Australian private infrastructure funds need will grow

Subject Australia's infrastructure situation. Significance Public consultancy group and statutory body Infrastructure Australia released a 42.4-billion-US-dollar blueprint in late March for priority projects in response to rapid population growth that is stretching the capacity of key cities. The 96 proposals include a new airport in Sydney and urban transport upgrades. Impacts Poor planning systems, undermining the quality of services, could deter much-needed private investment. Urban centres will struggle to manage projected population rises and higher environmental risks, especially from climate change. Infrastructure productivity is lagging, but new technologies could allow for efficiency gains.

2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (6) ◽  
pp. 749-763 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fotis Vouzas ◽  
Theano Katsogianni

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present the results of an exploratory literature review investigating the similarities and differences in TQM implementation between 3PL organisations and organisations with an in-house logistics function. Design/methodology/approach The authors collected all relevant papers covering both types of organisations implementing TQM worldwide in a time period from 1991 until today. The aim was to identify key papers and analyse its contents based on the quality of services provided by these two types of organisations. Findings The survey contains information about the forces that encourage managers to implement quality practices in the logistics function, the reasons that impeded the implementation of such a quality programme, the quality methods being used and also the level of their satisfaction with the current quality management in logistics. Research limitations/implications This paper only mentioned the principal papers that have been published globally from 1991 – today. Originality/value The present study is one of the few that reviewed literature from the year 1991 – today in order to provide a comparison of quality management practices between 3PLs and in-house Logistics organisations.


Author(s):  
Marta Muñoz Guarasa ◽  
Bruno Brandão Fischer

Purpose While the born global (BG) phenomenon has been well established in the literature, studies on accelerated internationalization of firms in the service sector have been scarce, particularly for the specific case of knowledge-intensive services (KIS). The purpose of this paper is to explore which competitive characteristics differentiate KIS BGs from other KIS firms in the context of a peripheral region. Design/methodology/approach The empirical focus of this study comprehends primary survey data from 250 Spanish KIS firms (Andalusia) that have been internationalized and analyzed through ordinal and ordinary least squares regressions. The authors address the “born-global effect” on five features of interest, namely, entry mode, technological capabilities, qualification of staff, external resources and quality of services. Findings Results suggest that KIS BGs in Andalusia perceive exports as a more relevant form of internationalization than its non-BG peers. Also, KIS BGs in Andalusia present higher levels of technological intensity. Differences in terms of staff qualification, access to extramural R&D resources and the quality of services could not be identified. Research limitations/implications The main limitation of this research concerns its cross-sectional character, thus hindering the evaluation of developmental trajectories taking place in the cohort under scrutiny. Such an approach would allow a better comprehension of the competitiveness dynamics in internationalized KIS firms. Also, because this assessment is geographically restricted to Andalusia, Spain, the authors recommend caution in establishing direct comparisons and appropriation of results for other regional/national contexts. Practical implications Recommendations for public policy include establishing the necessary infrastructures to encourage the technological development of KIS companies and provide support – through export promotion agencies, for instance – for early approximation with foreign markets. Taking into account the contributions of KIS firms for the development of a peripheral economy, this involves the need to establish instruments that provide strategic information to internationalize, as well as lines of funding for these companies. Originality/value Empirical evidence on KIS BGs is needed to fully grasp its differences to other internationalized service firms. The analysis within this specific domain represents an advance in the literature on this subject. Also, the context of peripheral regions – considering their economic differences to core areas – has been understudied. The elaboration and application of the survey have allowed the authors to have access to primary in-depth data and, therefore, to build a better understanding of KIS BGs in Andalusia, Spain.


Subject Education in Egypt. Significance In April 2018, President Abdel Fatah el-Sisi approved a new strategy to reform Egypt’s education system, expanding access to quality primary education, improving teaching and assessment methods, and incorporating technology in classroom learning and examination. This was followed by the declaration of 2019 as the 'year of education', combined with increases in public education spending. The moves come in the context of population growth and a low general standard of education. Impacts Building new schools in satellite cities will increase the demand for private housing in such areas. Education reforms will increase private investment in information and communication technology (ICT). Improving the quality of the labour force will increase Egypt’s competitiveness ranking.


2014 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 93-106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tobias Matzner

Purpose – Ubiquitous computing and “big data” have been widely recognized as requiring new concepts of privacy and new mechanisms to protect it. While improved concepts of privacy have been suggested, the paper aims to argue that people acting in full conformity to those privacy norms still can infringe the privacy of others in the context of ubiquitous computing and “big data”. Design/methodology/approach – New threats to privacy are described. Helen Nissenbaum's concept of “privacy as contextual integrity” is reviewed concerning its capability to grasp these problems. The argument is based on the assumption that the technologies work, persons are fully informed and capable of deciding according to advanced privacy considerations. Findings – Big data and ubiquitous computing enable privacy threats for persons whose data are only indirectly involved and even for persons about whom no data have been collected and processed. Those new problems are intrinsic to the functionality of these new technologies and need to be addressed on a social and political level. Furthermore, a concept of data minimization in terms of the quality of the data is proposed. Originality/value – The use of personal data as a threat to the privacy of others is established. This new perspective is used to reassess and recontextualize Helen Nissenbaum's concept of privacy. Data minimization in terms of quality of data is proposed as a new concept.


Author(s):  
Juan Gabriel Brida ◽  
Marta Meleddu ◽  
Manuela Pulina

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine museum visitors’ experience. The objective of the research is to explore preferences, behaviour, overall. This study experience and the determinants on repeated visits to two heritage sites. In particular, a more comprehensive regression approach is introduced and employed to compare results at two regional museums. Design/methodology/approach – First, a factor analysis identifies a set of orthogonal factors related to visitors’ perceptions on their positive and negative experiences at two different museums. Second, a two-step cluster analysis is implemented to identify specific demand segments. Third, a regression analysis reveals the key determinants that influence visitors’ perceptions on the quality of services provided at the cultural sites. The empirical data were collected at two archaeological museums located in Sardinia and Trentino Alto Adige (Italy). Findings – On the whole, some homogeneous findings have been obtained for the two cultural sites, regardless of the different levels of attractiveness exerted by these two museums. Moreover, the outcomes highlight that the two museums need to be reinterpreted and reorganised with the provision of supplementary services, able to satisfy a broader audience, and enriching their traditional mission that is to collect, preserve and exhibit the archaeological heritage. Practical implications – The methodological approach presented in this paper is for practitioners and curators to deepen their understanding of their consumers and to improve the overall quantity and quality of services offered. Originality/value – This paper presents a novel and integrated approach to investigate customers’ experience and their needs with the aim of improving the overall quality of the services provided at the museum. The proposed methodology is used to analyse multidimensional aspects of the visit to a cultural site. Within the literature on museum marketing and management, this methodological framework can be regarded as an alternative approach to analyse visitors’ experience, characteristics, behaviour, preferences and to elicit specific characteristics of different segments of demand.


2018 ◽  
Vol 80 ◽  
pp. 119-127
Author(s):  
Grzegorz Krawczyk

The public urban transport market takes the form of a natural monopoly. In some cases, especially in the situation of supply of a relatively large volume of operation work, the implementation of competitive solutions may result in: improving the quality of services or reducing the cost of vehicle-kilometers. The purpose of the article is to present the determinants of functioning of regulated competition on the public urban transport market in Poland. The conducted analysis focuses on the issue of market openness and access to participation in competitive procedures of private operators. The research covered urban transport markets in cities over 200.000 inhabitants and their characteristics in the scope of: the model of public transport organization (with particular emphasis on the level of opening of markets), the level of competition on the operator market and the method of selecting operators. On the basis of the conducted research, the scope of applying pro-competitive solutions in the scope of contracting services by the largest organizers of public urban transport in Poland was characterized.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Leila Jabbari ◽  
Ali Jalali Dizaji ◽  
Mila Malekolkalami

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to measure the gap and compare the quality of services provided by the Central Library of the University of Tehran and Allameh Tabataba'i University and identify the components of service that need improvement in these libraries.Design/methodology/approachIn this study, a descriptive survey method is used for data collection. The study sample contains 205 people selected out of 31,000 members of Tehran University and 100 people out of 15,000 members at Allameh Tabataba'i University. The LibQual tool is used to measure different levels of users' perceptions of library service quality.FindingsBased on the findings of the study, the level of service received at the University of Tehran was higher than the minimum expected level, and at Allameh Tabataba'i University, the level of service received was lower than the minimum level of expected, which indicates users' satisfaction at this index at the University of Tehran and users' dissatisfaction at Allameh Tabataba'i University. In the index of information control and library as a place in Tehran University, the level of service received was higher than the minimum level and in Allameh Tabataba'i University, the level of service received was lower than the minimum level, which indicates the satisfaction of users in this index at the University of Tehran and users' dissatisfaction at Allameh Tabataba'i University.Practical implicationsService quality, or quality of service, is the measurement and comparison of the size of service provided with users' expectations. The following principles illustrate the dimensions of service quality: Quality of service is much more difficult to measure than the quality of goods. The quality of service is based on users' expectations. Quality of service varies in status, meaning that the quality of a service is measured against the customer's initial expectations of that service (Parasuraman et al., 1985).Originality/valueBeing the first performance evaluation, community synchronization, economic justification, user satisfaction and customer orientation are the values of the present study.


2021 ◽  
pp. 33-38
Author(s):  

The intensification of public transport in urban areas due to increased mobility at the regional and state levels, discrepancies between urban areas with the same population and the lack of statistics related to the efficiency and quality of public transport services are the main factors of our work. It is necessary to draw boundaries between the quality of services and the performance indicators of the public transport system. The quality of services is the subjective result of many intangible variables. The quality of service can be approached from four sides: from the point of view of the passenger, the performance of the vehicle, the specialized passenger transportation company, and the Government. Accessibility, comfort and convenience-these are the main indicators that should be evaluated by the population as having high ratings for the good quality of urban transport services. The tool used to collect the data is the preference survey. Keywords: service quality, public transport, evaluation, efficiency, methods, passenger, survey


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sven Maricic ◽  
Daniela  Kovacevic Pavicic ◽  
Barbara Ptacnik ◽  
Romina Prziklas Druzeta

Purpose This study aims to develop a specialized and economically feasible educational model using a combination of conventional approach and additive technology with a precision that proves to be sufficient for educational use. With the use of computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing models in educational stages, the possibility of infectious diseases transmission can be significantly reduced. Design/methodology/approach The proposed process involves the planning and development of specialized anatomical three-dimensional (3D) models and associated structures using omnipresent additive technologies. A short survey was conducted among dental students about their knowledge of applying additive technologies in dental medicine and their desire to implement such technologies into existing curricula. Findings The results revealed how an educational 3D model can be developed by optimizing the mesh parameters to reduce the total number of elements while maintaining the quality of the geometric structure. The survey results demonstrated that the willingness to adapt to new technologies is increasing (p < 0.001) among students with a higher level of education. A series of recent studies have indicated that the lack of knowledge and the current skill gap remain the most significant barriers to the wider adoption of additive manufacturing. Practical implications An economically feasible, realistic anatomical educational model in the field of dental medicine was established. Additive technology is a key pillar of new specialized-knowledge digital skills for the enhancement of dental training. Originality/value The novelty of this study is the introduction of a 3D technology for promoting an economically feasible model, without compromising the quality of dental education.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Orhan Dursun ◽  
Cigdem Altin Gumussoy

Purpose Competitive universities try to improve their reputation to attract the best students as university reputation is a significant factor affecting the decision of a student. In this context, universities need a systematic management plan to improve their reputation among the stakeholders. This study aims to identify the factors affecting university reputation with the University Reputation Model. This model includes quality of services, emotional appeal, employee competence, academic leadership, student orientation, and social responsibility as possible factors affecting university reputation. . Design/methodology/approach Survey methodology was used in the current study. A total of 1000 questionnaires were collected from the stakeholders: students, alumni, academic and administrative staff. A structural equation modeling technique was used to analyze the data. Findings According to the results, quality of services and emotional appeal affect university reputation directly. Furthermore, employee competence, academic leadership, and student orientation have indirect effects on university reputation with the mediating effect of quality of services. Besides, emotional appeal mediates the effect of student orientation and social responsibility on university reputation. Originality/value A University Reputation Model is developed to explore significant direct and indirect effects of employee competence, academic leadership, student orientation, and social responsibility on the quality of services, emotional appeal, and university reputation. Furthermore, a measurement instrument applicable to various stakeholders of a university is developed. Additionally, large-scale data is collected from the stakeholders in Turkey to increase the validity of the findings.


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