Inter-operator and inter-device agreement and reliability of the SEM Scanner

AbstractObjectiveThe SEM Scanner is a medical device designed for use by healthcare providers as part of pressure ulcer prevention programs. The objective of this study was to evaluate the inter-rater and inter-device agreement and reliability of the SEM Scanner.MethodsThirty-one (31) volunteers free of pressure ulcers or broken skin at the sternum, sacrum, and heels were assessed with the SEM Scanner. Each of three operators utilized each of three devices to collect readings from four anatomical sites (sternum, sacrum, left and right heels) on each subject for a total of 108 readings per subject collected over approximately 30 min. For each combination of operator-device-anatomical site, three SEM readings were collected. Inter-operator and inter-device agreement and reliability were estimated.ResultsOver the course of this study, more than 3000 SEM Scanner readings were collected. Agreement between operators was good with mean differences ranging from −0.01 to 0.11. Inter-operator and inter-device reliability exceeded 0.80 at all anatomical sites assessed.ConclusionThe results of this study demonstrate the high reliability and good agreement of the SEM Scanner across different operators and different devices. Given the limitations of current methods to prevent and detect pressure ulcers, the SEM Scanner shows promise as an objective, reliable tool for assessing the presence or absence of pressure-induced tissue damage such as pressure ulcers

Establishing a new UK finance escalator for innovative SMEs: the roles of the Enterprise Capital Funds and Angel Co-investment Fund

This paper examines UK public policy addressing the seed and early stage equity finance gap since the Global Financial Crisis (GFC). Drawing on lessons learned from recent studies of UK and international government equity schemes, two contemporary models of government backed equity finance are examined. The focus is on the Enterprise Capital Funds (ECFs) and the Angel Co-investment Fund (ACF), the UK government’s main schemes operating in the sub-£2m equity finance gap to address the capital requirements for developing the UK’s young, potential high growth businesses. The paper highlights the shortcomings of traditional interim fund performance analysis and presents current demand and supply side evidence that establishes that these schemes are making attributable impacts on their portfolio businesses and the wider UK economy. It also demonstrates that they are playing important roles in the establishment of a new post GFC UK finance escalator. However, whilst these schemes were found to be currently complementary and effective, their future roles within the UK’s evolving post GFC seed and early stage equity markets are also considered. Key Words: Government Equity Schemes, Venture Capital, Potential High Growth SME

Big audit firms as regulatory intermediaries in transnational labor governance

Due diligence and corporate disclosure initiatives effectively expand the role of professional service firms as regulatory intermediaries in the governance of conditions of production in global supply chains. In this paper, we examine the rise of the “Big Four” audit firms in the market for services connected to transnational labor governance. Through a qualitative case study of audit firms in modern slavery governance, we argue that the Big Four's political repertoire for transnational labor governance expands beyond the roles that are typically linked to their services, and promotes an agenda that touches on key debates on what constitutes proper transnational labor governance. Big audit firms engage in a variety of informal and covert influencing practices and are shown to promote an agenda of incrementalist soft‐law labor governance, opposing concrete performance targets, binding public regulation and an independent watchdog role for civil society

Data integration for offshore decommissioning waste management

Offshore decommissioning represents significant business opportunities for oil and gas service companies. However, for owners of offshore assets and regulators, it is a liability because of the associated costs. One way of mitigating decommissioning costs is through the sales and reuse of decommissioned items. To achieve this effectively, reliability assessment of decommissioned items is required. Such an assessment relies on data collected on the various items over the lifecycle of an engineering asset. Considering that offshore platforms have a design life of about 25 years and data management techniques and tools are constantly evolving, data captured about items to be decommissioned will be in varying forms. In addition, considering the many stakeholders involved with a facility over its lifecycle, information representation of the items will have variations. These challenges make data integration difficult. As a result, this research developed a data integration framework that makes use of Semantic Web technologies and ISO 15926 - a standard for process plant data integration - for rapid assessment of decommissioned items. The proposed solution helps in determining the reuse potential of decommissioned items, which can save on cost and benefit the environment

Hired Guns: Local Government Mergers in New South Wales and the KPMG Modelling Report

© 2017 CPA Australia Across the developed world, including Australia, public policymaking now rests heavily on commissioned reports generated by for-profit consultants, contrasting starkly with the earlier customary reliance on the civil service to provide informed policy advice to political decision makers. Dependence on commercial consultants is problematic, especially given the moral hazards involved in ‘hired guns’ providing support for policy ‘solutions’ desired by their political paymasters. This paper provides a vivid illustration of some of the dangers flowing from the use of consultants by examining the methodology employed by KPMG in its empirical analysis of the pecuniary consequences of proposed municipal mergers as part of the New South Wales’ (NSW) Government's Fit for the Future local government reform program. We show that the KPMG (2016) modelling methodology is awash with errors which render its conclusions on the financial viability of the NSW merger proposals fatally flawed

Tech trends 2016: innovating in the digital era

In a business climate driven by powerful digital forces, disruption, and rapid-fire innovation, every company is now a technology company. Whereas technology was traditionally confined largely to operations and execution, its digital expression now informs all aspects of business, from ideation to delivery. We witness daily how it drives product design, upends venerable business models, and rewires competition. The ascendance of exponential technologies to a place of strategic primacy has occurred within a turbulent context. Globalization is driving borderless growth across established and emerging markets. Barriers to entry are being lowered, if not demolished. In this climate, new entrants focused on niches, specific functions, and overlooked domains can make meaningful impacts on a global stage traditionally dominated by the world’s biggest players. At the same time, customers are demanding evolved methods of engagement that are personalized, contextual, and tailored for individual usability and utility. Likewise, the very nature of employment is evolving as new skill sets become bargaining chips. Talent scarcity complicates efforts to rethink operating and delivery models across functions and domains. To help make sense of it all, we present Deloitte’s seventh Technology Trends report, our annual in-depth examination of eight trends that are likely to disrupt businesses in the next 18–24 months. From blockchain and augmented reality to the Internet of Things and the socially responsible applications of technology, these trends embody the macro forces fueling innovation: digital, analytics, cloud, and the changing role of IT within the enterprise. We balance our coverage of each trend by also considering the implications of cyber risk in the areas of security, privacy, regulatory mandates, and compliance. We intentionally examine cyber risk not as a separate topic, but as an enterprise discipline embedded in the planning, design, and realization of each individual trend. The theme of this year’s report is innovating in the digital era, which is inspired by the opportunities today’s CIOs—across industries, geographies, and company sizes—have to shape tomorrow for every corner of their organizations by transforming “business as usual.” These leaders are in a rare position to imagine a future, and then harness innovation to build it responsibly from the realities of today