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1 – 10 of 53Farzad Salmanizadeh, Arefeh Ameri, Leila Ahmadian, Mahboubeh Mirmohammadi and Reza Khajouei
Despite the presence of electronic medical records systems, traditional paper-based methods are often used in many countries to document data and eliminate medical record…
Abstract
Purpose
Despite the presence of electronic medical records systems, traditional paper-based methods are often used in many countries to document data and eliminate medical record deficiencies. These methods waste patient and hospital resources. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the traditional deficiency management system and determine the requirements of an electronic deficiency management system in settings that currently use paper records alongside electronic hospital information systems.
Design/methodology/approach
This mixed-method study was performed in three phases. First, the traditional process of medical records deficiency management was qualitatively evaluated. Second, the accuracy of identifying deficiencies by the traditional and redesigned checklists was compared. Third, the requirements for an electronic deficiency management system were discussed in focus group sessions.
Findings
Problems in the traditional system include inadequate guidelines, incomplete procedures for evaluating sheets and subsequent delays in activities. Problems also included the omission of some vital data elements and a lack of feedback about the documentation deficiencies of each documenter. There was a significant difference between the mean number of deficiencies identified by traditional and redesigned checklists (p < 0.0001). The authors proposed an electronic deficiency management system based on redesigned checklists with improved functionalities such as discriminating deficiencies based on the documenter’s role, providing systematic feedback and generating automatic reports.
Originality/value
Previous studies only examined the positive effect of audit and feedback methods to enhance the documentation of data elements in electronic and paper medical records. The authors propose an electronic deficiency management system for medical records to solve those problems. Health-care policymakers, hospital managers and health information systems developers can use the proposed system to manage deficiencies and improve medical records documentation.
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Mpho Ngoepe, Sizwe Mbuyisa, Nampombe Saurombe and Joseph Matshotshwane
South African public archives have not been able to transform into active documenters of society. As a result, they cannot carry out their mandate of collecting non-public records…
Abstract
Purpose
South African public archives have not been able to transform into active documenters of society. As a result, they cannot carry out their mandate of collecting non-public records of lasting value and national significance and recording aspects of the country’s experience that have previously been ignored by archives repositories. This paper aims to discuss efforts by the Gauteng Provincial Archives to transform the archival landscape in South Africa by collecting sports memories. This is because, in democratic South Africa, the archival landscape was expected to change and reflect the nation’s diversity, despite the fact that it still largely reflected the Western-dominated global mainstream.
Design/methodology/approach
This study is based on the authors’ personal experiences with the development and operation of the Gauteng Provincial Archives. The authors are also involved in the Gauteng Provincial Archives’ oral history project, which aims to build an inclusive archive by recording oral histories of sports memories across the province.
Findings
The construction of the Gauteng Archives Repository has ushered in a chance to decolonise South African archives by collecting sports memories. These are windows of opportunity through which ordinary people can include their own experiences, filling in the gaps left by colonial and apartheid archives.
Originality/value
This paper offers practical experience in transforming and decolonising archives through collecting sports memories.
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Ramzi A. Haraty and Rouba Nasrallah
The purpose of this paper is to propose a new model to enhance auto-indexing Arabic texts. The model denotes extracting new relevant words by relating those chosen by previous…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to propose a new model to enhance auto-indexing Arabic texts. The model denotes extracting new relevant words by relating those chosen by previous classical methods to new words using data mining rules.
Design/methodology/approach
The proposed model uses an association rule algorithm for extracting frequent sets containing related items – to extract relationships between words in the texts to be indexed with words from texts that belong to the same category. The associations of words extracted are illustrated as sets of words that appear frequently together.
Findings
The proposed methodology shows significant enhancement in terms of accuracy, efficiency and reliability when compared to previous works.
Research limitations/implications
The stemming algorithm can be further enhanced. In the Arabic language, we have many grammatical rules. The more we integrate rules to the stemming algorithm, the better the stemming will be. Other enhancements can be done to the stop-list. This is by adding more words to it that should not be taken into consideration in the indexing mechanism. Also, numbers should be added to the list as well as using the thesaurus system because it links different phrases or words with the same meaning to each other, which improves the indexing mechanism. The authors also invite researchers to add more pre-requisite texts to have better results.
Originality/value
In this paper, the authors present a full text-based auto-indexing method for Arabic text documents. The auto-indexing method extracts new relevant words by using data mining rules, which has not been investigated before. The method uses an association rule mining algorithm for extracting frequent sets containing related items to extract relationships between words in the texts to be indexed with words from texts that belong to the same category. The benefits of the method are demonstrated using empirical work involving several Arabic texts.
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Angela Hartley, Nicole Figot, Leah Goldmann, Christina Gordon, Kristy Kelly, Karine Lepillez and Kenneth Boÿenah Nimley
The Society of Gender Professionals is a new international association of gender practitioners, academics, and activists dedicated to promoting feminist action and applied…
Abstract
The Society of Gender Professionals is a new international association of gender practitioners, academics, and activists dedicated to promoting feminist action and applied research, and raising the profile of gender expertise around the world. The organization’s start-up team relied on feminist and sociological research and theory to develop its organizational policies and practices. Throughout the start-up process, the team documented approaches, challenges, and lessons learned in meeting minutes, video recordings, email conversations, feedback surveys, and personal reflections in order to investigate and learn from efforts to put feminist organizational theory into practice. This paper seeks to review the theories that guided the founding of the Society of Gender Professionals and shares the challenges, reflections, and lessons learned in the process of building an organization that seeks to deconstruct privilege and hierarchies and promote inclusivity across a diverse membership. By publishing these experiences, the organization aims to contribute to the broader literature around cultivating feminist organizations so that others may learn from the complexities and considerations addressed, and further advance their own feminist organizational efforts.
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Adrienne Lefevre, Madison Walter-Garcia, Kimberly Hanson and Julia Smith-Easley
In the incident command system (ICS) structure, response documentation is formally found within the planning section. However, longer term emergency responses have demonstrated…
Abstract
Purpose
In the incident command system (ICS) structure, response documentation is formally found within the planning section. However, longer term emergency responses have demonstrated the need for a flexible and innovative role that encompasses a variety of activities, including response documentation, communications science, real-time evaluation of major themes, and information management. The paper aims to discuss this issue.
Design/methodology/approach
This need can be universally met through the functional role of “Historian,” a term specific to ICS, or in the case of public health response, incident management system (IMS). It should be noted that the Historian role discussed is not related to the academic study of history, but to archiving key successes and challenges during a response. Ideally the Historian should be activated at the start of an emergency response and remain active to capture the overall picture of the response, including internal information, such as lessons learned, response activities, and decision-making processes.
Findings
The Historian compiles details of response activities that inform leadership, donors and external communications products while alleviating pressures on the planning section. The primary, minimum output of an IMS Historian is a response timeline, which notes major internal and external events during a response with emphasis on major themes, lessons learned, and creating a user-friendly interface to display this information (see the list “Abbreviated Example of Hurricane Matthew Response Timeline” in the text).
Originality/value
In a world with competing priorities and ongoing emergencies, the Historian’s role of archiving details of response efforts can help the international public health community to share lessons learned and contribute to lower morbidity and mortality among those affected by emergencies.
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Ferdinand Ndifor Che, Kenneth David Strang and Narasimha Rao Vajjhala
The purpose of this study is to uncover ground truth insights underlying the agriculture crisis from the perspectives of rural farmers in North-East Nigeria. The needs of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to uncover ground truth insights underlying the agriculture crisis from the perspectives of rural farmers in North-East Nigeria. The needs of individual farmers are otherwise not adequately reflected in national or regional economic development strategies.
Design/methodology/approach
A unique sequential mixed-methods research design was adopted for this study. A grounded theory approach was used for the literature review followed by a consensual qualitative research (CQR) technique. Data were collected through a semi-structured sense-making focus group (FG) held at a field site with agricultural extension workers. The CQR technique included brainstorming, the nominal group technique, open discussions, sense-making and consensual agreement on the most important ideas. The FG sense-making was recorded, and discourse analysis was conducted to develop thematic concept maps using NVivo software.
Findings
Agriculture crisis ground truth insight themes were consistent with the extant literature but several different issues were also found. Rural farmers in North-East Nigeria have significant challenges with government support in six core areas, namely, farm input quality and dissemination, fair input subsidization, training, market facilitation, corruption and insecurity.
Research limitations/implications
The target population of this study was rural farmers in Adamawa State, North-East Nigeria. A relatively small sample of 16 agricultural extension workers – very experienced farmers who also act as mentors and are paid incentives by the government for doing so – was used.
Practical implications
In tackling the agriculture crisis in Nigeria, policymakers will do well to recognize the realities that the rural farmers face and their needs, the government must address the areas highlighted in this study where support for farmers lacks and urgently review the current process of farm inputs dissemination.
Originality/value
Agriculture crisis problems were explored from the perspectives of rural North-East Nigerian farmers, who have not been previously sampled due to cultural, language, literacy and schedule constraints. The extension workers were better able to communicate agriculture crisis insights in modern economic planning terminology because they are well-educated farmers, knowledgeable about the problems due to their field experience and because they have more flexible work schedules. A unique sequential mixed-methods constructivist research design was used with an embedded CQR technique, which would be of interest to scholars and research institutions.
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Use a nine‐phase process in every consulting relationship.
This case describes three strategies that CIOs and C-level executives can utilize to successfully involve non-IT managers to achieve IT-enabled business transformation: create…
Abstract
Purpose
This case describes three strategies that CIOs and C-level executives can utilize to successfully involve non-IT managers to achieve IT-enabled business transformation: create buy-in for a compelling IT-enabled business transformation vision, develop a strong, centralized change management function for IT-enabled transformation and develop a strong non-IT business leadership team.”
Design/methodology/approach
This case illustrates how CIOs of mid-size companies can lead a successful ERP system implementation by skillfully empowering their mid-level non-IT managers.”
Findings
The case of “Med-Global,” a global mid-size organization, offers an example of how CIOs and other senior IT executives successfully teamed up with their non-IT business managers.
Practical implications
Not long after the ERP system installation was complete ‘Med-Global’ was named by Fortune in its list of ‘The 100 Best Companies To Work For.’
Originality/value
For three years, Yeliz Eseryel, a Management Information Systems researcher at the College of Business, East Carolina University, observed the implementation of a new company-wide IT system at a mid-sized medical diagnostic equipment company at the invitation of its senior management. During the implementation process, the author did first-hand research while working on many different Enterprise Resource Planning teams. Working as a member of the team, the author became a participant observer of the change process.
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The purpose of this paper is to explore the issue of workplace coaching and offers insight into the various coaching practices that are necessary to produce better employee…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the issue of workplace coaching and offers insight into the various coaching practices that are necessary to produce better employee performance and results.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper reports on a survey of 219 experienced managers who were asked to respond to a series of questions on the subject of coaching on a four point strongly agree to strongly disagree scale and references previous research in the discussion.
Findings
Key findings include that participant managers consider: coaching to be critical to their success and the success of their employees; coaching requires individualized strategies based on the employee's ability and motivation; employees do not always receive the coaching they want and need; and managers believe that they have considerable room for development in this critical leadership practice.
Research limitations/implications
The primary limitation of this descriptive study is the use of a targeted convenience sample which might restrict the generalizability of these findings.
Practical implications
Implications of this research include: organizations placing greater effort in assisting managers to develop their coaching talents; managers tailor‐making coaching strategies for individual employees; and creating a better understanding of the factors that drive employee performance and what managers can and should do to impact these factors.
Originality/value
This paper moves away from the concept of “generic” coaching and makes a very strong case for “individualized approaches” to employee coaching and for managers to give coaching greater time and priority on a daily basis as leaders.
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Speed, flexibility, integration and innovation are becoming the new drivers of organizational success. Institutionalizing these new success factors requires not just new…
Abstract
Speed, flexibility, integration and innovation are becoming the new drivers of organizational success. Institutionalizing these new success factors requires not just new technology, but also a loosening of boundaries—between the levels of the hierarchy, between the functional areas and departments, between suppliers and customers, and, increasingly, across geographic borders. Rigid lines of demarcation—be they vertical, horizontal, external, or global—get in the way of being fast, flexible, and creative. More permeable boundaries, on the other hand, permit a healthy and brisk flow of ideas, energy, and information.