23 research outputs found
FACTORS INFLUENCING THE CHOICE OF PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP (PPP) FOR THE PROVISION OF SOCIAL SERVICES
No full textThe aim of this paper is to investigate some elements that might influence the choice of PPP as a managerial form for the provision of social services at the local government level, given the contribution of this type of services to social sustainability. To this end, we apply the GLS method to a sample consisting of all 116 Italian provincial capitals over a three years period (no. 2,088 observations). The analysis highlights that: 1) the financial commitment of the municipality is not correlated with the use of PPPs; 2) the right-wing and 5 Star Movement political orientation of local government shows a negative correlation with the use of PPPs; 3) a larger population to be assisted does not lead to a higher use of PPPs. Finally, we suggest some desirable lines of future research some thoughts in support of public management
Public—Private Partnership Governance for Accessible Tourism in Marine Protected Areas (MPAs)
No full textTourism is a relevant sector in terms of social development, considering its contribution to the quality of life for people with special needs. Accessible tourism, by virtue of its complexity, requires the development of studies on the collaboration among different actors. This leads to this article’s research interest in the public—private partnership (PPP) as a managerial tool that allows cooperation and that can support the development of accessible tourism objectives in marine protected areas (MPAs). Applying the case study methodology, we investigate certain aspects characterizing PPPs governance. Answering the two proposed research questions, we conclude that (1) sharing similar moral values facilitates trust between the partners and (2) differing skills of the partners represent advantages in facing the complexity related to accessible tourism objectives
Sustainable Development and Public-Private Partnership: What Are the Main Managerial Features of This Tool for Environmental Sustainability?
No full textGlobal environmental issues represent one of the greatest challenges facing modern society, on which man’s survival depends. The urgency and immediacy of these issues make it necessary to focus, among the various dimensions of sustainable development, on environmental sustainability. Moreover, the scale and effects of these issues make a collaborative approach between public institutions and private operators more necessary than ever. In this sense, among the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN Agenda 2030, particular relevance is given to Goal 17, which aims to promote the revitalization of the global partnership for
sustainable development.
Hence, this contribution intends to analyze the main managerial features that characterize public-private partnerships (PPPs) developed to support environmental sustainability.
Therefore, in order to contribute to the scientific debate on sustainability management, the systematic literature review methodology is applied to outline and analyze the state of the art on the use of public private partnerships. We found the sectors of application of PPPs for environmental sustainability and the main managerial aspects related to
their implementation. In addition, we highlight some concluding remarks regarding policy and managerial implication
Trends of Accountability Management for Environmental Sustainability: Evidence from the Italian Maritime Protected Areas (MPAs)
No full textUnfortunately, the topicality of natural resource issues stems from the serious problems that affect them and make environmental sustainability crucial. This situation is so complex that it involves many categories of actors. Certainly, a major role is played by public administration, given its institutional function as manager of the territory and its environment. Another key player is the community, which is a fundamental stakeholder in the field of environmental sustainability, starting from its role as the recipient of information on the environment aimed at making citizens aware and sensitizing them towards adopting environmental protection behavior. From the above stems the research interest in the issue of accountability for environmental sustainability in a particular category of public organizations represented by Maritime Protected Areas (MPAs), considering the sea protection activities they are called upon to perform. Therefore, the objective of this chapter is to investigate the accountability profile for environmental sustainability of MPAs. To this end, two methodologies are applied. Firstly, semi-structured interviews are used to identify both the main areas of the MPAs’ website dedicated to accountability on institutional activities (and, therefore, on environmental sustainability) and the main planning and reporting documents on these activities. Secondly, the websites of all Italian MPAs are analyzed to verify the website sections and documents resulting from the interviews. The analysis results allow us to conclude that the MPAs denote only an online predisposition towards accountability related to environmental sustainability and a limited presence of documents supporting sustainability accountability. This situation highlights low attention towards accountability strategy in the MPAs. In addition, the conclusions highlight some managerial implications and the work limit
The contribution of public-private partnership (PPP) to sustainability: governance and managerial implications from a literature review
No full textPurpose – Based on the theoretical background of stakeholder capitalism, the purpose of this paper is to contribute to the scientific debate on the topic of public–private partnerships (PPPs), considering in particular how this governance structure relates to the pursuit of sustainable development. Specifically, this objective will be pursued with a focus on stakeholder relations and governance aspects, to highlight enablers and barriers in change for sustainability.
Design/methodology/approach – The systematic literature review is applied starting with the use of keywords in Web of Science, which leads to the extrapolation of 629 articles on the topic of ‘‘PPP and sustainability’’. Subsequently, through various skimming steps, 75 papers are sampled. A mixed (quantitative-qualitative) approach is then followed: a co-word semantic network to identify the pattern of discourse and a more in-depth and explanatory analysis of the papers. These quantitative and qualitative tools synergistically work together to evidence the main aspects related to the aim of the paper.
Findings – With reference to the governance structure and stakeholders of PPPs, the analyses highlight the shift towards a triadic type of relational governance that considers stakeholders (especially the community) in addition to public–private partners. This can improve the partnership’s performance (particularly in sustainable development) and social legitimacy. With reference to the role of PPPs in the implementation of
sustainable development, they have positive potential in terms of implementing sustainability and raising stakeholder awareness of it. Nevertheless, PPPs may entail risks to the implementation of sustainability. The findings lead to some concluding remarks on future research opportunities.
Research limitations/implications – The research leads to some managerial implications, such as the need to follow a competitive collaboration approach among stakeholders, to develop relational
governance skills and related managerial tools and to incorporate sustainability aspects starting from the design of PPPs.
Originality/value – The originality aspect of this research is the consideration of a PPP by relating it to the pursuit of sustainability. Such an inter-organizational structure could be suitable to deal with the
complexity inherent in the implementation of sustainability and is peculiar in terms of governance and stakeholder relations, considering that it is characterised by the presence of several partners of different nature (public and private)
Public-Private Partnerships and Public Healthcare Sustainability: The Contribution of Governance and Digitalization
No full textThe chapter, starting from the Sustainable Development Goal n. 17, aims to investigate – from a managerial perspective – public-private partnership (PPP) in the public healthcare sector for the sustainability implementation. In particular, applying the case study methodology, the research discusses the role of the gover
nance of PPP and of the digitalization for the sustainability of healthcare services. The chapter contributes to the managerial literature on these aspects by concluding that (1) PPPs require a structure in charge of overseeing the main governance aspects and governance can be considered as a preparatory factor for sustainability and (2) digitalization contributes to sustainability by reducing time and costs. In addition, the research also makes it possible to highlight some criticalities related to governance and digitalization
Public-Private Partnerships and Public Healthcare Sustainability: The Contribution of Governance and Digitalization
No full textMapping Flexibility Region through Three-phase Distribution Optimal Power Flow at TSO-DSO Point of Interconnection
No full textIn the coming years, distributed energy resources (DERs) located at medium voltage (MV) and low voltage (LV) level will be employed as flexible resources to face the uncertainties and the operative problems introduced by renewable energy sources (RES) in power system management. Nevertheless, to unlock the potential of such resources, a coordinated operation between transmission (TSO) and distribution (DSO) system operators is needed. The methodology of flexibility region estimation well fits such need, since it allows to calculate active and reactive power that can be aggregated and released from the DSO to the TSO at the interface point, without violating any steady-state distribution grid constraint. This paper investigated the feasibility of implementing a flexibility region estimation routine based on formulation of an unbalanced three-phase optimal power flow (TOPF), suitable to deal also with LV resources and unbalanced distribution networks. The methodology is tested considering the detailed representation of a portion of an Italian distribution grid, comprising about six hundred MV/LV buses. The availability of both active and reactive flexibility resources has been considered
Swine experimental model to evaluate stem cell implant post myocardial infarction by Perfusion Gated-SPET.
No full textAutologous bone marrow stromal cells (BMSC) implant after swine experimental myocardial infarct (MI) was investigated by serial technetium-99m ((99m)Tc)-tetrofosmin gated single photon emission tomography (G-SPET) and compared with immuno-histochemical findings. The aim was to evaluate if intramyocardial BMSC implant produces any prolonged effect in the left ventricle (LV) perfusion and function. Eleven pigs underwent left anterior descending artery (LAD) ligature; in seven of them BMSC were injected in the border zone of the MI, while in the remaining four saline solution was injected at the same site. After LAD ligature G-SPET scans at 48h and at 5 and 10 weeks (w) after the implant were performed. Uptake defect size and LV function analysis were performed comparing 48h to 5w and 10w studies. Statistical evaluation was performed with Friedman test and unpaired Wilcoxon test. The comparison between a progressive reduction of Perfusion Image Score was observed from 48h to 5w and to 10w in the treated group (Friedman test: χ2= 13.56; P=0.01). No variation was observed in the control group (Friedman test: χ2=3; P= 0.223). Comparison of the absolute variation (Δ) between treated and control group resulted significant (Wilcoxon test W=10; P=0.007). Similar positive results were also observed for the relative extension of the uptake defect, wall motion and LVEF analysis. Histological data of our swine model demonstrated that autologous BMSC implanted in the damaged myocardium area had survived and differentiated into cells with typical features of myocardiocytes. Gated SPET is a reliable tool to evaluate prolonged positive effects of autologous BMSC implant in swine experimental MI model. In conclusion, autologous BMSC implanted can improve perfusion, induce cell regeneration, reduce wall motion abnormalities and prevent severe LV dysfunction in swines
Feasibility and Safety of a Three-Dimensional Sheath for Right Ventricular Septal Endomyocardial Biopsy
No full textBackground: Endomyocardial biopsy (EMB) is a complementary invasive procedure for the diagnosis of several cardiac diseases. New technical developments are needed to increase the safety of the procedure even in low-volume centers. Methods: We retrospectively enrolled patients who underwent EMB in our institution, which is a non-heart transplant tertiary care center. Patients were divided into two groups according to the use of a standard long sheath (S-T) or a three-dimensional sheath (3D-T). The latter was originally designed for conduction system pacing. Results: There were 30 patients in the S-T group and 16 in the 3D-T group. Patients in the 3D-T group were older (65 ± 19 vs. 52 ± 20, p = 0.049) and more likely to have ischaemic heart disease (25% vs. 0%, p = 0.011). Indications for EMB were similar in both groups except for a higher proportion of amyloidosis in the 3D-T group (56% vs. 17%, p = 0.005). The total number of collected samples (10 ± 2 vs. 11 ± 3), their dimensions (1.3 ± 0.6 mm x 1 ± 0.3 mm vs. 1.7 ± 0.6 mm x 1.2 ± 0.4 mm) and the proportion of specimens meeting the quality standard to be analyzed (76% ± 26% vs. 83% ± 25%) didn't differ between 3D-T and S-T (all p = ns). Pericardial effusion or cardiac tamponade was more frequent in the S-T group compared to the 3D-T group (23% vs. 0%, p = 0.078). There were five cardiac tamponades in the S-T group and none in the 3D-T group. Conclusion: The use of a 3D sheath for EMB of the right ventricular septum was feasible and safe with similar diagnostic accuracy compared to the standard long sheath technique
