Identification Of Assets Research Articles

A systematic scoping review of asset-based approaches to promote health in communities: development of a framework.

Asset-based approaches to health promotion have become increasingly popular as a way to tackle health inequalities by empowering people in more disadvantaged communities to use local resources and increase control over health and its determinants. However, questions remain about how they work in practice. This article presents the findings from a systematic scoping review of the empirical literature on asset-based approaches in communities. The aim was to identify the key elements of asset-based approaches, and how they are operationalised in interventions aimed at promoting health and reducing inequalities in local communities. Four databases were searched (Medline, PsycINFO, CINAHL, ASSIA) and papers were included if they described interventions explicitly adopting an asset-based approach but excluded if limited to asset identification. Thirty articles were included in the review. Data were extracted on the type of assets that the intervention built upon, how assets were mobilised, the expected outcomes and evaluation methods. A framework is presented that synthesises the key characteristics of asset-based interventions to promote health in communities. Three main approaches to mobilising assets were identified in the literature: (A) connecting assets, (B) raising awareness of assets and (C) enabling assets to thrive. It is argued that asset-based approaches to health promotion take a wide variety of forms, making it difficult to anticipate outcomes and to evaluate interventions. The framework presented here can be used to better understand the processes through which asset-based approaches work in practice to promote health and reduce inequalities.

THE IDENTIFICATION AND SYSTEMATIZATION OF FINANCIAL ASSETS AND LIABILITIES, EXPOSED TO FINANCIAL RISKS, ON THE EXAMPLE OF THE PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY

The best methods of identification of the financial assets and liabilities with highest risk concentration on the example of pharmaceutical companies have been considered. It is well known, that significant risks are subject to disclosure in financial statements of organization, because they can influence management decisions. It is important for professionals to understand how to correctly identify and assess the risks, influencing the financial statements, as well as to form a list of assets and liabilities, that are more affected by them. The above questions can be answered by the approaches presented in the article to the identification, assessment and systematization of risks, their impact on the financial statements, as well as the conclusions, formulated by the authors as a result of the research.

Kinematic GPR-TPS Model for Infrastructure Asset Identification with High 3D Georeference Accuracy Developed in a Real Urban Test Field

This paper describes in detail the development of a ground-penetrating radar (GPR) model for the acquisition, processing and visualisation of underground utility infrastructure (UUI) in a controlled environment. The initiative was to simulate a subsurface urban environment through the construction of regional road, local road and pedestrian pavement in real urban field/testing pools (RUTPs). The RUTPs represented a controlled environment in which the most commonly used utilities were installed. The accuracy of the proposed kinematic GPR-TPS (terrestrial positioning system) model was analysed using all the available data about the materials, whilst taking into account the thickness of the pavement as well as the materials, dimensions and 3D position of the UUI as given reference values. To determine the reference 3D position of the UUI, a terrestrial geodetic surveying method based on the established positional and height geodetic network was used. In the first phase of the model, the geodetic network was used as a starting point for determining the 3D position of the GPR antenna with the efficient kinematic GPR surveying setup using a GPR and self-tracking (robotic) TPS. In the second phase, GPR-TPS system latency was quantified by matching radargram pairs with a set of fidelity measures based on a correlation coefficient and mean squared error. This was followed by the most important phase, where, by combining sets of “standard” processing routines of GPR signals with the support of advanced algorithms for signal processing, UUI were interpreted and visualised semi-automatically. As demonstrated by the results, the proposed GPR model with a kinematic GPR-TPS surveying setup for data acquisition is capable of achieving an accuracy of less than ten centimetres.

Low-carbon development in remote Indigenous communities: Applying a community-directed model to support endogenous assets and aspirations

Remote Indigenous communities in Australia, which are generally small and widely distributed across the continent, face several socio-economic disadvantages. Yet, there are also many successful examples of Indigenous-led enterprises and initiatives in these locations. A history of top-down government policies pertaining to these communities has led to calls for improved engagement with residents regarding economic development, service delivery and climate change vulnerability. At the same time, increased carbon emissions are likely to ensue from economic development efforts if not planned carefully. This article proposes a community-directed approach, the Resilient Communities and Livelihoods Asset Integration Model (ReCLAIM) to achieve low-carbon development in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The design of the model is outlined, along with the results of applying the first step of the model, an asset and aspirations identification workshop, with two remote Indigenous communities in Australia. The results of the first workshop indicate that residents in these communities are already applying efficiency, resource-sharing and other strategies to limit resource use. Therefore, the focus in these communities should be on assisting and enhancing outcomes of these endogenous strategies, rather than the behaviour change approach that has often been applied within low-carbon programmes. Behavioural efficiency measures alone will also provide little impact, without commensurate changes to building design and energy supply systems. Both communities had a diversity of assets to employ towards mitigation strategies and development aspirations, although deficiencies in funding, resourcing and long-term working partnerships were also identified. Selection criteria to screen potential strategies were developed from workshop responses, and the process would be applicable to similar communities, globally.

Assessing cyber‐physical systems to balance maintenance replacement policies and optimise long‐run average costs for aircraft assets

Many aircraft assets are subject to both preventive (scheduled) and corrective (unscheduled) replacement policies to ensure adequate levels of reliability and availability. The problem, particularly for assets that exist in large quantities, is that preventive replacement tasks often involve removing the entire population of assets from the aircraft, regardless of whether any assets were previously replaced on a corrective basis beforehand. To avoid the costs associated with premature asset removal, this study assesses the use of a cyber-physical systems approach to the management of identified aircraft assets. This approach builds on an industrial architecture that has been implemented and deployed in the aviation maintenance environment. This study outlines how the cyber-physical based identification of assets can facilitate balancing maintenance replacement policies to optimise long-run average costs per unit time. A mathematical model is proposed, and the suggested approach is validated using industrial data.

РИЗИК-ОРІЄНТОВАНИЙ ПІДХІД ДО УПРАВЛІННЯ: ІДЕНТИФІКАЦІЯ РИЗИКІВ ПІДПРИЄМСТВА ЗАЛІЗНИЧНОГО ТРАНСПОРТУ

Introduction . Risk identification is the process of identifying, recognizing and documenting risks. Its purpose is to determine what may or may occur that will affect the goals of the system or organization. Once the enterprise risk has been identified, it is necessary to identify all existing controls, such as design elements, employees, processes and systems. The process of identifying risks involves identifying factors and sources of risk, events, situations or circumstances that may have a significant effect on the objectives and nature of the risk. Regardless of the methods actually used, it is important that human and organizational factors are taken into account when determining risk. Accordingly, deviations from human and organizational considerations should be included in the risk identification process, as well as software and hardware related events. Purpose . The purpose of the research is to reveal the process of risk identification as a tool for ensuring the economic security of the enterprise under a risk-oriented approach to management, to study the stages of the process of risk identification using the main points of international standards on risk management. Methods. The methodological basis of the study is a set of methods of cognition: generalization, historical-logical and retrospective methods, factor analysis, statistical methods: mass observation, grouping, rating method. Results. Identification of assets. This stage of identification is carried out on the basis of documentation, namely the financial statements of the enterprise, the strategy of enterprise development, the monthly plan of transportation, the main indicators of the work of regional branches, etc. Identification of sources of risk. To study the primary sources of risk of the company X we use the method of analysis of bow tie. It provides an opportunity to schematically analyze the paths of risk from cause to effect. Identification of risk events. For a given enterprise, one of the priorities for analyzing the types of risks is the risk of an accident at a railway facility. The main causes of such accidents are: errors of dispatchers, machinists, natural disasters, failure of equipment, malfunctions and technological processes, poor quality and untimely maintenance of rolling stock. Identification of existing control measures. The enterprise has a Department of Economic and Information Security and a Risk Management Unit directly involved in risk identification, analysis, evaluation, processing, documentation and reporting, as well as monitoring and control. Identification of consequences. This stage of risk identification involves an almost identical list of potential consequences that will affect the availability, integrity and / or confidentiality of a joint-stock company. This list can be supplemented by the consequences specific to the analyzed enterprise. Thus, according to the results of the risk identification procedure for the company X, a list of identified risks was formed. Originality. It is proposed to consider the identification of risks at a railway undertaking using the recommendations of international risk management standards. Conclusion. The cost of an enterprise depends on many elements that can be forecasted and controlled by management. However, there are unexpected or unanticipated risks associated with events that may be beyond the control of management. Such events can greatly affect the overall economic security of the enterprise. While it is not possible to pinpoint all the risks, it makes sense to take into account how events can affect the main financial and economic performance of an enterprise.

Intellectual Assets Management Model

Proper and efficient identification, classification and treatment of intangible assets represents an important matter to be handled by organizations especially when undertaking research and development actions. This is more so the case for intellectual property assets which require expertise and specific resource planning. The purpose of the paper is to unfold the intellectual assets management process required for creating and extracting value from intellectual assets. To this end an intellectual assets management model was designed taking into consideration both accounting treatment of intellectual assets and strategic alignment with the general objectives of the organization. The model is designed using a standard notation and a Business Process Modeling (BPM) instrument in order to create a dynamic process flow capable of capturing and preserving value from intellectual assets by documentation, analysis, simulation and evaluation of the management process.

Analysis of Mutual Couple Effect of UHF RFID Antenna for the Internet of Things Environment

Asset management was a common RFID-based Internet-of-Things (IoT) application scene. RFID tags in the equipment warehouse were usually large, and the communication between the reader and the tag was prone to data collision problems, which affected the recognition efficiency of the device. In practical applications, due to the structural characteristics of the micro-strip UHF RFID tag antenna, the traditional inter-coupling impedance expression had large errors and insufficient accuracy in predicting the mutual coupling effect, such as system frequency shift. In this paper, the 3D initialization model of the tag was used to indirectly extract the electrical parameter values by the ANSYS HFSS software. At the same time, the dual-tag was taken as an example to derive the transimpedance expression between the dense tags to extract the corresponding coupling parameters. Finally, various tag-intensive scenarios in the actual environment were tested and the derivation formula was verified, and the dual-tag UHF RFID near-field frequency shift affected by the environmental factors, such as relative position, attachment, and the stacking method, was discussed. The mutual coupling effect on the minimum transmit power of the reader antenna was also studied. The experimental results showed that the average error of the formula calculated by this method was significantly smaller than that of the traditional formula. When the tag spacing was less than 30 mm, the derived mutual impedance expression was applied to the frequency shift calculation error range (1.6-7.3 MHz). For dense tag systems, the error was less than 9.8% when the number of tags was greater than 7, and the prediction accuracy was higher than the superposition method. The research results provided a theoretical and practical basis for the rapid identification and location of power assets during the dense RFID tag environment.

He Korowai Manaaki: mapping assets to inform a strengths-based, Indigenous-led wrap-around maternity pathway.

A research partnership between Iwi (tribal group) Ngāti Pāhauwera and a university-based research centre specialising in Kaupapa Māori (by Māori, for Māori) research was formed in response to an invitation from Ngāti Pāhauwera. The initial partnership goal was to address health inequities experienced by Māori women and infants in Te Wairoa (the home place of the Iwi), a predominantly Māori, rural region in Aotearoa (New Zealand). The research developed by the partnership is an example of a culturally responsive research methodology. Key features include: being Iwi-initiated; community identification of strengths and assets; guidance by a community steering group; contribution to local Māori research capacity; and the development of a community-led augmented maternity care pathway that is now being delivered through primary care. These features have strengthened the engagement of the Iwi, researchers and community, and provided opportunities for transformative change.

Technical Path Analysis of Government Asset Measurement and Reporting

In order to promote the fiduciary responsibility of the public sector and strengthen the effective management of government assets, the Chinese governments at all levels should not only prepare reports on state-owned assets, but also prepare comprehensive financial reports based on accrual basis after 2020. The authenticity and reliability of government assets information directly affect the effective implementation of these two reforms, and the quality of assets information is highly dependent on the accrual basis of accounting measurement and reporting. Accrual basis accounting and reporting are relatively mature and scientific technology in business. China attempts to apply this business approach directly to public sector measurement and reporting of government assets. However, there is a natural difference between government assets and commercial assets. Asset measurement and reporting techniques are more complex in the practice of public sector asset management. From four dimensions of concept, scope, method selection and implementation effect, this article analysis asset identification, asset value, assets cost allocation and asset report path, and draw lessons from international experience, combined with China's actual situation, analysis the problems existing in the government assets measurement and reporting. In order to provide effective asset management reform must practice guidance, the article put forward the corresponding solution path.

Applications of Knowledge Management in Construction: A Literature Review

Knowledge is considered one of the effective assets which control the success of organizations, and its effective management is crucial. Although knowledge has existed and has been used along all projects, the way it was managed was almost intuitive and highly reliable on in-house systems. As a consequence, knowledge management was introduced in the late 1990s to help companies create, share, and systematically use knowledge. Knowledge management can be defined as the identification, optimization, and active management of intellectual assets that create value, increase productivity, and gain and sustain competitive advantage. Construction field, as one of the most complicated fields, is considered a project- based field where numbers of investments in it are in millions every year. Although knowledge in construction is among the main factors for project success, most of this knowledge lies in the minds of the people, which makes it hard to be captured and stored. Accordingly, effective knowledge management in construction is affected by different factors, including the willingness of people to share their knowledge and the mobilization of the workforce from one project to another without sharing lessons learned and previous knowledge. Here comes the role of application of KM, which could help prevent “reinventing the wheel” in construction. This paper aims at offering a comprehensive overview of the application of KM in construction through reviewing extant literature sources. Topics discussed included factors affecting KM, KM tools and techniques, the processes of KM, and the main benefits and challenges facing KM. There are many factors affecting knowledge management and many tools and techniques to manage knowledge. As for the findings of this paper, they took the form of an analysis of the main benefits and challenges facing the application of KM in construction.

A conceptual framework for development of Ukraine’s green stock market

The article considers the key drivers for boosting the green stock market in Ukraine. The latest development trends of the world green stock market are highlighted. Based on the analysis of national regulatory framework for stock market and foreign practice of developing the green stock market, essential mechanisms of the green stock market functioning are identitifed. After an in-depth review of contemporary research papers, an assumption is made that the green stock market is a set of specialized institutions which form a platform for the permanent circulation of green securities (issue, purchase and sale). It is emphasized that the green stock market should promote the circulation and efficient allocation of green financial resources, provide an opportunity to independently assess ecological and economic efficiency of entities, create conditions for fair competition in the market. Green finance is viewed as financial resources aimed at implementing green targets (mitigation of climate change, alternative energy use, clean technologies, energy- efficient (green) projects, etc.). The article determines the main goals and functions of the green stock market and systematizes principles of its functioning. It is concluded that the basic principles for boosting the green stock market include: compliance with the goals of sustainable development; social justice; protection of investors; regulation; monitoring; legal regulation; transparency. In order to ensure compliance with the transparency principle of the green stock market, it is necessary to develop a mechanism for identification, classification and accounting of green assets, according to which an appropriate classification of green financial resources can be developed. The article also describes the key players and their role in the development of the green stock market as an integral part of green finance. The findings confirm that the development of green securities (green bonds in particular) and green stock indices are the key drivers for boosting the green stock market.

Activos: de los mapas al territorio. Informe SESPAS 2018

In recent years, health asset maps have become increasingly important tools in the field of health promotion. They are being incorporated into the daily practice of many healthcare workers, in individualized care in consultations (through social prescription), and in groups or community development processes. It is necessary to reflect on how the asset maps are being produced, analyzing how the different stages of the process can be involved in their construction. The formats in which the data is obtained through the identification of health assets are presented, as well as the processes of production of the information, participative and evaluated processes, are crucial for the maps to be useful, for professionals as well as citizens and institutions.

Context Analysis of Cloud Computing Systems Using a Pattern-Based Approach

Cloud computing services bring new capabilities for hosting and offering complex collaborative business operations. However, these advances might bring undesirable side-effects, e.g., introducing new vulnerabilities and threats caused by collaboration and data exchange over the Internet. Hence, users have become more concerned about security and privacy aspects. For secure provisioning of a cloud computing service, security and privacy issues must be addressed by using a risk assessment method. To perform a risk assessment, it is necessary to obtain all relevant information about the context of the considered cloud computing service. The context analysis of a cloud computing service and its underlying system is a difficult task because of the variety of different types of information that have to be considered. This context information includes (i) legal, regulatory and/or contractual requirements that are relevant for a cloud computing service (indirect stakeholders); (ii) relations to other involved cloud computing services; (iii) high-level cloud system components that support the involved cloud computing services; (iv) data that is processed by the cloud computing services; and (v) stakeholders that interact directly with the cloud computing services and/or the underlying cloud system components. We present a pattern for the contextual analysis of cloud computing services and demonstrate the instantiation of our proposed pattern with real-life application examples. Our pattern contains elements that represent the above-mentioned types of contextual information. The elements of our pattern conform to the General Data Protection Regulation. Besides the context analysis, our pattern supports the identification of high-level assets. Additionally, our proposed pattern supports the documentation of the scope and boundaries of a cloud computing service conforming to the requirements of the ISO 27005 standard (information security risk management). The results of our context analysis contribute to the transparency of the achieved security and privacy level of a cloud computing service. This transparency can increase the trust of users in a cloud computing service. We present results of the RestAssured project related to the context analysis regarding cloud computing services and their underlying cloud computing systems. The context analysis is the prerequisite to threat and control identification that are performed later in the risk management process. The focus of this paper is the use of a pattern at the time of design systematic context analysis and scope definition for risk management methods.

Intangible Assets In The Accounting Law – Comparison Of Polish And Ukrainian Solutions

The paper presents a differentiated approach to the valuation and presentation in the financial statement of economic resources of business entities in neighbouring countries illustrated on the example of Poland and Ukraine. Domestic accounting law solutions of the countries under analysis with respect to intangible assets have been analyzed in detail. The aim of the paper is to show and assess the differences in the identification, valuation and presentation of intangible assets in the light of domestic accounting in Poland and Ukraine. The authors postulate unification of solutions in this area by adopting IAS/IFRS solutions in both studied countries.

An Integrated Cyber Security Risk Management Approach for a Cyber-Physical System

A cyber-physical system (CPS) is a combination of physical system components with cyber capabilities that have a very tight interconnectivity. CPS is a widely used technology in many applications, including electric power systems, communications, and transportation, and healthcare systems. These are critical national infrastructures. Cybersecurity attack is one of the major threats for a CPS because of many reasons, including complexity and interdependencies among various system components, integration of communication, computing, and control technology. Cybersecurity attacks may lead to various risks affecting the critical infrastructure business continuity, including degradation of production and performance, unavailability of critical services, and violation of the regulation. Managing cybersecurity risks is very important to protect CPS. However, risk management is challenging due to the inherent complex and evolving nature of the CPS system and recent attack trends. This paper presents an integrated cybersecurity risk management framework to assess and manage the risks in a proactive manner. Our work follows the existing risk management practice and standard and considers risks from the stakeholder model, cyber, and physical system components along with their dependencies. The approach enables identification of critical CPS assets and assesses the impact of vulnerabilities that affect the assets. It also presents a cybersecurity attack scenario that incorporates a cascading effect of threats and vulnerabilities to the assets. The attack model helps to determine the appropriate risk levels and their corresponding mitigation process. We present a power grid system to illustrate the applicability of our work. The result suggests that risk in a CPS of a critical infrastructure depends mainly on cyber-physical attack scenarios and the context of the organization. The involved risks in the studied context are both from the technical and nontechnical aspects of the CPS.

Institutionalising the War Against Corruption: New Approaches to Assets Tracing and Recovery

PURPOSE – The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres recently revealed that the flow of illegal funds, money-laundering and tax evasion, cost Africa fifty billion dollars every year. The Stolen Asset Recovery Initiative (Star) in Washington estimates up to forty billion dollars is lost each year to developing countries through corruption and only five billion dollars was returned in the 15 years till 2011. Most is never found. These revelations call for an entirely new approach/direction to be taken for the identification and recovery of criminal assets. The approach should be one that can curtail the flow of illegal funds, money-laundering and tax evasion. This paper critically analyses the existing framework on assets tracing and recovery in Nigeria. It will thereafter discuss the measures adopted by developed countries which Nigeria can use to effectively trace illicit assets. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH – The analysis took the form of a desk study, which analyzed various documents such as the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (Establishment) Act, 2004, the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015, the Advance Fee Fraud and other Fraud Related Offences Act 2006, the Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters within the Commonwealth (Enactment and Enforcement) Act, 2004, the United Kingdom Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (as amended), the United Kingdom Investigatory Powers Act 2016, the final rules issued by FinCEN under the Bank Secrecy Act to clarify and strengthen customer due diligence requirements, the Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Bill, 2016, the Proceeds of Crime Bill 2017 and the Financial Action Task Force Recommendations 2012. FINDINGS – This paper determined that the Nigeria asset recovery scheme is likely to be more effective if the following recommendations are implemented: I. The Proceeds of Crime Bill, 2017 should be given accelerated consideration in the Nigerian National Assembly based on its urgency and significance for the anti-corruption war. Civil (Non-Conviction Based) Judicial Forfeiture is an essential tool in the fight against corruption to deprive offenders of the proceeds of their criminal conduct; to deter the commission of further offences; and to reduce the profits available to fund further corrupt or criminal enterprises. II.The Federal Government of Nigeria should introduce a Bill to the National Assembly that would provide a clear framework for the use of investigatory powers by law enforcement, the security and intelligence agencies and other public authorities. This includes the interception of communications, the retention and acquisition of communications data, the use of equipment interference, and the retention and use of bulk data by the security and intelligence agencies. The Bill must establish a number of safeguards against the arbitrary or unlawful use of investigatory powers by the Executive. The United Kingdom’s Investigatory Powers Act 2016, for example, established a number of safeguards for the retention and acquisition of communications data. Authorisations for obtaining communications data will have to set out why accessing the communications data in question is necessary in a specific investigation for a particular statutory purpose, and how it is proportionate to what is sought to be achieved. III. The Central Bank of Nigeria should mandate financial institutions in Nigeria to use the blockchain technology for know your customer purposes. The blockchain technology will aid law enforcement agents to identify and trace proceeds of criminal activity. IV. The Central Bank of Nigeria should issue a rule requiring the financial industry to identify the real owners of companies and propose a bill that would require companies to report the identities of their owners to the federal government. V. Bureau De Change Operators, Estate Agents, High Value Dealers e.g. dealers in precious metals and precious stones and Gambling Operators should be effectively supervised and monitored for compliance with anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) requirements, namely customer due diligence (CDD), recordkeeping, and reporting. This should be performed on a risk-sensitive basis. VI. The Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Bill, 2016 should be given accelerated consideration in the Nigerian National Assembly based on its urgency and significance for assets tracing and recovery. A National Mutual Legal Assistance Legislation is necessary to address issues that treaties generally do not cover such as the procedures for obtaining a search warrant, compelling the attendance of a witness, or appealing a decision of judicial or law enforcement authorities. RESEARCH LIMITATIONS – This paper critically analyses the existing legal and regulatory framework for assets tracing and recovery in Nigeria and suggests new ways to improve the asset tracing/recovery scheme in Nigeria. ORIGINALITY/VALUE – Previous research papers have extensively discussed the problems faced with assets tracing and recovery from a prohibitive and investigative stand point. This paper will discuss the topic from a preventive stand point with little focus on investigative mechanisms.

Building community together: A study of inter-neighborhood collaboration and development in Cincinnati, Ohio

This study focuses on the joint development efforts of two neighborhoods in Cincinnati, Ohio, US. Focusing on the initial stages of the joint development process, this article analyzes the first three collaborative meetings linking the two communities together. This study demonstrates short-term outcomes from each meeting, as well as longer term data – both quantitative and qualitative – from a survey of nearly 60 participants. Findings demonstrate that the meetings resulted in the identification of assets and challenges in both neighborhoods, as well as strategies and ideas for improving them. In addition, the survey found that the inter-neighborhood meetings enhanced not only participants’ interest in community engagement, but also their actual behavior in terms of attending community events, shopping local, and informing friends and neighbors about the community. Further, many survey respondents observed improvements in the overall relationship between the two neighborhoods.

Health-care users, key community informants and primary health care workers\u2019 views on health, health promotion, health assets and deficits: qualitative study in seven Spanish regions

BackgroundAlthough some articles have analysed the definitions of health and health promotion from the perspective of health-care users and health care professionals, no published studies include the simultaneous participation of health-care users, primary health care professionals and key community informants. Understanding the perception of health and health promotion amongst these different stakeholders is crucial for the design and implementation of successful, equitable and sustainable measures that improve the health and wellbeing of populations. Furthermore, the identification of different health assets and deficits by the different informants will generate new evidence to promote healthy behaviours, improve community health and wellbeing and reduce preventable inequalities. The objective of this study is to explore the concept of health and health promotion and to compare health assets and deficits as identified by health-care users, key community informants and primary health care workers with the ultimate purpose to collect the necessary data for the design and implementation of a successful health promotion intervention.MethodsA descriptive-interpretive qualitative research was conducted with 276 participants from 14 primary care centres of 7 Spanish regions. Theoretical sampling was used for selection. We organized 11 discussion groups and 2 triangular groups with health-care users; 30 semi-structured interviews with key community informants; and 14 discussion groups with primary health care workers. A thematic content analysis was carried out.ResultsHealth-care users and key community informants agree that health is a complex, broad, multifactorial concept that encompasses several interrelated dimensions (physical, psychological-emotional, social, occupational, intellectual, spiritual and environmental). The three participants’ profiles consider health promotion indispensable despite defining it as complex and vague. In fact, most health-care users admit to having implemented some change to promote their health. The most powerful motivators to change lifestyles are having a disease, fear of becoming ill and taking care of oneself to maintain health. Health-care users believe that the main difficulties are associated with the physical, social, working and family environment, as well as lack of determination and motivation. They also highlight the need for more information. In relation to the assets and deficits of the neighbourhood, each group identifies those closer to their role.ConclusionsGenerally, participants showed a holistic and positive concept of health and a more traditional, individual approach to health promotion. We consider therefore crucial to depart from the model of health services that focuses on the individual and the disease toward a socio-ecological health model that substantially increases the participation of health-care users and emphasizes health promotion, wellbeing and community participation.

Implementation of a drainage information, analysis and management system

Abstract An integrated drainage information, analysis and management system (DIAMS) was developed and implemented for the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT). The purpose of the DIAMS is to provide a useful tool for managers to evaluate drainage infrastructure, to facilitate the determination of the present costs of preserving those infrastructures, and to make decisions regarding the optimal use of their infrastructure budgets. The impetus for DIAMS is the culvert information management system (CIMS), which is developed to manage the data for culvert pipes. DIAMS maintains and summarizes accumulated inspection data for all types of drainage infrastructure assets, including pipes, inlet/outlet structures, outfalls and manufactured treatment devices. DIAMS capabilities include identifying drainage infrastructure, maintaining inspection history, mapping locations, predicting service life based on the current condition states, and assessing present asset value. It also includes unit cost values of 72 standard items to estimate the current cost for new assets with the ability to adjust for future inflation. In addition, DIAMS contains several different repair, rehabilitation and replacement options to remedy the drainage infrastructure. DIAMS can analyze asset information and determine decisions to inspect, rehabilitate, replace or do nothing at the project and network levels by comparing costs with risks and failures. Costs may be optimized to meet annual maintenance budget allocations by prioritizing drainage infrastructure needing inspection, cleaning and repair. DIAMS functional modules include vendor data uploading, asset identification, system administration and financial analysis. Among the significant performance feature of DIAMS is its proactive nature, which affords decision makers the means of conducting a comprehensive financial analysis to determine the optimal proactive schedule for the proper maintenance actions and to prioritize them accordingly. Benefits of DIAMS include long-term savings that accrue by adopting optimized preventive maintenance strategies and facilitating compliance with Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) and federal storm water regulations.