scholarly journals Best practices in road transport: An exploratory study

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 250 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mar Fernández Vázquez-Noguerol ◽  
Iván González-Boubeta ◽  
Pablo Domínguez-Caamaño ◽  
J. Carlos Prado-Prado

Purpose: Road transport aspects are becoming increasingly important due to their high impact on economic, environmental and social sustainability. Considering the triple bottom line approach, best practices play a fundamental role within organisations. The purpose of this paper is to analyse several sustainable initiatives in road transport adopted by companies.Design/methodology/approach: The findings were developed and evaluated based on empirical data captured through a survey of 98 professionals involved in logistics and transport activities. Additionally, key literature on transport initiatives was reviewed to supplement the framework for the implementation of best practices in road transport.Findings: The exploratory study shows the importance of each best practice and determines the level of implementation of each initiative, comparing the results among different dealers (retailers, wholesalers, carriers and manufacturers), type of transport fleet and companies’ revenues.Research limitations/implications: The sample of 98 companies was based on simple search filters and the group is not wholly representative of all sectors. Respondents were mainly managers from Spain involved in logistics and transport activities. Surveyed companies included manufacturing, retailers, wholesalers and third-party logistics providers.Practical implications: The most common best practices in road transport are identified, including initiatives related to: efficiency, reusability, safety, optimization, emissions, waste and recycling. Initiatives that influence road transport are ranked by their degree of implementation in the companies analysed. Social implications: Implementation of some of these best practices may help lessen negative impacts of road transport on society and the environment.Originality/value: The study results indicate which practices are most frequently used and their level of implementation depending on companies’ roles in the supply chain, revenues and types of transport fleet. By implementing the proposed best practices, companies will adopt sustainable behaviors to improve their transport performance.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hannah Gummeson ◽  
Sonika Raj Goel ◽  
Khalifa Elmusharaf

Abstract Background The field of graduate public health (GPH) education currently lacks clear, universal criteria for the integration of practice-based elements into the curriculum. The concept of the ‘practicum’ is well endorsed and there is a growing recognition that experiential learning is a crucial aspect of career development for the next generation of public health professionals, benefiting not only students, but also the profession and communities it serves. However, many leading academic institutions continue to emphasize research over experiential learning in public health, making practicums much less commonplace in education centers across the globe. Methods The purpose of this research was to review global best practices in graduate public health program design in order to identify commonalities and use the findings to inform practicum development.Data collection for this research was entirely web-based. Practicum guidelines from a globally diverse sample of graduate public health programs were reviewed. Data was compiled from universities’ websites and available online sources and collated into an Excel file. Descriptive statistics were computed for each study variable.Results We screened 108 graduate public health programs and 35 eligible programs were included in the study. Results were reported according to prerequisites & practicum scheduling, practicum contact hours & duration, credit hours & overall credit weighting, competencies, supervision, written agreement, objectives & deliverables, and approach to assessment. This research resulted in 13 recommendations intended to guide graduate public health practicum design. Based on the analysis of current best practice, the recommendations address the following four key domains: practicum design, mentorship & supervision, learning outcomes and evaluation. Conclusions This research demonstrates a global recognition of the benefit of practice experience in graduate public health education. However, the integration of practical components into curricula is inconsistent when viewed through a global lens. There is also significant variation in the structure of existing practical components. We propose that this study be utilized as a tool spark a global dialogue about best practices in graduate public health education through the identification common practices and opportunities for improvement.


<i>Abstract</i> .—Recreational fishing is popular worldwide. However, the potential negative impacts of this leisure activity can influence the sustainability of targeted fish stocks. Although management strategies are frequently used to control the actions of anglers, participants themselves must ultimately be confident that changes in their behavior will lead to the conservation of recreational fish stocks before regulations are followed and best practices adopted. Directly involving recreational anglers in research used to quantify the value of best practices, such as in the case of catch and release, can help reinforce the notion among anglers that best practice behaviors facilitate conservation and sustainable exploitation. Using the framework of citizen science and the principles of experiential education (immersion, involvement, ownership, and legacy), we present a case study whereby recreational anglers were directly involved in research that tested how attributes of catch-and-release fishing for bonefish <i>Albula </i> spp. can influence the postrelease survival. By accompanying anglers to the shallow flats and actively involving them in hands-on research aimed at addressing relevant behaviors in the context of catch and release, such programs can promote an increased awareness and sense of personal ownership over the research question and the conservation benefits that it intends to facilitate. With data generated through direct involvement, the participation of recreational anglers in our research culminated in the development of a best practices brochure about catch and release for bonefish. It is our experience that research programs involving recreational anglers need to be well conceived and structured so as to adequately balance the quality of the experience for the participants with the need for generating quality data. Welldesigned “research angler” programs as a form of tourism or even ecotourism could help scientists not only to enhance their ability to conduct fisheries research, but also to broaden the impacts of their research program and the speed at which best practices are adopted.


2011 ◽  
pp. 142-149 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wesley C. Vestal ◽  
Kimberly Lopez

Organizations continually look for ways to do more with less. One of the most important methods today for helping improve the company bottom line involves linking experts in Communities of Practice to find, share and validate best practices, ideas and solutions. This chapter examines how several best-practice organizations select Communities of Practice, provide support for their ongoing work, develop specialized roles to sustain their efforts, and use technology to bolster the rich tacit knowledge exchange offered by these entities. APQC has also developed a list of critical success factors for Communities of Practice and questions to help organizations develop those factors from its research on Knowledge Management over the last eight years.


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
Arin Mamlakah Kalamika ◽  
Ahmad Khabiburohman

Abstract Social welfare can be achieved with cross-sectoral sectors,  covering the state, civil society and the private sector (corporates). The private sector can help bring about social welfare through corporate social responsibility. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as an empowerment development program. PT. Taman Wisata Candi (TWC) Borobudur, Prambanan and Ratu Boko are one of the companies that handle CSR activities by uniting the partnership and community development program which is called by the term Program Kemitraan dan Bina Lingkungan (PKBL), and to be top CSR in the tourism category in 2018. This fact is researched to get the best practices of corporate responsibility social all this time. Using a descriptive qualitative research method, the study found a good implementation that is undoubtedly the three bottom line effects in implementing CSR lead by PT. TWC. Keywords: CSR, Best Practices, Triple Bottom Line Effect.


Al-Qalam ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 221
Author(s):  
Nensia Nensia ◽  
St. Aflahah ◽  
Sitti Arafah

<p><strong>Abstract</strong></p><p>This research aims to describe the best practice of religious harmony in the Pasalae community, North Gorontalo. As a qualitative research, data collection techniques were used through direct observation of the Pasalae community activities in building relationships and practices of harmony which has been going on all this time. Interviews were intended to explore data from the key and regular informants as deep as possible, and documents aim to obtain data through articles related to best practices in Pasalae. The study results show that the people in Pasalae Village live in an excellent practice of religious harmony. The Muslim and Christian communities, living side by side peacefully and actively build relationships without being awkward. The basis of harmony in the Pasalae community is created through culture and local wisdom that is still rooted in society, economy, and kinship. The presence of religious groups considered fanatic is one of the threats in breaking up their harmony. Thus, the effort to prevent it is by increasing the awareness among the people of Pasalae so that they are not easily provoked, and building an intense dialogue on any problems that arise in the community.</p><p> </p>


2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Joy Joshua Maina

The clamour for better quality graduates by architects in the Nigerian Construction Industry (NCI) necessitates a look into the core competencies and the adequacy of architecture education in preparing architecture graduates for professional practice. 116 self-report likertscale questionnaires from architecture graduates (2009-2015), academics and employers were analysed to establish core competencies developed by the graduates while in school. Descriptive statistics, t-tests as well as Mann-Whitney tests for differences in ratings were employed for the study. Results reveal the perceived adequacy of architecture education for the future career of graduates from the academic perspective. Graduates were most proficient at design related competencies while AutoCAD was still considered the most important CAD competency for architecture graduates in the NCI. The study recommends more frequent evaluations of competencies for employability in collaboration with industry as well as embracing BIM related software in line with global best practices. Keywords: Academics, Architecture, Employers, Graduates, Professional competencies, NCI


Symmetry ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 9
Author(s):  
John H. Graham

Best practices in studies of developmental instability, as measured by fluctuating asymmetry, have developed over the past 60 years. Unfortunately, they are haphazardly applied in many of the papers submitted for review. Most often, research designs suffer from lack of randomization, inadequate replication, poor attention to size scaling, lack of attention to measurement error, and unrecognized mixtures of additive and multiplicative errors. Here, I summarize a set of best practices, especially in studies that examine the effects of environmental stress on fluctuating asymmetry.


Author(s):  
Nicolás Fuster Sánchez ◽  
Diego Rivera López ◽  
Hugo Sir Retamales ◽  
Constanza Gómez Pérez ◽  
Magdalena Rodríguez Torres

Abstract Background In Europe, Latin-America, and Asia, poly-consultation has become a complex problem for managing different healthcare systems. However, in the current literature, little attention has been paid to exploring territorial and critical analysis perspectives to manage unexplained symptoms. The purpose of this study is to analyze the socio-structural elements that underlie the users’ phenomenon of poly-consultation or hyperfrequency in the Chilean primary healthcare system (PHCS). Methods This paper represents qualitative data collected as part of an exploratory study that used mixed methods across three metropolitan areas of Santiago, Valparaíso, and Concepción, Chile. The study involved a sample of 24 subjects from administrative and management positions in PHC who were recruited from Family Health Care Centers, considering urban municipalities from the low, medium, and high stratum. The study collected data using one set of semi-standardized interviews during a year—data analysis using qualitative content analysis. Results This article shows that poly-consultant patients provide a critical clinic category to management that cannot be cover by current biomedical models. Data showed the strain of a somatoform category, especially in the clinic and epistemological exercise. Precisely, the relevance of Chile’s case, a mixed health system, and their effects: the naturalization of collective problems managed as individual problems. Conclusions The study results can inform healthcare professionals and managers of developing practical and territorially based. We conclude that hyperfrequency and poly-consultation in Chile reveal relevant stratification in the territory. Those particularities open an opportunity to study quantitative methods, including current analysis categories, to develop new research.


2021 ◽  
pp. 105065192110214
Author(s):  
Michelle McMullin ◽  
Bradley Dilger

Academic work increasingly involves creating digital tools with interdisciplinary teams distributed across institutions and roles. The negative impacts of distributed work are described at length in technical communication scholarship, but such impacts have not yet been realized in collaborative practices. By integrating attention to their core ethical principles, best practices, and work patterns, the authors are developing an ethical, sustainable approach to team building that they call constructive distributed work. This article describes their integrated approach, documents the best practices that guide their research team, and models the three-dimensional thinking that helps them develop sustainable digital tools and ensure the consistent professional development of all team members.


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