bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Strategic management plan evaluation of a river basin district
Authors: Lombardi Patrizia 
Published: December 2009

PurposeIn strategic planning and management of environmental resources, traditional multicriteria analysis is usually adopted for evaluating alternative development scenarios against a set of criteria. However, the modeling of the problem is often inadequate for representing the complexity which characterizes the decision. To overcome this problem, this paper aims to suggest the application of an advanced version of the analytic hierarchy process: the analytic network process (ANP).Design/methodology/approachThe ANP is the first mathematical approach that makes it possible to systematically deal with all kinds of dependencies and feedback among elements. It requires the identification of a network of clusters and nodes, as well as pair‐wise comparison to establish relations within the network elements. The number of comparisons is dependent on the number of interrelations among the elements.FindingsThe method is applied to the Strategic Management Plan of the River Po Basin in Italy. The result obtained is a surprising ranking which places major weight on the cultural heritage and landscape rather than on traditional environmental categories, such as land and water. This result reflects the recent River Po Basin Authority strategy to institute an integrated and coordinated policy action in the field.Originality/valueThe proposed approach has improved the integration of the strategic evaluation in the decision‐making process within the management of territorial development policies, thanks to a better representation of the interrelations among issues within the decision model.
Evaluation of a project for the radical transformation of the Port of Genoa‐Italy
Authors: Lami Isabella M. , Beccuti Beatrice 
Published: December 2009

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to illustrate the evaluation of three innovative project options for the transformation/upgrading of the Port of Genoa‐Italy according to the community impact evaluation (CIE).Design/methodology/approachThis takes the form of a comparison of two different methodological approaches: on the one hand, that developed by Lichfield for CIE and, on the other, an experimental type variation to CIE, defined here as “weighted evaluation approach.” The first approach is based on the hypothesis that the community sector determines the preferential sector only to the extent to which the impact in which the sector is directly involved occurs. According to the second approach, all the impacts deriving from implementation of the project are considered, also according to the importance (assigned according to a percentage weight) attributed by each sector according to its interests.FindingsIt is possible to measure the importance of application of the transformation project as, also for community sectors that could apparently oppose this and are favourable to the hypothesis of non‐intervention, the evaluation highlights that the benefits outweigh the costs for these sectors. Lastly, although based on different hypotheses, both the methodological approaches adopted establish a preference for the same design solution as it generates benefits with regard to socio‐economic aspects, also with due attention to environmental issues. In both approaches, the preferred solution is the number three, according to which the quayside of the Port of Genoa is transformed into an island connected via an underground gallery to the tunnel in the Apennines.Originality/valueApplication of the “weighted CIE” method illustrated here represents a proposed variant to Lichfield's method, in an attempt to consider all the impacts generated by a project on each community sector; although it requires further testing and tuning, this variant may lay the basis for comparing possible evolutions of the method.
Urban institutional and ecological footprint
Authors: Dakhia Karima , Berezowska‐Azzag Ewa 
Published: December 2009

PurposeThis paper is part of a PhD research in urban metabolism assessment tools. Its purpose is to propose a new strategic urban metabolism assessment tool that can be integrated in the urban ecosystem planning process.Design/methodology/approachThe paper uses the systemic approach to build a model of an urban ecosystem in order to understand its structure and function; understand its metabolism flows and how to assess and “control” it. This systemic model outlines the role of the ecological footprint (EF) in the assessment of urban metabolism flows and demonstrates the need for a new tool to assess the function of metabolism control.FindingsThe research paper proposes a new strategic assessment tool composed of the EF, as an assessment tool of urban metabolism flows, and of a new tool dedicated to the assessment of the urban metabolism control function. This tool, fully integrated in the urban planning process, will bridge the gap between urban metabolism assessment and urban metabolism control and planning.Originality/valueThere are many urban metabolism assessment tools that are developed to assess and evaluate urban metabolisms, but urban planning practitioners need a strategic tool to transform assessment results into urban actions integrated in the urban ecosystem planning process.
Enabling low‐carbon living in new UK housing developments
Authors: Broer Steffie , Titheridge Helena 
Published: December 2009

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to describe a tool (the Climate Challenge Tool) that allows house builders to calculate whole life carbon equivalent emissions and costs of various carbon and energy reduction options that can be incorporated into the design of new developments.Design/methodology/approachThe tool covers technical and soft (or lifestyle) measures for reducing carbon production and energy use. Energy used within the home, energy embodied in the building materials, and emissions generated through transport, food consumption and waste treatment are taken into account. The tool has been used to assess the potential and cost‐effectiveness of various carbon reduction options for a proposed new housing development in Cambridgeshire. These are compared with carbon emissions from a typical UK household.FindingsThe tool demonstrated that carbon emission reductions can be achieved at much lower costs through an approach which enables sustainable lifestyles than through an approach which focuses purely on reducing heat lost through the fabric of the building and from improving the heating and lighting systems.Practical implicationsThe tool will enable house builders to evaluate which are the most cost‐effective measures that they can incorporate into the design of new developments in order to achieve the significant energy savings and reduction in carbon emissions necessary to meet UK Government targets and to avoid dangerous climate change.Originality/valueCurrent approaches to assessing carbon and energy reduction options for new housing developments concentrate on energy efficiency options such as reducing heat lost through the fabric of the building and improving the heating and lighting systems, alongside renewable energy systems. The Climate Challenge Tool expands the range of options that might be considered by developers to include those affecting lifestyle choices of future residents.
Whole life sustainability in the design of tourist resorts
Authors: Ismail Ayman , Khalil Husam 
Published: December 2009

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to argue that it is possible to identify a number of physical design properties of plots that are associated with coastal alteration and to develop a predictive model or metric to evaluate the potential alteration caused by that resort. Investors may have economic plot size concerns not considered by planners, tourists may prefer close proximity to deep waters, and urban planners may have failed to realize the importance of certain plot ratios or minimum dimensions etc.Design/methodology/approachA combination of geographical information system and statistical tools is used to identify and model these properties. The research uses data from three different resorts in two countries along the Red Sea coast (Hurghada and Safaga in Egypt and Jeddah in Saudi Arabia). Landsat TM7 images are obtained for each location and analysed to detect regions with the largest alteration along the coast using the post‐classification change technique. Physical properties of each village are generated using ArcGIS 9.2 both before and after alteration. Finally, a predictive decision‐support tool for urban planners and environmental auditors is formulated using stepwise discriminant analysis.FindingsTwo‐step cluster analysis and discriminate analysis show that alteration takes place based on factors that include original width and original distance to deep water in three distinct groups. The predictive model that is developed classifies any given resort into one of three clusters, by virtue of their physical design characteristics. This gives a rough prediction of the likely alteration that might take place under a given condition. Subdivision plans that ignore the power of these two factors literally “invite” owners to violate shorelines and encroach on the sea. Planners are urged to join hands with policy makers and developers to formulate guidelines to plot subdivision and environmentally acceptable design solutions to facilitate access to deep water.Originality/valueTill now, there has been no metric to relate a plot's geometric properties with the encroachment it makes. If such an association could be made, a developer's resort plans may be evaluated to predict the degree by which an encroachment is likely. The model can be used to identify resorts whose properties present a risk to shorelines, dredge or fill to maximize usable land. Two benefits may be thought of for this approach. First, the model helps urban planners develop a sustainable coastal area by bearing in mind the needs of tourist‐developers as well as the properties of their adjacent coast. Second, the factors can be used to rationalize building guidelines and land use regulations to minimize such risk.
Accounting for sustainability
Authors: Scerri Andy 
Published: December 2009

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explain and demonstrate the importance and usefulness of mixing qualitative and quantitative approaches in participatory residential sustainability policy and practice.Design/methodology/approachThe approach uses a theoretical model, developed through engagements with cultural and political sociology, to inform participatory engagement in selecting “indicators” of urban residential sustainability.FindingsIf they are to influence policy and practice effectively, quantitative indicators of sustainability need to be subjected to dialogical negotiation and deliberation aimed at establishing qualitative assessment of the problem.Originality/valueRecognizing as foundational the need to negotiate the terms on which the task of achieving sustainability is implemented, the approach links “natural” with “social” scientific endeavour in a policy‐oriented and practical approach to binding together quantitative with qualitative “indicators” of sustainability.
Measuring supply chain performance among public hospital laboratories
Authors: Hamid Abu Bakar Abdul , Lukman Hakim Ismail , Choy Chong Siong , Lin Binshan 
Published: December 2009

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the efficiency levels of the decision‐making units within the public hospital laboratories in using their supply chain towards meeting the satisfaction of doctors.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from two senior laboratory administrators and 30 doctors of two hospital laboratories in Malaysia using two sets of structured questionnaires, which comprised of two dimensions, i.e. doctor satisfaction dimension (DSD) and supply chain inputs (SCI). The dimensions of DSD and SCI were developed and that SCI has been relabeled as hospital laboratory inputs (HLI) to suit the nature of current study. The resulting data were positioned on an importance‐performance matrix. By using the data envelopment analysis software, the efficient frontier for both hospital laboratories was calculated under different scenarios.FindingsResults reveal that one of the laboratories satisfies doctors efficiently using the present levels of HLI for each scenario while the other failed.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper focuses only on two hospital laboratories.Practical implicationsThe findings offer insights on the important dimensions of DSD and HLI that the hospital laboratories should concentrate on when measuring doctor satisfaction through the utilization of resources they possess. This will undoubtedly lead to better hospital‐doctor‐patient relationships.Originality/valueMany prior supply chain studies have focused on patient satisfaction. This paper is probably one of the first attempts that comprehensively examines satisfaction from the perspective of doctors.
Organizational identity and symbioticity: Parco as an urban medium
Authors: Sato Toyoko 
Published: December 2009

PurposeExamining aspects of organizational identity, this paper revisits McLuhan's media theory in connection with W.R. Scott's insight that organizations themselves are the medium. The purpose of this paper is to consider the history of the Tokyo‐based urban developer/media organization Parco Co., Ltd, which emerged from a department store bankruptcy in 1969.Design/methodology/approachThrough exploring the process of how a bankrupted department store transformed into Parco, a harbinger of Japan's consumer culture, the identity of Parco is sought in connection to its marketing strategies and managerial discourses.FindingsExamining the identity of Parco provides two insights. First, there is a reflexive dynamism between an organizational identity and the organizational strategies. Parco exemplifies this concept as its strategies are defined and articulated by its organizational identity, which is in turn influenced by its organizational strategies. Second, Parco's organizational efficiency is found in its “organizational symbioticity”, a new construct which extends not only within but also beyond the firm.Practical implicationsThe Parco case provides an important lesson. The medium that acts as an entrepreneur on the cutting edge can also be the message. For a medium that is ubiquitous, the message is the content of the medium. This appears to be the reason why Parco continues to successfully redefine its identities and strategies.Originality/valueThis paper uses the case study method to exemplify contemporary organizational identity and its marketing strategies. Furthermore, it demonstrates how an understanding of the social significance of the medium shapes consumer culture today.
The hierarchical consequences of reinvention: evidence from the American bureaucracy
Authors: Whitford Andrew B. 
Published: December 2009

PurposePolitical reorganizations like that of the national performance review in the USA fundamentally alter hierarchical relations within public agencies. This paper includes a set of formal exercises to examine two logical consequences of reinvention: the increased likelihood of coordination failures, and the reduction in political leaders' hierarchical status in the organization.Design/methodology/approachThese effects are discussed in the context of a substantial change in the public organization of health services: the alteration of the US Department of Health and Human Services' structure.FindingsThe paper argues that reinvention fundamentally alters the power and status of political appointees, the standing of top leadership, and the likelihood of conflict resolution within the organization.Originality/valueThis is the first paper to use historically important methods of understanding conflict resolution in organizations to the most important reform effort in American public administration in the last 30 years.
The corporate governance of Benedictine abbeys
Authors: Rost Katja , Inauen Emil , Osterloh Margit , Frey Bruno S. 
Published: December 2009

PurposeThis paper aims to analyse the governance structure of monasteries to gain new insights and apply them to solve agency problems of modern corporations. In an historic analysis of crises and closures it asks, if Benedictine monasteries were and are capable of solving agency problems. The analysis shows that monasteries established basic governance instruments very early and therefore were able to survive for centuries.Design/methodology/approachThe paper uses a dataset of all Benedictine abbeys that ever existed in Bavaria, Baden‐Württemberg, and German‐speaking Switzerland to determine their lifespan and the reasons for closures. The governance mechanisms are analyzed in detail. Finally, it draws conclusions relevant to the modern corporation. The theoretical foundations are based upon principal agency theory, psychological economics, as well as embeddedness theory.FindingsThe monasteries that are examined show an average lifetime of almost 500 years and only a quarter of them dissolved as a result of agency problems. This paper argues that this success is due to an appropriate governance structure that relies strongly on internal control mechanisms.Research limitations/implicationsBenedictine monasteries and stock corporations differ fundamentally regarding their goals. Additional limitations of the monastic approach are the tendency to promote groupthink, the danger of dictatorship and the life long commitment.Practical implicationsThe paper adds new insights into the corporate governance debate designed to solve current agency problems and facilitate better control.Originality/valueBy analyzing monasteries, a new approach is offered to understand the efficiency of internal behavioral incentives and their combination with external control mechanisms in corporate governance.
Historical lessons in purchasing and supplier relationship management
Authors: Emiliani M.L. 
Published: December 2009

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the key recommendations of early practitioners of purchasing management regarding supplier relationships and how policies and practices for obtaining lower unit prices affect buyer‐seller relationships.Design/methodology/approachThe paper reviews the seven earliest books published on purchasing in the period 1915‐1940, and contrasts with common purchasing practices currently used by large corporations.FindingsThe logical, practical recommendations made by purchasing managers in the early 1900s differ markedly from the imprudent practices used by the managers of most large corporations today.Research limitations/implicationsResearch is limited by the inability to speak to deceased authors/purchasing practitioners cited to gain their venerable insights on the longevity of value‐destroying dysfunctional purchasing practices.Practical implicationsThis paper shows how the common purchasing performance metric and the zero‐sum policies and practices used to obtain lower unit prices degrade buyer‐seller relationships and contribute to regression in the practice of purchasing and supply chain management, as well as in business overall.Originality/valueThis paper will be helpful to academics who study purchasing history as well as current purchasing and supplier relationship management practices. Practitioners will benefit by becoming reacquainted with sensible practices long known to result in more favorable outcomes.
Childhood coeliac disease: towards an improved serological mass screening strategy
Authors: HOGEN ESCH C. E. , CSIZMADIA G. D. S. , VAN HOOGSTRATEN I. M. W. , SCHREURS M. W. J. , MEARIN M. L. , VON BLOMBERG B. M. E. 
Published: December 2009

Aliment Pharmacol Ther 31, 760–766SummaryBackground  In 1997–1998, 6127 asymptomatic children aged 2–4 years were screened for coeliac disease (CD) by anti‐endomysium (EmA) testing in the Netherlands. After 6 (±2) months, biopsies were performed in 57 seropositive children; 31(54%) had villous atrophy, but 26 (46%), all HLA‐DQ2/DQ8 positive, had normal histology.Aims  To reduce the number of unnecessary biopsies after serological mass screening for CD in asymptomatic young children by optimizing screening procedures.Methods  Comparing different tests and optimizing their cut‐off point: screening samples were tested for EmA, tissue‐transglutaminase (tTGA), antigliadin and deamidated‐gliadin‐peptides (anti‐DGP) antibodies. Determining serological persistence over time: persistence of EmA and tTGA was determined by testing serological samples obtained at biopsy.Results  Tissue‐transglutaminase and anti‐DGP correlated with EmA. Optimization of standard cut‐off points not only reduced unnecessary biopsies by 50–96% but also reduced sensitivity. EmA persisted in all CD children, but in only 50% of the non‐CD children. tTGA persisted in 83% of CD, but in only 15% of non‐CD children.Conclusions  Coeliac disease antibodies may be present transiently in genetically predisposed children. To avoid unnecessary biopsies, serological mass screening procedures may be improved by repeating EmA and/or tTGA in initially seropositive young children after 6 months, before proceeding to biopsy. This may reduce the number of unnecessary biopsies that are performed.
Natural history of Crohn’s disease in patients who underwent intentional restorative proctocolectomy with ileal pouch‐anal anastomosis
Authors: SHEN B. , PATEL S. , LIAN L. 
Published: December 2009

Aliment Pharmacol Ther 31, 745–753SummaryBackground  Crohn’s disease is generally considered a relative contraindication for restorative proctocolectomy with ileal pouch anastomosis (IPAA). The natural history of IPAA in these patients has not well been defined.Aim  To evaluate the natural history of IPAA in patients with a well‐defined preoperative Crohn’s disease.Methods  All patients from the Pouchitis Clinic who had a preoperative diagnosis of Crohn’s disease were screened and 11 patients met the inclusion criteria. The control group (with a 1:4 ratio) consisted of IPAA patients with a preoperative diagnosis of UC.Results  During the follow‐up period of 5.0 years, 7 of 11 (63.6%) with a preoperative diagnosis of Crohn’s disease developed Crohn’s disease of the pouch. Crohn’s disease of the pouch developed 0.2–15 years after ileostomy closure. The remaining four patients with a preoperative diagnosis of Crohn’s disease did not demonstrate signs of Crohn’s disease in 2, 11, 11 and 24 years after pouch surgery, respectively.Conclusions  Post‐operative development of Crohn’s disease of the pouch was common in patients with a preoperative diagnosis of Crohn’s disease who underwent IPAA. Long‐term medical therapy was often required. Large multi‐centre studies are warranted to delineate further the natural history of the disease, before Crohn’s disease is considered an indication for IPAA.