Importance Of Decision Criteria Research Articles

Ambulant Anesthesia: Limits and Possibilities

The number of operations carried out on an outpatient basis is increasing in Germany. This trend has been observed for years. The prerequisite is an infrastructure that is in line with guidelines. The competence of the anesthetist must not be restricted to that of a standard specialist anesthetist, but the physician should have experience in ambulatory anesthesia. Well-adjusted comorbidities of the patient are generally not a contraindication for an outpatient procedure. The heavily overweight patient can also be operated on an outpatient basis if he is compliant, comorbidities are well adjusted and intensive postoperative care is ensured. Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome is per se not a contraindication for carrying out a surgical intervention on an outpatient basis. The intensive postoperative care and the presence of a CPAP device are also important in the recovery room. An important decision criterion in cardiac patients is the determination of the metabolic equivalent (MET). A MET value > 4 is considered sufficient for outpatient procedures. Postoperatively, the patient can be discharged home when the surgeon and the anesthetist are convinced that the condition of the patient is stable. A sensible companion and instruction to the patient that he is not allowed to actively participate in road traffic are essential for discharge after surgery. The decision on outpatient or inpatient care must always be taken individually. It is not possible to make a general statement as to the manner in which an intervention should be carried.

The Implementation Of Analytic Nalytic Hierarchy Process In Pharmaceutical Industry For Selection Process Of 3rd Party Logistics Service Provider

Deciding to outsource a company’s warehousing and distribution is never easy. Although cost is certainly one of the major considerations, there are many other criteria such as quality, reputation and service level that are part of the decision making process. Many companies from different industries prefer to outsource logistics activities by evaluating different information when choosing the right logistics partner. Through this, companies also gain experience about working with a strategic partner for outsourcing. Also, the experience/former performance of the potential partner is one of the most important performance indicator and decision criteria for the logistics provider selection. Therefore, experience is one of the key driver in decision making process. Since pharmaceutical industry has its own priorities due to stricter quality standards, the experience related to the former performance is a more relevant factor in the decision criteria. In this study, the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) was applied to evaluate selection process of 3PL service providers in pharmaceutical industry. Also, the relative weights of the four criteria and twelve sub-criteria were determined to select the most important criteria in pharmaceutical industry which was experience with its factor weight of 32.40%.

Diagnosis and Management of Vestibular Schwannomas - An Interdisciplinary Challenge

Vestibular schwannomas expand slowly in the internal auditory canal, in the cerebellopontine angle, inside the cochlear and the labyrinth. Larger tumors can displace and compress the brainstem. With an annual incidence of 1:100 000 vestibular schwannoma represent 6-7% of all intracranial tumors. In the cerebellopontine angle they are by far the most neoplasm with 90% of all lesions located in this region. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), audiometry, and vestibular diagnostics are the mainstays of the clinical workup for patients harboring tumors. The first part of this paper delivers an overview of tumor stages, the most common grading scales for facial nerve function and hearing as well as a short introduction to the examination of vestibular function.Upholding or improving quality of life is the central concern in counseling and treating a patient with vestibular schwannoma. Preservation of neuronal function is essential and the management options - watchful waiting, microsurgery and stereotactic radiation - should be custom-tailored to the individual situation of the patient. Continuing interdisciplinary exchange is important to monitor treatment quality and to improve treatment results. Recently, several manuscripts and reviews have been published on the topic of vestibular schwanomma. On the occasion of the 88th annual meeting of the German Society of Oto-rhino-laryngology, Head and Neck surgery a special volume of the journal "HNO" will be printed. Hence this presentation has been designed to deviate from the traditional standard which commonly consists of a pure literature review. The current paper was conceptually woven around a series of interdisciplinary cases which outlines examples for every stage of the disease that show characteristic results for management options to date. Systematic clinical decision pathways have been deduced from our experience and from results reported in the literature. These pathways are graphically outlined after the case presentations. Important criteria for decision making are size and growth rate of the tumor, hearing of the patient and the probability of total tumor resection with preservation of hearing and facial nerve function, age and co-morbidity of the patient, best possible control of vertigo and tinnitus and last but not least the patient's preference and choice. In addition to this, the experience and the results of a given center with each treatment modality will figure in the decision making process.We will discuss findings that are reported in the literature regarding facial nerve function, hearing, vertigo, tinnitus, and headache and reflect on recent studies on their influence on the patient's quality of life. Vertigo plays an essential role in this framework since it is an independent predictor of quality of life and a patient's dependence on social welfare.Pathognomonic bilateral vestibular schwannoma that occur in patients suffering from neurofibromatosis typ-2 (NF2) differ from spontaneous unilateral tumors in their biologic behavior. Treatment of neurofibromatosis type-2 patients requires a multidisciplinary team, especially because of the multitude of separate intracranial and spinal lesions.Off-label chemotherapy with Bevacizumab can stabilize tumor size of vestibular schwannomas and even improve hearing over longer periods of time. Hearing rehabilitation in NF2 patients can be achieved with cochlea and auditory brainstem implants.

Benchmarking healthcare logistics processes – a comparative case study of Danish and US hospitals

Logistics processes in hospitals are vital in the provision of patient care. Improving healthcare logistics processes provides an opportunity for reduced healthcare costs and better support of clinical processes. Hospitals are faced with increasing healthcare costs around the world and improvement initiatives prevalent in manufacturing industries such as lean, business process reengineering and benchmarking have seen an increase in use in healthcare. This study investigates how logistics processes in a hospital can be benchmarked to improve process performance. A comparative case study of the bed logistics process and the pharmaceutical distribution process was conducted at a Danish and a US hospital. The case study results identified decision criteria for designing efficient and effective healthcare logistics processes. The most important decision criteria were related to quality, security of supply and employee engagement. Based on these decision criteria, performance indicators were developed to enable benchmarking of logistics processes in healthcare. The study contributes to the limited literature on healthcare logistics benchmarking. Furthermore, managers in healthcare logistics are provided with a list of decision parameters relevant for designing and benchmarking processes.

ARTERIAL HYPERTENSION IN A VERY OLD: SIGNIFICANCE OF THE BIOLOGICAL AGE

Elderly population is heterogenic, and persons with the same chronological age differ greatly by their physical and cognitive functioning. Regardless the convincing witness on the adverse influence of raised blood pressure (BP) in a middle age persons, its influence on the prognosis of a very old is still debatable, as the question, whether to treat arterial hypertension (AH) in elderly, and if so, how intensively. The article focuses on the results of observational and randomized clinical studies that make it to decide that not the chronological, but biological age is an important criteria for decision on AH management in elderly. The article presents in details mechanisms interacting in BP regulation, and influence of BP on the risk of morbidity and mortality in elderly. Also, the current guidelines are cited, on antihypertension treatment, as the issues dicussed on AH treatment in elderly, that require further investigation.

Booking Behavior of Free-Floating Carsharing Users

In recent years, the services of free-floating carsharing (FFCS) systems have gained popularity, especially in urban areas. Some FFCS operators are now including battery electric vehicles (BEVs) in their fleets. This addition is especially beneficial for cities and their inhabitants, as BEVs are locally emission free and move more quietly. However, how FFCS customers react to the new technology has not yet been empirically analyzed. By combining the app call and booking data of an FFCS operator in Munich, Germany, this study assessed the preferences of customers when booking a specific car and evaluated the attractiveness of the fleet’s BEVs. With the consideration of the spatial availability encountered when the mobile phone app was opening, the study found that the distance to the nearest available car was the most important decision criterion for customers. If a car had been available within 200 m, the probability that customers booked a car would have been twice as great compared with the case that the nearest vehicle had been 500 m away (100 m ≈ 0.06 mi). In addition, the majority of the customers booked the nearest available car. Nevertheless, certain qualities of vehicles made users walk to a car that was farther away. The study identified popular vehicle models and found that customers preferred to use the fleet’s BEVs, independent of the battery level. BEVs were used for almost the same distances as internal combustion engine vehicles and were suitable for most use cases: more than 80% of the FFCS trips covered a distance of at most 20 km (≈12.4 mi).

Establishment of the best maintenance practices for optimal reconfigurable vibrating screen management using decision techniques

Purpose Reconfigurable vibrating screen (RVS) is an innovative beneficiation machine designed at Tshwane University of Technology, Republic of South Africa (RSA); with adjustable screen structure to ensure sorting, sizing and screening of varying mineral particles (sizes and quantities) demanded by the customers in a cost-effective manner through the screen structure geometric transformation. In order to ensure that this machine is optimally maintained and managed when utilized in surface and underground mining industries, there is a need to establish or ascertain the best maintenance practices that would be used in optimally managing the RVS machine using decision making techniques. In view of this, the purpose of this paper is to ascertain the best maintenance practices that would be used to optimally maintain and manage the RVS machine when used in surface and underground mines. Design/methodology/approach Decision making techniques such as weighted decision matrix (WDM) and analytical hierarchy process (AHP) were used in this research work to establish the best maintenance practice for optimally maintaining and managing the RVS machine using relevant literature survey on maintenance management systems as well as the different maintenance criteria decision indices obtained from different conventional vibrating screen machine manufacturers and maintenance experts. Findings Based on the results obtained from the WDM analysis, it was anticipated that e-maintenance (e-M) system embedded with diagnosing and prognosing algorithms; with a cumulative weight score of 2.37 is the best maintenance practice for managing the RVS machine when used in surface mines, while AHP with deeper decision making analysis anticipated that the robotic-driven maintenance (RM) system with an important decision criteria; safety, and a cumulative hierarchy score of 28.6 percent, supported by e-M management system with a cumulative hierarchy score of 17.6 percent are the best maintenance mix that could be used in optimally maintaining and managing the RVS machine, when used in a craggy and hazardous underground mining environment. Practical implications To this effect, it could be anticipated that e-M management system (endowed with the ability to detect fault on the machine, diagnose and prognose the different subsystems of the RVS machine and ascertain the reconfiguration time and process of the RVS machine in recovering production loss during the maintenance of the machine as well as meeting customers demand, etc.) is the best maintenance practice for optimally maintaining the RVS machine when utilized in surface mines while both e-M management system and RM management system (endowed with the ability to carry out automated maintenance tasks achievement under little or no maintenance manager intervention) are also anticipated as the best customized maintenance practices mix that could be used in optimally maintaining the RVS machine, when used in dangerous and hazardous underground mining environment. Originality/value This maintenance management system evaluation and selection for optimal RVS machine functionality will serve as a useful information to different mining machines (and other related machines) maintenance managers, in selecting the best maintenance management system for ensuring optimal functionality, reliability and maintainability of machines used in their industries.

The role of corporate image and switching barriers in the service evaluation process

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to better predict customers’ behavioral intentions (BI) by developing and empirically testing an integrative conceptual framework that allows us to investigate the mediating role of corporate image (CI) and switching barriers (SB) in the interrelationships among service evaluation constructs (i.e. service quality (SQ), perceived value and customer satisfaction (CS)) and customers’ future intentions. These relationships are explored in the mobile telecommunications service context. Design/methodology/approach – Around 1,000 customers of mobile telecommunication services were questioned using a structured questionnaire. To test the proposed hypotheses, a model was constructed and estimated using the method of partial least squares path methodology. Findings – Findings indicate that the provision of high-SQ and the creation of superior value, through the development of reasonable costs, can result in high-CS; enhanced CI, and either directly or indirectly through SB, in customers’ favorable BI. However, given the price-competitive structure of the industry under investigation, customers’ loyalty decisions are mainly based on service-related criteria. The value of and satisfaction from delivered services are far more important decision criteria, than image and SB. Research limitations/implications – This study was limited to one service setting and the proposed model should be cross-validated in other service contexts before the relationships among its components are fully clarified. Also the use of cross-section design reduces inference ability regarding temporal changes in research constructs. Practical implications – Results suggest that marketers, in their effort to develop more customer-oriented marketing plans in mature markets, should consider both the pool-in factors, reflecting the value of the provided services; CS, and CI, and the interactions among them as well as with the push-back factors, reflecting SB, as they all impact on customers’ BI. Originality/value – This paper contributes to the body of existing knowledge by considering both CI and SB, along with other service evaluation constructs, as antecedents of consumers’ BI. The interrelationships among SB, service evaluation and CI has not been adequately addressed in the existing literature.

Nonlinearities in Interregional Migration Behavior

Traditional “Marshallian” theories predict a linear relationship between internal migration and regional wage differentials. Using panel data on gross place-to-place migration flows in the United States, we estimate a semiparametric version of the modified gravity model and find evidence of a nonlinear effect of wage differentials in line with alternative theories of interregional migration, including the “option value of waiting” theory, liquidity constraints, and wealth-conditioned immobility. Traditionally, the migration decision process is believed to be mainly composed of two criteria: “whether to move” and “where to move.” However, the empirical evidence of nonlinearity found in this study supports the potential presence of another important decision criterion, “when to move” on interregional migration.

The Art and Science of Effective Paper Reviewing

The Art and Science of Effective Paper Reviewing

The Competitive Advantage of Honesty

We theoretically and experimentally study the influence of producers’ honesty on consumers’ purchasing decisions. In a competitive market, producers can save wage costs by lying to their workers. Our treatments vary consumers’ observability of within-firm honesty. We show that when producers’ honesty is fully transparent, honesty provides a competitive advantage: Despite higher production costs, honest firms make higher profits than dishonest firms. A robustness treatment demonstrates that this result is driven by honesty concerns and not by fairness towards the workers. Our findings extend the literature on consumer social responsibility by adding firms’ honesty as an important decision criterion in consumer choice.

Optimal selection of third-party logistics service providers using quality function deployment and Taguchi loss function

Purpose – Selection of logistics service provider (LSP) (also known as Third-party logistics (3PL) is a critical decision, because logistics affects top and bottom line as well. Companies consider logistics as a cost driver and at the time of LSP selection decision, many important decision criteria’s are left out. 3PL selection is multi-criteria decision-making process. The purpose of this paper is to develop an integrated approach, combining quality function deployment (QFD), and Taguchi loss function (TLF) to select optimal 3PL. Design/methodology/approach – Multiple criteria are derived from the company requirements using house of quality. The 3PL service attributes are developed using QFD and the relative importance of the attributes are assessed. TLFs are used to measure performance of each 3PL on each decision variable. Composite weighted loss scores are used to rank 3PLs. Findings – QFD is a better tool which connects attributes used in a decision problem to decision maker’s requirements. In total, 15 criteria were used and TLF provides performance on these criteria. Practical implications – The proposed model provides a methodology to make informed decision related to 3PL selection. The proposed model may be converted into decision support system. Originality/value – Proposed approach in this paper is a novel approach that connects the 3PL selection problem to practice in terms of identifying criteria’s and provides a single numerical value in terms of Taghui loss.

Quality of life or life expectancy? Criteria and sources of information in the decision-making of patients undergoing aortic valve surgery

Physicians are expected to involve patients adequately in the decision-making process prior to surgery. To this end, it is essential to have knowledge about the potential reasons for such a decision. In this study we investigated which information sources and decision criteria are important to patients prior to aortic valve surgery. A consecutive sample of 468 patients (70.1%m, aged 66.9±14.2 years) was examined 2 years after aortic valve replacement or reconstruction with a self-developed questionnaire. Preoperative discussion with a cardiologist or a cardiac surgeon was the information source patients used most frequently and felt to be the most helpful. The most important decision criterion was quality of life, followed by life expectancy and likelihood of reoperation. Two years postoperatively, 97.3% of the patients were satisfied with their decision. Preoperative counseling by a physician plays an essential role in the decision-making process prior to cardiac surgery. Patients want to be involved in decision-making, though they do not want to bear the full responsibility.

Communication Source, Brand Image and Brand Choices of Postgraduate Students

The purpose of this study is to determine post graduate students’ perception of the communication sources, brand image of the university and their brand choices when selecting a university to pursue their graduate studies. Aquantitative research approach in the form of a correlation study was used in this research. This study was conducted in a corporate university of the national telecommunication company in Malaysia. The respondents were post graduate students pursuing master the business management (MBA) program. A total of 41 studentsconstituted the sample. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data. University web site was found tohave the greatest reach and influence on students’ decision to study in the university. Published ranking wassecond and friends /family was third. Of the top ten sources having the greatest reach and influence, six were university sources. Quality / reputation of the faculty topped the list on important decision criteria for selecting to study in the university. This was followed by prestige /global recognition of the university; published ranking of its graduate management programme and that it was an accredited program. Accredited programme, quality and reputation of the faculty, global recognition and prestige of the school were among the top reasons given by graduating MBA students for selecting the school. The study was confined to one institution only. Therefore the results are only generalizable to the population from that university. Further research should include samples from other universities so that the results can be generalizable over a larger population. The paper contributes to marketing research for institutions of higher education. The finding could be used to develop effective marketing strategy.

Multi-objective optimization of OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness) regarding production speed and energy consumption

Using condition monitoring to track machine health and trigger maintenance actions is a proven best practice. By monitoring machinery health, costly failures are avoided and downtime due to outages is reduced. This results in an improved OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness). Many papers discuss the implementation of condition monitoring to prevent failures and optimize maintenance interventions. However, much less attention is paid to the use of condition monitoring information in order to optimize production capacity of a machine or a plant. This optimization is often translated in production plants by maximizing the production capacity (speed) and minimizing machine’s downtime. As energy consumption is becoming more and more an important decision criterion in modern manufacturing plants, the former optimization needs to take this parameter into account. As such a trade-off has to be made between the gain in capacity and the cost of the additional energy consumed. Therefore, in this paper we will develop a multi-objective optimization of OEE to allow multiple-criteria decision making. More precisely, the goal of this paper is to establish the link between condition monitoring information and production capacity optimization by continuously adjusting production parameters (i.e. production speed) taking into account the machine’s condition and the energy consumption.

Experts' considerations on HLA-haploidentical stem cell transplantation.

Recently, novel strategies to control graft-versus-host disease and facilitate engraftment have allowed an increasing number of human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-haploidentical hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (haploHSCT) to be performed. A meeting was convened to review the biological rationale and the clinical results of various T-cell-depleted (TCD) and T-cell-replete (TCR) HLA-haploidentical 'transplant platforms'. The objective of the meeting was to promote discussion and consent among leading researchers in the field on three main crucial issues for haploHSCT: (i) eligibility criteria, (ii) choice of the most suitable donor, and (iii) choice of the most appropriate transplant platform. The experts in attendance agreed that a patient who is eligible for an allogeneic transplant and lacks an HLA-identical sibling or an HLA-matched unrelated donor should be considered for an alternative donor transplant. Together with the experience of the individual center, the most important decision criteria in choosing an alternative donor source should be the rapidity of transplantation so as to avoid disease relapse/progression. The choice of the mismatched donor should be driven by younger age, ABO blood group compatibility, and Cytomegalovirus status. If a TCD transplant is planned, NK-alloreactive donors and/or the mother should be preferred. Prospective comparative studies are needed to establish the relative efficacy of different transplant platforms. However, expertise in stem cell manipulation and in adoptive immunotherapy is essential if a TCD transplant platform is chosen.

Decision making at the front end of innovation: the hidden influence of knowledge and decision criteria

Decision making at the front end of innovation is critical for the success of companies. This paper presents a method, called decision making based on knowledge (DeBK), which was created to analyze the decision‐making process at the front end. The method evaluates the knowledge of project information and the importance of decision criteria, compiling a measure that indicates whether decisions are founded on available knowledge and what criteria are in fact being considered to delineate them. The potential contribution of DeBK is corroborated through two projects that faced decision‐making issues at the front end of innovation.

Service Quality Measurement Using Fuzzy AHP-Based Approach

Service quality is widely taken as a driver of firms' marketing and financial performance. Evaluating service satisfaction is a multi-criterion decision problem which includes both qualitative and quantitative factors, and it needs more critical analysis. The aim of this paper is to identify and discuss some of the important and critical decision criteria for service satisfaction measurement based on SERVQUAL method combing with fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP) based methodology. The implementation of the system is demonstrated by a problem having three stages of hierarchy which contains different criteria and attributes at wider perspective. The proposed model can provide not only a framework for the firm to measure service satisfaction of dealers but also has the capability to deploy the firm’s service strategy.

Approaching IT Automation Decisions using Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP)

What is the future of the conventional phone-based corporate sales teams? As consumers grow more and more accustomed to purchasing online everything from holiday gifts to weekly groceries to boats and homes, companies have better and better opportunities to automate their own corporate sales processes. Today's companies are encountering an era of accessible and scalable information technologies (IT) and of an increasingly e-commerce-savvy customer base. This paper explores a decision process in a case company using analytical hierarchy process (AHP). Decision profiled in this study is to determine the most viable decision between developing an automated custom sales order interface system and using the existing manual process in which customers contact sales teams to place orders. Decision model is based on multiple criteria in order to assess each candidate system risks and benefits. Study analyzes the current trend of IT integration throughout the supply chain, develops a decision model based on user interviews, and aims to determine the circumstances under which automating the process is the best choice. Results indicate that, importance of decision criteria differs with respect to duration of contracts each customer makes. For instance, development cost has been identified as the most heavily weighted decision criterion at six month long contract cases whereas all decision criteria which are data quality, development costs, organizational politics and customer experience are weighted equally at one year contract cases. Results have also shown that although organizational politics has been ranked relatively lower in six months and one year contract cases it takes considerable precedence at contracts with duration of two years and more.

Selecting e-Purse Smart Card Technology via Fuzzy AHP and ANP

Developments in the information technologies provide important advantages to consumers and companies. Nowadays, smart card technology starts to use e-purse applications. The aim of this paper is to identify the most important decision criteria to select the best card technology. In this study, at first smart card and multiple selection techniques were explained. Then the best card technology was selected for an e-purse application. The three types of card technologies were examined and the most important criteria were taken into account by the software developer while they develop card software. Fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP) and analytical network process (ANP) techniques were used to compare smart card technologies.