Implementing CRM System in a Global Organization - National vs. Organizational Culture

This paper presents a longitudinal case study of a multi-national company’s Customer Relationship Management implementation in China, Poland, Russia, Middle East, Dubai, Pakistan, Iran, Korea and Japan. Although the cooperation has extensive experience in implementing systems in its different global subsidiaries, and has planned the implementation well, the implementation was not a complete success. The study has identified that the cultural factor are important, but not stressed enough in the current CRM literature. Understanding the difference between the organizational culture in which the system is developed and the national culture in which the system is implemented, as well as having a strategy for how to embrace and control/adjust to cultural values, is vital for a successful system implementation.

Integrated Curriculum for a Bachelor of Science in Business Information Systems Design (BISD 2010)

Commentators on Information Systems (IS) education have urged the IS community to develop new and alternative IS curricula. The IS 2002 model curriculum has recently been revised. The new IS 2010 curriculum guidelines for undergraduate degree programs in Information Systems [Topi et al. 2010] has a curriculum structure to accommodate the education of several different professional roles within IS. This paper identifies one such role, the Business Information Systems Designer. It presents and argues for a new, integrated Bachelor of Science curriculum for Business Information Systems Design (BISD 2010) to educate for this role. The proposed curriculum focuses on the design and use of IS in business and has a strong design focus. The education focuses on developing and training a set of capabilities that enables the Business Information Systems Designer to participate in the design of business and IS in concert. Some examples of capabilities are communication and presentation skills, business and industry understanding, and high-level modeling. Consequently, the curriculum adopted a capabilities-driven pedagogical model in order to train specific skills. The paper presents the BISD 2010 with its specific expected learning outcomes, structure, and pedagogy, and also how the students should be able to fulfill the learning outcomes. The proposed curriculum differs from much of the current IS model curriculum discussions in a number of respects: (1) it is built on a notion of design, design science, and design as a profession, (2) it is based on a capability driven pedagogical model, (3) the curriculum is modeled for a European higher education context and the Bologna accord, and (4) it is not a model curriculum, but a specific, comprehensive, and ambitious curriculum for a degree program

Shifting expenditure on food, holidays, and furnishings could lower greenhouse gas emissions by almost 40%

This paper investigates how consumption-based greenhouse gas emissions from private households can be reduced. The aim is to quantify opportunities for mitigation through shifting expenditure on food, holidays, and furnishings to less carbon-intensive products and services that are available on the market but not yet mainstream. Two hundred and seventeen analyses of the greenhouse gas emissions/SEK for on-the-market products and services were used for estimating the consumption-based greenhouse gas emissions from an average person, an average single man and an average single woman. The consumption-based greenhouse gas emissions for these households were estimated to be 6.9, 10, and 8.5 tonnes per capita per year respectively; and food, holidays, and furnishings accounted for 56–59% of that. The alternatives to mainstream food, holidays, and furnishings include plant-based alternatives to meat and dairy products, locally produced vegetables, second-hand or repaired furnishings, holidaying abroad by train, and “staycations.” Our results show that total greenhouse gas emissions can be lowered by 36–38% by shifting the expenditure on these products and services to less carbon-intensive alternatives without changing the total expenditure. The share of total emissions deriving from food, holidays, and furnishings is reduced to 30–35% after the change. The findings are discussed in the light of goals for reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, additional sustainability aspects, the limitations of the study and needs for further research. This article met the requirements for a silver–silver JIE data openness badge described at http://jie.click/badges

Atrial high rate episodes predict clinical outcome in patients with cardiac resynchronization therapy

OBJECTIVES: Up to 50% of patients qualified for cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) have documented atrial fibrillation (AF) prior to CRT-implantation. This finding is associated with worse prognosis but few studies have evaluated the importance of post-implant device-detected AF. This study aimed to assess the prognostic impact of device-detected atrial high rate episodes (AHRE), as a surrogate for atrial fibrillation (AF).DESIGN: Data was retrospectively obtained from consecutive patients receiving CRT. Baseline clinical data and data from CRT device-interrogations, performed at a median of 12.2 months after CRT-implantation, were evaluated with regard to prediction of the composite endpoint of death, heart transplant or appropriate shock therapy. Median follow-up time was 51 months post-implant.RESULTS: The study included 377 patients. Preoperative AF was present in 49% and associated with worse outcome. The cumulative burden of AHRE at 12 months post-implant was an independent predictor of the primary endpoint. During the first 12 months after CRT-implantation, AHRE were detected in 25% of the patients with no preoperative diagnosis of AF. This finding was not associated with worse outcome.CONCLUSIONS: In CRT recipients, the cumulative burden of AHRE during first year of follow-up was associated with worse long-term clinical outcome. Prospective trials are needed to determine if a rhythm control strategy is to be preferred in patients with CRT

Psychometric validation of the Dutch translation of the quality of life in reflux and dyspepsia (QOLRAD) questionnaire in patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The Quality of Life in Reflux and Dyspepsia (QOLRAD) questionnaire is one of the best-characterized disease-specific instruments that captures health-related problems and symptom-patterns in patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). This paper reports the psychometric validation of a Dutch translation of the QOLRAD questionnaire in gastroenterology outpatients with GERD.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Patients completed the QOLRAD questionnaire at visit 1 (baseline), visit 2 (after 2, 4 or 8 weeks of acute treatment with esomeprazole 40 mg once daily), and visit 4 (after 6 months with on-demand esomeprazole 40 mg once daily or continuous esomeprazole 20 mg once daily). Symptoms were assessed at each visit, and patient satisfaction was assessed at visits 2 and 4.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Of the 1166 patients entered in the study, 97.3% had moderate or severe heartburn and 55.5% had moderate or severe regurgitation at baseline. At visit 2, symptoms of heartburn and regurgitation were mild or absent in 96.7% and 97.7%, respectively, and 95.3% of patients reported being satisfied with the treatment. The internal consistency and reliability of the QOLRAD questionnaire (range: 0.83-0.92) supported construct validity. Convergent validity was moderate to low. Known-groups validity was confirmed by a negative correlation between the QOLRAD score and clinician-assessed severity of GERD symptoms. Effect sizes (1.15-1.93) and standardized response means (1.17-1.86) showed good responsiveness to change. GERD symptoms had a negative impact on patients' lives.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The psychometric characteristics of the Dutch translation of the QOLRAD questionnaire were found to be satisfactory, with good reliability and responsiveness to change, although convergent validity was at best moderate.</p

Reduced administered activity, reduced acquisition time, and preserved image quality for the new CZT camera.

BACKGROUND: For a 1-day myocardial perfusion SPECT (MPS) the recommendations for administered activity stated in the EANM guidelines results in an effective dose of up to 16 mSv per patient. Recently, a gamma camera system, based on cadmium zinc telluride (CZT) technology, was introduced. This technique has the potential to reduce the effective dose and scan time compared to the conventional NaI gamma camera. The aim of this study was to investigate if the effective dose can be reduced with a preserved image quality using CZT technology in MPS. METHODS: In total, 150 patients were included in the study. All underwent a 1-day (99m)Tc-tetrofosmin stress-rest protocol and were divided into three subgroups (n = 50 in each group) with 4, 3, and 2.5 MBq/kg body weight of administered activity in the stress examination, respectively. The acquisition time was increased in proportion to the decrease in administered activity. All examinations were analyzed for image quality by visual grading on a 4-point scale (1 = poor, 2 = adequate, 3 = good, 4 = excellent), by two expert readers. RESULTS: The total effective dose (stress + rest) decreased from 9.3 to 5.8 mSv comparing 4 to 2.5 MBq/kg body weight. For the patients undergoing stress examination only (35%) the effective dose, administrating 2.5 MBq/kg, was 1.4 mSv. The image acquisition times for 2.5 MBq/kg body weight were 475 and 300 seconds (stress and rest) compared to 900 seconds for each when using conventional MPS. The average image quality was 3.7 ± 0.5, 3.8 ± 0.5, and 3.8 ± 0.4 for the stress images and 3.5 ± 0.6, 3.6 ± 0.6, and 3.5 ± 0.6 for the rest images and showed no statistically significant difference (P = .62) among the 4, 3, and 2.5 MBq/kg groups. CONCLUSIONS: The new CZT technology can be used to considerably decrease the effective dose and acquisition time for MPS with preserved high image quality

High-frequency Electrocardiogram Analysis in the Ability to Predict Reversible Perfusion Defects during Adenosine Myocardial Perfusion Imaging

Background: A previous study has shown that analysis of high-frequency QRS components (HF-QRS) is highly sensitive and reasonably specific for detecting reversible perfusion defects on myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) scans during adenosine. The purpose of the present study was to try to reproduce those findings. Methods: 12-lead high-resolution electrocardiogram recordings were obtained from 100 patients before (baseline) and during adenosine Tc-99m-tetrofosmin MPI tests. HF-QRS were analyzed regarding morphology and changes in root mean square (RMS) voltages from before the adenosine infusion to peak infusion. Results: The best area under the curve (AUC) was found in supine patients (AUC=0.736) in a combination of morphology and RMS changes. None of the measurements, however, were statistically better than tossing a coin (AUC=0.5). Conclusion: Analysis of HF-QRS was not significantly better than tossing a coin for determining reversible perfusion defects on MPI scans