Sustainability improvement in complex systems composed of products and services

Purpose A wide number of research efforts have been carried out over the last decades to assess and improve system sustainability. Different methods and tools are increasingly implemented in product systems; nevertheless its application to services and other systems, in which products and services are combined, is rather limited. In this work, an approach to improve the sustainability of systems composed of products and services (P + S systems) is proposed and implemented in two case studies. Methods The sustainability improvement of P + S systems is addressed integrating different methods and approaches. The flows between system approach is used to identify links between all systems involved. The life cycle sustainability assessment (LCSA) method is applied to simultaneously evaluate environmental, economic and social aspects of sustainability with a life cycle perspective. In addition, sustainable design principles are taken into account to propose effective improvement strategies. The systematic development of four phases is required to carry out the integration of these approaches: (i) identification of links between involved systems; (ii) sustainability assessment of the P + S system; (iii) application of sustainability strategies; and (iv) sustainability results comparison. Results and discussion Two different P + S systems are analysed. First, sustainability improvements in the service provided by a clothing boutique are proposed, taking into account that the store where the service is developed and the clothes acquired by the service provider are product systems involved in the service operation. Next, the sustainability of an itinerary exhibition is investigated. Products required for the exhibition space layout as well as the service used to transport all materials between different locations are taken into account. In each case, sustainability indicators obtained in both initial and alternative systems are compared, and variations detected due to strategies applied are analysed. Conclusions Sustainability of P + S systems is evaluated using a set of quantitative indicators, the relative incidence of each system is determined and more sustainable alternatives are projected. Thus, this research supposes an advance towards the sustainable design of complex systems composed of products and services, since effects due to the interconnection between systems are studied and criteria to carry out sustainability-oriented decision making are provided.

Political System Sustainability in the Re public of Kazakhstan (Index Analysis)

The problem of the sustainability of the political system is one of the most pressing issues in Political Science. The wave of social and political upheavals that took place in the 21st century in various countries requires studying the factors that determine the ability of modern political systems to maintain their essential features in case of undesirable conditions. Today it is already obvious that the sustainability of the political system, mechanisms and principles of its functioning depends not only and, perhaps, not as much on the socio-economic sphere, the development of democratic institutions or the presence/absence of a destructive external influence, as it is often assumed. Rather, intra-systemic characteristics play a key role. The multidimensionality of the manifestation and the multifactorial nature of the formation of stable political systems not only determine the possibility of a huge number of definitions of sustainability, but also give rise to considerable difficulties in measuring it. The authors analyze the political system of Kazakhstan using the sustainability index that they developed earlier. The study shows that throughout most of the post-Soviet history of the country, the level of the sustainability of its political system was above average, and now Kazakhstan already surpasses Russia and Ukraine in this parameter and is approaching Belarus. Moreover, if the existing trends continue, the sustainability of the political system of Kazakhstan in the short term will only increase. According to the authors’ conclusion, this trend is hard to reverse unless there is a force majeure in the global economy or new military and political threats emerge, which the republic will not be able to tackle without resorting to the help of allies.

Responsible innovation in health and health system sustainability: Insights from health innovators’ views and practices

Although healthcare managers make increasingly difficult decisions about health innovations, the way they may interact with innovators to foster health system sustainability remains underexplored. Drawing on the Responsible Innovation in Health (RIH) framework, this paper analyses interviews ( n=37) with Canadian and Brazilian innovators to identify: how they operationalize inclusive design processes; what influences the responsiveness of their innovation to system-level challenges; and how they consider the level and intensity of care required by their innovation. Our qualitative findings indicate that innovators seek to: 1) engage stakeholders at an early ideation stage through context-specific methods combining both formal and informal strategies; 2) address specific system-level benefits but often struggle with the positioning of their solution within the health system; and 3) mitigate staff shortages in specialized care, increase general practitioners’ capacity or patients and informal caregivers’ autonomy. These findings provide empirical insights on how healthcare managers can promote and organize collaborative processes that harness innovation towards more sustainable health systems. By adopting a RIH-oriented managerial role, they can set in place more inclusive design processes, articulate key system-level challenges, and help innovators adjust the level and intensity of care required by their innovation.

Partnership in Healthcare System Sustainability and Resilience: Russian Healthcare System Analysis

Background. In 2020 the global community faced a serious unexpected challenge COVID-19. Fighting the aggressive spread of the coronavirus required rapid reconfiguration of the Russian healthcare system, while exposing its weak spots and pressure points. Critical evaluation of the Russian healthcare systems resilience to crises offers new perspectives on the most effective management and organizational solutions for resolving this crisis. Research objective. The main goal of this study is to make a significant long-term contribution to the Russian healthcare system by developing a set of recommendations for increasing the systems sustainability and resilience to crises. Methods. For this study, specialists developed a framework that includes a set of questions in the 1) domains of governance, 2) financing, 3) workforce, 4) medicines and technology and 5) service delivery, which align closely with the well-recognised WHO health system building blocks. In each domain, a series of targeted questions concerned both sustainability and resilience. Findings. The main areas of work for increasing the Russian healthcare systems sustainability and resilience to crises include: adapting the existing legislative framework to the current crisis, and to prepare it for similar crises in the future; increasing healthcare funding; improving the image of the medical profession; promoting healthcare digitalization; reducing the pressure on the inpatient and emergency care services by strengthening preventive and rehabilitative care services. Conclusion. The synthesis and analysis of materials relevant to understanding the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the Russian healthcare system, supplemented by expert assessments and examples drawn from practice, allowed the authors to compile a list of recommendations for ensuring the healthcare systems sustainability and resilience to future crises. This list offers potential for healthcare industry development.

Tillage Practices in Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) Production: A Review

Potato is one of the main crops grown worldwide under different climatic conditions. Potato is conventionally produced under intensive tillage practices under the same or different soil types. Research has shown some contrasting effects of the tillage practices on the soil properties, crop growth, yield, and quality. Under the reducing available freshwater for food production, soil management practices are more targeting conservation and system sustainability. It is therefore critical to revisit literature on the tillage practices and their impact on the soil, crop, and crop yield. This review presents research results of studies conducted exclusively on potatoes comparing different types of tillage practices and is a valuable source of information for potato growers and scientists as it is not only focused on the impact of tillage practices on soil properties but also on potato tuber yield and grade, tuber specific gravity, and the impact of tillage practices on diseases in potatoes.

Estimating the Long-Term Reliability of Steel and Cast Iron Pipelines Subject to Pitting Corrosion

Water-injection, oil production and water-supply pipelines are prone to pitting corrosion that may have a serious effect on their longer-term serviceability and sustainability. Typically, observed pit-depth data are handled for a reliability analysis using an extreme value distribution such as Gumbel. Available data do not always fit such monomodal probability distributions well, particularly in the most extreme pit-depth region, irrespective of the type of pipeline. Examples of this are presented, the reasons for this phenomenon are discussed and a rationale is presented for the otherwise entirely empirical use of the ‘domain of attraction’ in extreme value applications. This permits a more rational estimation of the probability of pipe-wall perforation, which is necessary for asset management and for system-sustainability decisions.

Food System Sustainability Metrics: Policies, Quantification, and the Role of Complexity Sciences

The rise of global attention toward sustainability and sustainable development (SD) has provided increased incentives for research development and investment in these areas. Food systems are at the center of human needs and global population growth sustainability concerns. These drives and the need to provide quantified support for related investment projects led to the proliferation of sustainability metrics and frameworks. While questions about sustainability definition and measurement still abound, SD policy design and control increasingly need adequate quantified support instruments. This paper aims to address this need, contributing to a more consistent and integrated application of food system sustainability metrics and quantified management of the implemented solutions. After presenting the relationships between sustainability, resilience, and robustness and summarizing food system sustainability quantification developments so far, we expose complexity sciences’ potential contributions toward SD quantified evaluation, addressing prediction, intangibles, and uncertainty issues. Finding a paramount need to make sense and bring existing sustainability metrics in context for operational use, we conclude that the articulated application of multiple and independent modeling approaches at the micro, meso, and macro levels can better help the development of food SD policies and implemented solution quantified management, with due regard to confidence levels of the results obtained.

Review of highland sorghum improvement research in Ethiopia

Sorghum is the most well-known helpful cereal crop for poor farmers in Ethiopia’s dry lowland areas due to it’s a high yielding, drought tolerant, nutrient use efficiency crop that can be grown over 80 % of the worlds’ cultivated land. It has many advantages in the economic lives of the farmers in the highlands of the country. It is a source of food, feed, fuel, construction, fencing to poor farmers of Ethiopia. Though, many biological and environmental stresses are reducing grain yield increment. Foliar and grain diseases are one of the main biological stresses limiting sorghum production and productivity in the high and intermediate rainfall areas of Ethiopia. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to review the current state of highland sorghum improvement in Ethiopia’s highlands. Breeders, pathologists, agronomists, and research extension workers have all worked hard to overcome the constraints. In addition, the national sorghum research program is focusing on developing tolerant varieties that can withstand a variety of pressures by backcrossing tolerant characteristics into existing potential landraces and elite advanced lines. Due to many yield-limiting conditions, the crop’s production is well below its potential. Sorghum breeding began in Ethiopia in the early 1950s to solve important production difficulties that contributed to low productivity, and as a result, a number of improved varieties have been offered to farmers. Since 1978, research and development efforts previous to Ethiopian sorghum enhancement have been studied. Generally, believe that future productivity will most likely increase as a result of the integration of a diverse collection of mutually beneficial disciplines and organizations with varying priorities in technology development, advancement, promotion, and market/product production. Multidisciplinary methodologies, system sustainability with temporal and spatial intensification, and participation of essential stakeholders, including farmers, in the technological development, increase, promotion, and proper intervention in production are also of interest.

Food Systems Transformation for Child Health and Well-Being: The Essential Role of Dairy

Malnutrition, in all its forms, during the critical stages of child growth and development can have lifelong impacts on health and well-being. While most forms of malnutrition can be prevented with simple dietary interventions, both undernutrition and overnutrition remain persistent and burdensome challenges for large portions of the global population, especially for young children who are dependent on others for nourishment. In addition to dietary factors, children’s health also faces the growing challenges of climate change, environmental degradation, pollution, and infectious disease. Food production and consumption practices both sit at the nexus of these issues, and both must be significantly transformed if we are to achieve the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. Food sources (i.e., animal-source foods vs. plant-source foods), food production practices, the effects of food processing, the impacts of a more globalized food system, and food loss and waste have all been receiving growing attention in health and sustainability research and policy discussions. Much of this work points to recommendations to reduce resource-intensive animal-source foods, heavily processed foods, and foods associated with excessive waste and pollution, while simultaneously increasing plant-source options. However, some of these recommendations require a little more nuance when considered in the context of issues such as global child health. All types of foods can play significant roles in providing essential nutrition for children across the globe, and for improving the well-being and livelihoods of their families and communities. Dairy foods provide a prime example of this need for nuance, as both dairy production practices and consumption patterns vary greatly throughout the world, as do their impacts on child health and food system sustainability. The objective of this narrative review is to highlight the role of dairy in supporting child health in the context of food system sustainability. When considering child health within this context it is recommended to take a holistic approach that considers all four domains of sustainability (health, economics, society, and the environment) to better weigh trade-offs, optimize outcomes, and avoid unintended consequences. To ensure that children have access to nutritious and safe foods within sustainable food systems, special consideration of their needs must be included within the broader food systems transformation narrative.