Knowledge management, innovation and big data: Implications for sustainability, policy making and competitiveness

This Special Issue of Sustainability devoted to the topic of “Knowledge Management, Innovation and Big Data: Implications for Sustainability, Policy Making and Competitiveness” attracted exponential attention of scholars, practitioners, and policy-makers from all over the world. Locating themselves at the expanding cross-section of the uses of sophisticated information and communication technology (ICT) and insights from social science and engineering, all papers included in this Special Issue contribute to the opening of new avenues of research in the field of innovation, knowledge management, and big data. By triggering a lively debate on diverse challenges that companies are exposed to today, this Special Issue offers an in-depth, informative, well-structured, comparative insight into the most salient developments shaping the corresponding fields of research and policymaking

Bending the Curve: Options for Achieving Savings and Improving Value in Health Spending

Analyzes the potential of fifteen federal health policy options to lower spending over the next ten years and yield higher value on investments in health care

Lessons learned in promoting evidence-based public health: Perspectives from managers in state public health departments

Evidence-based public health (EBPH) practice, also called evidence-informed public health, can improve population health and reduce disease burden in populations. Organizational structures and processes can facilitate capacity-building for EBPH in public health agencies. This study involved 51 structured interviews with leaders and program managers in 12 state health department chronic disease prevention units to identify factors that facilitate the implementation of EBPH. Verbatim transcripts of the de-identified interviews were consensus coded in NVIVO qualitative software. Content analyses of coded texts were used to identify themes and illustrative quotes. Facilitator themes included leadership support within the chronic disease prevention unit and division, unit processes to enhance information sharing across program areas and recruitment and retention of qualified personnel, training and technical assistance to build skills, and the ability to provide support to external partners. Chronic disease prevention leaders\u27 role modeling of EBPH processes and expectations for staff to justify proposed plans and approaches were key aspects of leadership support. Leaders protected staff time in order to identify and digest evidence to address the common barrier of lack of time for EBPH. Funding uncertainties or budget cuts, lack of political will for EBPH, and staff turnover remained challenges. In conclusion, leadership support is a key facilitator of EBPH capacity building and practice. Section and division leaders in public health agencies with authority and skills can institute management practices to help staff learn and apply EBPH processes and spread EBPH with partners

Measuring Poverty at the State Level

Outlines a model for using the National Academy of Sciences poverty measure, which accounts for all income, non-discretionary work and out-of-pocket health expenses, and geographic cost variations, to estimate the effects of poverty reduction policies

Vacancy Reassessed

Since 1950, Philadelphia's population has been declining dramatically, by more than 30 percent. This rapid depopulation has led to the vacancy and abandonment of a large number of unmanaged residential lots and buildings. The future of Philadelphia rests on its ability to manage this decline, and in 1999, efforts were fragmented. This report highlights the barriers that many faced in trying to access vacant property and provides recommendations for a more strategic vision so that the city can create a significant and lasting impact

Evaluating the quality of undergraduate hospitality, tourism and leisure programmes

In this study, an instrument for measuring the quality of undergraduate programmes in hospitality, tourism and leisure (HTLP) was developed and empirically cross-validated. The study considered how total quality management (TQM) and context-input-process-product (CIPP) perspectives could be integrated to develop the framework, using documentary analysis, focus groups and content validity. Survey responses from 430 full-time teachers were used to verify the instrument for HTLP (IHTLP) via exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, and six standards, 12 dimensions and 63 indicators were identified. The six standards, in terms of relative importance, are curriculum and instruction; faculty; strategic planning; administrative management; student achievements; and resources. The implications for HTLP are also discussed

Impact of early initiation versus national standard of care of antiretroviral therapy in Swaziland's public sector health system : study protocol for a stepped-wedge randomized trial

Background: There is robust clinical evidence to support offering early access to antiretroviral treatment (ART) to all HIV-positive individuals, irrespective of disease stage, to both improve patient health outcomes and reduce HIV incidence. However, as the global treatment guidelines shift to meet this evidence, it is still largely unknown if early access to ART for all (also referred to as "treatment as prevention" or " universal test and treat") is a feasible intervention in the resource-limited countries where this approach could have the biggest impact on the course of the HIV epidemics. The MaxART Early Access to ART for All (EAAA) implementation study was designed to determine the feasibility, acceptability, clinical outcomes, affordability, and scalability of offering early antiretroviral treatment to all HIV-positive individuals in Swaziland's public sector health system. Methods: This is a three-year stepped-wedge randomized design with open enrollment for all adults aged 18 years and older across 14 government-managed health facilities in Swaziland's Hhohho Region. Primary endpoints are retention and viral suppression. Secondary endpoints include ART initiation, adherence, drug resistance, tuberculosis, HIV disease progression, patient satisfaction, and cost per patient per year. Sites are grouped to transition two at a time from the control (standard of care) to intervention (EAAA) stage at each four-month step. This design will result in approximately one half of the total observation time to accrue in the intervention arm and the other half in the control arm. Our estimated enrolment number, which is supported by conservative power calculations, is 4501 patients over the course of the 36-month study period. A multidisciplinary, mixed-methods approach will be adopted to supplement the randomized controlled trial and meet the study aims. Additional study components include implementation science, social science, economic evaluation, and predictive HIV incidence modeling. Discussion: A stepped-wedge randomized design is a causally strong and robust approach to determine if providing antiretroviral treatment for all HIV-positive individuals is a feasible intervention in a resource-limited, public sector health system. We expect our study results to contribute to health policy decisions related to the HIV response in Swaziland and other countries in sub-Saharan Africa