Narrow Results

In order to realize the quantitative management of higher education quality, an evaluation method of higher education quality management maturity based on OBE concept is proposed. Construct a phase space distribution structure model of higher education quality management maturity, establish a parameter set of higher education quality management maturity distribution index, adopt OBE concept to construct a fuzzy association rule distribution set, extract association regularity features, classify multi-dimensional attribute features, conduct data partition scheduling in the fuzzy clustering center according to the differences of statistical features, construct a feature decomposition model, and reorganize the ontology structure of higher education quality management maturity. The binary structure characteristics are reconstructed in the virtual database, and fuzzy clustering is carried out under the OBE concept according to the reconstruction results, so as to realize the optimal evaluation of the maturity of higher education quality management. The experimental simulation results show that this method has good feature clustering and high reliability in evaluating the maturity of higher education quality management.

It seems that what has been said by now about market and competitiveness does not fit perfectly with competences of getting the best of profit. Sometimes, the classical methods of fundamentals of management do not apply to individual companies that face irregular accommodation on the market. It is high time to replace the perfect business with the right one. New approaches and models may help in identifying new competition trends, changes for better application of purposes and proposals.

This paper is the result of two related studies done on the estimation of IT projects at a large Dutch multinational company. The first one is a study about the accuracy of different dimensions of IT project estimating: schedule, budget and effort. [Note: This paper is an extension of the paper published by the authors as "An analysis of accuracy and learning in software project estimating" [28].] This study is based on a dataset of 171 projects collected at the IT department of the company. We analyzed the estimation error of budget, effort and schedule. Also, we analyzed whether there is any learning (improvement) effect over time. With the results of the first study we proceeded to research what is causing the current estimation error (inaccuracy). The results of our first study show that there is no relation between accuracy of budget, schedule and effort in the company analyzed. Besides, they show that over time there is no change in the inaccuracy (effectiveness and efficiency of the estimates). In our second study we discovered that the sources of this inaccuracy are: (IT estimation) process complexity, misuse of estimates, technical complexity, requirements redefinition and business domain instability. This paper reflects and provides recommendations on how to improve the learning from historical estimates and how to manage the diverse sources of inaccuracy inside this particular company and also in other organizations.

Invasive aquatic species continue to be a persistent problem around the world. The Trojan Y Chromosome (TYC) eradication strategy has recently been developed to help fight the problem in aquatic systems by targeting only the invasive species, sparing native marine stock. It involves rearing genetically modified samples of the invasive species and introducing them into the environment to alter the sex ratio of the invasive population. The paper is devoted to finding the optimal implementation of the TYC eradication strategy of an invasive species as well as a modified, potentially more cost-effective strategy. The modified TYC strategy (MTYC) eliminates one round of exposure to sex hormones compared to the TYC strategy. After introducing both strategies, the optimal control problems for each are formulated. The two strategies are compared through numerical simulations. Our results illustrate that the MTYC strategy, with lower implementation costs, is a better strategy option when trying to minimize the overall effective cost in most scenarios.

Little finger metacarpal fractures are the most common type of metacarpal fractures and the treatment is quite variable as it is a multifactorial entity comprised of subcapital, metacarpal shaft and base fractures. These fractures are common presentations in the fracture clinics and the general orthopaedic surgeons treat them until a complex case warrants specific decision making by a hand surgeon. The management of many of these fractures is still a matter of debate and differ widely in the various parts of the United Kingdom. The aim of this study was to investigate the current practice of little finger metacarpal fractures among upper limb surgeons in the UK. We conducted an online survey among 278 upper limb orthopaedic specialist surgeons throughout the UK. Our response rate was 58%. There are various factors which dictate the treatment as suggested by these respondent upper limb consultants. For example, for fifth metacarpal neck fractures, it was generally recognised that 43% of upper limb surgeons prefer neighbour strapping alone for non-operative management of little finger metacarpal fractures. For little finger metacarpal shaft fractures, 39.3% of surgeons suggested that they would contemplate intervention, i.e. manipulation under anaesthesia/surgery if beyond 30° of volar angulation is present. For little finger metacarpal neck fractures, 33.7% would only consider surgical intervention beyond 60° of volar angulation. 91.6% of upper limb specialists agreed that they would operate on little finger metacarpal base fractures only if it was a fracture dislocation, while 71.8% suggested that they would proceed to operate on even a pure dislocation. We have illustrated the various permutations and combinations of these fractures with the results of our survey in this article in detail. The vast majority of metacarpal bone fractures are stable and treated conservatively. The different types of injury patterns must be recognised by the orthopaedic surgeons and appropriate treatment then should be executed to serve the patient optimally in due course.

The discoid meniscus is the most common meniscal variant. The likely etiology being congenital, the condition usually affects the lateral meniscus. Poorly vascularized, thicker and unstable, the discoid lateral meniscus (DLM) is more prone to tears due to abnormal shearing forces. Watanabe et al. (1979) classified the discoid lateral meniscus into three types: Complete, incomplete and Wrisberg type; Monllau et al. (1998) added the ring type as the fourth variant. Pain and clicks/thud are the most common presentations. Plain radiograph and magnetic resonance imaging are helpful in confirming the diagnosis. Asymptomatic DLM is best left alone. For symptomatic complete and incomplete types, partial arthroscopic saucerization is the treatment of choice leaving behind a stable rim. The Wrisberg type needs peripheral stabilization with resection of excess rim, if any. Total meniscectomy should be avoided unless inevitable. Short term results after partial meniscectomy are good.

Painting at the Molecular Level.

A Peek at Brazil and Chile's Healthcare Sectors - An Investor's Perspective.

An Industry Perspective NO PAIN, NO GAIN - Frost and Sullivan analyzes the underlying forces behind the pain management market potential in Asia.

SINGAPORE – Singapore eHealth Innovations Summit Announces the First EMRAM Stage 7 Hospital in Singapore and Emphasized Technology as Transformative Agent in Specialty Functions.

TAIWAN – Health2Sync Strategically Partners with Taiwan's Ministry of Health and Welfare in Asia's First Government Supported Online Diabetes Care Program.

UNITED STATES – Scientists Identify Protein Involved in Restoring Effectiveness of Common Treatment for Breast Cancer.

UNITED STATES – Scientists Reveal How Signals from Pathogenic Bacteria Reach Danger Sensors of Cells.

UNITED STATES – Scientists Find New Path in Brain to Ease Depression.

UNITED STATES – Tips for Living a Heart Healthy Lifestyle.

CANADA – Review Suggests Eating Oats Can Lower Cholesterol as Measured by a Variety of Markers.

SOUTH KOREA – CSA Group Opens Highly Advanced Electro - Medical Laboratory in Seoul.

AUSTRALIA – Cynata’s Technology Significant Efficacy in Preclinical Asthma Study.

INDIA – Essilor Launches ‘Love to See Change’ Campaign to Educate People about Need to Preserve Visual Health.

This paper tests the relationship between takeovers and poor management performance, known as the market discipline hypothesis. We create a proprietary new Australian dataset for this study by individually researching company reports for executive retention data. We assess takeover targets for pre-bid managerial inefficiency and find evidence that Australian target companies exhibit negative abnormal returns prior to takeover. In particular, we find that disciplinary targets underperform their non-disciplinary counterparts. Our tests take into account the difference between friendly and hostile takeovers, and the industry sector in which the target firm operates.

The post-World War II era saw the development of powerful self-contained fishing fleets, so-called distant-water fleets (DWFs), which roamed the world's oceans, seeking out rich harvesting targets and practicing pulse fishing. With the creation in the 1980s of coastal states' extended economic zones (EEZs), to manage fisheries out to 200 miles from the shore, it was hoped that the DWFs would close down. But the ranges of many important commercial fish stocks straddle the boundaries of several EEZs, and continue out into international waters. Thus, the consequence of creating the EEZs has been to encourage development of coastal countries' national fleets, while the DWFs continue to harvest in international waters.

Here, we model the fish war between a DWF and a regionally-based coalition of coastal states, operating out of their EEZs. The outcome is again a pulse fishery, but one which may be even more destructive than was the former situation, when the DWF was unopposed.

Finally we point out the relevance of the fish war model to the issue of creating effective multinational Regional Fisheries Management Organisations — a necessary step for achieving sustainable benefit from the harvest of the regional seas.

With the widespread application of Geographic Information System (GIS) technology in urban green space management system, the refinement of greening management puts forward the demand for upgrading the system. Taking the construction of urban green space management system in Wuxi as an example, this paper reverses the conventional operation of building database before system, and puts forward the method of management-oriented system upgrading. Through the research on the status quo of urban greening management, starting from the analysis of management requirements, the management requirements are transformed into system design requirements, so that the system upgrade is guided by the urban greening management requirements. It solves the problems of large amount of and time-consuming data input during the upgrading and construction of the system, which leads to long process and data lag when it is put into use. After the rapid upgrade, along with the refinement of daily management, the system has been continuously improved, and has received good results in the depth and breadth of data.

With the uncertain influential factors of demands and the lack of required historical data, demand estimation for new telecommunication services have generally relied just on marketing survey and analysis. However, the data collected from marketing survey are usually expressed in human linguistic forms and hence are fuzzy in nature. That means the estimation method derived from traditional sampling theory cannot fully represent such fuzzy data and thus biased consequences caused often. Therefore, in this study, to completely capture the uncertainty of the surveyed data, we adopt a series of analytical methods based on fuzzy set theory to construct a fuzzy estimation model. Based on the proposed model, a solution procedure is developed to aid users to acquire the demands of new telecommunication services. Finally, the solution procedure is employed to estimate demands of mobile phone service within one year in Taiwan with satisfactory results.

The globalization of business and the consequent exposure to global competition, besides the economic and social changes caused by the COVID-19 pandemic made the Training & Development (T&D) sector increasingly important for professionals in the corporate environment. In this sense, managing stakeholders and a portfolio of clients, as well as analyzing the relationship between customer and service, are necessary and strategic for the success of professional training organizations. This paper aims to support the strategic process of portfolio formation of T&D courses offered by a company in the Information Technology (IT) training sector in Brazil, through the application of the ELECTRE-MOr multicriteria sorting method. We have obtained a categorization of several courses, aiming to define which ones should be prioritized, maintained, or discarded by the company’s management. The results showed that, among the analyzed courses, only 17% should be prioritized, 61% maintained, and 22% discarded by the company.

The literature on organizational learning and knowledge management over the last decade has been extensive and far-reaching. This paper analyses the proliferation of these concepts along different disciplinary perspectives by tracing their evolution. The analysis reveals that organizational learning is a diffused; ill-defined concept with little consideration made for its practical application. Knowledge management on the other hand is a medley of different approaches but lack a unifying vision. As a result, it is difficult to establish synergistic relationship between these two concepts. An attempt is made to show how knowledge management models may be used to facilitate organizational learning. The models discussed include the Intellectual Capital Model, the Socially Constructed Model and the Knowledge Category Model. Each of these models is assessed in order to determine how they contribute towards the practical realization of organizational learning. The review shows that although these models differ in terms of how knowledge is perceived and in terms of the dynamics of learning involved, each of them has the capacity to contribute in unique ways towards organizational learning. The paper proposes that attempts to seek synergistic relationships that link organizational learning and knowledge management should be examined more closely to facilitate the practical realization of organizational learning.

This paper reports a case study on how knowledge is transferred through a film project and how it has been utilised. Prior literature and knowledge transfer theory is used to review the studied project and to draw recommendations on how best to utilise knowledge as well as to create an awareness on the importance of knowledge transfer in a film project. In order to gain the insight into the realm of the transfer of knowledge in the film industry, a project entitled Chemman Chaalai and produced by One Hundred Eye Sdn. Bhd. Production House was chosen. An in-depth interview approach was used to study the real phenomenon of knowledge transfer during the production of the film work.

Intangible resources drive economic growth, and are considered the fundamental source of business value. Intangibles have become key factors in generating competitive advantages, despite the fact that traditional financial reporting continues to focus on tangible assets. This is primarily due to the fact that the majority of intangible resources are invisible and considered a current expense on financial statements.

Top level management on the other hand may be discouraged from investing in intangible resources, even though numerous studies link investments in R&D, advertising, and training, to the performance of the company. Studies also suggested that core competencies, as a form of intangible human capital, are critical competitive factors and essential elements of corporate competitive advantage. Despite that, few studies analyse the relationship between investments in core competencies and corporate performance. The main objective of this study is to attempt to fill the gap in this area of the current literature and test the extent to which investments in core competences, translates into direct improved organisational performance.

The field study was conducted by making telephone calls to the financial managers of different Basque Country companies. Their responses and the financial performance of their companies was analysed and reported in this study. Results from the study show that firms with managers whom affirm their investment in intangible resources have better overall growth and sustained economic development.

This study evaluates the impact of COVID-19 on the operations and management of Community Centres (CCs) in Auckland. This Coronavirus posed unprecedented challenges to the communities and public facilities here and in many other countries. To mitigate the pandemic outbreak, the New Zealand government adopted the so-called “go hard, go early” strategy, which put all of the country to strict self-isolation for 52 days [Baker et al. (2020). The Medical Journal of Australia, 213(5), 198–200.e1]. This research aims to explore what challenges some of Auckland’s CCs faced during COVID-19 lockdown and what management decisions were taken to operate the CCs during these periods effectively. The study was based principally on primary data collected from the managers and visitors of eight CCs across Auckland via semi-structured interviews and anonymous online surveys. With all the information gathered and generated through thematic, correlation and deductive analysis, the study produced a “road map” for management actions. This framework should enable CCs to better articulate decisions for more effective and safer operating during future pandemic outbreaks.

Today’s smart and sustainable agricultural enterprises are founded on the intercorrelation between Industry 4.0 (I4) technologies and circular economy (CE) fundaments. At the industrial level, it is mandatory to constrain the design, operation, and control of the next generation of manufacturing, logistics, and supply chain systems that respect economic, environmental, and social aspects. At the individual level, behaviours and preferences require re-do (as recycling) and a re-do-not (as rethinking) actions to reduce human inefficiencies and excesses in the economy and impacts on the environment. Both industrial and individual levels are responsible for the growth of a harmonious industry and society into a new I4–CE mandate intertwined with sustainable development concerns. Particularly, this paper reveals how the state-of-the-art I4 technologies could promote CE initiatives in the agriculture industry by addressing such technologies as a foundation for the so-called precision agriculture (PA). The outcomes of this paper are as follows: (a) address the mutually advantageous linkage between PA and CE; (b) detailed knowledge of the potential contributions of PA technologies to the regenerate, share, optimise, loop, virtualise, and exchange (ReSOLVE) as a CE model; (c) propose an action plan for future study integrating smart PA and CE principles based on green supply chain management theories.

The issues of innovation accompanying measures like technology forecasting, technology assessment, evaluation, technology transfer, and others are discussed frequently but handled more or less separately in practice. The lack of adjustment between these innovation accompanying measures causes a suboptimal result in supporting the innovation process. The development of the nanotechnology funding strategy in Germany which was guided by an integrated approach of technology and innovation management activities is presented in the following article. This approach is discussed as a way to overcome this deficit of insufficient conjunction between innovation accompanying measures. This activity ranges from technological forecasting activities, the definition of application fields and market surveys to early technological assessment activities in different dimensions combined with communication measures. The integrated approach facilitated the early detection of relevant actors of further innovation process as well as possible "show stoppers" and corresponding actions. Herewith, the importance of accompanying innovation measures and their adjustment in research funding of new technologies is underlined.

Following the guidelines of the European Union (EU), Austria supports scientific research and technological development by publicly funding of research centers. Such centers are positioned between scientific and industrial stakeholders and have to simultaneously fulfill contradictory demands. This paper deeply analyzes the Austrian Center of Competence in Mechatronics (ACCM) and exposes why this publicly funded research center is able to effectively manage these conflicting demands. Using the theory of ambidexterity, the study highlights that appropriate structures and strategies are preliminarily needed. In particular we found that the fundamental abilities for managing contradictory demands are located on an individual level and argue that especially the autonomous, well-educated people and their competences of self-organization enable the research center to be ambidextrous.