35,900 research outputs found
Do we need one science of production in healthcare?
The question addressed is: Is there need, in health care, for one consolidated science of production? For responding to this question, the classical science of production is reviewed and the current approaches to production and service in healthcare are analysed as for their evolution and current status. It is found that these current movements are not self-aware of the restrictions deriving from their backgrounds, and of the resultant partiality in their approaches. It is concluded that improvement of healthcare is slowed down by the fragmentation of the related disciplines; thus one consolidated science of production (of healthcare) is needed
Decision support methods in diabetic patient management by insulin administration neural network vs. induction methods for knowledge classification
Diabetes mellitus is now recognised as a major worldwide
public health problem. At present, about 100
million people are registered as diabetic patients. Many
clinical, social and economic problems occur as a
consequence of insulin-dependent diabetes. Treatment
attempts to prevent or delay complications by applying
âoptimalâ glycaemic control. Therefore, there is a
continuous need for effective monitoring of the patient.
Given the popularity of decision tree learning
algorithms as well as neural networks for knowledge
classification which is further used for decision
support, this paper examines their relative merits by
applying one algorithm from each family on a medical
problem; that of recommending a particular diabetes
regime. For the purposes of this study, OC1 a
descendant of Quinlanâs ID3 algorithm was chosen as
decision tree learning algorithm and a generating
shrinking algorithm for learning arbitrary
classifications as a neural network algorithm. These
systems were trained on 646 cases derived from two
countries in Europe and were tested on 100 cases
which were different from the original 646 cases
Workplaces in the cinema
Purpose â The purpose of this paper is to explore the representation of workplaces in the cinema and discuss its relevance to facilities management research.
Design/methodology/approach â An analysis of representation of work and the workplace in three films is made. These are Metropolis (1927), Wall Street (1987) and Clerks (1994). Cross-case themes are then discussed.
Findings â Although the three films are of different time periods and genres a number of common themes emerge. These include level of control over the work process, alienation from the product of work and social capital gained. This may have implications for how workplaces are perceived and interpreted. Analysis of representations of the workplace in popular culture may contribute to user-centred approaches to facilities management.
Research limitations/implications â The study is limited to three films. A different choice might produce different results.
Practical implications â Understanding representations of the workplace in popular culture may give insights into user responses to management actions.
Originality/value â Although there is a research literature on the analysis of popular culture within organizational studies this has not been taken up by facilities management researchers. This paper explores the relevance of the analysis of an aspect of popular culture for facilities management
Reasons behind ERP package adoption: a diffusion of innovations perspective
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) packages have been widely adopted and it is becoming clear that
this is driven by multiple rationales that may be simultaneously at odds and complimentary. In this
paper, we aim to develop a greater understanding of these rationales by taking ERP packages to be
innovations and analysing their adoption with reference to the theory of diffusion of innovations. In
particular, we consider the attributes of ERP packages that may affect their adoption such as relative
advantage, compatibility, complexiblity, trialability and observability. We argue that usersâ
perceptions of these attributes are not always accurate and these âmisconceptionsâ can further explain
reasons for ERP adoption or rejection. Although our analysis aims to provide rich insights into the
adoption of ERP packages, the results of the study are arguably of further interest to the more general
study of packaged software and the more established literature on custom development
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