Healthcare Engineering Defined: A White Paper

Engineering has been playing an important role in serving and advancing healthcare. The term "Healthcare Engineering" has been used by professional societies, universities, scientific authors, and the healthcare industry for decades. However, the definition of "Healthcare Engineering" remains ambiguous. The purpose of this position paper is to present a definition of Healthcare Engineering as an academic discipline, an area of research, a field of specialty, and a profession. Healthcare Engineering is defined in terms of what it is, who performs it, where it is performed, and how it is performed, including its purpose, scope, topics, synergy, education/training, contributions, and prospects

Human decision-making and seat belt use

The methodologies used by researchers to analyze drivers\u27 behavior have changed dramatically over the years. Several driver-behavior models focusing mainly on motivational and cognitive aspects of driving have been developed to identify major factors causing drivers to behave in unsafe manners. Furthermore, the factors revealed by these models have been taken into account in the design of traffic safety campaigns and have led to the introduction of mandatory seat belt use laws in almost all states. On the other hand, low seat belt use rates are still being observed. People often fail to use belts because of strong beliefs and opinions. This study was conducted in two main parts. In the first part, the triadic technique was used for construct elicitation to structure the repertory grid. In the second part, each subject first rated the perceived usefulness of seat belts in each accident scenario on a 7-point scale. Each subject then rated all accident scenarios on each construct on the 7-point scale. Three independent variables were used to specify accident scenarios that were used in the second part. These variables included the direction of collision, the type of road, and the presence of an air-bag system. Three hypotheses were formulated for this study. These hypotheses were: first, perceived usefulness of seat belts is influenced by situational factors such as the direction of collision, the type of road, and the presence of an air-bag system; second, the relationship between the perceived usefulness of seat belts and the situational factors can be described with a set of rules; third, perceived usefulness of seat belts is influenced by perceived risk. The results indicated that the three hypotheses of this research were supported. Based on the results obtained, a conceptual model for the role of situational, individual and several other factors in drivers\u27 behavior towards seat belt use was developed. The model indicated that (1) drivers\u27 seat belt use is habitual in nature, and (2) drivers\u27 decision making process when judging the risk level and usefulness of seat belts differs from those that determine actual behavior

ACCEPTANCE OF E-REVERSE AUCTION USE: A TEST OF COMPETING MODELS

This study aims to understand factors affecting e-reverse auction usage in companies by comparing three models: Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and the integrated model (integration of TAM and TPB). Using LISREL 8.54, data collected from 156 employees working in the procurement department of companies in 40 different countries were used to test the models. Results indicated that, TPB may be more appropriate than the TAM and integrated model for explaining behavioral intention to use e-reverse auction. Behavioral intention to use is explained- by only attitude towards use in TAM; by subjective norms, perceived behavioral control and attitude towards use in both TPB and the integrated model. The other result suggests that actual use of e-reverse auction is directly predicted by behavioral intention to use in all three models. This study concludes with the discussion of the findings and implications for practitioners

Examining the Factors Affecting PDA Acceptance among Physicians: An Extended Technology Acceptance Model

This study aims at identifying the factors affecting the intention to use personal digital assistant (PDA) technology among physicians in Turkey using an extended Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). A structural equation-modeling approach was used to identify the variables that significantly affect the intention to use PDA technology. The data were collected from 339 physicians in Turkey. Results indicated that 71% of the physicians’ intention to use PDA technology is explained by perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use. On comparing both, the perceived ease of use has the strongest effect, whereas the effect of perceived enjoyment on behavioral intention to use is found to be insignificant. This study concludes with the recommendations for managers and possible future research