Search

Objectives The aim of the article is to present the results of research on the place and role of management goals used since 2016 in the management processes of municipal companies in Poland. The authors devoted significant attention to economic and social goals, in particular to the analysis of the importance of these goals in companies. Material and methods The basic research method was the analysis of documents - the content of resolutions of entities authorized to exercise shareholding rights. In total, the content of resolutions adopted each year in 124 companies in 2017-2023 was examined. Results The results indicate the dominance of economic goals and the decreasing share of social goals among management goals. Conclusions The conclusions are not positive, considering that these companies operate in the public utility sector. The reasons for this phenomenon are partly due to the unfortunate provisions of the act and long-standing habits; in fact, they are more complex and multi-faceted. What is particularly disturbing is that profit, previously used mainly as an economic measure, has become, in the light of legal regulations and economic practice, the purpose of business, which may translate directly into the prices of municipal companies' services for residents and local entrepreneurs. In turn, the decreasing share of social goals may include, among others: reduce employee involvement and their efficient and effective cooperation based on trust.

• Identifying a common best practice frontier most similar to management goals. • The possible additional benefits generated from the global reallocation. • The stepwise reallocation paths for DMUs with limited reallocation potentials. • The case study based on 18 ports in Korea. Common benchmarking can identify a common best practice frontier as the benchmark to assess and improve the performance of Decision-Making Units (DMUs) experiencing similar circumstances. At present, further exploration in common benchmarking is still needed. For instance, the similarity between management goals and targets belonging to a common best practice frontier. To fill this gap, we propose the following innovative work: (1) A novel Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) model is proposed to identify a common best practice frontier on which targets closest to management goals can be found for all DMUs experiencing similar circumstances. These targets need to be achieved through a global reallocation of inputs/outputs among DMUs; (2) Considering the targets closest to management goals are too ambitious for some DMUs, an iterative algorithm is given based on another new DEA model for providing the stepwise reallocation paths. The stepwise reallocation paths can distribute the total reallocation efforts into several intermediate steps; (3) The effectiveness of the proposed model and algorithm is illustrated by applying them to a case of 18 ports in Korea. For this purpose, we use the input–output data set of these ports in 2010 and assume actual management goals for every port. The results of the case show some conclusions. First, the target of each port located on the common best practice facet is closest to its management goal. Second, global redistribution can make all ports obtain the best input–output levels. Third, ports with limited reallocation potential can monotonically and gradually achieve their distant targets through our stepwise schemes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Susan C Bolge,1 Natalia M Flores,2 Shu Huang,3 Jennifer Cai1 1Janssen Scientific Affairs, LLC, Titusville, NJ, 2Kantar Health, Foster City, CA, 3Kantar Health, New York, NY, USA Purpose: This study describes how health care providers approach canagliflozin for the treatment of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in the real world.Patients and methods: An Internet-based questionnaire was completed by 101 endocrinologists, 101 primary care physicians, and 100 nurse practitioners/physician assistants (NP/PAs). Health care providers were required to have experience prescribing or managing patients using canagliflozin to be included in the study. Health care providers compared canagliflozin with other T2DM medication classes on clinical characteristics, costs, and patient satisfaction. Confidence in canagliflozin was also measured. Health care providers reported their canagliflozin prescribing experience and good candidate characteristics for treatment. Finally, providers reported on patient outcomes among those receiving canagliflozin. All variables were compared across provider type.Results: Health care providers reported higher favorability for canagliflozin for blood pressure and body weight compared with dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitors and higher favorability for effect on blood pressure, body weight, treatment satisfaction, and glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) compared with sulfonylureas (SUs), with differences observed for effect on blood pressure. Health care providers reported being very/extremely confident (55%–74%) with canagliflozin as a second- to fourth-line treatment. The top 3 characteristics reported by the providers, in terms of describing a good candidate for canagliflozin, include those concerned about their weight, insurance coverage/affordability, and avoiding injectable treatments. Finally, providers reported often/always observing patients’ lowering or controlling HbA1c (82%–88%) and improvement in overall quality of life (QoL; 50%–53%) with canagliflozin treatment. No differences were observed across provider type for confidence, good candidate characteristics, or patient outcomes.Conclusion: Health care providers reported favorable experiences with canagliflozin and witnessed improvements in patients’ clinical outcomes and QoL. Keywords: diabetes, SGLT2-inhibitors, management goals, real-world evidence, prescribing experience

In 2016, a law was introduced in Poland that required management bodies of energy companies owned by the state and a municipality to adopt management goals. The remuneration of the board members of these companies depended on the extent to which these goals were implemented. The challenge was that profit became an end in itself. The purpose of this article is to describe the process used to set up strategic goals on the basis of balancing capital within energy companies, which demonstrates a positive impact on the effectiveness of these companies. The solution proposed in this article is an alternative to using profit as the sole measure. The article consists of three parts. The first part is a review of the literature on management goals and how they relate to various economic measures—the main conclusions of this literature review were that, despite many attempts, we were not able to (1) clearly define the purpose of a company and (2) find an indisputable measure of the degree to which such goals were implemented in a firm that would be an alternative to using the outdated profit as a goal. The second part dealt with the results of a study on the formulation of management goals in 2017–2020, which was conducted on more than 150 energy companies. Based on this analysis, it was found that financial goals were gradually replaced by material (investment) goals, but this process was very slow. The final part of the article is our proposal for a new approach to formulating management goals in energy companies, linking them to tools that measure both the efficiency of capital deployment and the introduction of new rules for sustainable capital management in these companies.

The conservation of biodiversity from the genetic to the community levels is fundamental for the continual provision of ecosystem services (ES), the benefits that ecosystems provide to people. Genetic and genomic diversity enhance the resilience of populations and communities that underpin the provision of ecosystem functions and services. We show that genomics applications are mostly limited to flagship species and that their benefits for biodiversity conservation and ES management are underachieved. We propose a framework on how genomics applications can guide management for biodiversity conservation and sustainable ES to bridge this genomics-ES management 'application gap'. We review how genomic knowledge in single species (relatedness, potentially adaptive variants) or in interacting species (host-microorganism coevolution, hybridization) can guide effective management actions. These include population supplementation, assisted migration or hybridization to promote climate-adapted variants or adaptive potential, control of invasives, delimitation of conservation or management areas, provenancing strategies for restoration, managing microbial function and solving conservation and ES trade-offs. Genomics-informed management actions for improved conservation and ES outcomes are supported through synergies between scientists and ES managers at local, regional and international levels, through the development of standardized genomic workflows, training to ES managers and incorporation of local information. Such actions facilitate the implementation of biodiversity conservation and ES policies such as the UN 2030 sustainable development goals and the EU Biodiversity strategy for 2030, and support the inclusion of ambitious biodiversity conservation goals in the development of new policies such as the CBD post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework or conservation policies on hybrids. • Genomic knowledge can benefit biodiversity and ecosystem services (ES) management. • Genomics benefits are underachieved: there is an application gap in ES management. • We propose a framework for genomics-informed biodiversity and ES management actions. • Actions tackle conservation, adaptation, productivity, invasives, restoration. • Policy developments and scientists-managers synergies are needed to bridge the gap. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Management of type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) needs multi factorial risk reduction strategies like weight reduction, blood pressure (BP) control and lipid profile regulation, along with glycaemic control. These strategies should be implemented very early in the course of the disease to prevent both microvascular and macro vascular complications. Aim: To find out the prevalence of diabetic complications and to audit the management of glycaemia, blood pressure and serum lipids in the outpatient diabetes clinic in a hospital located in Western U.P. Materials and Methods: A prospective study conducted in a tertiary referral teaching hospital, on 105 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (mean age 52.84 ± 1.02 years) who attended the diabetic clinic during June 2014 to April 2015, who had undergone screening for complications. Main outcome measures: Weight, height, body mass index (BMI), blood pressure, fasting and post prandial blood sugars, glycated hemoglobin, serum lipids and presence of diabetic microvascular as well as macrovascular complications. Mean of various clinical and biochemical parameters were compared in patients with and without complications. Results: The mean age of patients was estimated as 52.84 ± 1.02 years. Fifty six percent of patients were males. Average BMI was 28.61 ± 0.28 kg/m2 . Most of them had abdominal obesity. The average duration of diabetes was 8.39 ± 0.6 years. The average of systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), HbA1C, FBS, PPBS, LDL, HDL and triglyceride were estimated as 129.1 ± 1.49 mm Hg, 84.85 ± 0.94 mm Hg, 6.99 ± 0.08%, 141.33 ± 2.12 mg/dl, 214.51 ± 3.11 mg/dl, 155.66 ± 2.07 mg /dl, 40.07 ± 0.38 mg/dl, 236.53 ± 3.31 mg/dl respectively based on 105 patients. Amongst micro vascular complications; retinopathy, neuropathy and nephropathy were documented in 51.4, 77.14 and 30.47% diabetes patients respectively. The prevalence of coronary artery disease, stroke and gangrene were 42.85, 12.38 and 3.80% respectively. Conclusion: The prevalence and risk of the complications of type 2 DM significantly increased with age of patients, duration of diabetes, fasting blood sugar and LDL levels. The awareness regarding monitoring of target BP and lipid profile is needed beyond the glycaemic control, amongst patients and health care providers.

Introduction: Management of type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) needs multi factorial risk reduction strategies like weight reduction, blood pressure (BP) control and lipid profile regulation, along with glycaemic control. These strategies should be implemented very early in the course of the disease to prevent both microvascular and macro vascular complications. Aim: To find out the prevalence of diabetic complications and to audit the management of glycaemia, blood pressure and serum lipids in the outpatient diabetes clinic in a hospital located in Western U.P. Materials and Methods: A prospective study conducted in a tertiary referral teaching hospital, on 105 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (mean age 52.84 ± 1.02 years) who attended the diabetic clinic during June 2014 to April 2015, who had undergone screening for complications. Main outcome measures: Weight, height, body mass index (BMI), blood pressure, fasting and post prandial blood sugars, glycated hemoglobin, serum lipids and presence of diabetic microvascular as well as macrovascular complications. Mean of various clinical and biochemical parameters were compared in patients with and without complications. Results: The mean age of patients was estimated as 52.84 ± 1.02 years. Fifty six percent of patients were males. Average BMI was 28.61 ± 0.28 kg/m2. Most of them had abdominal obesity. The average duration of diabetes was 8.39 ± 0.6 years. The average of systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), HbA1C, FBS, PPBS, LDL, HDL and triglyceride were estimated as 129.1 ± 1.49 mm Hg, 84.85 ± 0.94 mm Hg, 6.99 ± 0.08%, 141.33 ± 2.12 mg/dl, 214.51 ± 3.11 mg/dl, 155.66 ± 2.07 mg /dl, 40.07 ± 0.38 mg/dl, 236.53 ± 3.31 mg/dl respectively based on 105 patients. Amongst micro vascular complications; retinopathy, neuropathy and nephropathy were documented in 51.4, 77.14 and 30.47% diabetes patients respectively. The prevalence of coronary artery disease, stroke and gangrene were 42.85, 12.38 and 3.80% respectively. Conclusion: The prevalence and risk of the complications of type 2 DM significantly increased with age of patients, duration of diabetes, fasting blood sugar and LDL levels. The awareness regarding monitoring of target BP and lipid profile is needed beyond the glycaemic control, amongst patients and health care providers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The qualitative case study examined interpretive programs for four sets of management goals. A proposed model, Four Conceptions of Interpretation, previously tested in national parks, was retested in a state park. The four conceptions are (a) connecting visitors to resources, (b) conveying agency mission and influencing behavior, (c) encouraging environmental literacy, and (d) promoting tourism. The hypothesis was that evidence of all four conceptions would be found in visitor recall of interpretive programs. Analysis found conceptions one and two strongly recalled by visitors. Conception three, environmental literacy, was conveyed by staff and moderately recalled by visitors. Conception four, tourism, identified in the Arkansas State Parks mission and opening dedication speeches, did not find its way into programs. Findings suggest that all four conceptions identified in foundational literature, mission, overall park vision, and staff interview did not trickle down into interpretive practice; it was not recalled by visitors in programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This multiple case study examined cultural interpretive programs for four different sets of goals or conceptions in a trickle-down effect from theory to practice. A proposed model, Four Conceptions of Interpretation, is based on foundational texts and empirical studies. The four conceptions are (a) connecting visitors to resources, (b) conveying agency mission and influencing behavior, (c) encouraging environmental literacy, and (d) promoting tourism outcomes. The data were examined for the presence of several different goals for interpretive practice. The study found that conception one was represented in all programs. Limited evidence of conceptions two, three, and four were found in participant recall. Although articulated in texts and training materials, evidence of the other conceptions' goals were lacking from visitors' short-term recall. This finding suggests that the practice of interpretation at the examined sites focused on conveying the seminal goal of connecting visitors to heritage resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The Lake Champlain Basin in Vermont and New York, USA and Quebec, Canada includes a large lake and watershed with complex management issues. A transboundary comprehensive management plan prepared for the lake includes 11 goals across many issue areas. We developed a choice experiment to examine public preferences for alternative Lake Champlain management scenarios across these issue areas. Five ecosystem attributes (water clarity–algae blooms, public beach closures, land use change, fish consumption advisories and the spread of water chestnut, an invasive plant) were varied across three levels and arrayed into paired comparisons following an orthogonal fractional factorial design. Two thousand questionnaires were distributed to basin residents, each including nine paired comparisons that required trading off two, three or four attributes. Completed surveys yielded 6541 responses which were analyzed using binary logistic regression. The results showed that although water clarity and beach closures were important, safe fish consumption was the strongest predictor of choice. Land use pattern and water chestnut distribution were weaker but also significant predictors, with respondents preferring less land development and preservation of the agricultural landscape. Current management efforts in the Lake Champlain Basin are heavily weighted toward improving water clarity by reducing phosphorus pollution. Our results suggest that safe fish consumption warrants additional management attention. Because choice experiments provide information that is much richer than the simple categorical judgments more commonly used in surveys, they can provide managers with information about tradeoffs that could be used to enhance public support and maximize the social benefits of an ecosystem management program. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The ecosystem approach for fisheries management is a widely accepted concept and various international instruments require its application. However, there are various interpretations of the ecosystem approach and its application almost always brings about confrontations and resistance among managers, proponents, and stakeholders. This paper categorizes the ecosystem approach into four distinguishable types: bycatch mitigation, multi-species management, protection of vulnerable ecosystems, and integrated approach. Furthermore, the lack of identification and understanding of specific management goals is hampering the application of the ecosystem approach. Unless the stakeholders understand and accept the goals, the ecosystem approach will not succeed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article focuses on the study aimed to determine the existence of ecological thresholds in the relationships between landscape structure and newt distribution. For determination purposes, 371 ponds between 1990 and 2004 found on the basis of local topographic maps have been monitored and sampled by performing several dozen dip-nettings. The percentage of forest and crop cover within a radius of 400 meter for each pond is also measured using topographical maps. Further, for an effective analysis, the calculation of the proportion of ponds occupied by newts and the average number of species per pond is likewise performed. And through these processes, it is found that there exists a relationship between newt distribution and landscape features.

Beach management and coastal management are interwoven and scale-dependent activities in Australia. Present coastal policies are broad and designed for large, national, and statewide scales. They specify ecologically sustainable development as the overarching goal for coastal management and provide the context for beach management. On smaller scales, an approach focusing on the reduction of geomorphic hazards as the basis of beach management was established by the Coastline Hazard Policy, with nonhazard aspects of beach management such as ecological, economic, and social concerns assuming secondary importance. Although beach management can occur effectively under these coastal management arrangements, better guidance is required to make this process as effective and efficient as possible. This guidance - the policy framework - could be better developed for beach management and better integrated with existing coastal management arrangements. While this policy development is not strictly necessary to achieve positive outcomes from beach management, it is necessary to effectively guide implementation of the existing broad coastal policies. Effective goals for beach management are yet to be thought out and clearly articulated in Australia. A good start would be to couple the present goals of ecologically sustainable development and hazards reduction into a coherent goal for beach management. A specific policy for beaches should be developed given the importance of beaches in Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2016, a law was introduced in Poland that required management bodies of energy companies owned by the state and a municipality to adopt management goals. The remuneration of the board members of these companies depended on the extent to which these goals were implemented. The challenge was that profit became an end in itself. The purpose of this article is to describe the process used to set up strategic goals on the basis of balancing capital within energy companies, which demonstrates a positive impact on the effectiveness of these companies. The solution proposed in this article is an alternative to using profit as the sole measure. The article consists of three parts. The first part is a review of the literature on management goals and how they relate to various economic measures—the main conclusions of this literature review were that, despite many attempts, we were not able to (1) clearly define the purpose of a company and (2) find an indisputable measure of the degree to which such goals were implemented in a firm that would be an alternative to using the outdated profit as a goal. The second part dealt with the results of a study on the formulation of management goals in 2017–2020, which was conducted on more than 150 energy companies. Based on this analysis, it was found that financial goals were gradually replaced by material (investment) goals, but this process was very slow. The final part of the article is our proposal for a new approach to formulating management goals in energy companies, linking them to tools that measure both the efficiency of capital deployment and the introduction of new rules for sustainable capital management in these companies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Conversion of conifer plantations to mixed hardwood and conifer forests is important. • The optimal thinning intensity for creating mixed forests remains unclear. • Intensive thinning is a reliable method to create mixed forests at the canopy level. • Intensive thinning (67%) produced large trees of both conifers and hardwoods. • Weak thinning (33%) is suitable for producing high-quality conifer timber. For managers of conifer plantations, conversion to mixed hardwood and conifer forests is an important management goal. However, the extent to which thinning intensity affects stand volume and timber quantity and quality remains unclear. We investigated the growth of conifer and hardwood trees over 14 years (at 5 and 9 years after the first and second thinning operations, respectively) under unthinned (Control), 33% thinned (Weak), and 67% thinned (Intensive) treatments in a Cryptomeria japonica plantation. The diameter growth of both conifers and hardwoods, stand volume of hardwoods, and relative increment of stand volume of conifers increased with greater thinning intensity in the order of Control < Weak < Intensive, whereas the reverse was observed for the stand volume of conifers, dead conifer trees, and total yield of stand volume (i.e., gross production). These results suggest that intensive thinning can create large conifers and hardwoods, but reduces gross production. Mean annual tree ring width (ATRW), consistency of ATRW value, and mean crown ratio increased with increasing thinning intensity in the order of Control < Weak < Intensive, while height-to-diameter ratio (i.e., slenderness) showed the opposite trend. These findings suggest that timber quality (e.g., wood density, stiffness, visual grading) was better under Weak than under Intensive thinning. However, the production of large conifer timbers with homogeneous ATRW may offset reductions in quality. This study suggests that intensive thinning is a reliable method for rapidly creating mixed hardwood–conifer forests at the canopy level and producing large timbers of both conifer and hardwood species, whereas weak thinning is suitable for producing high-quality conifer timbers and maintaining net primary production, although repeated thinning is necessary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]