Level of importance attached to competitive intelligence at a mass import retail organization

The purpose of this research was to establish the level of importance attached to competitive intelligence (CI) at a mass import retail organization in South Africa. The rationale of CI is to alert an organization about the current situation as it relates to its business environment and competitors, and how these aspects affect the competitive situation. In this article, the value and significance that CI presents to organizations upon implementation are discussed by focusing upon the need for a competitive strategy, the significance of institutionalizing CI, various organizational structure options and the establishment of a CI culture. A survey was conducted at a mass import retail organization to determine the level of importance attached to CI. A total of 107 employees were randomly selected to participate in the completion of a questionnaire. Based on the results, it was found that this organization practised CI, albeit in an informal manner, and it was concluded that there was a relatively high level of importance attached to CI within this organization. However, areas for improvement were identified and a recommendation was made of implementing a formal CI function within the organization

A Constructivist-Based Approach to Teaching Database Analysis and Design

The study of database systems is typically core in undergraduate and postgraduate courses related to computer science and information systems. However, there are parts of this curriculum that learners find difficult, in particular, the abstract and complex domain of database analysis and design, an area that is critical to the development of modem information systems that meet the demands of users in an efficient and effective way. In addition, there is some evidence that companies believe the database analysis and design skills of both new graduate recruits and some of their existing IT staff are insufficient to cope with the complexities encountered in developing such systems. This paper reflects on these difficulties and describes a teaching approach motivated by principles found in the constructivist epistemology to help overcome these difficulties and help provide the learner with the knowledge and higher-order skills necessary to understand and perform database analysis and design effectively as a professional practitioner. The paper presents some preliminary results of this work that seems to suggest that students can learn how to design effective modern information systems when the learning is embedded in problem-solving contexts that are relevant in the real-world

A tale of two disasters: biases in risk communication

Theme for 2016: Recognizing and representing eventsRisk communication, where scientists inform policy-makers or the populace of the probability and magnitude of possible disasters, is essential to disaster management – enabling people to make better decisions regarding preventative steps, evacuations, etc. Psychological research, however, has identified multiple biases that can affect people’s interpretation of probabilities and thus risk. For example, availability (Tversky & Kahneman, 1973) is known to confound probability estimates while the descriptionexperience gap (D-E Gap) (Hertwig & Erev, 2009) shows low probability events being over-weighted when described and under-weighted when learnt from laboratory tasks. This paper examines how probability descriptions interact with real world experience of events. Responses from 294 participants across 8 conditions showed that people’s responses, given the same described probabilities and consequences, were altered by their familiarity with the disaster (bushfire vs earthquake) and its salience to them personally. The implications of this for risk communication are discussed.Matthew B. Welsh, Sandy Steacy, Steve H. Begg, Daniel J. Navarr

Operationalizing risk perception and preparedness behavior research for a multi-hazard context

Increasingly, citizens are being asked to take a more active role in disaster risk reduction (DRR), as decentralization of hazard governance has shifted greater responsibility for hazard preparedness actions onto individuals. Simultaneously, the taxonomy of hazards considered for DRR has expanded to include medical and social crises alongside natural hazards. Risk perception research emerged to support decision-makers with understanding how people characterize and evaluate different hazards to anticipate behavioral response and guide risk communication. Since its inception, the risk perception concept has been incorporated into many behavioral theories, which have been applied to examine preparedness for numerous hazard types. Behavioral theories have had moderate success in predicting or explaining preparedness behaviors; however, they are typically applied to a single hazard type and there is a gap in understanding which theories (if any) are suited for examining multiple hazard types simultaneously. This paper first reviews meta-analyses of behavioral theories to better understand performance. Universal lessons learnt are summarized for survey design. Second, theoretically based preparedness studies for floods, earthquakes, epidemics, and terrorism are reviewed to assess the conceptual requirements for a ‘multi-hazard’ preparedness approach. The development of an online preparedness self-assessment and learning platform is discussed

Fluctuations and Non-Hermiticity in the Stochastic Approach to Quantum Spins

We investigate the non-equilibrium dynamics of isolated quantum spin systems via an exact mapping to classical stochastic differential equations. We show that one can address significantly larger system sizes than recently obtained, including two-dimensional systems with up to 49 spins. We demonstrate that the results for physical observables are in excellent agreement with exact results and alternative numerical techniques where available. We further develop a hybrid stochastic approach involving matrix product states. In the presence of finite numerical sampling, we show that the non-Hermitian character of the stochastic representation leads to the growth of the norm of the time-evolving quantum state and to departures for physical observables at late times. We demonstrate approaches that correct for this and discuss the prospects for further development.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, Supplementary Materia

Trajectory-Resolved Weiss Fields for Quantum Spin Dynamics

We explore the dynamics of quantum spin systems in two and three dimensions using an exact mapping to classical stochastic processes. In recent work we explored the effectiveness of sampling around the mean field evolution as determined by a stochastically averaged Weiss field. Here, we show that this approach can be significantly extended by sampling around the instantaneous Weiss field associated with each stochastic trajectory taken separately. This trajectory-resolved approach incorporates sample to sample fluctuations and allows for longer simulation times. We demonstrate the utility of this approach for quenches in the two-dimensional and three-dimensional quantum Ising model. We show that the method is particularly advantageous in situations where the average Weiss-field vanishes, but the trajectory-resolved Weiss fields are non-zero. We discuss the connection to the gauge-P phase space approach, where the trajectory-resolved Weiss field can be interpreted as a gauge degree of freedom.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figure

Total contact cast wall load in patients with a plantar forefoot ulcer and diabetes

BACKGROUND: The total contact cast (TCC) is an effective intervention to reduce plantar pressure in patients with diabetes and a plantar forefoot ulcer. The walls of the TCC have been indirectly shown to bear approximately 30 % of the plantar load. A new direct method to measure inside the TCC walls with capacitance sensors has shown that the anterodistal and posterolateral-distal regions of the lower leg bear the highest load. The objective of this study was to directly measure these two regions in patients with Diabetes and a plantar forefoot ulcer to further understand the mechanism of pressure reduction in the TCC. METHODS: A TCC was applied to 17 patients with Diabetes and a plantar forefoot ulcer. TCC wall load (contact area, peak pressure and max force) at the anterodistal and posterolateral-distal regions of the lower leg were evaluated with two capacitance sensor strips measuring 90 cm(2) (pliance®, novel GmbH, Germany). Plantar load (contact area, peak pressure and max force) was measured with a capacitance sensor insole (pedar®, novel GmbH, Germany) placed inside the TCC. Both pedar® and pliance® collected data simultaneously at a sampling rate of 50Hz synchronised to heel strike. The magnitude of TCC wall load as a proportion of plantar load was calculated. The TCC walls were then removed to determine the differences in plantar loading between the TCC and the cut down shoe-cast for the whole foot, rearfoot, midfoot and forefoot (region of interest). RESULTS: TCC wall load was substantial. The anterodistal lower leg recorded 48 % and the posterolateral-distal lower leg recorded 34 % of plantar contact area. The anterodistal lower leg recorded 28 % and the posterolateral-distal lower leg recorded 12 % of plantar peak pressure. The anterodistal lower leg recorded 12 % and the posterolateral-distal lower leg recorded 4 % of plantar max force. There were significant differences in plantar load between the TCC and the cut down shoe-cast for the whole foot, rearfoot, midfoot and forefoot (region of ulcer). Contact area significantly increased by 5 % beneath the whole foot, 8 % at the midfoot and 6 % at the forefoot in the shoe-cast (p < 0.05). Peak pressure significantly increased by 8 % beneath the midfoot and 13 % at the forefoot in the shoe-cast (p < 0.05). Max force significantly increased 6 % beneath the midfoot in the (shoe-cast p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: In patients with diabetes and a plantar forefoot ulcer, the walls of the TCC bear considerable load. Reduced plantar contact area in the TCC compared to the shoe-cast suggests that the foot is suspended by the considerable load bearing capacity of the walls of the TCC which contributes mechanically to the pressure reduction and redistribution properties of the TCC

What is the contribution of physician associates in hospital care in England? A mixed methods, multiple case study.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the deployment of physician associates (PAs); the factors supporting and inhibiting their employment and their contribution and impact on patients' experience and outcomes and the organisation of services. DESIGN: Mixed methods within a case study design, using interviews, observations, work diaries and documentary analysis. SETTING: Six acute care hospitals in three regions of England in 2016-2017. PARTICIPANTS: 43 PAs, 77 other health professionals, 28 managers, 28 patients and relatives. RESULTS: A key influencing factor supporting the employment of PAs in all settings was a shortage of doctors. PAs were found to be acceptable, appropriate and safe members of the medical/surgical teams by the majority of doctors, managers and nurses. They were mainly deployed to undertake inpatient ward work in the medical/surgical team during core weekday hours. They were reported to positively contribute to: continuity within their medical/surgical team, patient experience and flow, inducting new junior doctors, supporting the medical/surgical teams' workload, which released doctors for more complex patients and their training. The lack of regulation and attendant lack of authority to prescribe was seen as a problem in many but not all specialties. The contribution of PAs to productivity and patient outcomes was not quantifiable separately from other members of the team and wider service organisation. Patients and relatives described PAs positively but most did not understand who and what a PA was, often mistaking them for doctors. CONCLUSIONS: This study offers new insights concerning the deployment and contribution of PAs in medical and surgical specialties in English hospitals. PAs provided a flexible addition to the secondary care workforce without drawing from existing professions. Their utility in the hospital setting is unlikely to be completely realised without the appropriate level of regulation and authority to prescribe medicines and order ionising radiation within their scope of practice

Enhancing Europe’s power: a rejoinder

This rejoinder responds to the eight comments to our report on ‘Enhancing Europe’s Global Power: A Scenario Exercise with Eight Proposals’. We address questions related to our definition of Europe, the notion of power, context and appropriateness of the scenario approach, the feasibility of enhancing European power, the rationale behind the proposed eight measures as well as the way ahead. Finally, we highlight green policies together with media and communication as promising candidates to increase European power