Making Care Coordination a Critical Component of the Pediatric Health System: A Multidisciplinary Framework

Based on a literature review and interviews, proposes a framework for delivering pediatric care coordination that links health care, education, early child care, and family support. Discusses core functions and the need for an integrated infrastructure

Managing the Ethical Dimensions of Brain-Computer Interfaces in eHealth: An SDLC-based Approach

A growing range of brain-computer interface (BCI) technologies is being employed for purposes of therapy and human augmentation. While much thought has been given to the ethical implications of such technologies at the ‘macro’ level of social policy and ‘micro’ level of individual users, little attention has been given to the unique ethical issues that arise during the process of incorporating BCIs into eHealth ecosystems. In this text a conceptual framework is developed that enables the operators of eHealth ecosystems to manage the ethical components of such processes in a more comprehensive and systematic way than has previously been possible. The framework’s first axis defines five ethical dimensions that must be successfully addressed by eHealth ecosystems: 1) beneficence; 2) consent; 3) privacy; 4) equity; and 5) liability. The second axis describes five stages of the systems development life cycle (SDLC) process whereby new technology is incorporated into an eHealth ecosystem: 1) analysis and planning; 2) design, development, and acquisition; 3) integration and activation; 4) operation and maintenance; and 5) disposal. Known ethical issues relating to the deployment of BCIs are mapped onto this matrix in order to demonstrate how it can be employed by the managers of eHealth ecosystems as a tool for fulfilling ethical requirements established by regulatory standards or stakeholders’ expectations. Beyond its immediate application in the case of BCIs, we suggest that this framework may also be utilized beneficially when incorporating other innovative forms of information and communications technology (ICT) into eHealth ecosystems

A grounded theory model of auditor-client negotiations

The central research question addressed in this paper is 'How do companies and their auditors resolve important audit issues?' In-depth interviews are conducted with the audit partners and finance directors of a varied group of six major UK listed companies who had recently experienced audit interactions involving 22 significant accounting issues. A grounded theory model is developed of the negotiation process and the factors that influence the nature of the outcome of interactions. This model identifies, as principal analytical categories, a range of general relationship factors and specific accounting issue factors that influence aspects of the negotiation process. These aspects include the parties involved, the strategies adopted, the quality of the financial reporting outcome and the ease with which it is achieved. A secondary outcome of the research is that distinct categories of audit engagement partner are identified, termed the crusader, the safe pair of hands, the accommodator and the truster

The thematic network SAFER EURORO : an integrated approach to safe European roro ferry design

For a period of more than 10 years, a safety culture approach has been promoted through the theme'Design for Safety,' which aims at integrating safety cost effectively in the ship design process. There isa considerable wealth of information amassed over these years of research and development on safetycriticalareas. One of the main elements of the research and development (R&D) work is the assurance ofsafety within the ship design process, in the continuous search for improving the current state of affairs.Through bold steps in the direction advocated by 'Design for Safety,' it is slowly but steadily beingrecognized that this approach can greatly contribute to the overall cost-effective improvement of safety inshipping while nurturing the evolution of proper practice in the field. On this background, the paper attempts a thorough overview of related R&D developments over the lastdecade. Particular emphasis is placed on the developments that have taken place as part of the activitiesof the Thematic Network SAFER EURORO and associated research projects, which have led to thedevelopment of a recent major research initiative, the Integrated Project SAFEDOR, which is expected tolead research development in the area for the years to come

Enhancing Jewish Learning & Engagement in Preschool Life: Documenting the JRS Model

The Jewish Resource Specialist (JRS) Initiative, designed in 2008 by the Early Childhood Education Initiative (ECEI) of the Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco, the Peninsula, Marin and Sonoma Counties (the Federation), in partnership with the Jim Joseph Foundation, positions the early childhood years as a gateway into Jewish life for children and their families. It is a response to several catalyzing factors. First, preschool is a critical time for young families. Children are eager to learn and are developing socially, emotionally, cognitively and spiritually. For parents, at no other moment will they be so involved in their children's schooling. They are also choosing how they spend their time and with whom they spend it. The JRS Initiative came about to leverage this unique time for families.Second, the JRS Initiative also addresses the dearth of leaders working to build the field of Jewish early childhood education (ECE). Those who want to focus on Jewish ECE and build communities of engaged Jewish families with preschool-aged children are challenged to find the support, mentors and professional development opportunities they need to craft a career path. The JRS Initiative seeks to meet these field-wide demands by developing the skills and Jewish knowledge of the JRS educators who then bring ideas and guidance to their schools

Does landscape-scale conservation management enhance the provision of ecosystem services?

Biodiversity conservation approaches are increasingly being implemented at the landscape-scale to support the maintenance of metapopulations and metacommunities. However, the impact of such interventions on the provision of ecosystem services is less well defined. Here we examine the potential impacts of landscape-scale conservation initiatives on ecosystem services, through analysis of five case study areas in England and Wales. The provision of multiple ecosystem services was projected according to current management plans and compared with a baseline scenario. Multicriteria analysis indicated that in most cases landscape-scale approaches lead to an overall increase in service provision. Consistent increases were projected in carbon storage, recreation and aesthetic value, as well as biodiversity value. However, most study areas provided evidence of trade-offs, particularly between provisioning services and other types of service. Results differed markedly between study areas, highlighting the importance of local context. These results suggest that landscape-scale conservation approaches are likely to be effective in increasing ecosystem service provision, but also indicate that associated costs can be significant, particularly in lowland areas

Development of a design performance measurement matrix for improving collaborative design during a design process

This is a research paper. Research presented in this paper aimed to investigate how to measure collaborative design performance and, in turn, improve the final design output during a design process, with a clear objective to develop a Design Performance Measurement (DPM) matrix to measure design project team member's design collaboration performance

Virtue integrated platform : holistic support for distributed ship hydrodynamic design

Ship hydrodynamic design today is often still done in a sequential approach. Tools used for the different aspects of CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) simulation (e.g. wave resistance, cavitation, seakeeping, and manoeuvring), and even for the different levels of detail within a single aspect, are often poorly integrated. VIRTUE (the VIRtual Tank Utility in Europe) project has the objective to develop a platform that will enable various distributed CFD and design applications to be integrated so that they may operate in a unified and holistic manner. This paper presents an overview of the VIRTUE Integrated Platform (VIP), e.g. research background, objectives, current work, user requirements, system architecture, its implementation, evaluation, and current development and future work