Knowledge Management Practice at a Bulgarian Bank: A Case Study

This paper reports on knowledge management (KM) practices in the customer service and lending departments of one of Bulgaria's top retail banks and investigates how KM processes can be further improved. The Bank's KM activities have been studied using observations, interviews and informal discussions for data collection. Findings were compared and contrasted with existing literature in similar contexts. Although rudiments of knowledge sharing are evident from the KM activities in different departments of the bank, the limitations such as resistance to change of the implemented KM systems are impeding the effectiveness of the knowledge management process. More training and incentives are needed to increase knowledge creation and sharing. Moreover, a clearly articulated KM strategy along with success criteria and commitment and support from senior management is needed. There is a severe lack of knowledge management studies in Bulgarian context in general and Bulgarian banking sector in particular. The authors' findings will potentially help in improving knowledge sharing practice as well as provide a valuable insight into knowledge management related issues in the Bulgarian context. The findings from this research can be useful to companies from Eastern Europe and other regions in improving their knowledge sharing practice

Exploring the Context and Practices of Expert Simulation Modellers

Simulation modelling lacks a rich body of literature on practices of modellers in the real world. We study the context and some generic practices of expert simulation modellers to discover how the context of modellers may affect the practice of modelling and simulation. The results highlight that simulation modellers develop their models under a variety of contexts and their practices may be affected by their context. The problem area, the scope and the breadth of a problem, simulation software and the size and complexity of the model are some of the contextual factors which may affect a modeller’s practices such as model development, documentation, maintenance and evaluation. For example, model maintenance is required only for large scale models developed for long term use. Similarly, varying level of documentation may be required depending on the client requirements and project needs. Our study is a valuable addition to the research investigating simulation practice in the real world

Dysphagia secondary to dermatomyositis treated successfully with intravenous immunoglobulin: a case report

A 46 year old woman presented with a one month history of rash and mylagia. The history, clinical findings and blood tests all supported a diagnosis of dermatomyositis. The patient later developed dysphagia and was successfully treated with intravenous immunoglobulin. Investigations and treatment of dysphagia in the context of dermatomyositis are discussed

Perceived Organizational Politics and Employee Morale: Mediating Role of Social Exchange Perceptions in Pakistani Organizations

Politics in organizations is an important aspect of organizational life which has been an interesting research area since last four decades. However, it is still deprived of practical approach due to its inconclusive studies and fragmented arguments. In politicized organizations, morale and motivation of employees depend mostly on their type of exchange relationships. The study in hand is another effort to view these exchange perceptions as intervening between the relationship of perceptions of organizational politics and morale of employees. As a part of larger study, data was collected through self administered questionnaire distributed among master of business administration students who were completing their management degree as part time along with their jobs during day time. All the Pakistani business schools were included in this study and surveys were distributed to 2000 employees during their classes and participation was voluntary ensuring anonymity and compliance with ethical considerations. Overall, 2000 questionnaires were distributed among which 1163 useable surveys were returned after screening and cleaning for unengaged response, left over pages and missing critical information. Thus response rate was 58%. Results of regression analysis indicated that social exchange perceptions was partial mediators in the relationship between perceptions of organizational politics and employee morale  and about 70% of the total effect was mediated by these perceptions which was an important indicator for understanding organizational life. Practical policy implications have also been discussed in discussion sections along with limitation of the study and guidelines for future research

Perceived Organizational Politics and Employee Morale: Mediating Role of Social Exchange Perceptions in Pakistani Organizations

Politics in organizations is an important aspect of organizational life which has been an interesting research area since last four decades. However, it is still deprived of practical approach due to its inconclusive studies and fragmented arguments. In politicized organizations, morale and motivation of employees depend mostly on their type of exchange relationships. The study in hand is another effort to view these exchange perceptions as intervening between the relationship of perceptions of organizational politics and morale of employees. As a part of larger study, data was collected through self administered questionnaire distributed among master of business administration students who were completing their management degree as part time along with their jobs during day time. All the Pakistani business schools were included in this study and surveys were distributed to 2000 employees during their classes and participation was voluntary ensuring anonymity and compliance with ethical considerations. Overall, 2000 questionnaires were distributed among which 1163 useable surveys were returned after screening and cleaning for unengaged response, left over pages and missing critical information. Thus response rate was 58%. Results of regression analysis indicated that social exchange perceptions was partial mediators in the relationship between perceptions of organizational politics and employee morale  and about 70% of the total effect was mediated by these perceptions which was an important indicator for understanding organizational life. Practical policy implications have also been discussed in discussion sections along with limitation of the study and guidelines for future research

Issues of privacy and trust in e-commerce: Exploring customers’ perspective

Despite rapid growth in e-commerce, many of the privacy and trust issues concerns remain unaddressed. We report a qualitative study on customers’ concerns over privacy and trust in online purchasing. A number of issues such as data privacy, data security and safety, data disclosure and sharing by the seller with third parties have been explored with regular internet shoppers. The findings suggest that trusted/branded websites, secured websites, websites with clearly stated data protection/privacy policies makes people more comfortable in online shopping and decreases their data privacy concern. While unsecured websites, vague data protection/privacy policy, disclosure of data to the third parties; in turn discourage the users from releasing their personal data while shopping online

Bending fatigue and creep of tough matrix laminates

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering, 1994.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 151-153).by Rizwan Mahmood Gul.M.S

Toe-tourniquet syndrome: A rare potentially devastating entity

Toe-tourniquet syndrome is a rare and commonly misdiagnosed condition caused by a hair or a fiber wrapped around digits (fingers and toes). A four months baby girl who was crying and presented with redness and swelling at her 2nd and 3rd toes of right foot. Child had red and swollen 2nd and 3rd toes of right foot with hair end protruding through wounds. Constricting hairs were cut and removed. Toetourniquet syndrome is a rare entity which is caused by hair wrapped around a toe or a digit. Diagnosis is mostly clinical. In order to prevent this condition to happen, education of parents and clinicians is a cornerstone

COVID-19 Pandemic: Influences on the Practice of Neurosurgeons all over Pakistan

Objective:  The aim of this survey was to observe the impacts of COVID-19 pandemic on neurosurgery practices during this pandemic, assess various types of adaptations taken by them, protective measures during patient examination and effects on their health, family and socioeconomic life. Material & Methods:  A Questionnaire comprising 32 questions was circulated among practicing Neurosurgeons of Pakistan by social media, e-mails for 8 weeks (January-February 2021) and their responses were analyzed. Results:  108 participants were involved from all over Pakistan. 32% respondents stated reduction in clinical practice to a level of less than 25%. While, 10% reported complete closure of outpatient services during pandemic. There were varied responses on the use of protective measures and most used N95 mask only (31%). Pandemic also affected the research work, finances and leisure time activities. Conclusion:  Our study showed that neurosurgical practice was influenced by COVID-19 pandemic in many aspects in Pakistan. Proper method of protective measures and COVID testing of patients were lacking among them. Neurosurgeons should follow standard guidelines according to institutional directives in local neurosurgical practices so as to avoid being influenced by such crisis.