with the acceptability of the program by caregivers.Conclusion and recommendationThe overall implementation status of the integrated community case management program was judged as good. However, there were gaps observed in the assessment, classification, and treatment of diseases. Educational status, availability of the prescribed drugs, waiting time and travel time to integrated community case management sites were factors associated with the program acceptability. Continuous supportive supervision for health facilities, refreshment training for HEW’s to maximize compliance, construction clean water sources for HPs, and conducting longitudinal studies for the future are the forwarded recommendation.