Cost Consciousness Research Articles

Business Procurement Software Application for Project of Universal Studio of Singapore

Project procurement management is the substantial basis of engineering project and also critical about executing project process. Three points should be concerned which are basic program for procurement work: full workflow, cost consciousness and superior suppliers to achieve procurement management by business software.

Nocturnal Violence: Implications for Resident Trauma Operative Experiences

Trauma centers face novel challenges in resource allocation in an era of cost consciousness and work-hour restrictions. Studies have shown that time of day and day of week affect trauma admission volume; however, these studies were performed in cold climates. Data from 2000 to 2010 at a Level I trauma center were reviewed. Demographic, injury severity, and injury timing from 23,827 trauma patients were analyzed along with their emergency department disposition (operating room, intensive care unit, ward) and final outcome. Nighttime arrivals (NAs) accounted for 56.6 per cent and daytime arrivals accounted for 43.4 per cent of total admissions. The increase in NAs was most pronounced during the period from midnight to 6 am on weekends (P < 0.05). Also, the period from midnight to 6 am on weekends showed a significantly increased proportion of penetrating trauma (P < 0.01). Similarly, there was an increased rate of trauma arrivals needing emergent operative intervention in the period between midnight and 6 am on weekends when compared with any other time period (P < 0.01). In a southern Level I trauma center, patient volume varies nonrandomly with time. Emergent operative intervention is more likely between midnight and 6 am, the peak time for penetrating trauma. Because resident operative experience is maximized at night and on weekends, coverage during these periods should remain a priority for residency programs.

Initial Thoughts on Building Harmonious Labor Relations

Labor relation is an important relationship of the modern market economy, and harmonious labor relation is not only conducive to promote social harmony, but also the reflection of the core competitiveness of enterprises, which is also important to the value achievement of workers. Research on the conflicts of labor relations has increasingly presented the features of intervening from the perspective of human resource management. Based on this, this article puts special emphasis on the following three aspects to promote the establishment of harmonious labor relations: strengthen the position of the core indicators of employee satisfaction, design system of remuneration based on benefit-sharing, upgrade cost consciousness of related professionals.

EDITORIAL

While we generally associate spring with a time to turn over a new leaf, any time can be the right time to institute positive changes in self-management. This issue of the International Journal of MS Care (IJMSC) contains a number of articles on enhancing self-care as well as the usual broad mixture of articles pertinent to multiple sclerosis (MS) clinicians.Dr. Gulick of Rutgers University College of Nursing and colleagues have contributed an article on “Monitoring My Multiple Sclerosis,” a patient-administered assessment scale that can provide health status information to the patient as well as health-care providers. Ms. Vore and colleagues of Nazareth College in Rochester, New York, provide a rehabilitation perspective on the idea of self-management through their study on the impact of a 10-week individualized exercise program on physical function and fatigue of individuals with MS. Although it is a pilot study, readers will hopefully take away points that will be helpful to their own practices. From a psychosocial perspective, Dr. Yorkston and colleagues from the University of Washington in Seattle provide insights obtained from focus groups into difficulties people with MS face in self-management. This perspective is also valuable for clinicians and caregivers.Taking more definitively the view of the clinician, Ms. Burke from the Westmead Millennium Institute in Sydney, Australia, and colleagues examine the evolution and expansion of the role of the MS nurse around the world. They discuss the implications of the emergence of new treatments for the disease as well as the growing need for education and empowerment of MS patients.Another timely article in our current climate of increasing cost cutting and cost consciousness is the contribution of Ms. Newton of the University of Oklahoma and Ms. Stica of CoxHealth in Springfield, Missouri, which presents a cost-effectiveness analysis of treatments for MS. While the analysis does not include all of the currently available medications, it provides insights into how this type of analysis may be applied to all MS agents in the future and how policy makers may view treatment data. Whether or not we agree with the assumptions inherent in this type of analysis, it is important to be aware of the techniques applied and the derivation of the results, which we may see implemented in the years to come.Last but not least, Dr. Marrie of the University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, and Dr. Goldman of the University of Virginia in Charlottesville report on their assessment of the validity of the Tremor and Coordination Scale used by the NARCOMS Registry, a special project of the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers (CMSC). Given that tremor and incoordination can have drastic effects on MS patients and that the therapeutic options for symptomatic treatment of these problems are limited, it is extremely helpful to have a proper measurement tool for further studies in this area.Also in this issue, we mark the passing of Dr. Kenneth Johnson, former chairman of the Department of Neurology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Dr. Johnson was internationally known for his contributions to MS care and research, and his work led to the development and approval of two diseasemodifying therapies for the disease.In closing, we are pleased to congratulate Dr. Mary Filipi and colleagues on their receipt of the Herndon Award for the best article published in the IJMSC in the previous calendar year, which was announced at the CMSC annual meeting in June. Dr. Filipi's article, entitled “Impact of Resistance Training on Balance and Gait in Multiple Sclerosis,” published in the Spring 2010 issue, reported on a prospective study on the impact of an exercise program emphasizing resistance training on balance and gait in people with MS. The results showed that participation in the program improved MS patients' ability to walk and to generate muscular forces during locomotion. We would also like to announce the next IJMSC theme issue, which is planned for Summer 2012. Dr. Ralph Benedict of the State University of New York at Buffalo and Dr. Kathleen Fuchs of the University of Virginia will be guest editors of this issue, entitled “Novel Approaches for Assessing and Facilitating Cognition in MS.” We are particularly interested in pilot data looking at new approaches, but we also welcome reviews and other research pertinent to this topic. The deadline for submissions is February 1, 2012, and we encourage you to submit your work via our website, which can be accessed at MSCARE.org.

PERILAKU ORGANISASIONAL PADA IMPLEMENTASI SISTEM INFORMASI KEUANGAN DAERAH (SIKD) (Studi Empiris Pada Pemerintah Daerah Kabupaten Sragen)

Local Financial Information System (SIKD) can give the better information for the decision making of strategic specially relate to the transparency and accountability in public sector. This research aim to test the relation between SKID implementation factor that supported, clarity of target, training with the cognitive conflict, affective conflict,the usefulness of SIKD, then cognitive and affective conflict by usefulness of SIKD and also the relation of SIKD’s usefulness by cost consciousness. Data obtained by propagating questioner to head on duty, chief, the institution’s leader, the area’s leader, superintendent, secretary of area and secretary DPRD of local government of Sragen Regency. The result of this research supports Chenhall (2004) which indicates the usefulness of ABCM for the scheme of product related to the financial succeed. This research suggests that in the system implementation, pays attention to other factors and requires to be developed to check the technical factors .

Cost Cutting Strategies of Organizations Across Different Sectors

The overall impact of the economic downturn is certainly huge and is evident across the world. There are challenges on the multiple fronts. It is time to single-mindedly focus on how to make the organization profitable and grow the business. Companies are looking at innovative ways to improve efficiencies. The new corporate mantra that has come out is about cost optimization. Cost consciousness on the part of companies denotes doing more with less. The economic downturn is impacting every organization irrespective of the size. The smarter organizations are looking at cost-cutting and optimization in a strategic and tactical way as cost cutting is the answer to sustainability and profitability. More emphasis was given on layoffs, salary cuts, production cuts, loss of perks for the employees and overhead cuts to protect the bottom lines. Employees were also being asked to take a vacation, factories were working few days a week and infrastructure costs were being minimized. These are hard times and companies are looking at cost cutting in a big way in order to get out of the mess. By adopting different cost cutting strategies, the organizations are making vast efforts to extricate themselves from the global economic crisis and emerge stronger.

Cost Cutting Strategies of Organizations Across Different Sectors

The overall impact of the economic downturn is certainly huge and is evident across the world. There are challenges on the multiple fronts. It is time to single-mindedly focus on how to make the organization profitable and grow the business. Companies are looking at innovative ways to improve efficiencies. The new corporate mantra that has come out is about cost optimization. Cost consciousness on the part of companies denotes doing more with less. The economic downturn is impacting every organization irrespective of the size. The smarter organizations are looking at cost-cutting and optimization in a strategic and tactical way as cost cutting is the answer to sustainability and profitability. More emphasis was given on layoffs, salary cuts, production cuts, loss of perks for the employees and overhead cuts to protect the bottom lines. Employees were also being asked to take a vacation, factories were working few days a week and infrastructure costs were being minimized. These are hard times and companies are looking at cost cutting in a big way in order to get out of the mess. By adopting different cost cutting strategies, the organizations are making vast efforts to extricate themselves from the global economic crisis and emerge stronger.

Time to Fill the Doughnuts — Health Care Reform and Medicare Part D

The Affordable Care Act's plan for filling in the “doughnut hole,” the gap in prescription-drug coverage under Medicare Part D, will most likely confuse many beneficiaries and, at least temporarily, work against cost consciousness.

Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme cost sharing, patient cost consciousness and prescription affordability

To assess patients' prescription medicine cost consciousness and explore the implications of further cost sharing increases for affordability. A telephone interview survey of 818 randomly selected prescription medicine users (408 concession card holders, 410 general beneficiaries) resident in the Hunter Valley region of New South Wales, Australia. Degree of prescription cost consciousness; attitudes towards prescription use and cost sharing; self-rated capacity to manage further co-payment increases and differences between concession card holders and general beneficiaries in these measures. The majority of participants were cost conscious medicine users who act responsibly towards medicine use and believe that cost sharing is appropriate. Although there were no differences in cost consciousness scores, card holders appeared more sensitive to prescription costs and increases. Conversely, general beneficiaries were more likely to report difficulties with cost (avoiding seeing a doctor, not collecting prescription medicines, stopping or reducing the dose of a prescribed medicine). Although almost 75% of respondents reported that a co-payment increase would cause financial difficulty, only 28% indicated this would change their medicine use. These results suggest that most Australian patients are cost conscious but many are also close to facing difficulties with prescription costs. Further increases in PBS cost sharing could compromise prescription affordability, particularly for general beneficiaries.

Cost Consciousness and Medical Education

Cost Consciousness and Medical Education

Consciousness and its Measures: Joint Workshop for COST Actions NeuroMath and Consciousness

The main goals of COST Action NeuroMath are the same as those of the open access journal Nonlinear Biomedical Physics to show how new methods that are being developed in physical disciplines can shed new light on biological phenomena and their medical applications and to bridge the gaps between specialists in physics and biomedical specialists who use these methods in practice. Medical doctors and biologists rather avoid reading physical journals because the articles published there contain ‘heavy’ mathematics; on the other hand, physicists and engineers rarely read biological and medical journals because articles there are mostly descriptive. Both COST NeuroMath Action with its workshops and the journal Nonlinear Biomedical Physics were created to enable these groups to meet together. In this Supplement to Nonlinear Biomedical Physics we publish the best papers based on the presentations shown during the joint workshop for COST Actions NeuroMath (BM0601) and Consciousness (BM0605) ‘Consciousness and its Measures’ that took place in Limassol, Cyprus, 29 November 01 December, 2009. The papers present the newest interdisciplinary achievements in both applied and theoretical research on brain and consciousness. Transient process and synchrony of cortical activity [1], different patterns of cortical activity [2] and assessment of different conscious states [3] are presented. Neurodynamics is studied based on fMRI [4] and on high-resolution EEG signals [5]. Mutual Information is used to study yoking of eyes during saccadic movements [6] and MEG around saccades is analyzed for non-invasive characterization of the human eye fields [7]. Parameter selection for cortical potential imaging [8], and classification of ADHD patients based on independent ERP components [9] are discussed. Language processing by human brain using fMRI [10] and the influence of noise due to electromagnetic interference on processing of visual information [11] are studied. We thank the Authors and the Reviewers for the great job they all have done. We also thank Dr. Kalliopi Kostelidou, Science Officer, BMBS Domain, COST Office, Brussels, and Isobel Peters, Senior Project Manager as well as The Independent Editorial Production Team of BioMed Central, London, for their invaluable assistance in publishing this Supplement to Nonlinear Biomedical Physics.

Book Reviews

Helen Levy of University of Michigan reviews “Who Has the Cure? Hamilton Project Ideas on Health Care” by Jason Furman,. The EconLit Abstract of the reviewed work begins “Seven papers consider how a combination of private markets and effective government policies can reform health care. Papers discuss achieving universal coverage through Medicare Part E(veryone) (Gerard F. Anderson and Hugh R. Waters); evolving beyond traditional employer-sponsored health insurance (Stuart M. Butler); a comprehensive cure--the guaranteed health care access plan--a voucher-style reform (Ezekiel J. Emanuel and Victor R. Fuchs); taking Massachusetts national--incremental universalism for the United States (Jonathan Gruber); mending the Medicare prescription drug benefit--improving consumer choices and restructuring purchasing (Richard G. Frank and Joseph P. Newhouse); the promise of progressive cost consciousness in health care reform (Jason Furman); and a wellness trust to prioritize disease prevention (Jeanne M. Lambrew). Furman is Senior Fellow in the Economic Studies Program and former director of the Hamilton Project at the Brookings Institution. Index.”

Cost Consciousness in Patient Care — What Is Medical Education's Responsibility?

One might imagine that medical educators have attempted to incorporate cost consciousness into their teaching, but such efforts have been remarkably few. Dr. Molly Cooke discusses how medical education can address the urgent issue of cost.

RETRACTED: Use of albumin: an update

Human albumin (HA) is widely used for volume replacement or correction of hypoalbuminaemia. The value of HA in the clinical setting continues to be controversial, and it is unclear whether in today's climate of cost consciousness, there is still a place for such a highly priced substance. It is therefore appropriate to update our knowledge of the value of HA. With the exception of women in early pregnancy, there appears to be few indications for the use of HA to correct hypovolaemia. Some studies of traumatic brain injury and intensive care patients suggest negative effects on outcome and organ function of (hyperoncotic) HA. Modern synthetic colloids appear to be a cheaper alternative for maintaining colloid oncotic pressure. The value of using HA to correct hypoalbuminaemia has not been clearly justified. Theoretical and pharmacological benefits of HA, such as oxygen radical scavenging or binding of toxic substances, have not as yet been shown to have beneficial clinical consequences. Experimental data from cell lines or animals do not appear to mimic the clinical setting. Convincing data justifying the use of HA either for treating hypovolaemia or for correcting hypoalbuminaemia are still lacking. A restricted use of HA is recommended.

Human capital measures, strategy, and performance: HR managers' perceptions

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to report the results of a survey and interviews with human resource (HR) professionals to identify and better understand their perceptions and expectations of human capital measures' (HCM) content, links to strategy, and impact on performance.Design/methodology/approachThis paper relies on a quantitative analysis of survey questionnaires collected from 104 HR executives, as well as on a qualitative investigation using six interviews. Two types of HCM are derived using principal component analysis. One factor measures employees' work efficiency and cost consciousness (efficiency indicators), whereas the second factor measures employees' entrepreneurial and innovative capabilities (innovation indicators).FindingsThe results confirm the following hypotheses: first, according to HR managers, the more advanced a company is in the development of HCM, the higher the company's performance; and second, in companies following a differentiation strategy, HR managers are interested in innovation indicators, while in those following a cost reduction strategy, HR managers are interested in efficiency indicators.Research limitations/implicationsResults are based on a cross‐sectional study of HR professionals' perceptions. However, it underscores the critical role that HCM plays in delivering performance in the HR managers' opinion. It also shows that HR managers are conscious that HCM should be aligned with strategy.Practical implicationsBased on HR managers' perceptions, the paper suggests that HR professionals might invest more effort in creating and implementing their HCM to deliver higher levels of performance. It also implies that HR managers and management accounting and control systems experts have a common interest to collaborate when implementing HCM.Originality/valueThe paper demonstrates the importance of implementing human capital (HC) metrics into a strategic performance management system to deliver performance from a company's HC. It contributes to a cross‐disciplinary (HRs, management control, and strategy) perspective on HC strategy.

Cars, Climates and Subjectivity: Car Sharing and Resisting Hegemonic Automobile Culture?

Cars, Climates and Subjectivity: Car Sharing and Resisting Hegemonic Automobile Culture?

The Effects of Types of Training on Support of Training Among Corporate Managers

With organizations becoming leaner during times of cost consciousness, it is becoming critical that training departments demonstrate their contributions to their bottom lines by becoming more productivity based than they have been historically. For training professionals to obtain the needed financial and organizational support of their training efforts, top management should corroborate the training function. To gain this support, training professionals have evaluation procedures available to them. My purpose for conducting this study was to determine which type of training evaluation method (reaction, learning, behavior, or results) elicited the most management support of the training function among corporate managers. I designed and distributed a case study survey instrument (TEMS) to assess the extent of this support. MBA students with management experience and non-training managers participated in the study. For both samples, the data indicated that the results evaluation format received the most support, with progressively less support for behavior, learning, and reaction evaluations, respectively. I believe that this study provides training practitioners with a mandate for demonstrating training results to top management. It further gives an accountability system for gaining management support of the training function.

PENGARUH KEKUASAAN DAN DESAIN ORGANISASI TERHADAP PERILAKU MANAJER: STUDI PADA PERUSAHAAN DAERAH AIR MINUM SE-PROVINSI KALIMANTAN SELATAN

The purpose of this study is to examine relationship between formal authority structures, information characteristic, the open system culture, the tight control culture and informal authority structures with cost consciousness either through directly or indirectly on the use of Accounting Information System (AIS) for decision control and decision management. These topics are rarely examined specially behavior of cost consciousness. The result of this research contributes for theory development, particularly for behavioral accounting besaide, contribute to managerial practices in improving expense efficiency through behavior of cost consciousness. The Data of this study were taken from local government (watter supply) from kota and kabupaten in South Kalimantan. The questionnaire were distributed to middle manager and lower manager. The data were collected by mail survey and contact person. There were 400 questionnaires sent to respondent with 32.5 percent of respon rate. Analysis was conducted by using Two Step Approach to SEM tehnique with Lisrel 8.54 and SPSS version 11. The Result shows that formal authority structures does not related to accounting information system (AIS) for decision control and decision management. Information characteristic correlated positively by AIS to decision control but it does not related with decision management. The open system culture does not related to AIS for decision control and decision management. While tight control culture correlated posifively to AIS for decision control but it does not related with decision management. Informal authority structures does not related to AIS for decision control and decision management. Decision control and decision management correlated positively with cost cosnsciousness. Formal authority structure corretaled directly with cost consciousness, while informal authority structure does not correlated directly with cost consciousness.

Public sector benchmarking: an application to Italian health district activity plans

PurposeThe paper seeks to suggest an application of the benchmarking technique on the content evaluation of the health district activity plans (HDAPs).Design/methodology/approachA literature review on benchmarking leads to the definition of a benchmarking process, which is utilized to evaluate and compare the contents of the HDAPs. These documents link the planning activity of the health districts of a region to the objectives comprehensively established at higher levels. Consequently, to define a common level of comparison of the HDAPs, the contents of the texts are evaluated through an in‐depth study of the specific law prescriptions and the adoption of an hermeneutic point of view. The HDAPs collected among the health districts of a single Italian Region represent the empirical data set and their specific benchmarking involves the definition of benchmark scales and placement of “best practices”.FindingsBenchmarking can improve planning capabilities of the health districts pointing out their most positive differences. Its specific application on the HDAPs highlights its flexibility and usefulness; whilst at the same time, it opens new insights on the recent evolution of the health care systems towards accountability, cost consciousness and efficiency.Practical implicationsThe results of the benchmarking comparison will lead to the design of an empirical blueprint for framing health district planning data and improve the understanding of the region.Originality/valueThe paper highlights the role of benchmarking both in providing a comprehensive lecture key of the reality of district planning and suggesting cues from the best practices observed.

The Difficulty of Making Psychology Research and Clinical Practice Relevant to Medicine: Experiences and Observations

Psychology and medicine research and practice have demonstrated substantial and unique bodies of knowledge designed to both improve patient care and respond to contemporary health care needs for use of evidence and cost consciousness. At their full potential they represent a significant paradigm shift in healthcare. Despite impressive successes, it is clear that we are just on the cusp of such a change. These findings have had limited impact and penetration into medical practice, particularly outside of academic medicine and large, organized systems of health care, and there are multiple examples of such limitations in various arenas of health care. There also appear to be common themes to such examples which provide us opportunities to consider how psychologists might move things ahead. They also suggest how our unique position in academic medicine can both limit our impact and provide ways of creating continued shifts in the healthcare paradigm.