Pillar Approach Research Articles

CURRENT STATE OF ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS OF TRANSPORT SERVICE STAKEHOLDERS AND END-CUSTOMERS IN THE INTERMODAL TRANSPORT CHAIN

Despite all the measures already taken and those still underway, pollution remains a major global problem, as the transport sector is the one where emissions are expected to increase in the coming years. Companies and policy makers are under increasing pressure to reduce the impact of their logistics activities in order to make transportation more environmentally friendly. One of the solutions to reduce emissions from intermodal transport is to choose the “right” mode of transport for each step in the transport chain. Such a measure increases the complexity of the transport chain and places an additional burden on transport companies in planning and organising transport for the entire transport chain. Additional difficulties arise from the fragmentation of information on emissions emitted for a single transport link and the lack of a unified approach to measuring and estimating transport chain emissions. As a result, this work finds that there is a lack of knowledge among users about the environmental impacts of transportation, despite the desire to contribute to greener transportation by paying more for a product or transportation service. The current research fills the gap in stakeholders’ understanding of the negative environmental impacts for individual transportation and for the entire transport chain. In addition, the study reveals a need for a systematically regulated and adapted way of informing users of intermodal transport chains due to the lack of transparency and comparison between different intermodal transport chains. To successfully address the challenges, the study proposes a 2-pillar approach. The 1st pillar approach focuses on designing a set of necessary measures (combination of top-down and bottom-up approach) for the transition to a low-carbon transport chain, while the 2nd pillar mainly focuses on mapping the level of green transport for easy comparison of similar products or services. The results of the research study show that the combination of numerical data with symbolic data is best suited to provide information on the level of green transport.

Optimizing Red Blood Cell Mass, the First Pillar of PBM – First Things First

Patient blood management involves a three pillar approach to optimizing. The first pillar was optimizing the red cell mass. In doing so, a goal-oriented patient care approach is needed to obtain improved clinical outcomes. All of this requires the application of published evidence and utilizing best clinical practice.

Sustainability assurance and corporate environmental accountability

AbstractThis study explores the institutional field of sustainability assurance in South Africa to explain how this emerging practice, largely embedded in the mature field of auditing, operates. Employing the institutional pillars approach to analyze data obtained from in‐depth interviews, archival sources, and documentary reviews, the study shows mechanisms by which governing norms of the sustainability assurance field in South Africa are maintained despite a conspicuous gap between the desired purpose of sustainability assurance and its actual practice. Building on prior research on capture of sustainability assurance field, we identify an institutional outcome of total—that is, managerial and professional—capture conditioned by (1) malleability of the objective and scope of sustainability assurance engagements and (2) inadequate regulative pillars that failed to manage the multiple and competing interests in the sustainability assurance field. We show that total capture enabled maintaining field norms of sustainability assurance that cater for the interests of assurors and clients with limited regard to enhancing corporate environmental sustainability. The study contributes to the literature by highlighting the institutional outcome of embedding the emerging practice of sustainability assurance in an established field of auditing in a setting with weak regulative pillars.

Evolution of an Independent Research Institution: A Reflective Analysis

This article examines the idea of institutions and the elements of the process of institutionalisation, using the features of and experiences in an independent research organisation, which was established in 1998, in India. The author, using her experience of heading this organisation for nearly 13 years, and drawing from the Scott’s three pillar approach, reflects on the aspects of why and how an organisation becomes an institution, and what the joys and challenges of leading the process of institution building are. She argues that institution-building is a continuous process where Scott’s three pillars support each other, and change over time and space. The real test of an organisation in becoming an institution is in the capacity to respond to the emergent needs both inside the organisation, and to the external environment, while managing to work as per the vision and perceived mandate, maintain order and stability, within given resources and legal frameworks that guide the functioning of the organisation. Using her own experiences, she identifies plurality as the most important principle that helped in the process of institutionalisation in this case.

Evaluasi Program E-Kelurahan Di Kota Padang Menggunakan E-Government Maturity Model

The e-Kelurahan program is one of the leading smartcity programs in the Padang Citywhich aim of realizing the convenience of basic services at sub-district level. The results of research in 2020 show that the implementation of e-kelurahan has not been effective. Then it is necessary to evaluate the e-Kelurahan program to make an assessment of the data and information on the results of the assessment that researchers have carried out in previous research through observation and data collection on the evaluation object. To discuss more deeply about this matter, it can be elaborated using Maturity e-Government Models using a pillar approach framework or the Five pillars of e-Government put forward by Fietkiewicz, Mainka & Stock in 2017 which consists of Information Dissemination, Communication, Transactions, Interoperability and Participation. This model is the latest evolution of E-Government Maturity Models. The research method uses descriptive qualitative. Data is obtainedthrough interviews, observation and documentation. The results of the study show that many features have been overlooked by the Municipal Government of Padang in developing e-Kelurahan. In building the e-Kelurahan application, the Padang City government has only reached the stage where the government is still focusing on the availability of applications to meet community needs compared to improving the quality and strengthening the performance of these applications. The drawbacks of this theory, like other maturity e-Government theories, the analysis only focuses on website development, ignoring other factors such as organization, resources and supervision which are also implementation problems

A 5 pillars approach to the sustainable development goals performance and reporting in Portuguese higher education institutions. Proposal for an applied framework

PurposeThe implementation and reporting of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) is one of the emerging challenges for higher education institutions (HEIs), but the lack of well-defined reporting structures and topics for this sector makes it difficult to map and evaluate HEI performance in relation to 2030 Agenda. This study aims to assess the SDG performance and reporting by the 13 HEIs that integrate the Times Higher Education Impact Ranking (THE_IR), from the perspective of the five pillars of the 2030 Agenda in the Portuguese context, where research on this topic is quite scarce.Design/methodology/approachConsidering the THE_IR methodology, an SDG reporting assessment framework with 85 key topics has been developed to search for in the institutional reports of the 13 studied HEIs. For each topic, depending on the number of institutions that disclose it, a reporting index (RI) has been calculated, which was used to compare the level of reporting between the different SDGs and pillars.FindingsConcerning HEIs’ SDG performance in the THE_IR, the People pillar was the one with the most HEIs ranked, followed by the Prosperity pillar. The Planet pillar was less highlighted. SDG reporting varied widely among Portuguese HEIs. The SDG RI presented a mean value of 43.1%. The Kruskal–Wallis test revealed that the RI for the Planet pillar (RI = 23.6%) was statistically and significantly lower than those for the People and Prosperity pillars (RI = 48.6% and 53.5%, respectively). The results thus demonstrated some conformity of the SDG reporting with Portuguese HEI performance in THE_IR. Aside from Goal 5, the SDGs 4 and 3 stood out in the first four positions of the HEIs in the THE_IR. Goals 3 and 4 were also the most disclosed in institutional reports.Originality/valueThis study proposed and applied a new SDG reporting assessment framework for HEIs, contributing to better evaluation of the inclusion of important SDG-related topics in their institutional reports.

Perspectives on Chronic Kidney Disease With Type 2 Diabetes and Risk Management: Practical Viewpoints and a Paradigm Shift Using a Pillar Approach.

Perspectives on Chronic Kidney Disease With Type 2 Diabetes and Risk Management: Practical Viewpoints and a Paradigm Shift Using a Pillar Approach.

Telling Our Story—A Community-Based Meso-Level Approach to Sustainable Community Development

Engaging diverse stakeholders in dialogue around sustainable development has proven to be a successful strategy to advance sustainable development goals. Without local engagement, sustainable development efforts can fail to accomplish their objectives. Yet, determining the best strategy for engaging diverse stakeholders can be challenging. Similarly challenging can be the transfer of information regarding successful development strategies from one community to another. Local specificity is key to finding sustainable development solutions. Yet, knowledge creation one-community-at-a-time is time consuming and limits the transferability of knowledge. Meso-level approaches are therefore essential to finding transferable solutions. The Five-Pillars approach to development is such a meso-level mixed methods approach. It identifies a manageable set of indicators in five common categories: education, health, environmental quality, social and cultural amenities, and information and transportation access. These indicator categories form the basis for selecting specific locations within a community where local stakeholders engage in writing a collective story about their sustainable development future. This article describes the implementation of the Five Pillars approach in two neighborhoods in Washington D.C. It concludes that the approach offers an effective engagement strategy that gives voice to the sustainable development vision of local stakeholders while providing a framework that can benefit diverse communities.

Sustainability of Organic Farming: A Review via Three Pillar Approach

Sustainability of Organic Farming: A Review via Three Pillar Approach

China's Belt-Road Initiative and Investment Strategies: A Two Pillar Approach to Afghanistan

China's Belt-Road Initiative and Investment Strategies: A Two Pillar Approach to Afghanistan

Towards cholera elimination in Zanzibar: analysis of evidences on what have worked.

Cholera, an enteric disease caused by Vibrio cholera claims thousands of lives yearly. The disease is a disease of inequality that affect populations which have poor access to safe water and sanitation facilities. Zanzibar, an archipelago in the Indian ocean which is part of the United Republic of Tanzania has been affected by recurrent cholera outbreak for the past decades. A multi-sectoral and multi-year three pillar approach namely Enabling Environment, Prevention and Response, for the elimination of cholera were initiated by the stewardship of the government, engagement of the community and technical and financial support of partners. The approach has enabled Zanzibar to interrupt the recurrent cholera outbreak for the past five years. The analysis of evidences have proven that creating an enabling environment through multi-sectoral involvement, mobilizing communities, intensifying surveillance complemented by the traditional disease prevention and control interventions has resulted to interruption of cholera transmission in the country.

A Critical Discourse Analysis of AACN’s Tool Kit of Resources for Cultural Competent Education for Baccalaureate Nurses

American institutions of nursing education have integrated cultural competence as a pillar approach to addressing health disparities. The theoretical frameworks, priorities, and solutions that national organizations pursue and endorse have far-reaching implications. The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) is one such organization. The purpose of this project was to critically analyze the AACN’s Tool Kit of Resources for Cultural Competent Education for Baccalaureate Nurses to excavate dynamics related to language, power, and inequality. Findings of this critical discourse analysis indicate: (1) the centrality of the AACN’s assumed authority and lack of relationality with readers, (2) nursing insularity and narrow theorization of culture and power, and (3) the harm of whiteness and colonialism as pedagogy. Accountability and repair include transparency, taking note of resources and viewpoints available and endorsed on organization websites, and updating (or refuting) outdated and harmful approaches.

Perancangan dan Pemanfaatan Digital Marketing untuk Meningkatkan Sektor Perekonomian Masyarakat Desa Gambirono

The lack of knowledge of the people of Gambirono Village about digital technology for business development is one factor in the unstable economy of Gambirono Village. The Gambirono community still really needs digital marketing assistance and training. This community service activity aims to increase the understanding of the Gambirono Village community about digital marketing and train the Gambirono Village community in the use of e-commerce and social media as a means of entrepreneurship, especially during this pandemic. The method used is the community development pillar approach, namely participation, institutionalization, and sustainability. In addition to the general problems faced by the people of Gambirono Village, the community service team has also developed a financial information system for convection business actors who during this pandemic have experienced difficulties in controlling the entry and exit of finances due to uncertain money. enter. In addition, the activities carried out are conducting door to door training on the use of e-commerce and social media in the surrounding community

China's Belt-Road Initiative and Investment Strategies: A Two Pillar Approach to Afghanistan

China's Belt-Road Initiative and Investment Strategies: A Two Pillar Approach to Afghanistan

Key performance indicators for destination management in developed economies: A four pillar approach

This conceptual paper puts forth sources of secondary and primary data that can assist destinations in developed countries track and ultimately improve their communities' tourism performance and resilience across four pillars of tourism sustainability: visitor economy, resident support, workforce satisfaction, and environmental health. Such data sources can be used by community leaders to formulate key performance indicators (KPIs) critical in building resilience. The impetus behind these proposed solutions is based on the assumption that the high cost and complexity of collecting and analyzing data on an ongoing basis have plagued the broad adoption of communities engaging in sustainable initiatives. We contend that given access to suitable data, destinations can be better managed as ecosystems in line with sustainable community objectives.

Tracing long-distance electron transfer and cable bacteria in freshwater sediments by agar pillar gradient columns.

Cable bacteria (CB) perform electrogenic sulfur oxidation (e-SOx) by spatially separating redox half reactions over centimetre distances. For freshwater systems, the ecology of CB is not yet well understood, partly because they proved difficult to cultivate. This study introduces a new 'agar pillar' approach to selectively enrich and investigate CB populations. Within sediment columns, a central agar pillar is embedded, providing a sediment-free gradient system in equilibrium with the surrounding sediment. We incubated freshwater sediments from a streambed, a sulfidic lake and a hydrocarbon-polluted aquifer in such agar pillar columns. Microprofiling revealed typical patterns of e-SOx, such as the development of a suboxic zone and the establishment of electric potentials. The bacterial communities in the sediments and agar pillars were analysed over depth by PacBio near-full-length 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing, allowing for a precise phylogenetic placement of taxa detected. The selective niche of the agar pillar was preferentially colonized by CB related to Candidatus Electronema for surface water sediments, including several potentially novel species, but not for putative groundwater CB affiliated with Desulfurivibrio spp. The presence of CB was seemingly linked to co-enriched fermenters, hinting at a possible role of e-SOx populations as an electron sink for heterotrophic microbes. These findings add to our current understanding of the diversity and ecology of CB in freshwater systems, and to a discrimination of CB from surface and groundwater sediments. The agar pillar approach provides a new strategy that may facilitate the cultivation of redox gradient-dependent microorganisms, including previously unrecognized CB populations.

A three-dimensional micro-electrode array for in-vitro neuronal interfacing

Objective. In this paper, we report on the development of an easy-to-fabricate three-dimensional Micro-Electrode Array (3D-MEA) specifically designed for brain-on-a-dish applications. Approach. The proposed device consists of pillar-shaped gold microelectrodes realized by electroplating directly on top of a standard MEA, making this approach highly versatile and convenient for batch fabrication. Moreover, with this simple technique, it is possible to obtain electrodes with a height of more than 100 µm onto different kind of substrates, ranging from glass to flexible plastic ones. Main results. This novel 3D-MEA structure has been validated with acute brain slices, successfully recording both epileptiform-like discharges (upon the administration of 4-AP), and electrically-evoked neuronal activity. The preliminary validation showed a substantial improvement in the signals amplitude with respect to both commercial and custom planar electrodes thanks to a better coupling offered by the peculiar shape of the three-dimensional electrodes. Significance. Beside the versatility of the fabrication approach, which allows to obtain 3D MEA devices onto both rigid and flexible substrates, the reported validation showed how the pillar approach can outperform standard planar MEA recordings in terms of signal amplitude. Moreover, thanks to the possibility of obtaining multi-level 3D structures within the same device, the proposed fabrication technique offers an interesting and flexible approach for the development of a new family of electrophysiological tools for 3D in vitro electrophysiology, in particular for acute brain slices and 3D neuronal cultures for brain-on-a-dish applications.

Challenge for Planning by Using Cluster Methodology: The Case Study of the Algarve Region

This study analyses the most appropriate methodology to make similarity classifications among the cities of the Algarve (Portugal) according to 105 sustainability indicators monitored with the Observatory of Sustainability of the Algarve Region for Tourism (OBSERVE). The methodology used to establish the similarities was the cluster analysis with 4 different approaches which reduced the dimensions of the data set: total approach, pillar approach, subject area approach, and indicator approach. By combining the approaches, a total of 620 different cluster analyses were performed. The results reflected that the data analysis approaches with less dimensions were those that performed the best groups among cities. In this sense, the approaches with a high number of indicators (e.g., the total or the pillar approach) were characterised by misclassifying cities in more than 30% of the indicators. Thus, the most acceptable cluster analysis approach was that with a low number of indicators. Through this approach, it was possible to make correct groups of the sustainability level of the cities of the Algarve. These results provided an appropriate methodology for the decision-making regarding the sustainability of a region and could be extrapolated to other regions to assess sustainability or environmental indicators.

Institutional pressures and the accounting and reporting of environmental liabilities

AbstractThe study explores the role of institutional forces in shaping corporate accounting and reporting for environmental liabilities practice within the context of South Africa. Drawing on the literature that conceptualizes accounting as a “social and institutional practice” and using Scott's institutional pillars approach, we qualitatively analyze data obtained through in‐depth interviews and documentary reviews and demonstrate that environmental liabilities reported on financial statements of South African companies may not reflect the full extent of environmental obligations stemming from their operations. The enabling environment for this dereliction of corporate responsibility is fostered by the following: (a) a mosaic of weakly enforced laws, acts, and regulations that constitutes the regulative pillar; (b) a cultural‐cognitive template that is still at an early stage of its development; and (c) a stronger normative pillar reinforced by relatively powerful actors who support the institutionalization of normative modes and conflicts and/or contradictions among actors who support the regulative institutions. Our findings suggest that companies in South Africa tend to adopt practices that foster production and disclosure of environmental information that comply with the normatively sanctioned scripts to maintain legitimacy with important stakeholders while decoupling these practices from the regulative prescripts that call for greater environmental accountability.

Electromechanical Coupling and Frequency Characteristics of a Quartz Crystal Resonator Covered With Micropillars

Recently, some researchers have studied the frequency characteristics of a quartz crystal resonator (QCR) covered with micropillars to measure the physical and geometric parameters of the micropillars. A recent study showed that the QCR-pillars device can greatly enhance the sensitivity when compared with conventional QCR sensors. In this research, we calculate the frequency and bandwidth shift of a QCR covered with micropillars based on the transmission line model with conductance analysis and small-load approximation, respectively. Numerical results showed that the frequency and bandwidth shift of QCR changed significantly when the height of the pillar approaches the critical height, which implies the coupled resonance. Two results fit very well except for the neighborhood of resonance point where the small-load approximation does not hold. The small-load approximation is quite simple and efficient as long as the frequency shift is small. The conductance analysis is relatively complicated but can deal with any case. The outcomes of this research are helpful for micro/nanowires characterization and further improvement of QCR-pillars devices for various applications such as biochemical sensors.