2018
Authors
Freitas, R; Sousa, C;
Publication
2018 13TH IBERIAN CONFERENCE ON INFORMATION SYSTEMS AND TECHNOLOGIES (CISTI)
Abstract
The 4th industrial revolution is forcing industry towards its technological, productive and human requalification. In this paradigmatic shift, technology plays a key role and organisations must know, understand and dominate the intricacies of industry 4.0. However an issues arises: aren't we putting technology ahead of the processes ?. The truth is that 140 project are being implemented in different velocities in different companies and regions, even a small country like Portugal. Actually, despite of industries leaders agreed on the importance of the technological requalification (maybe pushed by the mediatism of the 4th industrial revolution), there is a lack of installed capability to embrace such projects. This concern is amplified when considering Portuguese sub regions. The impact of the 140 concept in the Portugues sub regions is the main motivation for his study on the Tamega e Sousa region. The study combines the perspective/situation of the industry and the software houses.. The way the 14.0 concept is being understood by the organisations in the Tamega and Sousa region, and the degree of preparation for the phenomenon is discussed in this paper. The awareness of the lack of preparation of the organisations for the adoption of 140. strategies or 14.0 projects 14.0, together with the inability of the region's software houses to reverse this situation, led to the presentation of a practical set of recommendations. The framework of recommendations pragmatically translates the different dimensions associated with the challenges inherent in 14.0.
2018
Authors
Ribeiro, SP; Santos, VR; Pereira, CS;
Publication
2018 13TH IBERIAN CONFERENCE ON INFORMATION SYSTEMS AND TECHNOLOGIES (CISTI)
Abstract
The Portuguese footwear industry is aware that success in the value chain is directly tied to information sharing and the development of collaborative networks, which are consequences of the constant rapid market changes. In this paper a state-of-the-art of the Portuguese footwear sector is presented, giving special focus to the cluster of Felgueiras and the good practices that are applied to it. Next, B2B and eCommerce domains will be discussed, as well as the good practices and information systems that support them. Afterwards, a list of functional and non-functional requirements, which have been validated and prioritized using a case studies approach, will be presented. Finally, it will be presented a non-functional prototype for an eC-B2B platform for the footwear sector.
2018
Authors
Sultan, WIM; Sultan, MIM; Crispim, J;
Publication
BMC HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH
Abstract
BackgroundUnderstanding the perceived importance of Patient-Centered Care (PCC) among Palestinian doctors and how the provider and other clinical characteristics may impact their views on PCC is essential to determine the extent to which PCC can be implemented. This study investigates the provision of PCC among hospital doctors in a developing and unstable country, namely, Palestine.MethodsThis descriptive, cross-sectional research employed self-report survey among 369 Palestinian doctors working in hospitals in 2016. Respondents completed the Provider-Patient Relationship Questionnaire (PPRQ) and were asked to rate the importance of 16 PCC subjects in a context-free manner. Then they scored the existence of eight contextual attributes in their workplace.ResultsAlthough 71.4% of the participants got training in communication, only 45% of the participants knew about PCC. 48.8% of doctors considered the exchange of information with patients most important PCC component. Clustering identified three groups of doctors: 32.4% of doctors reported good perceptions of PCC, 47.5% moderate; and 20.1% poor. Older, married, and specialist doctors and those familiar with PCC are more likely classified in the good cluster. Results revealed a significant difference between doctors' views based on their gender, experience, marital status, previous knowledge about PCC, and type of hospital in favor of males, experienced, married, familiar with PCC, and doctors in private hospital respectively. The level of job interest, nurses' cooperation, the tendency of patients to hide information, and doctor's friendly style were positively related with more perceived importance of PCC.ConclusionWe identified benchmark doctors who perceive the high relative importance of PCC. Our results highlighted knowledge gaps and training weaknesses among doctors in public and private hospitals in respect to their views on PCC. Decision makers may invest in the determined contextual predictors to enhance attitudes towards PCC. This work doesn't address patients' views on PCC.
2018
Authors
Sultan, WIM; Crispim, J;
Publication
CONFLICT AND HEALTH
Abstract
BackgroundThe structure, function, and capacity of the health care system in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) had been largely shaped by the complex political history of the country. Since the establishment of the Palestinian Authority in 1994, the reform efforts were subsidized much by the international aids to rebuild the country's institutional capacity. No previous studies have provided a realistic evaluation of Palestinian achievements in the conduct of public healthcare, we examine the relative productive efficiency of public hospitals (their managers' success in the usage of resources) during 2010-2015 within West Bank and Jordan. Then, we estimate the efficiency of policies within which managers operate (the program efficiency) across the two countries.MethodsWe employ the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) models to distinguish between within-country managerial efficiencies and public policy program efficiencies across the two countries. The study follows two key steps, the first step evaluates managerial efficiencies and explores trends in performance within each country. Then, we examine the program efficiencies across the two countries.ResultsPublic hospitals improved their year-specific overall efficiency from 75 to 80% in the West Bank and from 78 to 86% in Jordan in 2010 and 2015 respectively. Changes in efficiency are driven by scale effects in West Bank and by managerial enhancements in Jordan. Program efficiency in West Bank outperformed Jordan during 2010-2012, there was no significant difference in mean program efficiencies between the two countries during 2013-2015.ConclusionsThis work addresses a gap in the DEA literature by empirically investigating the efficiency of public hospitals as distinct from program efficiency in a developing country, namely, Palestine. Findings stimulate hospital managers to enhance potential improvements, policymakers to allocate resources, and international donors to focus on the right adoption of new technology to get better benefits from their considerable investments in public hospitals.
2018
Authors
Sultan, WIM; Crispim, J;
Publication
BMC Health Services Research
Abstract
Background: While health needs and expenditure in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) are growing, the international donations are declining and the economic situation is worsening. The purpose of this paper is twofold, to evaluate the productive efficiency of public hospitals in West Bank and to study contextual factors contributing to efficiency differences. Methods: This study examined technical efficiency among 11 public hospitals in West Bank from 2010 through 2015 targeting a total of 66 observations. Nationally representative data were extracted from the official annual health reports. We applied input-oriented Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) models to estimate efficiency scores. To elaborate further on performance, we used Tobit regression to identify contextual factors whose impact on inefficient performance is statistically significant. Results: Despite the increase in efficiency mean scores by 4% from 2010 to 2015, findings show potential savings of 14.5% of resource consumption without reducing the volume of the provided services. The significant Tobit model showed four predictors explaining the inefficient performance of a hospital (p < 0.01) are: bed occupancy rate (BOR); the outpatient-inpatient ratio (OPIPR); hospital's size (SIZE); and the availability of primary healthcare centers within the hospital's catchment area (PRC). There is a strong effect of OPIPR on efficiency differences between hospitals: A one unit increase in OPIPR will lead a decrease of 19.7% in the predicted inefficiency level holding all other factors constant. Conclusion: To date, no previous studies have examined the efficiency of public hospitals in the OPT. Our work identified their efficiency levels for potential improvements and the determinants of efficient performance. Based on the measurement of efficiency, the generated information may guide hospitals' managers, policymakers, and international donors improving the performance of the main national healthcare provider. The scope of this study is limited to public hospitals in West Bank. For a better understanding of the Palestinian market, further research on private hospitals and hospitals in Gaza Strip will be useful. © 2018 The Author(s).
2018
Authors
Carvalho, M; Klimentova, X; Viana, A;
Publication
COMPUTERS & OPERATIONS RESEARCH
Abstract
Phasor Measurement Units (PMUs) are measuring devices that, when placed in electrical networks, observe their state by providing information on the currents in their branches (transmission lines) and voltages in their buses. Compared to other devices, PMUs have the capability of observing other nodes besides the ones they are placed on. Due to a set of observability rules, depending on the placement decisions, the same number of PMUs can monitor a higher or smaller percentage of a network. This leads to the optimization problem hereby addressed, the PMU Placement Problem (PPP) which aims at determining the minimum number and location of PMUs that guarantee full observability of a network at minimum cost. In this paper we propose two general mathematical programming models for the PPP: a single-level and a bilevel integer programming model. To strengthen both formulations, we derive new valid inequalities and promote variable fixing. Furthermore, to tackle the bilevel model, we devise a cutting plane algorithm amended with particular features that improve its efficiency. The efficiency of the algorithm is validated through computational experiments. Results show that this new approach is more efficient than state-of-the-art proposals.
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