Exploratory study to explore the role of ICT in the process of knowledge management in an Indian business environment

In the 21st century and the emergence of a digital economy, knowledge and the knowledge base economy are rapidly growing. To effectively be able to understand the processes involved in the creating, managing and sharing of knowledge management in the business environment is critical to the success of an organization. This study builds on the previous research of the authors on the enablers of knowledge management by identifying the relationship between the enablers of knowledge management and the role played by information communication technologies (ICT) and ICT infrastructure in a business setting. This paper provides the findings of a survey collected from the four major Indian cities (Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai and Villupuram) regarding their views and opinions about the enablers of knowledge management in business setting. A total of 80 organizations participated in the study with 100 participants in each city. The results show that ICT and ICT infrastructure can play a critical role in the creating, managing and sharing of knowledge in an Indian business environment

Health text analysis: a Queensland Health case study

This paper reports on a cohort analytics process that used text mining on data collected from 64 interviews conducted in Queensland Health wards. The focus of the interviews was on implementing a technology. The cohort analytics helped 'normalise' the data view of patient care, and supported the development of a set of rules for the display of patient data in a form that is comprehensible to a range of carers in wards that have differing functional elements. The analytics helped to represent a visual view of the data using a touch screen panel, and the carers, such as doctors, nurses, allied health professionals and pharmacists were able to see and update different domain functionalities so that patient data was accurate and up-to-date. This culminated in efficient patient management, as well as effective generation of reports on bed utility

Reliability of qualitative data using text analysis: a Queensland Health case study

This paper reports how reliability can be assured in qualitative data using text analytics principles. The paper demonstrates this using a cohort analytics process that used text mining on data collected from 64 interviews conducted in Queensland Health wards. While the focus of the interviews was on implementing a technology, the text analysis was conducted to assure that the themes were exactly the focus of the exploration. Further, the analytics helped to represent a visual view of the data, to imply the reliability of themes. We conducted the analytics to provide additional reliability than standard saturation normally employed in qualitative data analysis

An exploratory case study on employee health and wellbeing: Indian railways case study

In this paper, we are presenting initial case study results of employee health & wellbeing baseline measurement of Southern Railways. 122 employees from management cadre voluntarily participated in the study. The data collection involved three specific stages of health & wellbeing validation, based on lipid profiles, three month blood sugar level, kidney function, blood pressure, heart rate, self reported eating habit, self reported exercise routine and a bio-impedance measurement. The participants were given with a survey instrument to fill-in their daily intake of food pattern and this information was entered into a software application to compute nutritional levels. This was the first level of validation. The second level of validation was collecting blood samples and analysing the samples for various parameters such as lipids and sugar levels pathologically. The third level of validation included people categorised as non-diabetic tested for body composition of fat masses using a bio-impedance monitor. The analyses of data using these three combinations of data clearly indicated that majority of the participants are either suffering with excess fat masses or over the normal acceptable BMI levels for Indian population. Further, the data clearly indicated that the intake of calories is way above than what has been expended through physical activities. Over half the participants exhibited either symptoms of diabetes or hypertension or both. We present these results in this paper, and highlight a preliminary intervention program that has been instituted to these participants. We are also highlighting some of the adverse influences that can present to the organisation as a result of the health & wellbeing issues observed

An NGO-Implemented Community-Clinic Health Worker Approach to Providing Long-Term Care for Hypertension in a Remote Region of Southern India.

Poor blood pressure control results in tremendous morbidity and mortality in India where the leading cause of death among adults is from coronary heart disease. Despite having little formal education, community health workers (CHWs) are integral to successful public health interventions in India and other low- and middle-income countries that have a shortage of trained health professionals. Training CHWs to screen for and manage chronic hypertension, with support from trained clinicians, offers an excellent opportunity for effecting systemwide change in hypertension-related burden of disease. In this article, we describe the development of a program that trained CHWs between 2014 and 2015 in the tribal region of the Sittilingi Valley in southern India, to identify hypertensive patients in the community, refer them for diagnosis and initial management in a physician-staffed clinic, and provide them with sustained lifestyle interventions and medications over multiple visits. We found that after 2 years, the CHWs had screened 7,176 people over age 18 for hypertension, 1,184 (16.5%) of whom were screened as hypertensive. Of the 1,184 patients screened as hypertensive, 898 (75.8%) had achieved blood pressure control, defined as a systolic blood pressure less than 140 and a diastolic blood pressure less than 90 sustained over 3 consecutive visits. While all of the 24 trained CHWs reported confidence in checking blood pressure with a manual blood pressure cuff, 4 of the 24 CHWs reported occasional difficulty documenting blood pressure values because they were unable to write numbers properly. They compensated by asking other CHWs or members of their community to help with documentation. Our experience and findings suggest that a CHW blood pressure screening system linked to a central clinic can be a promising avenue for improving hypertension control rates in low- and middle-income countries

Development of a tele-stethoscope: Indian perspective

Many attempts have been made to develop digital stethoscope for diagnosing auscultation. This study is part of current research project being undertaken at the University of Southern Queensland, Australia. The project addresses the issue associated with telehealth care system, through the development of a digital stethoscope. The objective of this article is to report the user's satisfaction with the information received from the existing digital stethoscope and guide the researchers to adjust its content to the best benefit to those uses the new improved digital stethoscope. University of Southern Queensland, Australia has developed a digital stethoscope composed of software and hardware components and user friendly. The system will be priced competitively and can be used both for telehealth diagnosis and for teaching of cardiology to medical students. The lack of specialized devices and professionals can be minimized with the adoption of solutions, such as this one. This could improve the diagnostic ability of remote clinics at a lower cost and avoid long hour travel

Behavioural pattern of tea price: policy issue

Among the various factors determining the successful operation of an industry, one of the most crucial factors is its pricing strategy. A correct pricing strategy will help in rational allocation of scarce resources and capital formation, which is crucial for the future growth of industries. It is, however, pertinent that before one strikes at the right pricing pattern and the factors governing it, one has to be familiar with the theoretical framework of the general pricing systems so as to enable the researcher and the policy maker to examine the empirical reality of any pricing policy that is in existence. It is in this context that the present study makes an attempt at investigating the behavioural pattern of the pricing strategy of tea.fix price; flex price; economic rationality; price formation; prices; behavioural patterns; tea; pricing strategies; rational allocation; resource allocation; scarce resources; capital formation; future growth; theoretical frameworks; pricing systems; researchers; policy makers; pricing policies; fixed prices; flexible prices; flexibility; India; economics; business research.

Factors impacting employee engagement on enterprise social media

The emergence of knowledge-based economies has emphasised the importance of interactive knowledge management technologies, which have manifested themselves in the form of social networking tools. Organization’s ability to leverage and manage the relevant knowledge is a sustainable strategic tool. This research focus on the ways in which social technologies facilitate knowledge sharing in the workplace. Findings uncovers key drivers of three dimensions of knowledge management, individual, organization and technology and suggest to connect them along with a knowledge process architecture for leveraging knowledge

Acoustical design of digital stethoscope for improved performance

Stethoscopes are in use for more than 200 years for medical diagnostics, especially for auscultation in the healthcare domain. Recently, unprecedented growth in mobile technology has revived the use of stethoscopes for Telehealthcare. Digital or electronic stethoscopes are increasingly researched for use in Telehealthcare within the healthcare domain. Cardiovascular diseases have become highly prevalent worldwide, especially in the subcontinent. Improvements in diagnostics will improve the quality of life and prevent the loss of life. This research paper mainly focuses on the acoustical and multiphysics design aspects of the stethoscope for improved acoustical performance. A COMSOL model of the stethoscope chest piece was developed. The model was setup to investigate the effects of geometry, material of construction, noise and input pressure. The sound transmission efficiency of the components was investigated with multiphysics models by coupling the acoustical and structural performances. The effect of ambient noise on the performance was also studied and reported. This COMSOL model wasis further used to investigate the effects of shape, size and material parameters on the performance and improvement in the acoustic transmission and noise isolation. The frequency response of the system was also investigated for resonance and performance in relation to auscultation of cardio, lung and other sounds. Through this research paper the researchers share the initial findings for the development of acoustical and multiphysics design aspects of the stethoscope. The ultimate objective is to leverage the improvement in the acoustics of the stethoscope for use in Telehealthcare

Reliability of qualitative data using text analysis: a Queensland Health case study

[Background]: Analytics is the process of developing insights or recommendations for actions from historical data (Sharda et al. 2013). Analytics represents a combination of management sciences, computer technology and statistical techniques to identify and solve real-life issues. While there are many views to analytics, in the health domain, there are four major components discussed: descriptive, prescriptive, diagnostic and predictive analytics (Banerjee et al. 2013). Descriptive analytics investigates what has happened and explores issues related to past events. Diagnostics analytics explores why an even has occurred and provides reasons as to what should be done about what has happened or about an event occurrence. Predictive analytics discusses matters that are likely to happen