What organizational values drive NGOs to be successful? Evidence from Polish non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the theory of management by values

This paper aims to identify the relationships between organizational values and the success of Polish NGOs in the context of the theory of management by values. The study indicates that different categories of NGO success are related to different priorities of the organizations’ CEOs in survival values. Results show that ethical values associated with organizational success are viewed in financial terms compared to organizations whose managers do not consider these values important. The article also shows that the quality of an organization’s services and its competitiveness are rated lower by organizations that prioritize conservative values. It also shows that honesty’s core ethical organizational value is related to NGO performance to varying degrees. The results show that the quality of an organization’s services is rated higher by organizations whose leaders prioritize honesty. Still, the level of cooperation between the organization and public and local government institutions is rated lower. This has clear implications for NGO managers: they should review the organizational values they prioritize concerning their organization’s performance goals to implement value management more effectively

A hybrid approach to segmentation of medical images

The paper presents information theory based image segmentation algorithms. Both advantages and problems related to them are discussed. Then a segmentation framework based on combination of information theory and fuzzy logic is proposed

Comparison and evaluation of registration methods of intra-oral radiographs images

This paper presents comparisons and evaluations of registration methods of intra-oralradiograph images. Several automatic and manual algorithms were examined. Three similarityfunctions for automatic registration are described and evaluated. In addition, the results of twomanual registration tests are compared for both 3 and 10 control points marked interactively by theoperator

Combined MR brain segmentation

The paper presents a new approach to segmentation of brain from the MR studies. The method is fully automated, very efficient, and quick. The main point of this algorithm is subtraction of T1 series form T2 series (therefore we called it combined), followed by a few image processing steps.The method has been tested using the data sets from three sources. The results were compared numerically to those produced by experts. They indicate great effectiveness of the presented algorithm

The Impact of Organisational Values on the Commercialisation of NGOs: Evidence Based on the Management by Values Theory

This study aims to identify the impact of organisational values on the commercialisation of Polish NGOs. The commercialisation of NGOs is seen as the market methods adoption process of managing, providing services and social mission fulfilling. Values expressed through social missions are the most important reference points and core of NGO management. As non‑profit organisations are usually viewed as value‑based organisations with their identity rooted in meeting community needs, they cultivate a culture of trust by shaping and strengthening beliefs and values among their stakeholders. Although there is an intense discussion in the literature on the commercialisation of non‑profits, the relationships between organisational values and commercialisation of non‑governmental organisations have been poorly empirically verified thus far. Hence the identification of these relationships is an added value of this article. Based on a representative survey of 1,300 national NGOs, a logistic regression analysis was conducted. Identifying with the use of this method the probability of commercialisation of non‑profits as a result of the adaptation of specific organisational values is a new approach which is an original contribution of this work to current research in this area. It has been found that survival values significantly influence the commercialisation of NGOs. The study indicates that conservative values have a decreasing impact on the probability of NGO commercialisation, while entrepreneurial values stimulate this impact. The results also contribute to the theory of Management by Values, on the basis of which the theoretical framework of the article was defined and hypotheses were formulated

A wide depth of field reconstruction method based on partially focused image series

The main problem with images acquired using macro photography is the very shallow depth-of-field. In this article we present and implement an algorithm to reconstruct full focused images based on partially focused images series of the same object acquired with different focus depths. The presented algorithm consists of several phases including: image registration, depth map creation, image reconstruction and final histogram and quality correction

Development of the cross-platform framework for the medical image processing

This paper presents the development process of a platform for image processing with a focus on the medical imaging. Besides general image processing algorithms and visualization tools, this platform includes advanced medical imaging modules for segmentation, registration and morphological analysis. It allows fast addition and testing of new algorithms using a modular structure. New modules can be created by using a platform-independent C++ class library and can be easily integrated with a whole system by a plug-in mechanism. An abstract, hierarchical definition language allows the design of efficient graphical user interfaces, hiding the complexity of the underlying module network to the end user

Generation of virtual anatomical models from the multimodal medical image data

In this work we present and discuss some methodological issues associated with the generation of the computer based anatomical models. The importance of the virtual patient models is becoming increasingly recognized in modern medicine. The advantages of using such biomedical virtual models are analogous to those of real system behavior simulation in the engineering or material sciences. Particularly significant is its role in the simulation of various pathogenic physiological processes and therapeutical procedures. Such models enable as well the optimization of many diagnostic and therapeutical subroutines. Segmentation, registration, measurement, interaction and visualization modules constitute actually the main pool of the software engineering tools, which enables the surgeon to create a virtual patient-specific anatomical model of the region of interest. Based on this model the physician can simulate and plan different treatment approaches as well as carry out quantitative measurements to identify the optimal therapeutical procedure

Histogram analysis of the human brain MR images based on the S-function membership and Shannon's entropy function

The analysis of medical images for the purpose of computer-aided diagnosis and therapy planning includes segmentation as a preliminary stage for the visualization or quantification. In this paper, we present the first step in our fuzzy segmentation system that is capable of segmenting magnetic resonance (MR) images of a human brain. The histogram analysis based on the S-function membership and the Shannon's entropy function provides finding exact segmentation points. In the final stage, pixel classification is performed using the rule-based fuzzy logic inference. When the segmentation is complete, attributes of these classes may be determined (e.g., volumes), or the classes may be visualized as spatial objects. In contrast to other segmentation methods, like thresholding and region-based algorithms, our methods proceeds automatically and allow more exact delineation of the anatomical structures