Search results for: crises management

Authors: Aruna Bommareddi

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The journey of the novel is well examined in Indian academia as an offshoot of the novel in English. There have been many attempts to understand aspects of the early novel in India which shared a commonality with the English novel. The regional novel has had an entirely different trajectory which is mapped in the paper. The main focus of the paper would be to look at the historical emergence of the genre of the regional novel in Indian Literatures with specific reference to Kannada, Hindi, and Bengali. The selection of these languages is guided not only by familiarity with these languages as also based on the significance that these languages enjoy in the sub-continent and for the emergence of the regional novel as a specific category in these languages. The regional novels under study are Phaneeswaranath Renu’s Maila Anchal, Tarashankar Bandopadhyaya’s Ganadevata, and Kuvempu’s House of Kanuru for exploration of the themes of its emergence and some aspects of the regional novel common to and different from each other. The paper would explore the various movements that have shaped the genre regional novel in these Literatures. Though Phaneeswarnath Renu’s Maila Anchal is published in 1956, the novel is set in pre-Independent India and therefore shares a commonality of themes with the other two novels, House of Kanuru and Ganadevata. All three novels explore themes of superstition, ignorance, poverty, and the interventions of educated youth to salvage the crises in these backward regional worlds. In fact, it was Renu who assertively declared that he was going to write a regional novel and hence the tile of the first regional novel in Hindi is Maila Anchal meaning the soiled border. In Hindi, anchal also means the region therefore, the title is suggestive of a dirty region as well. The novel exposes the squalor, ignorance, and the conflict ridden life of the village or region as opposed to the rosy image of the village in literature. With this, all such novels which depicted conflicts of the region got recognized as regional novels even though they may have been written prior to Renu’s declaration. All three novels under study succeed in bringing out the complexity of rural life at a given point of time in its history.

Keywords: bengali, hindi, kannada, regional novel, telugu

Procedia PDF Downloads 79

Authors: Pushkar Lal Sharma, Sanjana Singh, Umesh Kumar Sahu

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This paper helps to understand the need of Customer Relationship Management in Libraries and why Librarians should implement the marketing concept of Customer Relationship Management in their libraries. As like any industry, libraries too face growing challenges to continuously meet customer expectations, and attract and retain users in light of overflowing competition. The ability to understand customers, build relationships and market diverse services is essential when considering ways to expand service offerings and improve Return on Investment. Since Library is service oriented Enterprise, hence the Customer/User/ Reader/Patron are the most important element of Library & Information System to whom and for whom library offers various services. How to provide better and most efficient services to its users is the main concern of every Library & Information centre in the present era. The basic difference between Business Enterprise and Library Information System is that ‘in Business System ‘the efficiency is measured in terms of ’profit’ or ‘monetary gains’; whereas in a Library & Information System, the efficiency is measured in terms of ‘services’ and therefore the goals that are set in Business Enterprise are’ profit oriented’ whereas goals set in the Library & Information Centre are ‘Service-oriented’. With the explosion of information and advancement of technology readers have so many choices to get information rather than visiting a library. Everything is available at the click of a mouse, library customers have become more knowledgeable and demanding in an era marked by abundance of information resources and services. With this explosion of information in every field of knowledge and choice in selection of service, satisfying user has become a challenge now a day for libraries. Accordingly, Libraries have to build good relationship with its users by adopting Customer relationship Management. CRM refers to the methods and tools which help an organization to manage its relationship with its customers in an organized way. The Customer Relationship Management (CRM) combines business strategy and technology to identify, acquire and retain good customer relationship. The goal of CRM is to optimize management of customer information needs & interests and increase customer satisfaction and loyalty. Implementing CRM in Libraries can improve customer data and process management, customer loyalty, retention and satisfaction.

Keywords: customer relationship management, CRM, CRM tools, customer satisfaction

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Authors: Margaret S. Wright

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Background/Significance: During many recent public health emergencies/disasters, public health nursing data has been missing or delayed, potentially impacting the decision-making and response. Data used as evidence for decision-making in response, planning, and mitigation has been erratic and slow, decreasing the ability to respond. Methodology: Applying best practices in data management and data use in public health settings, and guided by the concepts outlined in ‘Disaster Standards of Care’ models leads to the development of recommendations for a model of best practices in data management and use in public health disasters/emergencies by public health nurses. As the ‘patient’ in public health disasters/emergencies is the community (local, regional or national), guidelines for patient documentation are incorporated in the recommendations. Findings: Using model public health nurses could better plan how to prepare for, respond to, and mitigate disasters in their communities, and better participate in decision-making in all three phases bringing public health nursing data to the discussion as part of the evidence base for decision-making.

Keywords: data management, decision making, disaster planning documentation, public health nursing

Procedia PDF Downloads 221

Authors: Hadeer Hegazy, Wael Ewieda, Ranin Soliman, Samah Elway, Asmaa Tawfik, Ragaa Sayed, Sahar Mousa

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The current healthcare system is facing major challenges in terms of cost, quality of care, and access to services. In response, the concept of value-based healthcare has emerged as a new approach to healthcare delivery. This concept puts the focus on patient values rather than on the traditional medical model of care. To achieve this, healthcare organizations must be agile and able to anticipate and respond quickly to changing needs. Agile management is essential for healthcare organizations to achieve value-based care, as it allows them to rapidly adjust their strategies to changing circumstances. Additionally, it is argued that agile management can help healthcare organizations gain a better understanding of the needs of their patients and develop better care delivery models. Besides, it can help healthcare organizations develop new services, innovate, and become more efficient. The authors provide evidence to support their argument, drawing on examples from successful value-based healthcare initiatives at children’s cancer hospital Egypt-57357. The paper offers insight into how agile management can be used to facilitate the shift towards value-based healthcare and how it can be used to maximize value in the healthcare system.

Keywords: value-based healthcare, agility in healthcare, nursing department, patients outcomes

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Authors: Shadab Shishegar, Sophie Duchesne, Genevieve Pelletier

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Sustainability as one of the key elements of Smart cities, can be realized by employing Real Time Control Strategies for city’s infrastructures. Nowadays Stormwater management systems play an important role in mitigating the impacts of urbanization on natural hydrological cycle. These systems can be managed in such a way that they meet the smart cities standards. In fact, there is a huge potential for sustainable management of urban stormwater and also its adaptability to global challenges like climate change. Hence, a dynamically managed system that can adapt itself to instability of the environmental conditions is desirable. A Global Predictive Real Time Control approach is proposed in this paper to optimize the performance of stormwater management basins in terms of flooding prevention. To do so, a mathematical optimization model is developed then solved using Genetic Algorithm (GA). Results show an improved performance at system-level for the stormwater basins in comparison to static strategy.

Keywords: environmental sustainability, optimization, real time control, storm water management

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Authors: Samuel Quashie

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This study is aimed at demonstrating the applicability and contribution of ‘Conceptual and Funnelling Methods’ during the literature review stages, for PhD in Construction Management, which focused on the ‘Development of an Integrated Management for Post-Disaster Reconstruction’, the viability of this approach using conceptual and funnel methods are demonstrated. The ‘conceptual review method’ builds upon the strengths of relevant material, detailing major points and areas covered and evaluates lesser relevant literature. Publications are reviewed in an integrated style, challenging the scientific theory and seeking to develop new insights. The funnel method grouped reviews by commonality, regardless of the topic or thesis statement. It shows that the literature review is acquired using different kinds of information to increase the variety and diversity of the investigation. Results demonstrated conceptual and funnel methods ability to reviewed and appraised the relevant literature. It puts them into an integrated style, allows an evaluation of credentials, originality, theory base, context and significance of the quality work to emerge. Objectives of the review are met and gaps in knowledge are identified and direct further studies to answer the research questions.

Keywords: Ph.D, construction management, critical literature review, conceptual and funnel methods

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Authors: Nidhin Dani Abraham, T. K. Sri Shilpa

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Asset liability management is an important aspect in banking business. Moreover, the today’s banking is based on BASEL III which strictly regulates on the counterparty default. This paper focuses on prediction and analysis of counter party default risk, which is a type of risk occurs when the customers fail to repay the amount back to the lender (bank or any financial institutions). This paper proposes an approach to reduce the counterparty risk occurring in the financial institutions using an appropriate data mining technique and thus predicts the occurrence of NPA. It also helps in asset building and restructuring quality. Liability management is very important to carry out banking business. To know and analyze the depth of liability of bank, a suitable technique is required. For that a data mining technique is being used to predict the dormant behaviour of various deposit bank customers. Various models are implemented and the results are analyzed of saving bank deposit customers. All these data are cleaned using data cleansing approach from the bank data warehouse.

Keywords: data mining, asset liability management, BASEL III, banking

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Authors: Nipun Agarwal, David Paul, Fareed Un Din

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Strategy development and implementation is the key to an organization’s success in today’s competitive marketplace. Many organizations develop excellent strategy but are unable to implement this strategy in order to succeed. The difference between strategic goals and its implementation is called strategic error. Strategic error occurs when an organization does not have structures in place to implement their strategy. Strategy implementation happens through projects and having a project management method that provides certainty and agility will help an organization become more competitive in implementing strategy. Numerous project management methods exist in theory and practice. However, projects mainly used the Waterfall method in the past that provides certainty in terms of budget, delivery date and resourcing. It is common practice now to utilise Agile based methods. However, Agile based methods do not provide specific deadlines and budgets. But provide agility in product design and project delivery, which is useful to companies. Both Waterfall and Agile methods in some forms are the opposites of each other. Executive management prefer agility in delivery projects as the competitive landscape changes frequently. However, they also appreciate certainty in the projects being able to quantify budgets, deadlines and resources that is harder for an Agile based method to provide. This paper attempts to develop a hybrid project management method that attempts to merge these Waterfall and Agile methods to provide the positives from both these approaches.

Keywords: strategy, project management, strategy implementation, agile

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Authors: Yusri Yusof, Chen Wong Keong

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This paper presents the implementation details of a Relational Database Management System of a STEP-technology product model repository. It is able support the implementation of any EXPRESS language schema, although it has been primarily implemented to support mechanical product life cycle applications. This database support the input of STEP part 21 file format from CAD in geometrical and topological data format and support a range of queries for mechanical product life cycle applications. This proposed relational database management system uses entity-to-table method (R1) rather than type-to-table method (R4). The two mapping methods have their own strengths and drawbacks.

Keywords: RDBMS, CAD, ISO 10303, part-21 file

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Authors: Diana Bardhi

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Road safety is an essential part of the economic and social development of any industrialized country. Decisions to maintain and improve the reliability, functionality of infrastructure structures can only be achieved through integrated road life cycle planning and management. There has always been a tendency to review road maintenance strategies, but there is still no serious and reliable administration due to not only insufficient funds but also problems in the proper reorganization of this system. The safety and performance of the road system depend on the ongoing activity of road maintenance management. For it to be effective, it is necessary to intervene before the degradation has caused irreparable damage or damage with a high economic cost of repairs. Investments in road infrastructure during 2006-2014 show that the life of these projects presents problems related to the maintenance and management of life cycle performance in a wide range of constituent elements. Maintenance planning includes various problems that depend on the degree of degradation of asphalt layers, the degree of damage to road structures (bridges, tunnels, culverts, and the economic planning of resources for their repair). The purpose of this study is first to provide a brief overview of the problems in the field of maintenance and life cycle management of road infrastructure investments, proposing ways to reorganize the sector of administration and maintenance of ongoing roads and secondly testing and evaluating the work and nature of standards of different types of road infrastructure projects, through a methodology consisting of a) development, b) data collection, and c) analysis.

Keywords: infrastructure, maintenance, depreciation, efficiency

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Authors: Linda O. N. Nwabunike

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The role of internal and external efforts in the management of exploration and exploitation has been highlighted in literature. External ties support ambidexterity at different levels with, for instance: business unit ambidexterity, individual ambidexterity, organizational ambidexterity, and alliance ambidexterity. Recently studies have highlighted the combination of organization, alliance, and acquisition strategies for ambidexterity by conceptualizing ambidexterity across modes of operation. Literature still lacks detailed understanding of how these different processes are combined in the management of ambidexterity across modes of operation. This study plans to propose a conceptual model that illustrates the social processes involved in the management of ambidexterity across modes of operation. Main arguments are integrated from social structures, organizational design, and ambidexterity literature. The framework illustrates that how social capital is promoted by hierarchical relations within the organization and business relations across the boundaries of the organization. Whereby such social relations within and outside the organization are supported by the dual structures of the organization in the coordination of multiple efforts. This paper has potential to contribute to the understanding about how ambidexterity is attained.

Keywords: ambidexterity, coordination, external-ties, social-capital

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Authors: Umang Varshney, Amit Karamchandani, Rohit Kapoor

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Practitioners and researchers have realized that Blockchain is not limited to currency. Blockchain as a distributed ledger can ensure a transparent and traceable supply chain. Due to Blockchain-enabled IoTs, a firm’s information management system can now take inputs from other supply chain partners in real-time. This study aims to provide empirical evidence of dimensions responsible for blockchain implemented firm’s growth and highlight how sector (manufacturing or service), state's regulatory environment, and choice of blockchain network affect the blockchain's usefulness. This post-adoption study seeks to validate the findings of pre-adoption studies done on the blockchain. Data will be collected through a survey of managers working in blockchain implemented firms and analyzed through PLS-SEM.

Keywords: blockchain, information management system, PLS-SEM, firm's growth

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Authors: Thanduxolo Elford Fana

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Rationale and Purpose: Performance management and development system are central to effective and efficient service delivery, especially in highly labour intensive sectors such as South African public health. Performance management and development systems seek to ensure that good employee performance is rewarded accordingly, while those who underperform are developed so that they can reach their full potential. An effective and efficiently implemented performance management system motivates and improves employee engagement. The purpose of this study is to examine the implementation of the performance management and development system and the challenges that are encountered during its implementation in the Eastern Cape Provincial Department of Health. Methods: A qualitative research approach and a case study design was adopted in this study. The primary data were collected through observations, focus group discussions with employees, a group interview with shop stewards, and in-depth interviews with supervisors and managers, from April 2019 to September 2019. There were 45 study participants. In-depth interviews were held with 10 managers at facility level, which included chief executive officer, chief medical officer, assistant director’s in human resources management, patient admin, operations, finance, and two area manager and two operation managers nursing. A group interview was conducted with five shop stewards and an in-depth interview with one shop steward from the group. Five focus group discussions were conducted with clinical and non-clinical staff. The focus group discussions were supplemented with an in-depth interview with one person from each group in order to counter the group effect. Observations included moderation committee, contracting, and assessment meetings. Findings: The study shows that the performance management and development system was not properly implemented. There was non-compliance to performance management and development system policy guidelines in terms of time lines for contracting, evaluation, payment of incentives to good performers, and management of poor performance. The study revealed that the system is ineffective in raising the performance of employees and unable to assist employees to grow. The performance bonuses were no longer paid to qualifying employees. The study also revealed that lack of capacity and commitment, poor communication, constant policy changes, financial constraints, weak and highly bureaucratic management structures, union interference were challenges that were encountered during the implementation of the performance management and development system. Lastly, employees and supervisors were rating themselves three irrespective of how well or bad they performed. Conclusion: Performance management is regarded as vital to improved performance of the health workforce and healthcare service delivery among populations. Effective implementation of performance management and development system depends on well-capacitated and unbiased management at facility levels. Therefore, there is an urgent need to improve communication, link performance management to rewards, and capacitate staff on performance management and development system, as it is key to improved public health sector outcomes or performance.

Keywords: challenges, implementation, performance management and development system, public hospital

Procedia PDF Downloads 135

Authors: Kristina De Milt, Nicole Huang, Jihye Park

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Opioids have been a mainstay of the treatment of chronic pain, but their overprescription and misuse have led to an opioid epidemic. Recently, as an attempt to decrease the number of opioids prescribed, the use of cannabinoid therapy has become an increasingly popular adjunctive chronic pain management choice among providers. This review of literature investigates the effects of adjunctive cannabinoids to opioids in the management of chronic pain. The nine articles are included in the literature review range from observational studies to meta-analyses published in the year 2016 and after. A majority of the studies showed a decrease in the need for opioids after adjunctive cannabinoids were introduced and, in some instances, the cessation of opioid consumption. More high-quality evidence is needed to further support this stance and providers should weigh the benefits and risks of adjunctive cannabinoids according to the clinical picture.

Keywords: cannabis, chronic pain, opioids, pain management

Procedia PDF Downloads 253

Authors: Amer Alsari, Hassan Alhalal, Tahar Ayadat, Andi Asiz, Omar KM Ouda

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Al Khaldiyah is a regional road situated in west-south of Al Khobar, precisely in the area of Half Moon Bay. It is characterized by four lines, which become six lines in some places, in both directions extending over about 10 km length. The road extends between the bridge near the Air Force Base and Half Moon Bay Road. Many accidents have been observed in this road notably over the last two years. Many injuries and deaths were recorded, some of the victims were PMU students. Consequently, management of the road to eliminate or reduce accidents to a large extend becomes imperative. The main goal of this project are to propose sustainable solutions for the purpose optimizing safety and improving its sight view by designing some appropriate junctions including bridge and tunnel in the critical locations.

Keywords: management, road, accident, traffic, safety, sustainable, solutions

Procedia PDF Downloads 450

Authors: Raghunandan Gurumurthy, Aricson Pereira, Sandeep Patil

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The escalating adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) across the globe has underscored the critical importance of advancing battery system technologies. This has catalyzed a shift towards the design and development of battery systems that not only exhibit higher energy efficiency but also boast enhanced thermal performance and sophisticated multi-material enclosures. A significant leap in this domain has been the incorporation of simulation-based design optimization for battery packs and Battery Management Systems (BMS), a move further enriched by integrating artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML) approaches. These strategies are pivotal in refining the design, manufacturing, and operational processes for electric vehicles and energy storage systems. By leveraging AI/ML, stakeholders can now predict battery performance metrics—such as State of Health, State of Charge, and State of Power—with unprecedented accuracy. Furthermore, as Li-ion batteries (LIBs) become more prevalent in urban settings, the imperative for bolstering thermal and fire resilience has intensified. This has propelled Battery Thermal Management Systems (BTMs) to the forefront of energy storage research, highlighting the role of machine learning and AI not just as tools for enhanced safety management through accurate temperature forecasts and diagnostics but also as indispensable allies in the early detection and warning of potential battery fires.

Keywords: electric vehicles, battery thermal management, industrial engineering, machine learning, artificial intelligence, manufacturing

Procedia PDF Downloads 97

Authors: Asmaa Abazaid, Maram Al-Ostah, Nadeen Abu-Zahra, Ruba Bawab, Refaat Abdel-Razek

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Innovation audit is defined as a tool that can be used to reflect on how the innovation is managed in an organization. The aim of this study is to audit innovation in the second top Engineering Firms in the world, and one of the Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) companies that are working in United Arab Emirates (UAE). The obtained results are then compared with four international companies from China and Brazil. The Diamond model has been used for auditing innovation in the two companies in UAE to evaluate their innovation management and to identify each company’s strengths and weaknesses from an innovation perspective. The results of the comparison between the two companies (Jacobs and Hyper General Contracting) revealed that Jacobs has support for innovation, its innovation processes are well managed, the company is committed to the development of its employees worldwide and the innovation system is flexible. Jacobs was doing best in all innovation management dimensions: strategy, process, organization, linkages and learning, while Hyper General Contracting did not score as Jacobs in any of the innovation dimensions. Furthermore, the audit results of both companies were compared with international companies to examine how well the two construction companies in UAE manage innovation relative to SABIC (Saudi company), Poly Easy and Arnious (Brazilian companies), Huagong tools and Guizohou Yibai (Chinese companies). The results revealed that Jacobs is doing best in learning and organization dimensions, while PolyEasy and Jacobs are equal in the linkage dimension. Huagong Tools scored the highest score in process dimension among all the compared companies. However, the highest score of strategy dimension was given to PolyEasy. On the other hand, Hyper General Contracting scored the lowest in all of the innovation management dimensions. It needs to improve its management of all the innovation management dimensions with special attention to be given to strategy, process, and linkage as they got scores below 4 out of 7 comparing with other dimensions. Jacobs scored the highest in three innovation management dimensions related to the six companies. However, the strategy dimension is considered low, and special attention is needed in this dimension.

Keywords: Brazil, China, innovation audit, innovation evaluation, innovation management, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates

Procedia PDF Downloads 285

Authors: Nurazean Maarop, Noorjan Mohd Mustapha, Rasimah Yusoff, Roslina Ibrahim, Norziha Megat Mohd Zainuddin

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The goal of this study is to identify success factors that could influence the ISMS self-implementation in government sector from qualitative perspective. This study is based on a case study in one of the Malaysian government agency. Semi-structured interviews involving five key informants were conducted to examine factors addressed in the conceptual framework. Subsequently, thematic analysis was executed to describe the influence of each factor on the success implementation of ISMS. The result of this study indicates that management commitment, implementer commitment and implementer competency are part of the success factors for ISMS self-implementation in Malaysian Government Sector.

Keywords: ISMS success factors, IT project management, IS success, information security

Procedia PDF Downloads 315

Authors: Michael McCann

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Managerial theories propose that, in joint stock companies, executives may be tempted to waste excess free cash on unprofitable projects to keep control of resources. In order to conceal their projects' poor performance, they may seek to engage in earnings management. On the one hand, managers may manipulate earnings upwards in order to post ‘good’ performances and safeguard their position. On the other, since managers pursuit of unrewarding investments are likely to lead to low long-term profitability, managers will use negative accruals to reduce current year’s earnings, smoothing earnings over time in order to conceal the negative effects. Agency models argue that boards of directors are delegated by shareholders to ensure that companies are governed properly. Part of that responsibility is ensuring the reliability of financial information. Analyses of the impact of board characteristics, particularly board independence on the misuse of free cash flow and earnings management finds conflicting evidence. However, existing characterizations of board independence do not account for such directors gaining firm-specific knowledge over time, influencing their monitoring ability. Further, there is little analysis of the influence of the relative experience of independent directors and executives on decisions surrounding the use of free cash. This paper contributes to this literature regarding the heterogeneous characteristics of boards by investigating the influence of independent director tenure on earnings management and the relative tenures of independent directors and Chief Executives. A balanced panel dataset comprising 51 companies across 11 annual periods from 2005 to 2015 is used for the analysis. In each annual period, firms were classified as conducting earnings management if they had discretionary accruals in the bottom quartile (downwards) and top quartile (upwards) of the distributed values for the sample. Logistical regressions were conducted to determine the marginal impact of independent board tenure and a number of control variables on the probability of conducting earnings management. The findings indicate that both absolute and relative measures of board independence and experience do not have a significant impact on the likelihood of earnings management. It is the level of free cash flow which is the major influence on the probability of earnings management. Higher free cash flow increases the probability of earnings management significantly. The research also investigates whether board monitoring of earnings management is contingent on the level of free cash flow. However, the results suggest that board monitoring is not amplified when free cash flow is higher. This suggests that the extent of earnings management in companies is determined by a range of company, industry and situation-specific factors.

Keywords: corporate governance, boards of directors, agency theory, earnings management

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Authors: Farshad Ghodoosi

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This article analyzes the effect of supervening events in contracts. Contracts serve an important function: allocation of risks. In spite of its importance, the case law and the doctrine are messy and inconsistent. This article provides a fresh look at excuse doctrines (i.e., force majeure, impracticability, impossibility, and frustration) with a focus on force majeure clauses. The article makes the following contributions: First, it furnishes a new conceptual and theoretical framework of excuse doctrines. By distilling the decisions, it shows that excuse doctrines rests on the triangle of control, foreseeability, and contract language. Second, it analyzes force majeure clauses used by S&P 500 companies to understand the stickiness and similarity of such clauses and the events they cover. Third, using computational and statistical tools, it analyzes US cases since 1810 in order to assess the weight given to the triangle of control, foreseeability, and contract language. It shows that the control factor plays an important role in force majeure analysis, while the contractual interpretation is the least important factor. The Article concludes that it is the standard for control -whether the supervening event is beyond the control of the party- that determines the outcome of cases in the force majeure context and not necessarily the contractual language. This article has important implications on COVID-19-related contractual cases. Unlike the prevailing narrative that it is the language of the force majeure clause that’s determinative, this article shows that the primarily focus of the inquiry will be on whether the effects of COVID-19 have been beyond the control of the promisee. Normatively, the Article suggests that the trifactor of control, foreseeability, and contractual language are not effective for allocation of legal risks in times of crises. It puts forward a novel approach to force majeure clauses whereby that the courts should instead focus on the degree to which parties have relied on (expected) performance, in particular during the time of crisis.

Keywords: contractual risks, force majeure clauses, foreseeability, control, contractual language, computational analysis

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Authors: John Peter Dacanay, Edison Ramos, Cristopher James Dicang

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Waste management is a global concern due to increasing waste production from changing consumption patterns and population growth. Proper waste disposal management is a critical aspect of public health and environmental protection. In the healthcare industry, medical waste is generated in large quantities, and if not disposed of properly, it poses a significant threat to human health and the environment. Efficient waste management conserves natural resources and prevents harm to human health, and implementing an effective waste management system can save human lives. The study aimed to assess the level of awareness and practices on waste disposal management, highlighting the understanding of proper disposal, potential hazards, and environmental implications among Medical Technology students. This would help to provide more recommendations for improving waste management practices in healthcare settings as well as for better waste management practices in educational institutions. From the collected data, a female of 21 years of age stands out among the respondents. With the frequency and percentage of medical technology students' knowledge of laboratory waste management being high, it indicates that all respondents demonstrated a solid understanding of proper disposal methods, regulations, risks, and handling procedures related to laboratory waste. That said, the findings emphasize the significance of education and awareness programs in equipping individuals involved in laboratory practices with the necessary knowledge to handle and dispose of hazardous and infectious waste properly. Most respondents demonstrate positive practices or are highly mannered in laboratory waste management, including proper segregation and disposal in designated containers. However, there are concerns about the occasional mixing of waste types, emphasizing the reiteration of proper waste segregation. Students show a strong commitment to using personal protective equipment and promptly cleaning up spills. Some students admit to improper disposal due to rushing, highlighting the importance of time management and safety prioritization. Overall, students follow protocols for hazardous waste disposal, indicating a responsible approach. The school's waste management system is perceived as adequate, but continuous assessment and improvement are necessary. Encouraging reporting of issues and concerns is crucial for ongoing improvement and risk mitigation. The analysis reveals a moderate positive relationship between the respondents' knowledge and practices regarding laboratory waste management. The statistically significant correlation with a p-value of 0.26 (p-value 0.05) suggests that individuals with higher levels of knowledge tend to exhibit better practices. These findings align with previous research emphasizing the pivotal role of knowledge in influencing individuals' behaviors and practices concerning laboratory waste management. When individuals possess a comprehensive understanding of proper procedures, regulations, and potential risks associated with laboratory waste, they are more inclined to adopt appropriate practices. Therefore, fostering knowledge through education and training is essential in promoting responsible and effective waste management in laboratory settings.

Keywords: waste disposal management, knowledge, attitude, practices

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Authors: Maximilian Cedzich, Ingo Dietz Von Bayer, Roland Jochem

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In order for industrial companies to continue to succeed in dynamic, globalized markets, they must be able to train their employees in an agile manner and at short notice in line with the exogenous conditions that arise. For this purpose, it is indispensable to operate a proactive competence management system for employees that recognizes qualification needs timely in order to be able to address them promptly through qualification measures. However, there are hardly any approaches to be found in the literature that includes systematic, proactive competence management. In order to help close this gap, this publication presents a process model that systematically develops bottom-up, future-oriented target competence profiles based on the tasks of the employees. Concretely, in the first step, the tasks of the individual employees are examined for assumed future conditions. In other words, qualitative scenarios are considered for the individual tasks to determine how they are likely to change. In a second step, these scenario-based future tasks are translated into individual future-related target competencies of the employee using a matrix of generic task properties. The final step pursues the goal of validating the target competence profiles formed in this way within the framework of a management workshop. This process model provides industrial companies with a tool that they can use to determine the competencies required by their own employees in the future and compare them with the actual prevailing competencies. If gaps are identified between the target and the actual, these qualification requirements can be closed in the short term by means of qualification measures.

Keywords: dynamic globalized markets, employee competence management, industrial companies, knowledge management

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Authors: Muhammad Mohsin, Fawad Ahmad, Fatima Batool, Muhammad Kaab Zarrar

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The integration of the Internet of Things (IoT) and edge computing devices offers a transformative approach to electronic waste management, particularly in the dismantling of printed circuit boards (PCBs). This paper explores how these technologies optimize operational efficiency and improve environmental sustainability by addressing challenges such as data security, interoperability, scalability, and real-time data processing. Proposed solutions include advanced machine learning algorithms for predictive maintenance, robust encryption protocols, and scalable architectures that incorporate edge computing. Case studies from leading e-waste management facilities illustrate benefits such as improved material recovery efficiency, reduced environmental impact, improved worker safety, and optimized resource utilization. The findings highlight the potential of IoT and edge computing to revolutionize e-waste dismantling and make the case for a collaborative approach between policymakers, waste management professionals, and technology developers. This research provides important insights into the use of IoT and edge computing to make significant progress in the sustainable management of electronic waste

Keywords: internet of Things, edge computing, waste PCB disassembly, electronic waste management, data security, interoperability, machine learning, predictive maintenance, sustainable development

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Authors: Giles Balbinotti, Lucas Balbinotti, Paula Hembecker

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The management of the productive process project activities, for the conception of future work and for the financial health of the companies, is an important condition in an organizational model that corroborates the management of the human aspects and their variabilities existing in the work. It is important to seek, at all levels of the organization, understanding and consequent cultural change, and so that factors associated with human aspects are considered and prioritized in the projects. In this scenario, the central question of research for this study is placed from the context of the work, in which the managers and project coordinators are inserted, as follows: How is the top management convinced, in the design stages, to take The ‘Ergonomics’ as strategy for the performance and sustainability of the business? In this perspective, this research has as general objective to analyze how the application of the management of the human aspects in a real project of productive process in the automotive industry, including the activity of the manager and coordinator of the project beyond the strategies of convincing to act in the ergonomics of design. For this, the socio-technical and ergonomic approach is adopted, given its anthropocentric premise in the sense of acting on the social system simultaneously to the technical system, besides the support of the Modapts system that measures the non-value-added times and the correlation with the Critical positions. The methodological approach adopted in this study is based on a review of the literature and the analysis of the activity of the project coordinators of an industry, including the management of human aspects in the context of work variability and the strategies applied in project activities. It was observed in the study that the loss of performance of the serial production lines reaches the important number of the order of 30%, which can make the operation with not value-added, and this loss has as one of the causes, the ergonomic problems present in the professional activity.

Keywords: human aspects in production process project, ergonomics in design, sociotechnical project management, sociotechnical, ergonomic principles, sustainability

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Authors: Sally Shepherd, Richard De Boer, Craig Murphy

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Background: Invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC) can metastasize to atypical sites within the peritoneal cavity, gastrointestinal, or genitourinary tract. Management varies depending on the symptom presentation, extent of disease burden, particularly if the primary disease is occult, and patient wishes. Case Series: 6 patients presented with general surgical presentations of ILC, including incomplete large bowel obstruction, cholecystitis, persistent lower abdominal pain, and faecal incontinence. 3 were diagnosed with their primary and metastatic disease in the same presentation, whilst 3 patients developed metastasis from 5 to 8 years post primary diagnosis of ILC. Management included resection of the metastasis (laparoscopic cholecystectomy), excision of the primary (mastectomy and axillary clearance), followed by a combination of aromatase inhibitors, biologic therapy, and chemotherapy. Survival post diagnosis of metastasis ranged from 3 weeks to 7 years. Conclusion: Metastatic ILC must be considered with any gastrointestinal or genitourinary symptoms in patients with a current or past history of ILC. Management may not be straightforward to chemotherapy if the acute pathology is resulting in a surgically resectable disease.

Keywords: breast cancer, gastrointestinal metastasis, invasive lobular carcinoma, metastasis

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Authors: Ivana Bulog

Abstract:

Decision making is a vital part of the business world and any other field of human endeavor. Which way a business organization will take, and where that way will lead it, depends on broad range of decisions made by managers in the managerial structure. Strategic decisions are of the greatest importance for organizational success. Although much empirical research has been done trying to describe and explain its nature and effectiveness, knowledge about strategic decision making is still incomplete. This paper explores the nature of strategic decision making in particular setting - in Croatian companies. The main focus of this research is on the style that decision makers on strategic management level are following when making decisions of life importance for their companies. Two main decision making style that explain the way decision maker collects and processes available information and performs all the activities in strategic decision making process were empirical tested: rational and intuitive one. Besides analyzing their existence on strategic management level in Croatian companies, their effectiveness is analyzed as well. Results showed that decision makers at strategic management level are following both styles somewhat equally in order to function effectively, and that intuitive style is more effective when considering decisions outcomes.

Keywords: decision making style, decision making effectiveness, strategic decisions, management sciences

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Authors: Alina Parincu, Giuseppe Empoli, Alexandru Capatina

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The purpose of this paper is to identify the most influential predictors of emotional intelligence skills, in the case of 20 business innovation coaches, on the co-creation of knowledge through coaching services delivered to innovative start-ups from Europe, funded through Horizon 2020 – SME Instrument. We considered the emotional intelligence skills (self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy and social skills) as antecedent conditions of the outcome: the quality of coaching services, perceived by the entrepreneurs who received funding within SME instrument, using fuzzy-sets qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) approach. The findings reveal that emotional intelligence skills, trained with neuro-management techniques, were associated with increased goal-focused business coaching skills.

Keywords: neuro-management, innovative start-ups, business coaching, fsQCA

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Authors: Roslina Kamaruddin

Abstract:

The paddy farmer’s performance and ability to improve productivity for increased incomes is driven by their level of farm management practices. Knowledge on the nature and level of sustainable farm management (SFM) practice provides opportunities for supporting the competitive advantages of paddy farmers to sustainably break away from the poverty cycle. Little attention has been given to measuring the performance and impact of SFM for the improvement of paddy farmer's livelihood in Malaysia. Without understanding SFM, it is difficult to make policies and provide targeted, impactful support to paddy farmers. The objective of this study is to assess the level of SFM among paddy farmers by calculating the Sustainable Farm Management Index (SFMI) using the Rice Check (RC) guideline established by the Department of Agriculture. The structured questionnaire was designed to capture the nine elements of farming practices based on the RC and was then distributed to 788 paddy farmers in Malaysia's main granary areas, namely MADA, KADA, and BLS. Each practice was given a score to determine whether the guidelines were followed. The index ranges from 0 to 100, with 0 being unsustainable and 100 being highly sustainable. A multiple regression analysis was employed as well to estimate the effects of SFM adoption on farmer livelihoods. The findings show that adopting SFM has a positive and significant effect on farmers' livelihoods. The paper, therefore, recommends that farmers should be educated on the importance of sustainable farming practices as this is essential for the sustainable livelihood development of poor farmers who rely on government subsidies.

Keywords: sustainable farm management, paddy farming, rice check, granary areas, farmers livelihood

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Authors: Amogh Katti, J. Sai Asritha, D. Nivedh, M. Kalyan Srinivas, B. Somnath Chakravarthi

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Today's modern education system uses Learning Management System (LMS) portals for the scoring and grading of student performances, to maintain student records, and teachers are instructed to accept assignments through online submissions of .pdf,.doc,.ppt, etc. There is a risk of data tampering in the traditional portals; we will apply the Blockchain model instead of this traditional model to avoid data tampering and also provide a decentralized mechanism for overall fairness. Blockchain technology is a better and also recommended model because of the following features: consensus mechanism, decentralized system, cryptographic encryption, smart contracts, Ethereum blockchain. The proposed system ensures data integrity and tamper-proof assignment submission and grading, which will be helpful for both students and also educators.

Keywords: education technology, learning management system, decentralized applications, blockchain

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Authors: Hlabishi Peter Ntloana

Abstract:

This paper aims to present the effectiveness of the Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Act, 2013, in addressing key spatial challenges in Fetakgomo Tubatse Local Municipality, mainly focusing on Apel nodal point. Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Act, 2013, popularly known as SPLUMA, aimed at addressing emerging and existing spatial planning and land use management challenges in South Africa. There are critical key spatial challenges that are continuously encountered in Apel Nodal Point, which include dispersed rural settlement mainly in a communal settlement. The spatial patterns and rural settlements development patterns are a challenge, and such results in uncoordinated human settlements. The objective of this research paper is to analyze the spatial planning of Apel nodal points and determine the effectiveness of the SPLUMA policy. Key Informant interviews were conducted with 20 participants, and also the municipal Spatial Development Framework was considered to explore more challenges and proposed recommendations. The results divulged that there is a huge gap in addressing spatial planning, mainly in rural areas, and correlation with the findings of the Municipal Spatial Development framework. In conclusion, spatial planning remains a critical dilemma in most rural settlements, and there must be programmes and strategies to balance the effectiveness of spatial planning in urban and rural settlements.

Keywords: land use management, rural settlement, spatial development framework, spatial planning

Procedia PDF Downloads 177