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Everything You Need to Know About Everything You Need to Know About Benchmarking
Abstract and Figures
Executive Summary • Benchmarking is much more than a comparison of performance. • Benchmarking focuses on learning from the experience of others and can be defined as "identifying, adapting, and implementing the practices that produce the best performance results." • Benchmarking is a powerful method for breakthrough thinking, innovation, and improvement, and for delivering exceptional bottom-line results. • New benchmarking methodologies aim to ensure that benchmarking projects result in major benefits, both financial and nonfinancial. • New tools available on the internet make benchmarking easier.
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... Excessive intake of ethanol can have detrimental effects on the central nervous, cardiovascular, excretory and digestive systems in different species of animals (Taylor 1989). However, moderate consumption of ethanol may have beneficial effects. ...
... It is also known that ingestion of alcohol by humans is intimately associated with eating, including extended duration and larger-sized meals (Poppitt et al. 1996). However, high ethanol intake brings about reduced food consumption and leads to inebriation (Taylor 1989). A combination of high ethanol intake and exposure to low T a leads to a dose-dependent fall in T b in mice and rats (Lomax et al. 1981;Myers 1981;Rezvani and Levin 2004). ...
... The adverse effects of excessive ethanol intake on the behavior and physiology of animals are widely documented (Taylor 1989). However, the reported quantitative beneficial effects of ethanol are few. ...
Since mammalian frugivores generally choose to eat ripe fruit in which ethanol concentration ([EtOH]) increases as the fruit ripens, we asked whether ethanol acts as an appetitive stimulant in the Egyptian fruit bat, Rousettus aegyptiacus, and also studied the effects of ethanol on their skin temperature (T(s)). We hypothesized that the responses of fruit bats to dietary ethanol are concentration dependent and tested the predictions that the bats' response is positive, i.e., they eat more when [EtOH] in the food is in the range found in naturally ripe fruit, while it negatively affects them at higher concentrations. We also tested the prediction that in winter, even when availability of fruit is low and thermoregulatory costs are high, ingestion of ethanol by fruit bats is low because assimilated ethanol reduces shivering thermogenesis and peripheral vasodilation; these, alone or together, are detrimental to the maintenance of body temperature (T(b)). In summer, captive bats offered food containing 0.1% ethanol significantly increased consumption over food with no ethanol; they did not change consumption when food contained 0.01, 0.3, or 0.5% ethanol; but significantly decreased consumption at higher levels of ethanol [EtOH], i.e., 1 and 2%. In winter, captive bats ate significantly less when their food contained 0.1% ethanol than when it contained 0, 0.3, or 0.5%. During summer, freshly caught bats ate significantly more ethanol-containing food than freshly caught bats in winter. Skin temperature (T(s)) in Egyptian fruit bats decreased significantly at an ambient temperature (T(a)) of 12 °C (winter conditions) after gavage with liquid food containing 1% ethanol. The effect was clearly temperature-dependent, since ethanol did not have the same effect on bats gavaged with food containing 1% or no ethanol at a T(a) of 25 °C (summer conditions). In conclusion, ethanol may act as an appetitive stimulant for Egyptian fruit bats at low concentrations, but only in summer. Bats are deterred by food containing [EtOH] corresponding to that in overripe, unpalatable fruit (1 and 2%). Furthermore, during winter, Egyptian fruit bats are deterred by ethanol-rich fruit, possibly due to the potential thermoregulatory consequences of ethanol consumption.
... On one hand, benchmarking is more of a guide than a tool for statistical precision directed by what is deemed meaningful evidence (Braadbaart & Yusnandarshah, 2008;Bhutta & Huq, 1999). On the other, it is more than simple comparison of performance and the ultimate pay-off to organisations, which is based on the extent of useful organisational learning that can be translated into improvement action plans (Mann, 2012). Furthermore, in a university situation, benchmarking has been defined as a means of "connecting up relevant stakeholders both within and outside the institution in such a way that leads to knowledge exchange about why, what, where and how improvement might occur" (Meek & Van der Lee, 2005). ...
Benchmarking by higher education institutions (HEIs) has been evolving for some time in Australia and New Zealand. Earlier efforts were focused on improving reputation, but now benchmarking has become a required component of higher education quality assurance, or regulatory compliance schemes. ACODE's benchmarking framework and the ACODE Benchmarks provide Australasian HEIs with the ability to review their technology enhanced learning (TEL) practices and decision-making against what is considered “good” practice. The ACODE benchmarking framework and its benchmarks also allow HEIs to inform quality audit, or regulatory compliance reporting by HEIs to maintain institutional recognition and demonstrate performance against threshold or other specific performance standards. ACODE's benchmarking framework and benchmarks are recognized as influencers in benchmarking practice. However, there is a need to generate empirical data to demonstrate its leadership role and review the benchmarks for present purposes and to determine how they are used by HEIs. Thus, in effect, this case study represents a view of the increasing importance of benchmarking in higher education quality assurance schemes—at least in some national sectors—through the lens of benchmarking the benchmarks. The case presents the ongoing efforts, providing available data from one completed round and a still to be completed second round of what has become a biennial exercise. Findings so far suggest increasing interest in using the ACODE benchmarks to assist in determining performance within HEI TEL-related issues and in HEI participation in the benchmarking the benchmarks exercise as a means of learning from each other's practice.
... Informal benchmarking is more than simply a comparison of performance, however. This method's value to an organisation is based on the extent to which useful organisational learning can be gained and then translated into improvements or an action plan (Mann, 2012). Furthermore, in a university situation, benchmarking may be seen as a means of "connecting up relevant stakeholders both within and outside the institution in such a way that leads to knowledge exchange about why, what, where and how improvement might occur" (Garlick & Langworthy, 2008, p. 6). ...
This chapter analyses global, national and local policy and practice discourses in
open educational resources (OER) and open educational practices (OEP) through
equity and social justice lenses. It also situates these analyses in pre-COVID-19
and emerging COVID-19 pandemic conditions. At the time of writing, the
escalating coronavirus pandemic had ushered in a “new normal” for education
systems worldwide. Near-universal school closures affecting 192 countries and
impacting more than 60% of the world’s student population (UNESCO, 2020d)
heightened concerns about the vulnerability of many countries to significant
long-term learning losses. Increasing cases of teenage pregnancy, higher
school dropout rates, and students falling behind in curriculum learning as a
consequence of school closures have led some to anticipate losses of 1–1.5 years of
formal education, and have elicited projections of deepening education inequality
(Kaffenberger, 2020; World Bank, 2020). It takes stock of the way OER and related OEP policy and practice were historically conceptualised to meet the access, quality, equity and
inclusion imperatives of SDG4, particularly in Commonwealth countries. These
policies and practices are also viewed through a COVID-19 lens by examining
the way they are positioned in global and local responses to COVID-19
pandemic conditions. Its guiding questions are:
4. How have OER and related OEP policies, in their various forms, been
conceptualised historically to meet the education access, quality, equity
and inclusion imperatives of SDG4?
5. How are OER and related OEP policies positioned in global and local
education responses to COVID-19 emergency conditions?
6. What are the implications for the present-day and future imagining of
OER and OEP in a COVID-19 world and beyond?
In answering these questions, critical reflection is undertaken based on a
purposive sample of OER and OEP policy instruments and practices, compared
with a sample of OER- and OEP-linked education responses to the COVID-19
reality.
... Informal benchmarking is more than simply a comparison of performance, however. This method's value to an organisation is based on the extent to which useful organisational learning can be gained and then translated into improvements or an action plan (Mann, 2012). Furthermore, in a university situation, benchmarking may be seen as a means of "connecting up relevant stakeholders both within and outside the institution in such a way that leads to knowledge exchange about why, what, where and how improvement might occur" (Garlick & Langworthy, 2008, p. 6). ...
This chapter analyses global, national and local policy and practice discourses in
open educational resources (OER) and open educational practices (OEP) through
equity and social justice lenses. It takes stock of the way OER and related OEP policy and practice were historically conceptualised to meet the access, quality, equity and
inclusion imperatives of SDG4, particularly in Commonwealth countries. These
policies and practices are also viewed through a COVID-19 lens by examining
the way they are positioned in global and local responses to COVID-19
pandemic conditions. Its guiding questions are:
4. How have OER and related OEP policies, in their various forms, been
conceptualised historically to meet the education access, quality, equity
and inclusion imperatives of SDG4?
5. How are OER and related OEP policies positioned in global and local
education responses to COVID-19 emergency conditions?
6. What are the implications for the present-day and future imagining of
OER and OEP in a COVID-19 world and beyond?
In answering these questions, critical reflection is undertaken based on a
purposive sample of OER and OEP policy instruments and practices, compared with a sample of OER- and OEP-linked education responses to the COVID-19
reality. It found that in all the policies examined, there were links to their
aspirational intent and attempts to integrate the policies as practice — and in
some cases, also as agency. The latter was more evident in the OER approaches
from below. It also found interconnections between global, national and local
policy and practices before and during COVID-19. Moreover, it found that there
is growing opportunity for OER during COVID-19, and a burgeoning interest
in OEP, particularly in the quest for a new imagining of learning, teaching and
education delivery under increasingly unequal condition. It recommends a research agenda that monitors OER and OEP policies as social practices during and beyond a COVID-19 world, focused mainly on ways in which growing education inequality and exclusion can be disrupted.
... Informal benchmarking is more than simply a comparison of performance, however. This method's value to an organisation is based on the extent to which useful organisational learning can be gained and then translated into improvements or an action plan (Mann, 2012). Furthermore, in a university situation, benchmarking may be seen as a means of "connecting up relevant stakeholders both within and outside the institution in such a way that leads to knowledge exchange about why, what, where and how improvement might occur" (Garlick & Langworthy, 2008, p. 6). ...
The practice of institutions adopting technology-enabled learning (TEL) has been steadily increasing in momentum for a good two decades now. Although there are many similarities in the way institutions implement TEL, there are also many inconsistencies (Anthony, 2012). In many cases, these inconsistencies are brought to an institution’s attention when students comment on the irregularities they experience in the varied approaches taken to teaching with TEL. A number of institutions, professional bodies and associations have recognised this and have begun to establish a range of quality assurance mechanisms to assist higher
education (HE) institutions in aspiring to a greater level of consistency in their TEL practice, at both the macro level (across the whole institution) and the micro level (at the individual course/unit level)
... Rickets is a childhood bone disorder in which bones soften and become prone to fractures and deformity. There was an opinion that it is a rare condition in industrialized countries, but fairly common in some developing countries [2]. Meantime, the current scientific reports give an idea that this problem is pretty common at the moment in all urbanized countries [3] both in children and adults due to different predisposing factors and life style [4]. ...
NUTRITIONAL RICKETS IN CHILDREN (case report)Chaychenko T., Shulha N., Kharkova M., Rybka O., Buginskaya N., Chercun A.Nutritional rickets (NR) caused by vitamin D and/or dietary calcium deficiency remains a significant global, public health problem. The main causes of NR are discussed with a focus on the investigations, management and prophylaxis by the Global Consensus Recommendations on Prevention and Management of NR (2016). The article presents a clinical case of NR in a girl aged 4 years and 3 months admitted to our hospital with severe deformation of low extremities. She was found to have vitamin D-deficient state with extremely high alkaline phosphatase, suggestive for massive bone resorption. NR was diagnosed following comprehensive examination and therapy according to the protocol was initiated.Conclusions. NR rate tends to the incline in both low-income and industrialized countries, which requires special attention of pediatricians to the classical clinical presentation with particular focus on the risk group.Key words: Nutritional rickets, vitamin D, children, deformity of extremities НУТРІЦІЙНИЙ РАХІТ У ДІТЕЙ (клінічне спостереження)Чайченко T., Харькова M., Рибка O., Шульга Н., Черкун А., Бужинська Н.Нутріційний рахіт (НР) внаслідок дефіциту вітаміну D та/або дефіциту кальцію в раціоні харчування, залишається серйозною глобальною проблемою громадського здоров'я. В статті представлені обговорено причини НР з акцентом на обстеження, ведення та профілактику згідно рекомендацій Глобального консенсусу з профілактики та лікування НР (2016 р.).Представлений клінічний випадок НР у дівчинки 4-х років 3-х місяців, яка надійшла клініки з тяжкою деформацією нижніх кінцівок. Було діагностовано вітамін D дефіцитний стан з надзвичайно високими показниками лужної фосфатази, що свідчилона користь масивної розробціїкісток. За результатами проведених досліджень було діагностовано Р і розпочато терапію згідно з протоколом.Висновки. Частота НР має тенденцію до збільшення як в країнах з низьким рівнем доходу, так і в промислово розвинених країнах, що вимагає особливої уваги педіатрів до класичної клінічної картини з приділенням особливої уваги групі ризику. Ключові слова: нутріційний рахіт, вітамін D, діти, деформація кінцівок НУТРИЦИОННЫЙ РАХИТ У ДЕТЕЙ (клиническое наблюдение)Чайченко T., Харькова M., Рыбка O., Шульга Н., Черкун А., Бужинская Н.Нутриционный рахит (НР) вследствие дефицита витамина D и/или дефицита кальция в рационе питания, остается серьезной глобальной проблемой общественного здравоохранения. В статье обсуждаются основные причины НР с акцентом на обследование, терапию и профилактику в свете рекомендаций Глобального консенсуса по профилактике и лечению НР (2016 г.).Представлен клинический случай НР у девочки 4-х лет 3-х месяцев, которая поступила клинику с тяжелой деформацией нижних конечностей. Было диагностировано витамину D-дефицитное состояние с чрезвычайно высокими показателями щелочной фосфатазы, которые свидетельствовали в пользу массивной резорбции костей. По результатам исследований был диагностирован НР и начата терапия согласно протоколуВыводы. Частота НР имеет тенденцию к увеличению как в странах с низким уровнем дохода, так и в промышленно развитых странах, что требует особого внимания педиатров к классической клинической картине с уделением особого внимания группе риска.Ключевые слова: нутриционный рахит, витамин D, дети, деформация конечностей
... It can be applied to virtually any system (business processes, progress reviews, software/hardware tools, protocols, etc.) which exhibits quantifiable performance indicators. It is proven means of improving performance, efficiency, cost-savings and competitiveness of a system [7]. It facilitates " learning from the experiences of others " and thus enables the identification, adaptation and deployment of protocols that produce the best results. ...
Experimentation is evolving as a viable and realistic performance analysis approach in wireless networking research. Realism is provisioned by deploying real software (network stack, drivers, OS), and hardware (wireless cards, network equipment, etc.) in the actual physical environment. However, the experimenter is more likely to be dogged by tricky issues because of calibration problems and bugs in the software/hardware tools. This, coupled with difficulty of dealing with multitude of hardware/software parameters and unpredictable characteristics of the wireless channel in the wild, poses significant challenges in the way of experiment repeatability and reproducibility. Furthermore, experimentation has been impeded by the lack of standard definitions, measurement methodologies and full disclosure reports that are particularly important to understand the suitability of protocols and services to emerging wireless application scenarios. Lack of tools to manage large number experiment runs, deal with huge amount of measurement data and facilitate peer-verifiable analysis further complicates the process. In this paper, we present a holistic view of benchmarking in wireless networks and formulate a procedure complemented by step-by-step case study to help drive future efforts on benchmarking in wireless network applications and protocols.
The increasing role of algorithms shaping our use of communication technology—particularly on social media—comes with a growth of empirical research attempting to assess how literate users are regarding these algorithms. This rapidly emerging field is marked by great diversity in terms of how it theorizes and measures our understanding of algorithms, due, in part, to the opaque “black box” nature of the algorithms themselves. In this review article, we summarize the state of knowledge on algorithmic literacy, including its definitions, development, measurement, and current theorizing on human–algorithm interaction. Drawing on this existing work, we propose an agenda including four different directions that future research could focus on: (1) balancing users’ expectations of algorithmic literacy with developers’ responsibility for algorithmic transparency, (2) methods for engaging users in increasing their literacy, (3) further developing the affective and behavioral facets of literacy, and (4) addressing the new algorithmic divide.
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