Connectivity as the capacity to improve an organization’s decision-making

This paper describes the development of a new computational model to predict the desirability of decision consequences in an organization, and the development of a prototype tool to enable real-time interaction and decision support when changes occur simultaneously. A tool, called Decision Propagation System, is developed in response to the needs of BT Group plc in understanding the most effective set of interventions in the organization where the high degree of connectivity between system components and the uncertainty in connectivity data are two critical issues. Designed on a case study of the Fields Operations Engineering, this research demonstrates that a knowledge of overlapping decision propagation paths can direct the organizational decisions towards mitigating the risk of unintended consequences

Are Private Universities Ready for Implementation of Knowledge Management in Iran? A Case study on Islamic Azad University, Neyshabur Branch

Nowadays, knowledge is the most fundamental and worthwhile capital for any organization. As a result of instantaneous changes and improvements, organizations have to do their best to access knowledge management. Universities which are considered as the pivotal centers of engendering and disseminating of knowledge can gain great advantage of knowledge management. In the direction of the beneficial performance of knowledge management, rudimentary investigation of its implementation is of vital importance; therefore, this study intends to ascertain the amount of basic infrastructures’ readiness to implement the knowledge management system (Organizational Culture, Organizational Structure, technical infrastructure) and rank these elements based on their importance in Islamic Azad University of Neyshabur. The statistical population of research is the faculty members of Islamic Azad university of Neyshabur. Stratified random sampling has been used and the required data collected through questionnaires. The questions, which have been formed the questionnaire, have been designed on the basis of Hurbert Rampersad questionnaire. The findings of the research indicate that Islamic Azad University of Neyshabur is at an average status of readiness for the application of knowledge management in different dimensions of ‘organizational culture’, ‘information technology infrastructure’ and ‘Organizational Structure’. The results of ranking test, Friedman test, also showed that ‘organizational culture’ is the most and ‘information technology’ is the least important element. Keywords: knowledge management, technical infrastructure, Organizational Culture, Organizational Structure, Islamic Azad Universit

Investigating the Knowledge Management Implementation in Distance Education System in Iran

This study intends to ascertain the amount of basic infrastructures’ readiness to implement the knowledge management system (culture and human factors, structure and processes, technical infrastructure) and rank these elements based on their importance in Payame Noor University of Mashhad. It is a survey research and the technique which has been applied is descriptive. The statistical population of research is the faculty members of Payame Noor university of Mashhad. The whole faculty members’ opinions have been studied and the required data has been assembled through questionnaires. The questions, which have been formed the questionnaire, have been designed on the basis of Hurbert Rampersad questionnaire. The findings of the research indicate that Payame Noor University of Mashhad is not ready for the application of knowledge management in different dimensions of ‘culture and human factors’, ‘information technology infrastructure’ and ‘structure and processes’. The results of ranking test (Friedman test) also show that ‘culture and human factors’ is the most and ‘structure and processes’ is the least important element. Keywords: Culture and human factors, knowledge management, Payame Noor University of Mashhad, technical infrastructure, structure and processes

The privatization effects on Iran insurance industry

Two methods of privatization through ownership transfer and privatization from below are more proper than other ones. The privatization program in Iran insurance industry is performed through privatization from below initiated from 2000 and proceeded in recent years by ownership transfer according to general policies of Iran Law. This paper shows how privatization from below is effective more than ownership privatization in competition extension in insurance industry and spread of its supporting businesses. This method have had more effects on insurance industry by extending insurance industry practices, leading to differentiation in insurance products, improving public firms' performance and extending insurance relevant businesses

The privatization effects on Iran insurance industry

Two methods of privatization through ownership transfer and privatization from below are more proper than other ones. The privatization program in Iran insurance industry is performed through privatization from below initiated from 2000 and proceeded in recent years by ownership transfer according to general policies of Iran Law. This paper shows how privatization from below is effective more than ownership privatization in competition extension in insurance industry and spread of its supporting businesses. This method have had more effects on insurance industry by extending insurance industry practices, leading to differentiation in insurance products, improving public firms' performance and extending insurance relevant businesses

Fatigue in multiple sclerosis is a diagnostic challenge: A cross-sectional study

Introduction: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic and unpredictable demyelinating disease of the central nervous system (CNS). While MS is mostly known for muscle weakness, numbness, and pain, but fatigue is the most common complaint of this condition. Despite this fact, MS related fatigue is one of the most misunderstood symptoms. Methods: A non-interventional study of 100 individuals was conducted in the MS clinic, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences. Patients were divided into groups with and without complaints of fatigue. The course of the disease was determined for all patients. To quantify fatigue, the Modified Fatigue Impact Scale (MFIS) was used. Furthermore, mood disorders, pain, disability, nocturia, insomnia, and spasticity were evaluated among the patients. Results: Overall, fatigue was diagnosed in 61 through 100 patients. Depression was reported in 23 patients of whom 19 had fatigue (P=0.015). 40 patients showed anxiety 33 of which had fatigue (P>0.001). 53 patients of whom reported to have pain (76 patients) showed fatigue (P=0.001). Insomnia was reported in 27 patients, where 21 of them had fatigue (P=0.036). Nocturia was reported in 10 patients, of whom 9 had fatigue (P=0.047). Spasticity was detected in 9 patients, all of whom had fatigue (P=0.012). Conclusion: There are several factors directly and indirectly associated with fatigue that are either fatigue-induced, caused by fatigue, or showing a two-way relationship with it. Understanding these links and attempting to reduce them will improve the quality of life for these patients

A cybernetic participatory approach for policy system of systems mapping: Case study of Inclusive Economies

Traditional participatory systems modelling demands synchronous time from many experts and face-to-face interaction. This is not always feasible (e.g., during a pandemic) and can restrict which participants can be included. There are additional limitations in the effectiveness of physical paper-based modelling when handling large complex systems with numerous variables and links between them. The key challenge facing practitioners is then how can we retain the benefits of traditional participatory modelling whilst exploiting the advantages of new technologies? This paper contributes to development of an original systematic methodology inspired by Cybernetic principles. The proposed method, referred to as 5X – standing for Expose, Explore, Exploit, Explain, and Expand – offers a fully virtual co-produced environment for iterative cycle of stakeholder engagement and feedback before, during and after workshops, leading to developing more confidence in systems mapping, and promoting knowledge across policy areas. A primary application of the proposed method in a real policy setting illustrates its capability to generate a shared policy understanding of a complex inclusive economy system, where there is conflicting or dispersed knowledge about system structure, refine this understanding through online feedback channels and dynamic visualisations, and transfer this understanding to wider policy and academic partners

Participatory systems mapping for population health research, policy and practice: guidance on method choice and design

Executive Summary: What is participatory systems mapping? Participatory systems mapping engages stakeholders with varied knowledge and perspectives in creating a visual representation of a complex system. Its purpose is to explore, and document perceived causal relations between elements in the system. This guidance focuses on six causal systems mapping methods: systems-based theory of change maps; causal loop diagrams; CECAN participatory systems mapping; fuzzy cognitive maps; systems dynamics models; and Bayesian belief networks. What is the purpose of this guidance? This guidance includes a Framework that aids the choice and design of participatory systems mapping approaches for population health research, policy and practice. It offers insights on different systems mapping approaches, by comparing them and highlighting their applications in the population health domain. This guidance also includes case studies, signposting to further reading and resources, and recommendations on enhancing stakeholder involvement in systems mapping. Who is this guidance for? This guidance is designed for anyone interested in using participatory systems mapping, regardless of prior knowledge or experience. It primarily responds to calls to support the growing demand for systems mapping (and systems-informed approaches more broadly) in population health research, policy and practice. This guidance can however also be applied to other disciplines. How was it developed? The guidance was created by an interdisciplinary research team through an iterative, rigorous fivestage process that included a scoping review, key informant interviews, and a consultation exercise with subject experts. What is the ‘Participatory Systems Design Framework’ included in this guidance? The Design Framework supports users to choose between different methods and enhance the design of participatory systems mapping projects. Specifically, it encourages users to consider: 1) the added value of adopting a participatory approach to systems mapping; 2) the differences between methods, including their relative advantages and disadvantages; and 3) the feasibility of using particular methods for a given purpose. An editable version of the Framework is available to download as a supplementary file. How will this guidance support future use of these methods? Participatory systems mapping is an exciting and evolving field. This guidance clarifies and defines the use of these methods in population health research, policy and practice, to encourage more thoughtful and purposeful project design, implementation, and reporting. The guidance also identifies several aspects for future research and development: methodological advancements; advocating for and strengthening participatory approaches; strengthening reporting; understanding and demonstrating the use of maps; and developing skills for the design and use of these methods

Model-Based Support for Management of Engineering Design Processes

This dissertation is concerned with the development of a modeling and simulation tool to support design process improvement and management. In spite of a long history of research into process modeling, there is still the lack of an overarching model that can be of practical use to effectively predict the future behavior of the process, and therefore can be applied into any kind of design processes. This dissertation has a socio-technical perspective on the design processes, and is dealt with modeling and management of uncertainty, which is mainly the result of multiple types and levels of interactions between actors and activities. The behavior of design tasks and designers therefore defined as drivers of the system that can affect the overall behavior of the process. The aim is to support managers with a sort of regulations and hints, not only on the content of the work, but also the way that it carries out, acting as information mechanism thorough the system. In this way, a new version of Signposting system is proposed, by making a balance between the detail rigor nature of dynamic task-based models, and the flexibility and abstraction of Social Networks models, so-called “Actor-Based Signposting” (ABS). Doing this way, a classification on the source of uncertainty presented, with the interactions structure in center, and consequently an expanded view on the interactions structure presented to represent various aspects of process behavior. A simulation tool then presented to support managers with a project-independent and scalable tool, which is user-friendly without the need of expertise for the application. Through some hypothetical cases, the proposed model implemented and analyzed subject to the process sensitivity to the actual constraints. The results confirmed that the ABS tool can potentially support managers and practitioners not only on the traditional planning issues (i.e. sequence of activities, association task-activity), but also on the identification of those criticalities due to actor influences, which can heavily impact the execution of design process and often determine its progress

Model-Based Support for Management of Engineering Design Processes

This dissertation is concerned with the development of a modeling and simulation tool to support design process improvement and management. In spite of a long history of research into process modeling, there is still the lack of an overarching model that can be of practical use to effectively predict the future behavior of the process, and therefore can be applied into any kind of design processes. This dissertation has a socio-technical perspective on the design processes, and is dealt with modeling and management of uncertainty, which is mainly the result of multiple types and levels of interactions between actors and activities. The behavior of design tasks and designers therefore defined as drivers of the system that can affect the overall behavior of the process. The aim is to support managers with a sort of regulations and hints, not only on the content of the work, but also the way that it carries out, acting as information mechanism thorough the system. In this way, a new version of Signposting system is proposed, by making a balance between the detail rigor nature of dynamic task-based models, and the flexibility and abstraction of Social Networks models, so-called “Actor-Based Signposting” (ABS). Doing this way, a classification on the source of uncertainty presented, with the interactions structure in center, and consequently an expanded view on the interactions structure presented to represent various aspects of process behavior. A simulation tool then presented to support managers with a project-independent and scalable tool, which is user-friendly without the need of expertise for the application. Through some hypothetical cases, the proposed model implemented and analyzed subject to the process sensitivity to the actual constraints. The results confirmed that the ABS tool can potentially support managers and practitioners not only on the traditional planning issues (i.e. sequence of activities, association task-activity), but also on the identification of those criticalities due to actor influences, which can heavily impact the execution of design process and often determine its progress