Towards a practical framework for managing the risks of selecting technology to support independent living

Information and communication technology applications can help increase the independence and quality of life of older people, or people with disabilities who live in their own homes. A risk management framework is proposed to assist in selecting applications that match the needs and wishes of particular individuals. Risk comprises two components: the likelihood of the occurrence of harm and the consequences of that harm. In the home, the social and psychological harms are as important as the physical ones. The importance of the harm (e.g., injury) is conditioned by its consequences (e.g., distress, costly medical treatment). We identify six generic types of harm (including dependency, loneliness, fear and debt) and four generic consequences (including distress and loss of confidence in ability to live independently). The resultant client-centred framework offers a systematic basis for selecting and evaluating technology for independent living

Business strategy and innovativeness: results from an empirical study

This study reports on the testing of the hypothesis that there is a positive relationship between business strategy and innovativeness. Business strategy is defined here to include market focus strategy, technology development strategy, and operations priorities - including cost, quality, delivery / dependability, and flexibility. An empirical study is conducted based on data collected using a questionnaire developed. 184 manufacturing firms from different industries in the Northern Marmara region in Turkey participated in the study. Multivariate statistics techniques and structural equation modeling are employed. The results have been affirmative supporting the hypothesis. Market focus and technology development factors are found to mediate the effects of operations priorities on innovativeness. That market focus, technology development and cost efficiency have direct effects on innovativeness is another finding of managerial importance

The impact of Green Information Systems on sustainable supply chain and organizational performance

This paper reports about a research in progress focusing on the impact of green information systems on sustainable supply chain performance. Green information systems, supply chains and their relation to sustainability and performance measurement are explained. The preliminary literature review resulted in a draft conceptual framework where sustainable supply chain measures focusing on economic, environmental and social aspects are combined with traditional supply chain performance measures of cost, quality, dependability, flexibility and speed. The measures for the triple bottom line of sustainability are listed as internal and external indicators. The research challenges addressed in this preliminary work comprise of integration of sustainability performance with traditional performance objectives in the supply chain, measurement of the social performance of supply chain and establishment of the relationship amongst the sustainable supply chain and performance indicators using a green information system infrastructure

Hydrological and environmental issues of interbasin water transfers in India: a case of the Krishna River Basin

River basins / Water transfer / Environmental effects / Dams / Reservoirs / Water resources development / Irrigation requirements / Case studies / India / Krishna River / Godavari River

Introducing industrial computer networks into the curriculum through a partner informed case study

Today an increasing number of systems and devices are being interconnected. The popular perception of this Internet of Things is of domestic appliances existing in comfortable or air conditioned environments connected to the Internet. However many systems that need to be interconnected exist in harsh environments such as extremes of temperature or in hostile environmental conditions, for example railway trackside equipment, utility plants or even at the bottom of an ocean. The network devices employed in these systems must operate in such harsh conditions. Westermo Data Communications manufactures networking equipment of this nature, for what we might refer to as the field of Industrial Networking. There is increasing demand for personnel with the experience and expertise in the design, implementation and management of these industrial networking systems. This represents an opportunity for the future employability of students enrolled on the computer networking degree programme at Southampton Solent University. Westermo has partnered with the University to help develop the unique industrial networking skills required by this sector through means of a case study based on a real world industrial networking scenario. This paper discusses how students developed solutions to the case study based on research supported by practical experience with Westermo equipment and informed by supporting material from their own teaching programme. Students also have the opportunity to gain Westermo certification to provide supporting evidence of expertise in this area

Hydrological and environmental issues of inter-basin water transfers in India: a case study of the Krishna River Basin

River basin managementRiver basin developmentDevelopment projectsWater transferFlowWater availabilitySurface waterWater balanceEnvironmental effectsErosionCoasts

Developing a distributed electronic health-record store for India

The DIGHT project is addressing the problem of building a scalable and highly available information store for the Electronic Health Records (EHRs) of the over one billion citizens of India