scholarly journals Trade facilitation through logistics performance:The enabling role of National Government

2011 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan H. Havenga
Keyword(s):  
Transport Network ◽  
Logistics System ◽  
Trade Facilitation ◽  
The Core ◽  
Rural Economies ◽  
Freight Logistics ◽  
Efficient Access ◽  
State Of Affairs

Despite two decades of visionary policies, problems within South Africa’s freight logistics system remain. Logistics costs are high, the current road and rail solutions will be unable to meet long-term demand for freight transport sustainably, and rural economies still do not have efficient access to the corridor transport network. This article postulates that one of the core reasons for the state of affairs is the inability of government to enable an optimally functioning freight logistics system. The main challenges faced by government are identified and an intervention is proposed to develop an overarching framework and implementation plan to address South Africa’s long-term freight logistics needs.

Meritocracy and its Enemies: Is There an Alternative to the “Tyranny of the Merit”?

2021 ◽  
pp. 30
Author(s):  
Dmitriy Davydov
Keyword(s):  
Technological Development ◽  
Social Institutions ◽  
Practical Application ◽  
Skilled Workers ◽  
Highly Educated ◽  
Technical Competencies ◽  
State Of Affairs ◽  
The Ideal

The article examines  the idea of meritocracy, now increasingly criticized. It is shown that the relevance of the discourse on meritocracy is due to the objectively increased role of education and various creative and technical talents in the context of rapid technological development. At the same time, critics rightly point out that meritocracy today has become largely a myth that plutocrats turn to justify their privileges, status and wealth. The very idea of a meritocracy that focuses exclusively on the technical competencies and abilities demanded by the neoliberal economy is also criticized. Many authors talk about the need to fairly reward and respect low-skilled workers, who often (especially in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic) bring more public benefit than highly educated financiers or bankers. Nevertheless, the article shows that this criticism is a hidden apology for meritocracy. In this case, critics justify deeper inequalities associated with long-term prospects and self-realization. It leads to cementing the “secondary” status of workers of the “hand” and “heart”, whose fate in the context of automation and the development of artificial intelligence technologies may turn out to be unenviable. In the author's opinion, the only alternative to this state of affairs is the rejection of meritocracy as a normative concept. It should be recognized as an inevitable evil associated with the imperfection of social institutions and, in part, human nature. Accordingly, the author contrasts the meritocratic pursuit of status and power with the ideal of universal striving for the maximum possible and, what is remarkable, all-round development and practical application of the talents of all without exception.

scholarly journals The Cheshire explainer. Musings about the training of explainers

2016 ◽  
Vol 15 (04) ◽  
pp. C06
Author(s):  
Antonio Gomes da Costa
Keyword(s):  
Science Communication ◽  
Clear Definition ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Scientific Training ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Core ◽  
Main Factors ◽  
State Of Affairs ◽  
Definition Of

The profession of explainer is still pretty much undefined and underrated and the training of explainers is many times deemed to be a luxury. In the following pages we make the argument that three main factors contribute to this state of affairs and, at the same time, we try to show why the training of explainers should really be at the core of any science communication institution. These factors are: an erroneous perception of what a proper scientific training means for explainers; a lack of clear definition of the aptitudes and role of explainers required by institutions that are evolving and diversifying their missions; and an organizational model based on top-down practices of management and activity development which underappreciates the potential of the personnel working directly with the public.

scholarly journals Microbial Diversity in Cultivated and Feral Vanilla Vanilla Planifolia Orchids Affected by Stem and Rot Disease

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ireri A. Carbajal-Valenzuela ◽  
Ariel H. Muñoz-Sanchez ◽  
Juan Hernández-Hernández ◽  
Francisco Barona-Gómez ◽  
Camille Truong ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Microbial Diversity ◽  
Root Rot ◽  
Taxonomic Composition ◽  
Vanilla Planifolia ◽  
The Core ◽  
Worldwide Production ◽  
Fungal Microbiome ◽  
Rot Disease

Abstract The worldwide production of vanilla, a native orchid from Mexico, is greatly affected by stem and root rot disease, typically associated with Fusarium oxysporum fungi. We hypothesized that the presence of Fusarium species in vanilla is not sufficient for the plant to express symptoms of the disease. We described the taxonomic composition of endophytic microbiomes in symptomatic, asymptomatic vanilla plants using 16S and ITS rDNA metabarcoding, and ITS Sanger sequences generated from fungal isolates. We compared the bacterial and fungal diversity in vanilla plants from a long-term plantation, and from feral plants found near abandoned plantations that did not present SRD symptoms. No significant differences were found in the species richness of the bacterial and fungal microbiome among feral, or asymptomatic and symptomatic cultivated vanilla. However, significant differences were detected in both fungal and bacterial diversity from different organs in the same plant, with roots being more diverse than stems. We found that Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria, as well as the fungal families Nectriaceae and Xylariaceae, constitute the core of the vanilla microbiome that inhabits the root and stem of both cultivated and feral plants. Our work provides information on the microbial diversity found in root and stem rot in vanilla and lays the groundwork for a better understanding of the role of the microbiome in fungal diseases in vanilla cultivation.

All models are wrong, but some are useful: mathematical models at the time of Covid-19

2021 ◽  
Vol 07 (01) ◽  
pp. 115-130
Author(s):  
Roberta Buiani
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Mathematical Models ◽  
Scientific Literacy ◽  
Historical Data ◽  
Epidemiological Models ◽  
Epistemic Values ◽  
The Core ◽  
Public Health Officials

Epidemiological models have been crucial tools throughout all stages of the 2020-21 Coronavirus pandemic: using promptly available or historical data, they have studied and tried to anticipate its progression, providing valuable guidelines for public health officials, policymakers, and other medical and non-medical audiences. While useful, models are not designed to be infallible, and for this reason, they have been frequently subject to criticism. There is a discrepancy between what models do and how they are presented and perceived. Several juxtaposing factors, including current beliefs about scientific reliability, the role of quantification, and the epistemic values grounding the field, are at the core of this discrepancy. While scientific literacy may play a role in addressing this discrepancy, analyzing and becoming better aware of these factors may suggest long-term strategies to address, acknowledge, and communicate the pandemic’s inherent complexity and stochastic qualities.

Role of ABC Analysis in the Process of Efficient Order Fulfillment: Case Study

2017 ◽  
Vol 23 ◽  
pp. 114-121 ◽  
Author(s):  
Syed Abdul Rehman Khan ◽  
Qian Li Dong ◽  
Zhang Yu
Keyword(s):  
Customer Service ◽  
Order Fulfillment ◽  
Filling Process ◽  
Logistics System ◽  
Order Processing ◽  
Abc Analysis

In today’s world, every company is competing to enhance its time-based competitiveness. The time it takes to complete all activities of the order cycle is an important part of customer service. Accurate and fast order processing is a hallmark of high quality of service. This paper addresses the most time-consuming and costly factor of ordering process—order filling. According to the several researchers, order filling is composed of the physical activities for: acquiring products through stock retrieval, purchasing or manufacturing; packing products for consignments; scheduling the consignment for delivery; and preparing shipping documentation. Usually these series of activities in order-filling process need space of warehouses, making them a central part of company’s logistics system. This paper is based on a case study to identify how some simple approaches built in theory can be applied to firm’s current practice to enhance order-filling process. Specifically, a short plan consisting of ABC analysis and relocation of current positions of inventory is tested, and a long-term plan for redesigning the layout of warehouse is proposed.

scholarly journals European countries’ typology by the intensity of transboundary cooperation and its impact on the economic complexity level

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 6-15
Author(s):  
Göran Roos ◽  
Ksenia Y. Voloshenko ◽  
Tatiana E. Drok ◽  
Yury M. Zverev
Keyword(s):  
Complexity Theory ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Global Market ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Transboundary Cooperation ◽  
Technological Paradigm ◽  
The Core ◽  
Economic Complexity

Over recent years, it has become increasingly obvious that the countries, regions and individual systems are now developing within the framework of the emerging technological paradigm. The key elements for their development are knowledge and capabilities, being transformed into the products exported by a given country, these constitute the core of the economic complexity theory. In this article, the authors attempt to assess the long-term correlations between economic complexity and transboundary intensity drawing on the example of European countries. The authors developed a European Countries’ Typology according to their transboundary cooperation intensity. The paper establishes that the influence of the transboundary factor weakens as the economic complexity increases, and under certain conditions, it has a negative impact. It substantiates that the revealed relationships are due to the increasing role of global processes rather than transboundary ones as the economy becomes more complex and oriented towards the global market.

scholarly journals Closing remarks: novel approaches to complex societal change and sustainability

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 1589-1596 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sander van der Leeuw
Keyword(s):  
Complex Systems ◽  
Communication Technology ◽  
Natural State ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Social ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
State Of Affairs ◽  
Societal Dynamics

Abstract This paper summarizes some personal impressions of the 7th conference of the International Complex Systems Society, co-organized with “Future Earth”, held in Stockholm on August 24–26, 2017. The main point is that it is urgent and important to consider the sustainability conundrum as long-term, society-driven one, and to place societal dynamics at the core of how we, as a global society, came to this point, how ongoing dynamics are driving us towards a tipping point, and which role the Information and Communication Technology revolution plays in that process. A much wider involvement of the social sciences is essential. This also requires major changes in our thinking about sustainability—we need to develop an approach in which change is the natural state of affairs and societies attempt to impose stability on the dynamics involved. We need to focus on learning from the past, about the present, but above all for the future. And we need to shift from an entity-focused approach to a relational one, which pays more attention to contexts and networks. Other issues raised by such a shift in our thinking are about the role of science, the adoption of complex systems approaches and a few others that the paper points to.

Understanding Bismarck’s legacy: The role of work history in Belgian social security law

2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 326-350
Author(s):  
Jakob Werbrouck
Keyword(s):  
Social Security ◽  
History Plays ◽  
Work History ◽  
The Core ◽  
Policy Tool ◽  
Legal Perspective ◽  
State Of Affairs ◽  
Social Security Benefits ◽  
Value Judgement

This article examines the role that work history plays in income replacement social security benefits in Belgium. The central premise is that, due to the Bismarckian origins of Belgian social security, work history is a concept that is structurally at the core of this system. However, the fact that this element is, from a legal perspective, considered to be self-evident and a prerequisite for the functioning of social security, should not preclude us from exploring its contingent nature. The article argues that the way in which work history is expressed in the laws governing different social security benefits can sometimes create or perpetuate a certain state of affairs, based on an underlying value judgement. In this sense, work history supersedes the mere technical or neutral character that can be attributed to it, and in fact functions as an implicit or explicit policy tool to help model social security in a particular way

scholarly journals Maritime Narratives of Prehistoric Cyprus: Seafaring as Everyday Practice

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 415-450
Author(s):  
A. Bernard Knapp
Keyword(s):  
Everyday Life ◽  
Everyday Practice ◽  
Marine Resources ◽  
Coastal Resources ◽  
The Core ◽  
Late Chalcolithic ◽  
Material Evidence ◽  
Aceramic Neolithic

Abstract This paper considers the role of seafaring as an important aspect of everyday life in the communities of prehistoric Cyprus. The maritime capabilities developed by early seafarers enabled them to explore new lands and seas, tap new marine resources and make use of accessible coastal sites. Over the long term, the core activities of seafaring revolved around the exploitation of marine and coastal resources, the mobility of people and the transport and exchange of goods. On Cyprus, although we lack direct material evidence (e.g. shipwrecks, ship representations) before about 2000 BC, there is no question that beginning at least by the eleventh millennium Cal BC (Late Epipalaeolithic), early seafarers sailed between the nearby mainland and Cyprus, in all likelihood several times per year. In the long stretch of time—some 4000 years—between the Late Aceramic Neolithic and the onset of the Late Chalcolithic (ca. 6800–2700 Cal BC), most archaeologists passively accept the notion that the inhabitants of Cyprus turned their backs to the sea. In contrast, this study entertains the likelihood that Cyprus was never truly isolated from the sea, and considers maritime-related materials and practices during each era from the eleventh to the early second millennium Cal BC. In concluding, I present a broader picture of everything from rural anchorages to those invisible maritime behaviours that may help us better to understand seafaring as an everyday practice on Cyprus.

Tactical Voting

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pedro Riera
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Data ◽  
Comparative Research ◽  
Voting Behavior ◽  
Electoral Systems ◽  
Methodological Issues ◽  
The Core ◽  
Classic Approach ◽  
Long Term Consequences

This article reviews comparative research on electoral systems and voting behavior, identifying analytical gaps in the tactical voting literature. It starts by examining the core assumptions underpinning the classic approach to tactical voting. It then displays some empirical data about the estimates of this behavior reported in the literature. Contrasting experiences of theoretical and methodological issues in majoritarian and non-majoritarian systems are discussed. Focusing on some difficulties in the application of the “avoiding wasted vote” motivations under PR and mixed-member rules, the article furthers the consolidation of research on tactical voting beyond FPTP systems. The last section suggests that future scholarship in this field should move beyond the “wasted vote” approach to tactical voting and distinguish between instrumental and expressive motivations, consider the long-term consequences of tactical voting, and stress the endogenous nature of tactical voting and the role of parties and media in spreading it.

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