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Objective: To present a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) on Performance Evaluation in the Circular Economy (PECE), addressing its temporal evolution and critically analyzing the metrics found in empirical studies.   Theoretical Framework: The research starts from theoretical contributions on the characteristics of a metric and the levels of performance assessment systems, compared with the evolution of performance assessment in the management of natural resources until we reach the circular economy.   Method: Utilization of Systematic Literature Review following the Knowledge Development Process-Constructivist approach (ProKnow-C), assessing secondary data from articles comprising the Research Portfolio (RP).   Results and Discussion: The literature presents a variety of circularity metrics at different scales, yet there is a predominance of individual metrics and a lack of comprehensive focus on Performance Evaluation Systems (PES).   Research Implications: Identifies the need for more comprehensive and integrative metrics aligned with CE principles and capable of encompassing multiple levels of action. Future research has the potential to significantly enrich society by exploring the development of more comprehensive metrics, considering the interaction between levels of circularity and environmental performance.   Originality/Value: Highlights the growing concern with metrics in the Circular Economy (CE), identifies gaps in understanding the full impacts of each approach in the supply chain, and underscores the need for more robust and integrative metrics aligned with CE principles.

Co-produced practices and publications in the healthcare sector are gaining momentum, since they can be a useful tool in addressing the sustainability and resilience challenges of health systems. However, the investigation of positive and, mainly, negative outcomes is still confused and fragmented, and above all, a comprehensive knowledge of the metrics used to assess these outcomes is lacking. To fill this gap, this study aims to systematically review the extant literature to map the methods, tools and metrics used to empirically evaluate co-production in health services. The search took place in six databases: Scopus, Web of Science, Psych INFO, PubMed, Cochrane and CINAHL. A total of 2311 articles were screened and 203 articles were included in the analysis, according to PRISMA guidelines. Findings show that outcomes are mainly investigated through qualitative methods and from the lay actor or provider perspective. Moreover, the detailed categorisation of the quantitative measures found offers a multidimensional performance measurement system and highlights the impact areas where research is needed to develop and test new measures. Findings should also promote improvements in empirical data collection on the multiple faceted co-produced activities and spur the consciousness of the adoption of sustainable co-productive initiatives.

High-temperature superconducting (HTS) technologies continue to advance as promising solutions for large-capacity rotating electrical machinery. However, the cryogenic architecture required to maintain superconducting states remains a critical design challenge, particularly for performance evaluation systems (PESs). Conventional helium–neon (He–Ne) circulation-based cooling enables stable low-temperature operation and has been experimentally validated in previous PES implementations, but it introduces substantial limitations due to installation complexity, flow-induced instability, and limited adaptability to different coil configurations. To address these constraints, this study proposes a conduction-cooled PES architecture optimized for HTS field coil testing and examines its thermal and structural characteristics through comprehensive design and finite element method (FEM)-based analysis. A multi-stage conduction cooling pathway using a cryocooler, thermal straps, and copper heat plates was designed to achieve uniform temperature distribution and reduce thermal gradients across the HTS winding. Three-dimensional FEM simulations were performed to evaluate the steady-state temperature distribution and heat-transfer characteristics of the proposed conduction-cooled PES under representative thermal load conditions, and the predicted cooling performance was comparatively assessed against the He–Ne cooled PES. The conduction-cooled PES was analyzed by comparing its predicted performance with previously obtained experimental results from the He–Ne cooled PES. The proposed conduction cooling architecture achieved a significant reduction in total heat load, decreasing from 177 W in the He–Ne system to approximately 78 W in the conduction-cooled configuration while also improving thermal efficiency and simplifying system integration. In addition, conduction cooling enhances compatibility with a wider range of HTS coil geometries by eliminating the constraints associated with fluid-based circulation. While the proposed conduction-cooled PES has not yet been physically fabricated, the numerical framework was established based on experimentally confirmed operating conditions of the previously implemented He–Ne-cooled PES, and future work will include fabrication and experimental validation of the conduction-cooled configuration. These findings demonstrate that conduction cooling represents a practical and scalable alternative for next-generation PES platforms and provide essential design guidelines for the development of high-field HTS coils and large-capacity superconducting rotating machines.

The key to global rural revitalization lies in shifting the attention of policymakers toward balancing urban-biased policies. The cadre performance evaluation system (CPES) is an important institutional design for adjusting the attention of officials. However, it remains unclear whether and how it will impact rural revitalization. The article introduces a framework of “incentive target transition – attention reallocation” and employs a difference-in-differences (DID) model, leveraging data from counties in China spanning from 2008 to 2022, to delve into the impact of the transformation of the CPES, guided by the principle of “beyond GDP-ism,” on rural revitalization. The study showed that the level of rural revitalization increased by 5.8% after the implementation of CPES shift at the county level of government. Furthermore, if, following the removal of GDP assessments, the preliminary phase of rural revitalization (targeted poverty alleviation) is established as a new, strong incentive target, it can significantly enhance the effectiveness of rural revitalization efforts. Mechanism analysis indicates that, following the transformation of the CPES, county-level governments have redirected their efforts by increasing fiscal investments and expanding land transfer areas. These measures are intended to guide the movement of human resources toward rural areas and stimulate agricultural entrepreneurial activity, thereby fostering sustained rural revitalization. Officials who are younger, possess higher educational attainment, or serve in their hometowns tend to amplify the efficacy of abolishing GDP assessments. This effect will also be even stronger in regions with industrial bases and higher levels of social trust. Beyond GDPism: The Impact of China’s Cadre Performance Evaluation System Shift on Rural Revitalization The key to global Rural Revitalization lies in shifting the attention of policymakers towards balancing urban-biased policies. China’s experience demonstrates that, within a mature personnel system, the optimization of the CPES can facilitate the achievement of rural public policy objectives. The article introduces a framework of “incentive target transition–attention reallocation” and employs a Difference-in-Differences (DID) model, leveraging data from 1,645 counties spanning from 2008 to 2022, to delve into the impact of the transformation of the cadre performance evaluation system (CPES), guided by the principle of \"beyond GDP-ism,\" on rural revitalization. The study showed that the level of rural revitalization increased by 5.8 per cent after the implementation of CPES at the county level of government. Mechanism analysis indicates that, following the transformation of the CPES, county-level governments have redirected their efforts by increasing fiscal investments and expanding land transfer areas. These measures are intended to guide the movement of human resources towards rural areas and stimulate agricultural entrepreneurial activity, thereby fostering sustained rural revitalization. The research findings offer policy insights for countries aiming to enhance government capacity to promote rural revitalization and provide empirical evidence supporting the rationality of the \"Beyond GDP\" initiative in the public sector.

Nowadays, global warming is a big challenge for human beings; since the Kyoto Protocol became effective, greenhouse gas emissions have been an important environmental evaluation index in all industries. Construction is a big contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. The greenhouse gas emissions in the construction stage are mainly from the construction materials and the construction activities. The purpose of this paper is to quantitatively calculate the carbon dioxide emissions in the construction process, and provide a method of controlling the CO2 emissions effectively by converting into cost. In this study, the authors selected the tunnel construction as the research object, and chose the primary greenhouse gas-CO2 to estimate emissions. The authors did a research based on BIM (Building Information Modeling) technology, to calculate CO2 emission during the construction process. It considered the CO2 emissions from main materials and equipment. Finally, the authors used the recent carbon emission trading price to convert the CO2 emission into cost, and did the economic analysis. The method proposed in this paper can effectively evaluate the CO2 emissions in the construction process; it has a good reference significance for the selection of low-carbon emission materials in the design process, and it provides a case reference and direction for research of low-carbon equipment. By using the EU emissions trading system, the economic conversion of CO2 emissions will provide an economic evaluation index for the CO2 emissions of tunnel construction activities. Meanwhile, based on the method of this study, a BIM-based automated performance evaluation system could be developed.

The literature reports some experiences regarding the design of integrated healthcare Performance Evaluation Systems (PES) applied in Low- and Middle-income Countries (LMIC). This study describes the design of an integrated and bottom-up PES aimed at evaluating healthcare services delivery in rural settings. The analysis involved four hospitals and their relative health districts in Ethiopia, Tanzania, and Uganda. The evaluation process was undertaken for those indicators that could be evaluated using the same reference standard. The evaluation scores were determined through the international standards identified in the literature or through benchmarking assessment. Both administrative and health data were extracted from the hospitals’ registers and District Health Information Systems (DHIS) from 2017 to 2020. We defined 128 indicators: 88 were calculated at the hospital level and 40 at the health district level. The evaluation process was undertaken for 48 indicators. The evaluated indicators are represented using effective graphical tools. In settings characterised by multiple healthcare providers, this framework may contribute to achieving good governance through performance evaluation, benchmarking, and accountability. It may promote evidence-based decision-making in the planning and allocation of resources, thus ultimately fostering quality improvement processes and practices, both at the hospital and health district level.

This paper applies a difference-in-differences approach to examine the effectiveness of China’s One-Vote Veto environmental regulation regime, which links pollution reduction targets with local officials’ promotion. Using a rich set of data for 286 Chinese cities, we show that the new political incentive induced significant tradeoff between economic growth and environmental protection. The regime shifts significantly reduced industrial SO2 emissions; however, the environmental improvement was limited only to the reduction of the targeted pollutants that are linked to performance evaluation. Firm-level evidence shows that emission reduction was mainly achieved by reducing new polluting production activities, increasing pollution abatement capacity and improving abatement performance. It is also found that compliance with emissions reduction targets indeed increases the promotion chances of local officials.

This study delves into the critical role of Dazhimian technology in enhancing the evaluation of internal audit in universities and its optimization process. Firstly, a balanced scorecard-based internal audit performance evaluation system for universities was constructed, which covers four dimensions, namely, functional performance, service object, internal management process, learning and growth, and is further refined into 25 evaluation indexes. Then, the entropy weight-TOPSIS evaluation model was used and combined with actual data for empirical analysis, thus effectively measuring internal audit performance. Specifically for the case study, College F as a research subject shows significant performance improvement. The functional performance weight is as high as 0.3574, significantly higher than other dimensions, reflecting its outstanding performance in improving internal audit performance. Comprehensively analyzing the horizontal and vertical comparisons, HEI F has been improving its internal audit performance and its relative closeness is leading in all dimensions. In addition, we find that the quality of internal auditing in HEIs has a significant positive impact on profitability, operational capability and sustainable Development, further confirming the importance of optimizing the internal audit system. This study provides an effective technical tool for evaluating internal audit and its optimization in universities and valuable references and lessons for other universities.

We provide algorithms for inferring GPS (Global Positioning System) location and for quantifying the uncertainty of this estimate in real time. The algorithms are tested on GPS data from locations in the Southern Hemisphere at four significantly different latitudes. In order to rank the algorithms, we use the so-called log-score rule. The best algorithm uses an Ornstein–Uhlenbeck (OU) noise model and is built on an enhanced Kalman Filter (KF). The noise model is capable of capturing the observed autocorrelated process noise in the altitude, latitude and longitude recordings. This model outperforms a KF that assumes a Gaussian noise model, which under-reports the position uncertainties. We also found that the dilution-of-precision parameters, automatically reported by the GPS receiver at no additional cost, do not help significantly in the uncertainty quantification of the GPS positioning. A non-learning method using the actual position measurements and employing a constant uncertainty does not even converge to the correct position. Inference with the enhanced noise model is suitable for embedded computing and capable of achieving real-time position inference, can quantify uncertainty and be extended to incorporate complementary sensor recordings, e.g., from an accelerometer or from a magnetometer, in order to improve accuracy. The algorithm corresponding to the augmented-state unscented KF method suggests a computational cost of O(dx2dt), where dx is the dimension of the augmented state-vector and dt is an adjustable, design-dependent parameter corresponding to the length of “past values” one wishes to keep for re-evaluation of the model from time to time. The provided algorithm assumes dt=1. Hence, the algorithm is likely to be suitable for sensor fusion applications.