Corporate governance: board structure, information technology and CSR reporting

Good corporate governance practices are considered vital for attracting investment capital, improving the performance of companies and reducing risk for investors. This paper provides some general overviews on board structure, information technology (IT) and corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting. This paper also discusses the various theories related to corporate governance in order to understand the corporate phenomena. This is important to understand each of the theory concept and its implications. These theories include agency theory, stewardship theory, stakeholder theory, resource dependency theory and legitimacy theory. Certainly, board structure, IT and CSR have significant bearing on a firm’s state of corporate governance and performance

A Novel System-Theoretic Matrix-Based Approach to Analysing Safety and Security of Cyber-Physical Systems

Cyber-Physical Systems (CPSs) are getting increasingly complex and interconnected. Consequently, their inherent safety risks and security risks are so intertwined that the conventional analysis approaches which address them separately may be rendered inadequate. STPA (Systems-Theoretic Process Analysis) is a top-down hazard analysis technique that has been incorporated into several recently proposed integrated Safety and Security (S&S) analysis methods. This paper presents a novel methodology that leverages not only STPA, but also custom matrices to ensure a more comprehensive S&S analysis. The proposed methodology is demonstrated using a case study of particular commercial cloud-based monitoring and control system for residential energy storage systems

Impact of opioid-free analgesia on pain severity and patient satisfaction after discharge from surgery: multispecialty, prospective cohort study in 25 countries

Background: Balancing opioid stewardship and the need for adequate analgesia following discharge after surgery is challenging. This study aimed to compare the outcomes for patients discharged with opioid versus opioid-free analgesia after common surgical procedures.Methods: This international, multicentre, prospective cohort study collected data from patients undergoing common acute and elective general surgical, urological, gynaecological, and orthopaedic procedures. The primary outcomes were patient-reported time in severe pain measured on a numerical analogue scale from 0 to 100% and patient-reported satisfaction with pain relief during the first week following discharge. Data were collected by in-hospital chart review and patient telephone interview 1 week after discharge.Results: The study recruited 4273 patients from 144 centres in 25 countries; 1311 patients (30.7%) were prescribed opioid analgesia at discharge. Patients reported being in severe pain for 10 (i.q.r. 1-30)% of the first week after discharge and rated satisfaction with analgesia as 90 (i.q.r. 80-100) of 100. After adjustment for confounders, opioid analgesia on discharge was independently associated with increased pain severity (risk ratio 1.52, 95% c.i. 1.31 to 1.76; P < 0.001) and re-presentation to healthcare providers owing to side-effects of medication (OR 2.38, 95% c.i. 1.36 to 4.17; P = 0.004), but not with satisfaction with analgesia (beta coefficient 0.92, 95% c.i. -1.52 to 3.36; P = 0.468) compared with opioid-free analgesia. Although opioid prescribing varied greatly between high-income and low- and middle-income countries, patient-reported outcomes did not.Conclusion: Opioid analgesia prescription on surgical discharge is associated with a higher risk of re-presentation owing to side-effects of medication and increased patient-reported pain, but not with changes in patient-reported satisfaction. Opioid-free discharge analgesia should be adopted routinely

Financial sector reforms in Japan

120 p.Financial reform had been undertaken by many developed countries in the past three decades. These financial system reforms result in more efficient and effective financial operations in the respected countries. With the introduction of reform activities, economy in these countries continue to grow and prosper.ACCOUNTANC

Overview on SMEs family-run local coffee shop in malaysia: challenges and determinants of survival

Recently, The Tourism Minister has challenged the Malaysia-Singapore Coffee Shop Proprietors General Association to publish a booklet with a list of 100 best kopitiams in Malaysia to promote the nation’s unique coffee shop trade to the world. Local coffee shops (kopitiams) are the intangible cultural heritage that are successful in guarding their traditional recipe, thus an adequate review on local coffee shops is significant as they can use this opportunity to benefit from the country’s expanding tourism industry. In essence, this paper provides an overview of the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) family-run local coffee shop businesses. An attempt was made to identify the challenges of local coffee shops (kopitiams) from literature review. These challenges include lack of interest from the new generation to take over those businesses, fierce competition in food industry, and change of consumer demand. Furthermore, this paper also helps to understand the determinants of local coffee shop survival

Critical success factors for Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Systems implementation in Singapore.

Enterprise Resource Planning(ERP) Systems are fast becoming a neccesity in Singapore's corporate business. The project attempts to find out the Critical Success Factors (CSFs) pertaining to a successful implementation of such a complex system in local companies

Maritime Interdiction Operations in Logistically Barren Environments

Includes supplementary materialThis report contains analysis that shows that existing technology exists to improve Maritime Interdiction Operations (MIO) by approximately 30%. Furthermore, analysis contained herein will aid MIO planning for future operations. Since MIOs are an inherently dangerous, but necessary activity with far reaching implications to theater political and economic dynamics, this improvement is of great interest. MIO is a Naval solution to the problems of smuggling weapons, explosives, people and narcotics. MIO, when employed correctly has the potential to save lives and limit economic/political damage.N

Cohort profile: The Singapore Breast Cancer Cohort (SGBCC), a multi-center breast cancer cohort for evaluation of phenotypic risk factors and genetic markers

10.1371/journal.pone.0250102PLOS ONE16