Challenges and influential factors in ERP adoption and implementation

The adoption and implementation of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems is a challenging and expensive task that not only requires rigorous efforts but also demands to have a detailed analysis of such factors that are critical to the adoption or implementation of ERP systems. Many efforts have been made to identify such influential factors for ERP; however, they are not filtered comprehensively in terms of the different perspectives. This paper focuses on the ERP critical success factors from five different perspectives such as: stakeholders; process; technology; organisation; and project. Results from the literature review are presented and 19 such factors are identified that are imperative for a successful ERP implementation, which are listed in order of their importance. Considering these factors can realize several benefits such as reducing costs and saving time or extra effort

A survey of simulation techniques in commerce and defence

Despite the developments in Modelling and Simulation (M&S) tools and techniques over the past years, there has been a gap in the M&S research and practice in healthcare on developing a toolkit to assist the modellers and simulation practitioners with selecting an appropriate set of techniques. This study is a preliminary step towards this goal. This paper presents some results from a systematic literature survey on applications of M&S in the commerce and defence domains that could inspire some improvements in the healthcare. Interim results show that in the commercial sector Discrete-Event Simulation (DES) has been the most widely used technique with System Dynamics (SD) in second place. However in the defence sector, SD has gained relatively more attention. SD has been found quite useful for qualitative and soft factors analysis. From both the surveys it becomes clear that there is a growing trend towards using hybrid M&S approaches

Differential Functional Constraints Cause Strain-Level Endemism in Polynucleobacter Populations.

The adaptation of bacterial lineages to local environmental conditions creates the potential for broader genotypic diversity within a species, which can enable a species to dominate across ecological gradients because of niche flexibility. The genus Polynucleobacter maintains both free-living and symbiotic ecotypes and maintains an apparently ubiquitous distribution in freshwater ecosystems. Subspecies-level resolution supplemented with metagenome-derived genotype analysis revealed that differential functional constraints, not geographic distance, produce and maintain strain-level genetic conservation in Polynucleobacter populations across three geographically proximal riverine environments. Genes associated with cofactor biosynthesis and one-carbon metabolism showed habitat specificity, and protein-coding genes of unknown function and membrane transport proteins were under positive selection across each habitat. Characterized by different median ratios of nonsynonymous to synonymous evolutionary changes (dN/dS ratios) and a limited but statistically significant negative correlation between the dN/dS ratio and codon usage bias between habitats, the free-living and core genotypes were observed to be evolving under strong purifying selection pressure. Highlighting the potential role of genetic adaptation to the local environment, the two-component system protein-coding genes were highly stable (dN/dS ratio, < 0.03). These results suggest that despite the impact of the habitat on genetic diversity, and hence niche partition, strong environmental selection pressure maintains a conserved core genome for Polynucleobacter populations. IMPORTANCE Understanding the biological factors influencing habitat-wide genetic endemism is important for explaining observed biogeographic patterns. Polynucleobacter is a genus of bacteria that seems to have found a way to colonize myriad freshwater ecosystems and by doing so has become one of the most abundant bacteria in these environments. We sequenced metagenomes from locations across the Chicago River system and assembled Polynucleobacter genomes from different sites and compared how the nucleotide composition, gene codon usage, and the ratio of synonymous (codes for the same amino acid) to nonsynonymous (codes for a different amino acid) mutations varied across these population genomes at each site. The environmental pressures at each site drove purifying selection for functional traits that maintained a streamlined core genome across the Chicago River Polynucleobacter population while allowing for site-specific genomic adaptation. These adaptations enable Polynucleobacter to become dominant across different riverine environmental gradients

Firm’s Climate Change Risk and Firm Value: An Empirical Analysis of the Energy Industry

Ми досліджуємо вплив численних факторів на вартість компанії в енергетичній галузі, використовуючи панельні дані з 2010 по 2020 рр. Аналіз використовує різні економетричні методи, включаючи фіксовані ефекти, випадкові ефекти, двоетапний метод найменших квадратів і узагальнений метод моментів. Наші основні змінні, які нас цікавлять, це вартість фірми, ризик зміни клімату на рівні фірми, основні фонди, кредитне плече, дивідендна прибутковість, ринкова капіталізація та відчутність активів. Результат свідчить про те, що інвестори менше оцінюють енергетичні компанії через їхню схильність до ризику зміни клімату. Ми виявили, що ризик зміни клімату, основні фонди, фінансовий важіль фірми та відчутність активів негативно пов’язані між собою, тоді як ринкова капіталізація та дивідендна дохідність позитивно пов’язані з вартістю фірми. Ці висновки мають важливе значення для енергетичних компаній, політиків та інвесторів. Енергетичні компанії повинні враховувати ризик зміни клімату у своїх інвестиційних рішеннях, щоб зберегти свою ринкову вартість, а політики повинні заохочувати фірми розкривати інформацію про ризик зміни клімату для підвищення ефективності ринку. Нарешті, інвестори повинні включити ризик зміни клімату у свої інвестиційні стратегії, щоб зменшити потенційні фінансові втрати.We explore the impact on firm value by numerous factors in the energy industry using panel data from 2010 to 2020. The analysis employs different econometric methods, including fixed-effects, random-effects, two-stage least squares, and generalized method of moments. Our main variables of interest are firm value, firm-level climate change risk, fixed assets, leverage, dividend yield, market capitalization, and assets tangibility. The result suggests that investors are valuing energy firms less due to their exposure to climate change risk. We found that climate change risk, fixed assets, firm leverage, and assets tangibility are negatively related while market capitalization and dividend yield are positively related to firm value. These findings have important implications for energy firms, policymakers, and investors. Energy firms need to consider climate change risk in their investment decisions to maintain their market value, and policymakers should encourage firms to disclose their climate change risk to improve market efficiency. Finally, investors need to incorporate climate change risk in their investment strategies to mitigate potential financial losses

Development of modelling method selection tool for health services management: from problem structuring methods to modelling and simulation methods.

BACKGROUND: There is an increasing recognition that modelling and simulation can assist in the process of designing health care policies, strategies and operations. However, the current use is limited and answers to questions such as what methods to use and when remain somewhat underdeveloped. AIM: The aim of this study is to provide a mechanism for decision makers in health services planning and management to compare a broad range of modelling and simulation methods so that they can better select and use them or better commission relevant modelling and simulation work. METHODS: This paper proposes a modelling and simulation method comparison and selection tool developed from a comprehensive literature review, the research team's extensive expertise and inputs from potential users. Twenty-eight different methods were identified, characterised by their relevance to different application areas, project life cycle stages, types of output and levels of insight, and four input resources required (time, money, knowledge and data). RESULTS: The characterisation is presented in matrix forms to allow quick comparison and selection. This paper also highlights significant knowledge gaps in the existing literature when assessing the applicability of particular approaches to health services management, where modelling and simulation skills are scarce let alone money and time. CONCLUSIONS: A modelling and simulation method comparison and selection tool is developed to assist with the selection of methods appropriate to supporting specific decision making processes. In particular it addresses the issue of which method is most appropriate to which specific health services management problem, what the user might expect to be obtained from the method, and what is required to use the method. In summary, we believe the tool adds value to the scarce existing literature on methods comparison and selection

A multi-sector multi-region economic growth model of drought and the value of water: A case study in Pakistan

This study integrates ecohydrological vegetation and multi-sector multi-region economic growth models to evaluate the impacts of drought on markets and value the economic value of water. The values of several parameters of the agricultural production function are identified by applying leaf area indices that are simulated by the ecohydrological model, AgriCLVDAS. The three-sector three-region closed-economy model with the agricultural production functions of both irrigable and rainfed farmland as well as the stochastic process of precipitation and availability of river water are formulated to analyze the water rent as well as GDP growth in Pakistan under drought stress. According to the characteristics of the closed-economy model, the crop price is increased during drought periods because of the price hike in water (i.e., an increase in the marginal productivity of water, which is double that in high-water periods in Pakistan). The study further presents a way of investigating water resource management policies by applying comparative dynamics

Ecological succession and viability of human-associated microbiota on restroom surfaces

Author Posting. © The Author(s), 2014. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of American Society for Microbiology for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Applied and Environmental Microbiology (2014), doi:10.1128/AEM.03117-14.Human-associated bacteria dominate the built environment (BE). Following decontamination of floors, toilet seats, and soap dispensers in 4 public restrooms, in situ bacterial communities were characterized hourly, daily, and weekly to determine their successional ecology. The viability of cultivable bacteria, following the removal of dispersal agents (humans), was also assessed hourly. A late successional community developed within 5-8 hours on restroom floors, and showed remarkable stability over weeks to months. Despite late successional dominance by skin- and outdoor-associated bacteria, the most ubiquitous organisms were predominantly gut-associated taxa, which persisted following exclusion of humans. Staphylococcus represented the majority of the cultivable community, even after several hours of human-exclusion. MRSA-associated virulence genes were found on floors, but were not present in assembled Staphylococcus pan-genomes. Viral abundances, which were predominantly enterophage, human papilloma and herpes viruses, were significantly correlated with bacteria abundances, and showed an unexpectedly low virus-to-bacteria ratio in surface-associated samples, suggesting that bacterial hosts are mostly dormant on BE surfaces.S.M.G. was supported by an EPA STAR Graduate Fellowship and the National Institutes of Health Training Grant 5T-32EB-009412. We acknowledge funding from the Alfred P Sloan Foundation’s Microbiology of the Built Environment Program.2015-05-1