Search results for: time management skills
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 27734

Search results for: time management skills

26054 Sustainable Transboundary Water Management: Challenges and Good Practices of Cooperation in International River Basin Districts

Authors: Aleksandra Ibragimow, Moritz Albrecht, Eerika Albrecht

Abstract:

Close international cooperation between all countries within a river basin has become one of the key aspects of sustainable cross-border water management. This is due to the fact that water does not stop at administrative or political boundaries. Therefore, the preferred mode to protect and manage transnational water bodies is close cooperation between all countries and stakeholders within the natural hydrological unit of the river basin. However, past practices have demonstrated that combining interests of different countries and stakeholders with differing political systems and management approaches to environmental issues upstream as well as downstream can be challenging. The study focuses on particular problems and challenges of water management in international river basin districts by the example of the International Oder River Basin District. The Oder River is one of the largest cross-border rivers of the Baltic Sea basin passing through Poland, Germany, and the Czech Republic. Attention is directed towards the activities and the actions that were carried out during the Districts' first management cycle of transnational river basin management (2009-2015). The results show that actions of individual countries have been focused on the National Water Management Plans while a common appointment about identified supra-regional water management problems has not been solved, and conducted actions can be considered as preliminary and merely a basis for future management. This present state raises the question whether the achievement of main objectives of Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC) can be a realistic task.

Keywords: International River Basin Districts, water management, water frameworkdirective, water management plans

Procedia PDF Downloads 316
26053 Early Education Assessment Methods

Authors: Anantdeep Kaur, Sharanjeet Singh

Abstract:

Early childhood education and assessment of children is a very essential tool that helps them in their growth and development. Techniques should be developed, and tools should be created in this field as it is a very important learning phase of life. Some information and sources are included for student assessment to provide a record of growth in all developmental areas cognitive, physical, Language, social-emotional, and approaches to learning. As an early childhood educator, it is very important to identify children who need special support and counseling to improve them because they are not mentally mature to discuss with the teacher their problems and needs. It is the duty and responsibility of the educator to assess children from their body language, behavior, and their routine actions about their skills that can be improved and which can take them forward in their future life. And also, children should be assessed with their weaker points because this is the right time to correct them, and they be improved with certain methods and tools by working on them constantly. Observing children regularly with all their facets of development, including intellectual, linguistic, social-emotional, and physical development. Every day, a physical education class should be regulated to check their physical growth activities, which can help to assess their physical activeness and motor abilities. When they are outside on the playgrounds, it is very important to instill environmental understanding among them so that they should know that they are very part of this nature, and it will help them to be one with the universe rather than feeling themselves individually. This technique assists them in living their childhood full of energy all the time. All types of assessments have unique purposes. It is important first to determine what should be measured, then find the program that best assesses those.

Keywords: special needs, motor ability, environmental understanding, physical development

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26052 Developing a Translator Career Path: Based on the Dreyfus Model of Skills Acquisition

Authors: Noha A. Alowedi

Abstract:

This paper proposes a Translator Career Path (TCP) which is based on the Dreyfus Model of Skills Acquisition as the conceptual framework. In this qualitative study, the methodology to collect and analyze the data takes an inductive approach that draws upon the literature to form the criteria for the different steps in the TCP. This path is based on descriptors of expert translator performance and best employees’ practice documented in the literature. Each translator skill will be graded as novice, advanced beginner, competent, proficient, and expert. Consequently, five levels of translator performance are identified in the TCP as five ranks. The first rank is the intern translator, which is equivalent to the novice level; the second rank is the assistant translator, which is equivalent to the advanced beginner level; the third rank is the associate translator, which is equivalent to the competent level; the fourth rank is the translator, which is equivalent to the proficient level; finally, the fifth rank is the expert translator, which is equivalent to the expert level. The main function of this career path is to guide the processes of translator development in translation organizations. Although it is designed primarily for the need of in-house translators’ supervisors, the TCP can be used in academic settings for translation trainers and teachers.

Keywords: Dreyfus model, translation organization, translator career path, translator development, translator evaluation, translator promotion

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26051 Liquidity Management in Islamic Banks: Challenges and Prospects for Non-Interest Banking in Nigeria

Authors: Fatai O. Bakare

Abstract:

This paper x-rays the liquidity problems exposed to by Islamic banks in terms of challenges in managing surplus as well as deficit liquidity positions and the attendant effects in the contemporary system of Islamic banking. Effective liquidity management is understood to be a cardinal consideration for sustainability of Islamic/non-interest banking in Nigeria and the world over. While a background is laid by considering the general situations at a global scale, a particular attention is devoted to the peculiar circumstances of the non-interest banking in Nigeria. In bring home the points various efforts of major notable supra-national institutions in bridging liquidity management gap in Islamic banks are presented. While it is believed that a good lesson could be learnt from the developmental phases of Malaysian Islamic banking system and the approaches to meeting its liquidity management problems, much emphasis is laid in maintaining that, although in the absence of political will to provide systemic support for non-interest banking in Nigeria, the challenge of liquidity management is not unsurmountable.

Keywords: deficit, liquidity management, non-interest, surplus

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26050 Assessing the Survival Time of Hospitalized Patients in Eastern Ethiopia During 2019–2020 Using the Bayesian Approach: A Retrospective Cohort Study

Authors: Chalachew Gashu, Yoseph Kassa, Habtamu Geremew, Mengestie Mulugeta

Abstract:

Background and Aims: Severe acute malnutrition remains a significant health challenge, particularly in low‐ and middle‐income countries. The aim of this study was to determine the survival time of under‐five children with severe acute malnutrition. Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted at a hospital, focusing on under‐five children with severe acute malnutrition. The study included 322 inpatients admitted to the Chiro hospital in Chiro, Ethiopia, between September 2019 and August 2020, whose data was obtained from medical records. Survival functions were analyzed using Kaplan‒Meier plots and log‐rank tests. The survival time of severe acute malnutrition was further analyzed using the Cox proportional hazards model and Bayesian parametric survival models, employing integrated nested Laplace approximation methods. Results: Among the 322 patients, 118 (36.6%) died as a result of severe acute malnutrition. The estimated median survival time for inpatients was found to be 2 weeks. Model selection criteria favored the Bayesian Weibull accelerated failure time model, which demonstrated that age, body temperature, pulse rate, nasogastric (NG) tube usage, hypoglycemia, anemia, diarrhea, dehydration, malaria, and pneumonia significantly influenced the survival time of severe acute malnutrition. Conclusions: This study revealed that children below 24 months, those with altered body temperature and pulse rate, NG tube usage, hypoglycemia, and comorbidities such as anemia, diarrhea, dehydration, malaria, and pneumonia had a shorter survival time when affected by severe acute malnutrition under the age of five. To reduce the death rate of children under 5 years of age, it is necessary to design community management for acute malnutrition to ensure early detection and improve access to and coverage for children who are malnourished.

Keywords: Bayesian analysis, severe acute malnutrition, survival data analysis, survival time

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26049 Contentious Issues Concerning the Methodology of Using the Lexical Approach in Teaching ESP

Authors: Elena Krutskikh, Elena Khvatova

Abstract:

In tertiary settings expanding students’ vocabulary and teaching discursive competence is seen as one of the chief goals of a professional development course. However, such a focus often is detrimental to students’ cognitive competences, such as analysis, synthesis, and creative processing of information, and deprives students of motivation for self-improvement and self-development of language skills. The presentation is going to argue that in an ESP course special attention should be paid to reading/listening which can promote understanding and using the language as a tool for solving significant real world problems, including professional ones. It is claimed that in the learning process it is necessary to maintain a balance between the content and the linguistic aspect of the educational process as language acquisition is inextricably linked with mental activity and the need to express oneself is a primary stimulus for using a language. A study conducted among undergraduates indicates that they place a premium on quality materials that motivate them and stimulate their further linguistic and professional development. Thus, more demands are placed on study materials that should contain new information for students and serve not only as a source of new vocabulary but also prepare them for real tasks related to professional activities.

Keywords: critical reading, english for professional development, english for specific purposes, high order thinking skills, lexical approach, vocabulary acquisition

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26048 Towards a Successful Implementation of ICT in Education : Analyzing Teacher Practices and Perceptions

Authors: Azzeddine Atibi, Lamalif latifa, Khadija El Kababi, Salim Ahmed, Mohamed Radid

Abstract:

This study analyzes the integration of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in modern education, where these tools have become essential. Due to the rapid emergence of new technologies and their increasing adoption in education, it is important to understand how teachers use and perceive these tools. The study pursues three objectives : examining current teacher practices regarding ICT, evaluating their impact on student skills and engagement, and making recommendations for better integration of ICT in education. The study's methodology is based on a quantitative approach, using a questionnaire administered to a sample of 104 teachers. This questionnaire, rigorously validated to ensure its reliability, gathers representative data on perceptions and challenges related to the use of ICT. The results show widespread adoption of ICT by teachers, with the majority reporting an improvement in student skills due to these technologies. However, opinions diverge on their impact on student engagement : some teachers note an increase in engagement, while others remain skeptical. Persistent challenges include insufficient technological infrastructure and the need for ongoing training. The recommendations highlight the importance of improving infrastructures and supporting the professional development of teachers to optimize the integration of ICT.

Keywords: ICT, education, teaching practices, teacher perceptions, continuing education

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26047 Risk Management in Construction Projects

Authors: Mustafa Dogru, Ruveyda Komurlu

Abstract:

Companies and professionals in the construction sector face various risks in every project depending on the characteristics, size, complexity, the location of the projects and the techniques used. Some risks’ effects may increase as the project progresses whereas new risks may emerge. Because of the ever-changing nature of the risks, risk management is a cyclical process that needs to be repeated throughout the project. Since the risks threaten the success of the project, risk management is an important part of the entire project management process. The aims of this study are to emphasize the importance of risk management in construction projects, summarize the risk identification process, and introduce a number of methods for preventing risks such as alternative design, checklists, prototyping and test-analysis-correction technique etc. Following the literature review conducted to list the techniques for preventing risks, case studies has been performed to compare and evaluate the success of the techniques in a number of completed projects with the same typology, performed domestic and international. Findings of the study suggest that controlling and minimizing the level of the risks in construction projects, taking optimal precautions for different risks, and mitigating or eliminating the effects of risks are important in order to prevent additional costs for the project. Additionally, focusing on the risks that have highest impact is the most rational way to minimize the effects of the risks on projects.

Keywords: construction projects, construction management, project management, risk management

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26046 How to Applicate Knowledge Management in Security Environment within the Scope of Optimum Balance Model

Authors: Hakan Erol, Altan Elibol, Ömer Eryılmaz, Mehmet Şimşek

Abstract:

Organizations aim to manage information in a most possible effective way for sustainment and development. In doing so, they apply various procedures and methods. The very same situation is valid for each service of Armed Forces. During long-lasting endeavors such as shaping and maintaining security environment, supporting and securing peace, knowledge management is a crucial asset. Optimum Balance Model aims to promote the system from a decisive point to a higher decisive point. In this context, this paper analyses the application of optimum balance model to knowledge management in Armed Forces and tries to find answer to the question how Optimum Balance Model is integrated in knowledge management.

Keywords: optimum balance model, knowledge management, security environment, supporting peace

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26045 Parenting Practices, Challenges and Prospectus of Working Mothers in Arsi University: Oromia Regional State, Ethiopia

Authors: Endalew Fufa Kufi

Abstract:

Every married person aspires to be a parent regardless of the situation in which s/he lives. Such aspiration meets with reality when the destined parent is able to give adequate supports and services to his/her children, whether the latter are got by birth or through adoption. The adequacy of services parents provide their children is both enriched and tempted by the work on which they involve. On the one hand, parents need to work and earn a living in order to support their family. On the other hand, they must spend most of their time outside home to do the work, which shortens the time and might they spare to care for their children. Where the sufficiency of services parents owe their children could be ascertained by in terms of life skills, physical care and related provisions, the role of working fathers and mothers in providing such supports could be diverse across cultures and work traditions. Hence, this research deals with the investigation of working mothers’ parental practices, challenges they face in providing parental services and the implication for the future progress of the parents and their children. Target of the study will be Arsi University in Oromia Regional State of Ethiopia. Descriptive survey design in holding the research, and data for the research will be collected in the form of experiential self-report from 150 working mothers selected from the entire working women population of Colleges of Agriculture and Environmental Studies and College of Health Sciences through stratified random-sampling. Instruments of data collection will be closed and open-ended questionnaire. Complementary data will also be collected from purposively selected samples through semi-structured interview. Data for the research will be collected through questionnaire first and then through interview. Data analysis will also follow the same procedure. The collected data will systematically be organized and statistically and thematically analyzed in order to come up with indicative findings. The overarching thesis is that, working mothers in the study area bear a lot of responsibilities both at home and at work place which leave them very little time for parenting services. Unless due attention is given to the way they can spare time for their children, they are more likely to be tense between work-life and family care services, which tempt them in different directions.

Keywords: challenges, mothers, practices, university, working

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26044 Deep Reinforcement Learning for Advanced Pressure Management in Water Distribution Networks

Authors: Ahmed Negm, George Aggidis, Xiandong Ma

Abstract:

With the diverse nature of urban cities, customer demand patterns, landscape topologies or even seasonal weather trends; managing our water distribution networks (WDNs) has proved a complex task. These unpredictable circumstances manifest as pipe failures, intermittent supply and burst events thus adding to water loss, energy waste and increased carbon emissions. Whilst these events are unavoidable, advanced pressure management has proved an effective tool to control and mitigate them. Henceforth, water utilities have struggled with developing a real-time control method that is resilient when confronting the challenges of water distribution. In this paper we use deep reinforcement learning (DRL) algorithms as a novel pressure control strategy to minimise pressure violations and leakage under both burst and background leakage conditions. Agents based on asynchronous actor critic (A2C) and recurrent proximal policy optimisation (Recurrent PPO) were trained and compared to benchmarked optimisation algorithms (differential evolution, particle swarm optimisation. A2C manages to minimise leakage by 32.48% under burst conditions and 67.17% under background conditions which was the highest performance in the DRL algorithms. A2C and Recurrent PPO performed well in comparison to the benchmarks with higher processing speed and lower computational effort.

Keywords: deep reinforcement learning, pressure management, water distribution networks, leakage management

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26043 Who Am I at Work: Work Identity Formation

Authors: Carol Belle-Hallsworth

Abstract:

Human interaction at work evolves over time and, with it, work identity. The social identity is built upon the development of its underpinning and preceding stages. Work identity can be viewed in the same way and will shift based on changes in the work environment and challenges to the work identity (threats to the four stages). This paper provides an analysis of how the stages of trust, autonomy, industry and initiative are related to the employee identity at work. Describing how they are related to each other and the development of identity. It has become common to notice changes in employee behavior during and after major operational changes in an organization. Previous studies suggest that there are emotional triggers that result in the new behaviors displayed. This study seeks to test a theoretical model by testing the relationship between the first four Erikson stages as constructs. A randomized sample of participants undertook a self-administered survey to capture information on trust, autonomy, initiative, and industry.

Keywords: work identity, change management, organizational management, technology implementation

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26042 Analysis of Cultural Influences on Quality Management by Comparison of Japanese and German Enterprises

Authors: Hermann Luecken, Young Won Park, Judith M. Puetter

Abstract:

Quality is known to be the accordance of product characteristics and customer requirements. Both the customer requirements and the assessment of the characteristics of the product with regard to the fulfillment of customer requirements are subject to cultural influences. Of course, the processes itself which lead to product manufacturing is also subject to cultural influences. In the first point, the cultural background of the customer influences the quality, in the second point, it is the cultural background of the employees and the company that influences the process itself. In times of globalization products are manufactured at different locations around the world, but typically the quality management system of the country in which the mother company is based is used. This leads to significantly different results in terms of productivity, product quality and process efficiency at the different locations, although the same quality management system is in use. The aim of an efficient and effective quality management system is therefore not doing the same at all locations, but to have the same result at all locations. In the past, standardization was used to achieve the same results. Recent investigations show that this is not the best way to achieve the same characteristics of product quality and production performance. In the present work, it is shown that the consideration of cultural aspects in the design of processes, production systems, and quality management systems results in a significantly higher efficiency and a quality improvement. Both Japanese and German companies were investigated with comparative interviews. The background of this selection is that in most cases the cultural difference regarding industrial processes between Germany and Japan is high. At the same time, however, the customer expectations regarding the product quality are very similar. Interviews were conducted with experts from German and Japanese companies; in particular, companies were selected that operate production facilities both in Germany and in Japan. The comparison shows that the cultural influence on the respective production performance is significant. Companies that adapt the design of their quality management and production systems to the country where the production site is located have a significantly higher productivity and a significantly higher quality of the product than companies that work with a centralized system.

Keywords: comparison of German and Japanese production systems, cultural influence on quality management, expert interviews, process efficiency

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26041 Simulation Programs to Education of Crisis Management Members

Authors: Jiri Barta

Abstract:

This paper deals with a simulation programs and technologies using in the educational process for members of the crisis management. Risk analysis, simulation, preparation and planning are among the main activities of workers of crisis management. Made correctly simulation of emergency defines the extent of the danger. On this basis, it is possible to effectively prepare and plan measures to minimize damage. The paper is focused on simulation programs that are trained at the University of Defence. Implementation of the outputs from simulation programs in decision-making processes of crisis staffs is one of the main tasks of the research project.

Keywords: crisis management, continuity, critical infrastructure, dangerous substance, education, flood, simulation programs

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26040 Assessing the Pre-Service and In-Service Teachers’ Continuation of Use of Technology After Participation in Professional Development

Authors: Ayoub Kafyulilo, Petra Fisser, Joke Voogt

Abstract:

This study was conducted to assess the continuation of the use of technology in science and mathematics teaching of the pre-service and in-service teachers who attended the professional development programme. It also assessed professional development, personal, institutional, and technological factors contributing to the continuous use of technology in teaching. The study involved 42 teachers, thirteen pre-service teachers, and twenty-nine in-service teachers. A mixed-method research approach was used to collect data for this study. Findings showed that the continuous use of technology in teaching after the termination of the professional development arrangement was high among the pre-service teachers, and differed for the in-service teachers. The regression model showed that knowledge and skills, access to technology and ease of use were strong predictors (R2 = 55.3%) of the teachers’ continuous use of technology after the professional development arrangement. The professional development factor did not have a direct effect on the continuous use of technology, rather had an influence on personal factors (knowledge and skills). In turn, the personal factors had influence on the institutional factors (access to technology) and technological factors (ease of use), which together had an effect on the teachers’ continuous use of technology in teaching.

Keywords: technology, professional development, teachers, science and mathematics

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26039 The Relationship between Organizational Culture and Application of Management Accounting Innovation: Evidence from Iran

Authors: Zohreh Hajiha

Abstract:

Culture affects the ability of the organization in expressing and achieving the goals. Organizational culture influences the selection of instruments applied in the management of organizations. All the instruments applied in organizations to control, promote and create innovations are influenced by organizational culture. This research studies organizational culture based on the cultural model of Muijen and its relationship with applying management accounting innovations in Iranian listed firms. Management accounting innovations of this study include activity-based costing, activity-based management, balanced scorecard, target costing, standard costing, quality costing, Kaizen costing and dimensions of organizational culture include support orientation, innovation orientation, rules orientation and goal orientation. 105 questionnaires were sent to financial executives of production companies and 73 questionnaires were returned. The findings show that there is a significant difference between organizational culture of firms that have applied management accounting innovations and those which have used these innovations less. Also, dimensions of support orientation and culture goal orientation are the highest in groups that apply management accounting innovations. The findings suggest that proper organization culture could promote the use od management accounting tools in Iranian firms.

Keywords: organizational culture, innovation, management accounting, muijen model

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26038 Dynamics of Hepatitis B Infection Prevention Practices among Pregnant Women Attending Antenatal Care in Central Uganda Using the Constructs of Information-Motivation-Behavioral Skills Model: A Case of Lubaga Hospital Kampala

Authors: Ismail Bamidele Afolabi, Abdulmujeeb Babatunde Aremu, Lawal Abdurraheem Maidoki, Nnodimele Onuigbo Atulomah

Abstract:

Background: Hepatitis B virus infection remains a significant global public health challenge with infectivity as well as the potential for transmission more than 50 to 100 times that of HIV. Annually, global HBV-related mortality is linked primarily to cirrhosis and liver carcinoma. The ever-increasing endemicity of HBV among children under-5-years, owing to vertical transmission and its lingering chronicity in developing countries, will hamper the global efforts concertedly endorsed towards eliminating viral hepatitis as a global public health threat by 2030. Objective: This study assessed information motivation behavioral skills model constructs as predictors of HBV infection prevention practices among consenting expectant mothers attending antenatal care in Central Uganda as a focal point of intervention towards breaking materno-foetal transmission of HBV. Methods: A cross-sectional study with a quantitative data collection approach based on the constructs of the IMB model was used to capture data on the study variables among 385 randomly selected pregnant women between September and October 2020. Data derived from the quantitative instrument were transformed into weighted aggregate scores using SPSS version 26. ANOVA and regression analysis were done to ascertain the study hypotheses with a significance level set as (p ≤ 0.05). Results: Relatively 60% of the respondents were aged between 18 and 28. Expectant mothers with secondary education (42.3%) were predominant. Furthermore, an average but inadequate knowledge (X ̅=5.97±6.61; B=0.57; p<.001), incorrect perception (X ̅=17.10±18.31; B=0.97; p=.014), and good behavioral skills (X ̅=12.39±13.37; B=0.56; p<.001) for adopting prevention practices all statistically predicted the unsatisfactory level of prevention practices (X ̅=15.03±16.20) among the study respondents as measured on rating scales of 12, 33, 21 and 30 respectively. Conclusion: Evidence from this study corroborates the imperativeness of IMB constructs in reducing the burden of HBV infection in developing countries. Therefore, the inadequate HBV knowledge and misperception among obstetric populations necessitate personalized health education during antenatal visits and subsequent health campaigns in order to inform better prevention practices and, in turn, reduce the lingering chronicity of HBV infection in developing countries.

Keywords: behavioral skills, HBV infection, knowledge, perception, pregnant women, prevention practices

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26037 Data Mining As A Tool For Knowledge Management: A Review

Authors: Maram Saleh

Abstract:

Knowledge has become an essential resource in today’s economy and become the most important asset of maintaining competition advantage in organizations. The importance of knowledge has made organizations to manage their knowledge assets and resources through all multiple knowledge management stages such as: Knowledge Creation, knowledge storage, knowledge sharing and knowledge use. Researches on data mining are continues growing over recent years on both business and educational fields. Data mining is one of the most important steps of the knowledge discovery in databases process aiming to extract implicit, unknown but useful knowledge and it is considered as significant subfield in knowledge management. Data miming have the great potential to help organizations to focus on extracting the most important information on their data warehouses. Data mining tools and techniques can predict future trends and behaviors, allowing businesses to make proactive, knowledge-driven decisions. This review paper explores the applications of data mining techniques in supporting knowledge management process as an effective knowledge discovery technique. In this paper, we identify the relationship between data mining and knowledge management, and then focus on introducing some application of date mining techniques in knowledge management for some real life domains.

Keywords: Data Mining, Knowledge management, Knowledge discovery, Knowledge creation.

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26036 The Impact of Diversification Strategy on Leverage and Accrual-Based Earnings Management

Authors: Safa Lazzem, Faouzi Jilani

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The aim of this research is to investigate the impact of diversification strategy on the nature of the relationship between leverage and accrual-based earnings management through panel-estimation techniques based on a sample of 162 nonfinancial French firms indexed in CAC All-Tradable during the period from 2006 to 2012. The empirical results show that leverage increases encourage managers to manipulate earnings management. Our findings prove that the diversification strategy provides the needed context for this accounting practice to be possible in highly diversified firms. In addition, the results indicate that diversification moderates the relationship between leverage and accrual-based earnings management by changing the nature and the sign of this relationship.

Keywords: diversification, earnings management, leverage, panel-estimation techniques

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26035 The Guideline of Overall Competitive Advantage Promotion with Key Success Paths

Authors: M. F. Wu, F. T. Cheng, C. S. Wu, M. C. Tan

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It is a critical time to upgrade technology and increase value added with manufacturing skills developing and management strategies that will highly satisfy the customers need in the precision machinery global market. In recent years, the supply side, each precision machinery manufacturers in each country are facing the pressures of price reducing from the demand side voices that pushes the high-end precision machinery manufacturers adopts low-cost and high-quality strategy to retrieve the market. Because of the trend of the global market, the manufacturers must take price reducing strategies and upgrade technology of low-end machinery for differentiations to consolidate the market. By using six key success factors (KSFs), customer perceived value, customer satisfaction, customer service, product design, product effectiveness and machine structure quality are causal conditions to explore the impact of competitive advantage of the enterprise, such as overall profitability and product pricing power. This research uses key success paths (KSPs) approach and f/s QCA software to explore various combinations of causal relationships, so as to fully understand the performance level of KSFs and business objectives in order to achieve competitive advantage. In this study, the combination of a causal relationships, are called Key Success Paths (KSPs). The key success paths guide the enterprise to achieve the specific outcomes of business. The findings of this study indicate that there are thirteen KSPs to achieve the overall profitability, sixteen KSPs to achieve the product pricing power and seventeen KSPs to achieve both overall profitability and pricing power of the enterprise. The KSPs provide the directions of resources integration and allocation, improve utilization efficiency of limited resources to realize the continuous vision of the enterprise.

Keywords: precision machinery industry, key success factors (KSFs), key success paths (KSPs), overall profitability, product pricing power, competitive advantages

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26034 Metrics and Methods for Improving Resilience in Agribusiness Supply Chains

Authors: Golnar Behzadi, Michael O'Sullivan, Tava Olsen, Abraham Zhang

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By definition, increasing supply chain resilience improves the supply chain’s ability to return to normal, or to an even more desirable situation, quickly and efficiently after being hit by a disruption. This is especially critical in agribusiness supply chains where the products are perishable and have a short life-cycle. In this paper, we propose a resilience metric to capture and improve the recovery process in terms of both performance and time, of an agribusiness supply chain following either supply or demand-side disruption. We build a model that determines optimal supply chain recovery planning decisions and selects the best resilient strategies that minimize the loss of profit during the recovery time window. The model is formulated as a two-stage stochastic mixed-integer linear programming problem and solved with a branch-and-cut algorithm. The results show that the optimal recovery schedule is highly dependent on the duration of the time-window allowed for recovery. In addition, the profit loss during recovery is reduced by utilizing the proposed resilient actions.

Keywords: agribusiness supply chain, recovery, resilience metric, risk management

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26033 The Effects of Absenteeism on Nurses That Remain at Work at the Mankweng Hospital in the Capricorn District, Limpopo Province in South Africa

Authors: Mokgadi Malatji, Tebogo Mothiba, Rambelani Malema

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Absenteeism is a global problem in the working force and this is no exception in the nursing profession. A lot of attention has been drawn to factors that contribute to absenteeism however little attention has been placed on the effects of absenteeism on the remaining workers/nurses being left behind in the workplace by their colleagues. Nurses absent themselves leaving behind their colleagues to do their work. Nurses who are committed to their work often find themselves working under strenuous conditions due to inadequate staff. These may lead to poor patient care provision, nurses feeling overworked and sick due to the increased workload. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of absenteeism on nurses that remained at work at Mankweng Hospital in the Capricorn District, Limpopo Province. A descriptive cross-sectional quantitative research design was conducted to determine if there were any effects of absenteeism on nurses remaining at work. Data collection was done using structured questionnaires. The respondents (n=107), consisted of different categories of registered nurses (professional nurses (n=43), auxiliary nurses (n=40) and staff nurses (n=24)) who participated in this study. The findings indicated that most nurses (76, 6%) are demotivated and they struggle with completion of duties when their colleagues are absent. Patient care that nurses provided when their colleagues were absent was of poor quality as set standards and principles were not adhered to. Individualized patient care was not being implemented due to absenteeism. This simply implies that routine work is being done to cover basic duties. Most nurses (74, 8%) believed that favoritism and lack of appreciation of nurse’s skills and capabilities are being displayed by managers and that this contributes to absenteeism. Nurses who are loyal sacrifice their time and work overtime for absent colleagues and this led to fatigue and stress. From the study findings, it is recommended that nurses be trained frequently to upgrade their studies to motivate them to work. The government can provide this training to improve their skills as this will motivate nurses to work harder and be committed to their work. Training can be offered after a stipulated period. For example, after every five years, a nurse can be provided with a new skill. Team building events must be encouraged for the whole hospital to motivate staff. In conclusion, the study revealed that absenteeism poses detrimental effects on nurses, the hospital and patients. More and more nurses end up changing workplace due to these effects.

Keywords: absenteeism, effects, nurses, remaining at work

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26032 A Decision Support System for Flight Disruptions Management

Authors: Burak Erkayman, Emin Gundogar, Hayrettin Evirgen, Murat Sarı

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With the increasing competition in recent years, airline companies tend to manage their operations aiming fewer losses in a robust manner. Airline operations are complex operations and have the necessity of being performed just in time and more knock-on relevant elements in the event of a disruption. In this study a knowledge based decision support system is suggested and software is developed. The developed software includes knowledge bases which are based on expert experience and government regulations, model bases and data bases. The results of the suggested approach are presented and improvable aspects of the approach are discussed.

Keywords: knowledge based systems, irregular operations, decision support systems, flight disruptions management

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26031 Public-Public Partnership and Tourism Development Strategy: The Case of Municipality of Gazi Baba in Macedonia

Authors: Dejan Metodijeski, Elizabeta Mitreva, Nako Taskov, Oliver Filiposki

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Tourism development strategies are an important link in the tourism policy that is used to make its management better and easier. A public-public partnership (PUP) is a partnership between two or more public authorities or between a public authority and any non-profit organization with the goal of providing services and facilities or transferring technical skills. The paper presents this kind of partnership between two public authorities in Macedonia, the Municipality of Gazi Baba on one hand, and the University of Goce Delcev on the other. The main idea of this partnership is the development of a tourism strategy for the Municipality of Gazi Baba by the University on one side, and on the other, the construction of a mini park in the court of the University by the Municipality. This paper presents the causes and analyzes the procedures relating to this partnership and the methodology of the tourism development strategy. It contains a relevant literature review related to PUPs and tourism development strategy. The results and benefits of this partnership are presented with figures.

Keywords: public-public partnership, tourism development strategy, municipality of Gazi Baba, Macedonia

Procedia PDF Downloads 364
26030 Implementing Activity-Based Costing in Architectural Aluminum Projects: Case Study and Lessons Learned

Authors: Amer Momani, Tarek Al-Hawari, Abdallah Alakayleh

Abstract:

This study explains how to construct an actionable activity-based costing and management system to accurately track and account the total costs of architectural aluminum projects. Two ABC models were proposed to accomplish this purpose. First, the learning and development model was introduced to examine how to apply an ABC model in an architectural aluminum firm for the first time and to be familiar with ABC concepts. Second, an actual ABC model was built on the basis of the results of the previous model to accurately trace the actual costs incurred on each project in a year, and to be able to provide a quote with the best trade-off between competitiveness and profitability. The validity of the proposed model was verified on a local architectural aluminum company.

Keywords: activity-based costing, activity-based management, construction, architectural aluminum

Procedia PDF Downloads 102
26029 Research Action Fields at the Nexus of Digital Transformation and Supply Chain Management: Findings from Practitioner Focus Group Workshops

Authors: Brandtner Patrick, Staberhofer Franz

Abstract:

Logistics and Supply Chain Management are of crucial importance for organisational success. In the era of Digitalization, several implications and improvement potentials for these domains arise, which at the same time could lead to decreased competitiveness and could endanger long-term company success if ignored or neglected. However, empirical research on the issue of Digitalization and benefits purported to it by practitioners is scarce and mainly focused on single technologies or separate, isolated Supply Chain blocks as e.g. distribution logistics or procurement only. The current paper applies a holistic focus group approach to elaborate practitioner use cases at the nexus of the concepts of Supply Chain Management (SCM) and Digitalization. In the course of three focus group workshops with over 45 participants from more than 20 organisations, a comprehensive set of benefit entitlements and areas for improvement in terms of applying digitalization to SCM is developed. The main results of the paper indicate the relevance of Digitalization being realized in practice. In the form of seventeen concrete research action fields, the benefit entitlements are aggregated and transformed into potential starting points for future research projects in this area. The main contribution of this paper is an empirically grounded basis for future research projects and an overview of actual research action fields from practitioners’ point of view.

Keywords: digital supply chain, digital transformation, supply chain management, value networks

Procedia PDF Downloads 177
26028 The Systems Theoretic Accident Model and Process (Stamp) as the New Trend to Promote Safety Culture in Construction

Authors: Natalia Ortega

Abstract:

Safety Culture (SCU) involves various perceptual, psychological, behavioral, and managerial factors. It has been shown that creating and maintaining an SCU is one way to reduce and prevent accidents and fatalities. In the construction sector, safety attitude, knowledge, and a supportive environment are predictors of safety behavior. The highest possible proportion of safety behavior among employees can be achieved by improving their safety attitude and knowledge. Accordingly, top management's commitment to safety is vital in shaping employees' safety attitude; therefore, the first step to improving employees' safety attitude is the genuine commitment of top management to safety. One of the factors affecting the successful implementation of health and safety promotion programs is the construction industry's subcontracting model. The contractual model's complexity, combined with the need for coordination among diverse stakeholders, makes it challenging to implement, manage, and follow up on health and well-being initiatives. The Systems theoretic accident model and process (STAMP) concept has expanded global consideration in recent years, increasing research attention. STAMP focuses attention on the role of constraints in safety management. The findings discover a growth of the research field from the definition in 2004 by Leveson and is being used across multiple domains. A systematic literature review of this novel model aims to meet the safety goals for human space exploration with a powerful and different approach to safety management, safety-driven design, and decision-making. Around two hundred studies have been published about applying the model. However, every single model for safety requires time to transform into research and practice, be tested and debated, and grow further and mature.

Keywords: stamp, risk management, accident prevention, safety culture, systems thinking, construction industry, safety

Procedia PDF Downloads 80
26027 The Quantity and Quality of Teacher Talking Time in EFL Classroom

Authors: Hanan Abufares Elkhimry

Abstract:

Looking for more effective teaching and learning approaches, teaching instructors have been telling trainee teachers to decrease their talking time, but the problem is how best to do this. Doing classroom research, specifically in the area of teacher talking time (TTT), is worthwhile, as it could improve the quality of teaching languages, as the learners are the ones who should be practicing and using the language. This work hopes to ascertain if teachers consider this need in a way that provides the students with the opportunities to increase their production of language. This is a question that is worthwhile answering. As many researchers have found, TTT should be decreased to 30% of classroom talking time and STT should be increased up to 70%. Other researchers agree with this, but add that it should be with awareness of the quality of teacher talking time. Therefore, this study intends to investigate the balance between quantity and quality of teacher talking time in the EFL classroom. For this piece of research and in order to capture the amount of talking in a four classrooms. The amount of talking time was measured. A Checklist was used to assess the quality of the talking time In conclusion, In order to improve the quality of TTT, the results showed that teachers may use more or less than 30% of the classroom talking time and still produce a successful classroom learning experience. As well as, the important factors that can affect TTT is the English level of the students. This was clear in the classroom observations, where the highest TTT recorded was with the lowest English level group.

Keywords: teacher talking time TTT, learning experience, classroom research, effective teaching

Procedia PDF Downloads 415
26026 Application of Costing System in the Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SME) in Turkey

Authors: Hamide Özyürek, Metin Yılmaz

Abstract:

Standard processes, similar and limited production lines, the production of high direct costs will be more accurate than the use of parts of the traditional cost systems in the literature. However, direct costs, overhead expenses, in turn, decreases the burden of increasingly sophisticated production facilities, a situation that led the researchers to look for the cost of traditional systems of alternative techniques. Variety cost management approaches for example Total quality management (TQM), just-in-time (JIT), benchmarking, kaizen costing, targeting cost, life cycle costs (LLC), activity-based costing (ABC) value engineering have been introduced. Management and cost applications have changed over the past decade and will continue to change. Modern cost systems can provide relevant and accurate cost information. These methods provide the decisions about customer, product and process improvement. The aim of study is to describe and explain the adoption and application of costing systems in SME. This purpose reports on a survey conducted during 2014 small and medium sized enterprises (SME) in Ankara. The survey results were evaluated using SPSS package program.

Keywords: modern costing systems, managerial accounting, cost accounting, costing

Procedia PDF Downloads 566
26025 A Prospective Randomised Observational Study of Obstructed Total Anamalous Pulmonary Venous Connection (TAPVC) Repair Patients

Authors: Sanjeev Singh

Abstract:

Background: Obstructed total anomalous pulmonary venous connection (OTAPVC) typically presents with severe cardiovascular decompensation and requires urgent surgical management. Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a major risk factor affecting mortality. Perioperative management focuses on providing inotropic support and managing potential pulmonary hypertensive episodes. The aim of this study was to determine the outcome of patients with high pulmonary arterial pressure (PAP) with milrinone alone and a combination of milrinone and inhaled nitric oxide (INO). Material and Methods: After the approval of the ethical committee, this single-center prospective randomized and observational study was conducted over a period of two years among eighty-six patients with obstructed TAPVC repair with severe PAH. Group-I patients received milrinone, and Group-II patients received both milrinone (after aortic cross-clamp removal) and INO during the post-operative period at the cardiac care unit (CCU). Clinical outcomes such as ventilation time, length of stay (LOS) in the CCU, LOS in the hospital, complications, and hospital mortality were compared between the two groups. Result: The average ventilation time, LOS in CCU, and LOS in hospital for group I were 96.82 ± 19.46 hours, 10.91 ± 7.53 days, and 14.46 ± 7.58 days, respectively, and for group II, it was 85.14 ± 15.79 hours, 7.28 ± 3.68 days, and 10.21 ± 3.14 days, respectively, which was statistically significantly lower for group II. Reintubation, RV dysfunction, and hospital mortality were 16.3%, 37.2%, and 6.9% in group I, and 4.8%, 14.6%, and 2.4% in group II, respectively. The P value for each variable was significant < 0.05 (except mortality). Conclusion: Preoperative obstruction is a risk factor for postoperative obstruction, as 235 patients with obstructed TAPVC had severe PAH (39.98%) in this study. Management of severe PAH with a combination of milrinone and INO had a better outcome than milrinone alone.

Keywords: inhaled nitric oxide, milrinone, pulmonary artery hypertension, total anomalous pulmonary venous connection

Procedia PDF Downloads 22