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Article
Publication date: 7 November 2016

Nawaf Alharbe and Anthony S. Atkins

Expert knowledge is an important organisational resource, and organisations need to retain the knowledge learned by experience, which can be shared as part of inter-professional…

Abstract

Purpose

Expert knowledge is an important organisational resource, and organisations need to retain the knowledge learned by experience, which can be shared as part of inter-professional learning. In a healthcare context, radio-frequency identification (RFID) and ZigBee technologies can be used together, to provide real-time information for decision support and to create a secure and reliable smart hospital management information system (SHMIS) that allows the dynamic control of objects and transforms operational processes, while minimising any potential risks to patients and staff. Currently, the RFID technology in Saudi Arabia is being solely used for the monitoring of newborn infants, and some difficulties have been encountered during the different stages of tagging and monitoring. The current system in Medina Maternity and Children’s Hospital (MMCH) uses battery-powered active RFID tags, which are expensive and require routine maintenance. This study aims to discuss the way in which the MMCH in Medina, Saudi Arabia, could be transformed into an SHMIS.

Design/methodology/approach

The extraordinary growth of RFID and ZigBee technologies has made it possible to identify, locate and track objects in various environments in real time. The RFID technology is a non-contact identification technology that is cheap and reliable but has limited range in the case of passive tags. ZigBee has greater range and lower power consumption, giving more precise location of the object’s movements (0.6 m). Passive RFID when combined with ZigBee technology can be used to improve services provided by healthcare organisations through continuous data collection and supporting real-time decision-making, by applying expert knowledge of domain experts to data produced by communication from electronic and sensor technologies.

Findings

A prototype object-tracking system using RFID and ZigBee was developed to support the knowledge transformation for knowledge reasoning for decision support (KRDS), and the outcome of this research was validated with domain experts in hospitals in Saudi Arabia. Two feasibility case studies were conducted at MMCH in Saudi Arabia, to evaluate the proposed system. A survey was also conducted to address the requirements at MMCH, and the researcher adopted a range of strategy techniques, including interviews and meetings with staff, and the setting up of communities of practise (CoPs) at the target hospital.

Research limitations/implications

This paper has investigated the transformation process of an automatic healthcare tracking and monitoring systems for the purpose of developing a smart system in Saudi hospitals. For the scope of the project, the prototype implementation was restricted to a laboratory environment, to demonstrate the proposed proof of concept. The next phase will include conducting a scale up of the system, with implementation and testing done in a real hospital environment.

Originality/value

This paper proposes a prototype application of an (SHMIS that allows the dynamic control of objects and transforms operational processes, while minimising any potential risks to patients and staff.

Details

International Journal of Pervasive Computing and Communications, vol. 12 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1742-7371

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 31 July 2020

Majid H. Alsulami, Mohammed S. Alsaqer and Anthony S. Atkins

Technology plays an important role in assisting elderly people to live independently, longer and improve their quality of life and health, in supporting their daily activities…

Abstract

Purpose

Technology plays an important role in assisting elderly people to live independently, longer and improve their quality of life and health, in supporting their daily activities, etc. The ageing population becomes a global phenomenon. The population of Saudi Arabia continues to age (>60 years of age) currently (5%) compared to other group ages. In 2050, it will increase rapidly to 20.9% of the Saudi population. The current research aims at examining the barriers that health-care providers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are experiencing in the adoption of ambient assisted living (AAL) technologies among the elderly. The study aims to identify a challenging issue with the increasing the number of elderly among the population in the country, which has highlighted the need to use AAL technology to improve the quality of life among the elderly.

Design/methodology/approach

This study involved a community of practice (CoP) study as a method of data collection where data collected were presented and discussed in line with the existing literature review findings.

Findings

In total, 14 factors were identified in this study and discussed in the context of Saudi Arabia, which resulted in developing a decision-making framework for using AAL by health-care providers. Those factors are essential in boosting the usage of technology in improving elderly health in Saudi Arabia.

Research limitations/implications

This study includes implications for developing a decision-making framework for using AAL.

Social implications

This study clarifies that technology can connect elderly people with society.

Originality/value

In total, 14 factors were identified in this study and discussed in the context of Saudi Arabia.

Details

International Journal of Pervasive Computing and Communications, vol. 18 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1742-7371

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 27 May 2014

Nawaf Alharbe and Anthony S. Atkins

This paper aims to outline the results of a study of the potential use of sensor technology such as radio frequency identification (RFID) and/or ZigBee technology in providing…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to outline the results of a study of the potential use of sensor technology such as radio frequency identification (RFID) and/or ZigBee technology in providing real-time tracking and tracing of patients and equipment in hospitals. The government of Saudi Arabia has given high priority to providing the best practice in patients’ care. However, the growing requirement of the healthcare industry to obtain real-time information and data from various applications that can improve the performance and accuracy of management systems has not been addressed seriously in Saudi Arabia.

Design/methodology/approach

ZigBee and RFID are both emerging technologies and have become important topics in recent years. RFID technology is a non-contact identification technology that does not require direct eyesight to the target object. It is cheap and reliable, but its coverage zone is limited. ZigBee is another communication technology, which has a larger coverage and can also be used as an automatic identification technology with the benefits of lower power consumption.

Findings

This paper proposes a smart hospital management system that can be used to detect, locate and monitor patients and track assets and equipment using modern sensor technologies in a real-time environment for e-health systems in Saudi Arabia.

Originality/value

A novel management information system/knowledge management system framework based on sensor technologies for supporting and speeding up development of healthcare systems.

Details

International Journal of Pervasive Computing and Communications, vol. 10 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1742-7371

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 1 June 2017

Marcia Annisette, Gillian Vesty and Thierry Amslem

This article will consider the various ways in which accounting can be conceptualized within Boltanski and Thévenot’s economies of worth theoretic. Drawing on two case…

Abstract

This article will consider the various ways in which accounting can be conceptualized within Boltanski and Thévenot’s economies of worth theoretic. Drawing on two case illustrations, a not-for-profit welfare agency and a government-owned water utility, we follow the unfolding of disputes and the variety of outcomes in which accounting is implicated. We illustrate the role of accounting in justificatory actions and the ways in which it “holds things together” in compromise arrangements. We also illustrate the situations which challenge the “test” of worth and the innovative accounting responses that either facilitate coordination and agreement or become controversial and be the object of organizational and institutional dispute.

Details

Justification, Evaluation and Critique in the Study of Organizations
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78714-379-1

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 22 September 2023

Gennaro Maione, Corrado Cuccurullo and Aurelio Tommasetti

The study aims to shed light on the historical and contemporary trends of biodiversity accounting literature, while simultaneously offering insights into the future of research in…

1337

Abstract

Purpose

The study aims to shed light on the historical and contemporary trends of biodiversity accounting literature, while simultaneously offering insights into the future of research in this sector. The paper also aims to raise awareness among accounting researchers about their role in preserving biodiversity and informing improvements in policy and practice in this area.

Design/methodology/approach

The Bibliometrix R-package is used to carry out an algorithmic historiography. The reference publication year spectroscopy (RPYS) methodology is implemented. It is a unique approach to bibliometric analysis that allows researchers to identify and examine historical patterns in scientific literature.

Findings

The work provides a distinct and comprehensive discussion of the four distinct periods demarcating the progression of scientific discourse regarding biodiversity accounting. These periods are identified as Origins (1767–1864), Awareness (1865–1961), Consolidation (1962–1995) and Acceleration (1996–2021). The study offers an insightful analysis of the main thematic advancements, interpretative paradigm shifts and theoretical developments that occurred during these periods.

Research limitations/implications

The paper offers a significant contribution to the existing academic debate on the prospects for accounting scholars to concentrate their research efforts on biodiversity and thereby promote advancements in policy and practice in this sector.

Originality/value

The article represents the first example of using an algorithmic historiography approach to examine the corpus of literature dealing with biodiversity accounting. The value of this study comes from the fusion of historical methodology and perspective. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is also the first scientific investigation applying RPYS in the accounting sector.

Details

Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, vol. 36 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-3574

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 9 August 2023

Thalia Anthony and Vicki Chartrand

Over the past decade, criminology in Australia, Canada and other settler colonies has increasingly engaged with activist challenges to the penal system. These anti-carceral…

Abstract

Over the past decade, criminology in Australia, Canada and other settler colonies has increasingly engaged with activist challenges to the penal system. These anti-carceral engagements have been levelled at its laws, institutions and agents. Following a long history of criminology explicating and buttressing penal institutions, the criminological gaze slowly transitioned in the 1970s to a more critical lens, shifting focus from the people who are criminalised to the harms of the apparatus that criminalises. However, the focus remained steadfastly on institutions and dominant players – until much more recently. The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed the strength of activist organisations and grassroots movements in affecting change and shaping debates in relation to the penal system. This chapter will explore the role of activism in informing criminological scholarship during the pandemic period and how criminologists, in turn, have increasingly recognised the need to build alliances and collaborations with grassroots activists and engage in their own activism. The chapter focuses primarily on Australian and Canadian criminology and its growing imbrication with the prison abolition movement, especially in the shadow of ongoing colonial violence. It considers how activist scholars, including ourselves, attempt to build movements for structural change in the criminal system and beyond.

Details

The Emerald International Handbook of Activist Criminology
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80262-199-0

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 10 December 2015

Dekar Urumsah

The concept and practice of e-services has become essential in business transactions. Yet there are still many organizations that have not developed e-services optimally. This is…

Abstract

The concept and practice of e-services has become essential in business transactions. Yet there are still many organizations that have not developed e-services optimally. This is especially relevant in the context of Indonesian Airline companies. Therefore, many airline customers in Indonesia are still in doubt about it, or even do not use it. To fill this gap, this study attempts to develop a model for e-services adoption and empirically examines the factors influencing the airlines customers in Indonesia in using e-services offered by the Indonesian airline companies. Taking six Indonesian airline companies as a case example, the study investigated the antecedents of e-services usage of Indonesian airlines. This study further examined the impacts of motivation on customers in using e-services in the Indonesian context. Another important aim of this study was to investigate how ages, experiences and geographical areas moderate effects of e-services usage.

The study adopts a positivist research paradigm with a two-phase sequential mixed method design involving qualitative and quantitative approaches. An initial research model was first developed based on an extensive literature review, by combining acceptance and use of information technology theories, expectancy theory and the inter-organizational system motivation models. A qualitative field study via semi-structured interviews was then conducted to explore the present state among 15 respondents. The results of the interviews were analysed using content analysis yielding the final model of e-services usage. Eighteen antecedent factors hypotheses and three moderating factors hypotheses and 52-item questionnaire were developed. A focus group discussion of five respondents and a pilot study of 59 respondents resulted in final version of the questionnaire.

In the second phase, the main survey was conducted nationally to collect the research data among Indonesian airline customers who had already used Indonesian airline e-services. A total of 819 valid questionnaires were obtained. The data was then analysed using a partial least square (PLS) based structural equation modelling (SEM) technique to produce the contributions of links in the e-services model (22% of all the variances in e-services usage, 37.8% in intention to use, 46.6% in motivation, 39.2% in outcome expectancy, and 37.7% in effort expectancy). Meanwhile, path coefficients and t-values demonstrated various different influences of antecedent factors towards e-services usage. Additionally, a multi-group analysis based on PLS is employed with mixed results. In the final findings, 14 hypotheses were supported and 7 hypotheses were not supported.

The major findings of this study have confirmed that motivation has the strongest contribution in e-services usage. In addition, motivation affects e-services usage both directly and indirectly through intention-to-use. This study provides contributions to the existing knowledge of e-services models, and practical applications of IT usage. Most importantly, an understanding of antecedents of e-services adoption will provide guidelines for stakeholders in developing better e-services and strategies in order to promote and encourage more customers to use e-services. Finally, the accomplishment of this study can be expanded through possible adaptations in other industries and other geographical contexts.

Details

E-services Adoption: Processes by Firms in Developing Nations
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78560-709-7

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 March 2001

K.G.B. Bakewell

Compiled by K.G.B. Bakewell covering the following journals published by MCB University Press: Facilities Volumes 8‐18; Journal of Property Investment & Finance Volumes 8‐18;…

18722

Abstract

Compiled by K.G.B. Bakewell covering the following journals published by MCB University Press: Facilities Volumes 8‐18; Journal of Property Investment & Finance Volumes 8‐18; Property Management Volumes 8‐18; Structural Survey Volumes 8‐18.

Details

Structural Survey, vol. 19 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0263-080X

Article
Publication date: 1 September 2001

Index by subjects, compiled by K.G.B. Bakewell covering the following journals: Facilities Volumes 8‐18; Journal of Property Investment & Finance Volumes 8‐18; Property Management…

14793

Abstract

Index by subjects, compiled by K.G.B. Bakewell covering the following journals: Facilities Volumes 8‐18; Journal of Property Investment & Finance Volumes 8‐18; Property Management Volumes 8‐18; Structural Survey Volumes 8‐18.

Details

Facilities, vol. 19 no. 9
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0263-2772

Article
Publication date: 1 March 2001

K.G.B. Bakewell

Compiled by K.G.B. Bakewell covering the following journals published by MCB University Press: Facilities Volumes 8‐18; Journal of Property Investment & Finance Volumes 8‐18;…

14410

Abstract

Compiled by K.G.B. Bakewell covering the following journals published by MCB University Press: Facilities Volumes 8‐18; Journal of Property Investment & Finance Volumes 8‐18; Property Management Volumes 8‐18; Structural Survey Volumes 8‐18.

Details

Property Management, vol. 19 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0263-7472

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