389 research outputs found
Importance of freight mode choice criteria: An MCDA approach
Road transportation has been the dominant mode for inland freight transportation for decades. Rail and waterways transportation are less frequently used alternatives, but in general more attractive from an environmental perspective. Even though many policies promoting the use of intermodal transportation have been proposed, they have had little impact to trigger shippers to shift mode from road transportation to rail or inland waterways transportation. One main reason might be that the requirements of shippers towards transportation modes are still not well understood. Hence this research investigates freight transportation mode choice with a new approach, multi-criteria decision analysis, as well as from the perspectives of different types of industries and experts. Reviewing the literature, the requirements for transportation modes are abstracted into a set of criteria, including transportation cost, door-to-door travel time, on-time reliability, flexibility, frequency, and reduction of CO2 emissions. As the importance of these factors might be different for different industries, we consider four segments: the manufacturing industry, the agriculture industry, the perishable food industry, and the chemical industry. Data from practitioners, industry experts, and academics are collected via online questionnaires and analyzed using the ‘best worst method’ (BWM) to identify weights for the mentioned criteria. The results indicate that transportation cost is viewed as the most important, closely followed by on-time reliability, while reduction of CO2 emission is viewed as the least important. Several comparison studies are conducted to see any difference in the importance of these factors with respect to different industries or respondent groups
Logistics Decisions in Descriptive Freight Transportation Models: A Review
The objective of this paper is to provide an inventory of approaches to descriptively (as opposed to normatively) model logistics decisions within the context of freight transport modelling. Rather than taking transport modelling frameworks as a starting point, as has been the case in the literature so far, we depart from a framework of logistics decisions. The framework is developed by combining elements of over a dozen existing frameworks from the supply chain management literature. Based on this comprehensive framework, we review freight modelling approaches from the literature. We find that freight modelling can be extended by taking into account previously uncovered areas of logistics decisions, such as those related to marketing or logistics systems forecasting and planning, as well as in areas that are well known from an optimization perspective but not from a descriptive perspective, such as routing and scheduling decisions. We conclude with a systematic listing of such areas, which can be used by researchers and transport modelling practitioners to develop further those transport models that take agent decision making as a starting point
Stakeholders' roles for Business Modelling in a City Logistics ecosystem: towards a conceptual model
A major challenge associated with the implementation of CL initiatives lies with their economic and financial long-term success. In this context, the business model concept can support assessing the business side of stakeholders' decision-making processes as major determinants for such success. The purpose of this work is to overcome the shortcomings of the business model approach applied to CL systems. To this end, a conceptual model is built from a role-based business ecosystem modelling approach to provide a business model representation of the CL business ecosystem, able to identify and explore the components of the system and their dynamics
THE IMPLICATIONS OF ENERGY TRANSITION ON SUSTAINABLE SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT PRACTICES IN THE OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY
The oil and gas (O&G) industry is increasingly pressured to manage its supply chain sustainably due to the negative impact of its activities and products on the environment and society. Unsustainable exploitation of the O&G has also led to concerns about its future availability, thus the security of energy supply. These issues resulted in the call for the transition to an energy system that favours low carbon and renewable sources. The O&G are expected to respond to these pressures by developing strategies that could enhance its competitiveness and compatibility with the future energy systems. As yet, little is known about the strategies especially with regard to sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) aspects. Therefore, this study aims to add to the discussion by focusing on understanding the implications of energy transition to SSCM practices in the O&G industry. It employs content analysis of sustainability reports of 30 O&G companies. The findings indicate that although 18 companies are involved in the research and development of alternative energy, the main focus is on developing unconventional O&G to increase fuel supply bases. In addition, among the alternatives, biofuels is the most preferred energy option due to its compatibility with the companies’ existing business and infrastructure. Overall, there are considerable limitations in the discussions of the SSCM strategy in the reports. We find that the sustainability of the unconventionals’ production processes received more attention than supplier and logistics management. The strategies for sustainable supply chain of the alternatives, except for biofuels, are hardly discussed or absent from the report. The findings could be useful to industry practitioners in decision making processes to improve existing SSCM practices during the transition, and to academics to identify areas for further investigations.Â
School smoking policies and educational inequalities in smoking behaviour of adolescents aged 14-17 years in Europe
Reaction Kinetics of a Selected Number of Elementary Processes Involved in the Thermal Decomposition of 9-Methylphenanthrene Using Density Functional Theory
Comparing policies to tackle ethnic inequalities in health: Belgium 1 Scotland 4
Ethnic-minority health is a public health priority in Europe. This study compares strategies
for tackling ethnic inequalities in health from two countries, Scotland and Belgium. Methods: We
compared the countries using the Whitehead framework. Official policy documents were retrieved
and reviewed and two databases related to immigrant health policies were also used. Ethnic inequalities
in health were compared using the UK and Belgian Censuses of 2001. We analysed the recognition of
the problem, the policies and the services and described ethnic health inequalities. Results: Scotland has
recognized the problem of ethnic inequalities in health, thanks to better data and the Scottish
Government has come up with a bold strategy. Belgium is a later starter, unable to properly monitor
ethnic inequalities. In addition, there is no clear government commitment to tackling either health
inequalities or ethnic inequalities in health. Both countries provide health-care services to ethnic
minority groups through the mainstream services, although ethnic minority groups have more choice
in Belgium than in Scotland. Overall, ethnic heath inequalities are lower in Scotland than in Belgium.
Conclusion: Scotland has provided a more advanced and comprehensive response to tackling ethnic
inequalities in health than Belgium. It has acknowledged that discrimination exists and that ethnic
minority groups may have different needs. Belgium still assumes non-discrimination in health care
and effectively denies the need for policy to tailor services to meet these needs. In Scotland, public
organizations have been made accountable for promoting equality in health. This is an important
contribution to European health policy
The crucial role of leucine concentration on spray dried mannitol-leucine as a single carrier to enhance the aerosolization performance of Albuterol sulfate
Generally, DPI formulations show low fine particle fraction (FPF) due to poor detachment of drug particles from carrier during inhalation. L-Leucine, with varying concentrations (ranging from 0 to 10% w/w), were introduced into a 60%w/v mannitol solution where the solutions were then spray dried to achieve a new processed carrier. The spray dried samples were blended with Albuterol sulfate to determine the efficacy of their aerosolization performance. Analyzing each formulation was completed via the implementation of numerous analytical techniques such as particle size distribution analysis via laser diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), scanning electron microscope (SEM), powder X-Ray diffraction (PXRD), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, and an in vitro deposition study. It was shown the concentration of leucine in spray dried is really crucial to achieve the highest FPF possible. The highest FPF was obtained for the samples containing 10% w/w leucine which was 52.96±5.21%. It was interesting to note that the presence of leucine produced different polymorphic forms for mannitol. Moreover, through this study, the authors were able to conclude that mannitol can serve as an alternative carrier in DPI formulations containing Albuterol sulfate tailored for lactose intolerant patients
Challenges in physician supply planning: the case of Belgium
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>Planning human resources for health (HRH) is a complex process for policy-makers and, as a result, many countries worldwide swing from surplus to shortage. In-depth case studies can help appraising the challenges encountered and the solutions implemented. This paper has two objectives: to identify the key challenges in HRH planning in Belgium and to formulate recommendations for an effective HRH planning, on the basis of the Belgian case study and lessons drawn from an international benchmarking.</p> <p>Case description</p> <p>In Belgium, a numerus clausus set up in 1997 and effective in 2004, aims to limit the total number of physicians working in the curative sector. The assumption of a positive relationship between physician densities and health care utilization was a major argument in favor of medical supply restrictions. This new regulation did not improve recurrent challenges such as specialty imbalances, with uncovered needs particularly among general practitioners, and geographical maldistribution. New difficulties also emerged. In particular, limiting national training of HRH turned out to be ineffective within the open European workforce market. The lack of integration of policies affecting HRH was noteworthy. We described in the paper what strategies were developed to address those challenges in Belgium and in neighboring countries.</p> <p>Discussion and evaluation</p> <p>Planning the medical workforce involves determining the numbers, mix, and distribution of health providers that will be required at some identified future point in time. To succeed in their task, health policy planners have to take a broader perspective on the healthcare system. Focusing on numbers is too restrictive and adopting innovative policies learned from benchmarking without integration and coordination is unfruitful. Evolving towards a strategic planning is essential to control the effects of the complex factors impacting on human resources. This evolution requires an effective monitoring of all key factors affecting supply and demand, a dynamic approach, and a system-level perspective, considering all healthcare professionals, and integrating manpower planning with workforce development.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>To engage in an evidence-based action, policy-makers need a global manpower picture, from their own country and abroad, as well as reliable and comparable manpower databases allowing proper analysis and planning of the workforce.</p
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