Major Success Factors Research Articles

NSF GEO REU Program Coordinators Show Adaptability and Resiliency During the Pandemic

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many undergraduate internships, including the National Science Foundation (NSF) Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) programs, were canceled or moved online. Although several studies have examined student success during the online transition, less research has examined how REU programs have changed from this experience, the ongoing and novel challenges, and strategies that program coordinators employed to overcome them. To investigate this gap, REU site programs were surveyed in the NSF Geosciences (GEO) Directorate, with findings that many students declined participation after having been accepted into programs, and that there were difficulties accessing institutional support services and meeting changing student needs. Despite these challenges, nearly all respondents reported program satisfaction, with several indicating the importance of GEO REU community support. Overall, REU coordinator resilience appears to be a major factor in program success.

Lični i organizacioni faktori koji utiču na sindrom sagorevanja zaposlenih u hotelima - bibliometrijska analiza i analiza sadržaja

The hotel industry is very vulnerable to unexpected external changes, which have an impact on employees as the major success factors of hotel functioning and success. The aim of this paper is to establish, by conducting a bibliometric and content analysis, the characteristics of existing research in the sphere of hotel employee burnout syndrome and to single out the main factors that influence it. The bibliometric analysis conducted in the beginning of September 2023 found that only 37 papers dealing with burnout among hotel employees were published in only eight journals from the sphere of tourism and hospitality indexed in the Web of Science database (Clarivate Analytics Journal Citation Report). The majority of authors who write about this subject are from the USA and China. Content analysis revealed that burnout syndrome among hotel employees is largely dependent on the personal characteristics of employees, as well as on organizational factors.

Determinants of Turn-Around-Time for Early Infant Diagnosis of HIV Testing: Retrospective Analysis of National Level PCR Testing Data.

India has been implementing one of the biggest Early Infant Diagnosis (EID) of HIV intervention globally. The turn-around-time (TAT) for EID test is one of the major factors for success of the program. This study was to assess the turnaround time and its determinants. It is a mixed methods study with quantitative analysis of retrospective data (2013-2016) collected from all the 7 Early Infant Diagnosis testing laboratories (called as regional reference laboratories or RRLs) in India and qualitative component that can help explain the determinants of turn-around-time. The retrospective national level data available from the RRLs was analyzed to measure the turn-around-time from the receipt of samples to the dispatch of results and to understand the determinants for the same. The 3 components transport time, testing time, and dispatch time were also calculated. Transport time was analyzed state-wise and the testing time RRL wise to understand disparities, if any. Qualitative interviews with the RRL officials were conducted to understand the underlying determinants of TAT. The Median turn-around-time ranged between 29 and 53 days over the 4 years. Transport time was significantly higher for states without RRL (42 days) than those with RRL (27 days). Testing time varied from RRL to RRL and was associated with incomplete forms, inadequate samples, kits logistics, staff turnover, staff training, and instrument related issues. The TAT is high and can be potentially reduced with interventions, such as decentralization of RRLs; courier systems for sample transport; and ensuring adequate resources at the RRL level.

Exploring the adoption of technology against delays in construction projects

PurposeCompleting construction projects within the planned schedule has widely been considered as one of the major project success factors. This study investigates the use of technologies to address delays in construction projects and aims to address three research questions (1) to identify the adopted technologies and proposed solutions in the literature, (2) to explore the reasons why the delays cannot be prevented despite disruptive technologies and (3) to determine the major strategies to prevent delays in construction projects.Design/methodology/approachIn total, 208 research articles that used innovative technologies, methods, or tools to avoid delays in construction projects were investigated by conducting a comprehensive literature review. An elaborative content analysis was performed to cover the implemented technologies and their transformation, highlighted research fields in relation to selected technologies, focused delay causes and corresponding delay mitigation strategies and emphasized project types with specific delay causes. According to the analysis results, a typological framework with appropriate technological means was proposed.FindingsThe findings revealed that several tools such as planning, imaging, geo-spatial data collection, machine learning and optimization have widely been adopted to address specific delay causes. It was also observed that strategies to address various delay causes throughout the life cycle of construction projects have been overlooked in the literature. The findings of the present research underpin the trends and technological advances to address significant delay causes.Originality/valueDespite the technological advancements in the digitalization era of Industry 4.0, many construction projects still suffer from poor schedule performance. However, the reason of this is questionable and has not been investigated thoroughly.

Success Factors in Mega Infrastructure Projects (MIPs): Developing Nations Perspectives

There is a common understanding that megaprojects are important drivers of societal change. Their impact is an important phenomenon because of the influence on both society and economy. Despite the best practices all around the globe, numerous challenges can move a megaproject from a programmed success to a failure scenario. It can create an uncertainty over the result, impact as well as over the justification of the enormous amount of resources spent. Despite much research done so far, it is still not clear what are the causes of megaproject success. However, there seems to be no clear understanding as to what are the major success factors on which a project is judged in developing nation. Hence, this study aims to analyse the most vital success factors that would label a megaproject as being a complete accomplishment. The research was conducted using quantitative survey. The questionnaires were distributed to different stakeholders who have participated in previous megaproject. The questions were based on a Likert’s scale rating and analysed using relative important index (RII). The result from the analysis was then used in establishing the main success factors in mega project whilst focusing on what is regarded as the most important success factors as projects are unique with certain needs. The key finding from the study is the Project Managers experience and co existence with other stakeholders which was found as vital factor for the successful delivery of MIPs. Therefore, the research demonstrates the implication of the role of the project managers in terms of coordination of other parties in achieving stakeholders goal..

Key Success Factors for the e-Governance Initiatives Through Common Service Centres in India: An Empirical Study with Special Reference to Akshaya e-Kendras in Kerala

The National e-Governance Plan formulated by the Government of India lays out the foundation for the long-term growth of e-governance in the country. The Common Service Centre (CSC) scheme is a cornerstone project under National e-Governance Plan, approved in the year 2006, and acts as the delivery point for government, private and social sector services such as G2C, B2C and G2B to the rural citizens of India at their doorsteps. In Kerala, the Kerala State IT Mission is the nodal agency to create and run a CSC network through Akshaya e-kendras. This study aims to provide empirical evidence about the major success factors for e-governance services through Akshaya e-kendras. Infrastructure, accessibility, transparency, system quality, service quality, convenience, trust, e-participation and interoperability were the variables used for the study. SPSS Amos 22 was used for developing confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling for the study. The study found that the key success factors for the success of CSCs are service quality followed by transparency and convenience. Other important factors are accessibility, system quality and interoperability. The least contributing factors are trust and infrastructure.

Effect of Tension on Learner School Performance at Primary School Level at Bhakkar, Pakistan

Effect of tension on students' school performance at the primary school level is a title of study work. Exploring the tension effect on learner performance at school is one of the study's key goals. A major factor in students' school success is tension. This study was intended to highlight the detrimental effects on students' academic performance. The study's objectives were to identify the types of tension associated with student performance, assess how tension affected learners' school performances, and distinguish between how tension affected learners of each gender differently. The researcher can offer a workable solution for the effect of tension on students' school performance to meet the study mentioned earlier objectives. Every primary school in the district of Bhakkar has provided information about this topic. For this study, ten primary schools were chosen randomly (n=10). The researcher subsequently split the ten primary schools (n = 10) into two groups (n = 5) of males and (n = 5) of females. The learner's academic and performance level is better in the case of low stress and anxiety. The main results of this study demonstrate that the teacher can play a crucial part in easing students' school anxiety, and also, this home is a prominent place where this can decrease.

Vasectomy Regret or Lack Thereof.

Vasectomy is a procedure that results in permanent yet reversible sterility and remains a great contraceptive option for many. Previous research studies have highlighted frequency of vasectomy utilization, defining characteristics of individuals who opt for this method, various surgical techniques, and the risks and benefits associated with the procedure. What remains to be defined is why or why not individuals may experience post-vasectomy regret and whether the previous characteristics correlate. The objective of this review is to synthesize information regarding reasons individuals may regret their vasectomy and seek reversal, what options exist for accomplishing the reversal, and patients' fertility prognosis post-vasovasostomy. This review utilized a combination of secondary and tertiary data analysis across a wide scope of academic databases pertaining to the topic of interest. Typically, most males who have sought a vasectomy are satisfied with their decision, however, approximately 6% of this population seeks reversal. Key factors influencing vasectomy regret include age at the time of vasectomy, parental status, pre- and post-operative relationship status, unresolved physical and psychosexual problems, and development of chronic scrotal pain following the procedure. Few options exist for vasectomy reversal including microsurgical reconstructive vasectomy reversal (VR) and sperm extraction for in vitro fertilization. There is no guarantee that fertility will be restored in any case but a major predictive factor for success is the time interval prior to reversal. Vasectomy is intended to be a permanent form of contraception; however, a minor chance remains that individuals may experience post-operative regret due to various factors. This warrants proper comprehensive counseling by the patient's provider regarding benefits and risks, procedural outcomes, opportunities for reversal, and fertility prognosis.

German version of the Talent Development Environment Questionnaire (TDEQ-5)

The quality of the talent development environment and how it supports youth athletes has been identified as one major factor of success. Nonetheless, in psychological talent assessment there is a lack of standardized instruments addressing environmental aspects. One well-known questionnaire is the Talent Development Environment Questionnaire (TDEQ; Martindale et al., 2010). Until recently, the TDEQ had been translated into several languages, but not into German. Within this study, the five-factor, 25-item TDEQ‑5 (Li, Wang, Pyun, & Martindale, 2015) was systematically forward and backward translated and administered to 276 German youth athletes from different sports, aged between 13 and 21 years (mean [M] = 16.01; standard deviation [SD] = 2.1). In addition, 63 of these athletes completed both the German and English TDEQ‑5 to test for quality of translation. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed that the five-factor structure was acceptable according to the chi-square test to degrees of freedom ratio (1.9), root mean square error of approximation (0.058), and standardized root mean square (0.061). The comparative fit index (CFI) of 0.88 and the Tucker-Lewis Index of 0.86 was slightly below the 0.90 cut-off value. The reliabilities of the TDEQ‑5 factors were considered moderate to satisfactory (α = 0.62 to 0.75). In conclusion, the German TDEQ‑5 appears to be an applicable tool for use in research and applied settings but needs further analysis. In particular, we encourage future research to test the construct validity and ecological validity of the German TDEQ‑5 and suggest practitioners to utilize the tool to test and drive applied interventions within talent development environments.

Usability of clinical decision support systems

Usability is considered a major success factor for current and future decision support systems. Such systems are increasingly used to assist human decision-makers in high-stakes tasks in complex domains such as health care, jurisdiction or finance. Yet, many if not most expert systems—especially in health care—fail to deliver the degree of quality in terms of usability that its expert users are used to from their personal digital consumer products. In this article, we focus on clinical decision support systems (CDSS) as an example for how important a human-centered design approach is when designing complex software in complex contexts. We provide an overview of CDSS classes, discuss the importance of systematically exploring mental models of users, and formulate challenges and opportunities of future design work on CDSS. We further provide a case study from a current research project to illustrate how we used codesign as a practical approach to produce usable software in a real-world context.Practical Relevance: We make a point for usability to be considered a major success factor and non-negotiable characteristic of expert software. With software evolving into virtual coworkers in terms of supporting human decision-making in complex, high-risk domains, the necessity of and demand for systems that are unambiguously understandable and interpretable for their expert users have never been higher. We show that this is a real-world problem with high practical relevance by describing our work in the domain of clinical decision support systems (CDSS) as an example. We introduce the topic and a classification of CDSS. Thus, we highlight a conceptual framework of how to approach complex domains from a technology designer’s point of view. We continue by explaining why usability must be regarded as a major goal in software development. We derive challenges and opportunities that may well be transferred to other domains. Finally, be including a real-world example from our own professional work we propose a practical approach towards taking the challenges and exploiting the associated opportunities.

Digital platforms: Perceived criteria of success, importance of work design, occupational safety and health for present and prospective digital platforms.

BACKGROUND:Digital platforms have found their way into all our lives: they are discussed in political, economic, scientific and public fields worldwide. Platform-based work is also on the rise in the German labour market, not only in institutionalised work, but also in start-ups and spin-offs.OBJECTIVES:The article describes the results of an analysis aimed at identifying perceptions of new and already known major success factors on market entry and market penetration regarding occupational safety and health (OSH) and work design.METHODS:A total of 31 semi-standardised interviews were conducted with 39 people. First, perceived success factors in general were examined with the comparative analysis. Surprisingly, OSH/work design factors did not emerge as perceived success factors. For this reason, a in-depth analysis was performed in a secondary analysis with the structured content analysis.RESULTS:Identified perceived success factors were user orientation, scalability, network effects, niche occupation. The in-depth secondary analysis with focus on OSH/work design showed that the interviewees are aware of the topic of OSH/work design, but did not consider it to be important to economic success.CONCLUSIONS:The identified success factors may not seem surprising. What is surprising, however, is the role played by OSH/work design. Solutions must be developed that sensitize working persons in the platform sector to the topic of OSH/work design. A two-step process may be useful: First, uniform regulations and laws must be anchored in the platform architecture. Second, various measures and training courses can be designed to inform and raise awareness.

The role of Private Sector in Development of Afghanistan

The following research is based on the role of private sector in the development of Afghanistan. Research starts with the introductory section where the researcher has provided the background of the country along with the background of the business economy of the nation. Research aims objectives and the questions have been provided in this chapter which helps the readers to get a clear understanding of the purpose of the research. Another important addition in this chapter is the structure of the total study where researcher provides the detailed description about the contents of the research. The role of NATO and the top superpowers in the current economical and geopolitical situation in the country has been one of the major milestones in the present and future of the country. The following milestones have helped in the development of the infrastructure and rules of the country. The research questions set up in the research have all pointed directly to the topic that is based on the role the private sector industry plays in the development of the country and also the major outcomes of the developmental process. The review of the literature has concentrated on the works of the authors who have vastly written and discussed on the following sector of the country. The literary review has identified the major problems regarding the same and has also pointed out to the different types of the factors that lead to the current problems. These problems have been the major cause for the negative growth of the business organizations in the country. The methods used in the dissertation have been justified as well as explained. The use of the positivism philosophy and descriptive techniques research design along with the selection of the secondary research has been helpful for the research. The use of the theme based study has been used to get a detailed qualitative review of the following topic. The research has a wide scope and great approach just because it has presented a number of recommendations which has been a major success factor for the research.

P-618 Artificial intelligence (AI) to optimize ovarian stimulation for IVF: from stimulation protocols to total and mature oocyte yield

Abstract Study question Can AI, based on demographic and clinical data, enhance IVF success by choosing the optimal controlled ovarian stimulation (COS) to maximize total and mature oocyte yield? Summary answer Using patient demographics, routine preliminary blood tests and antral follicle count, this AI tool enables personalized COS protocol to optimize total/mature oocyte yield (±3.5 oocytes). What is known already Number of retrieved oocytes and mature oocyte yield are major factors in IVF success. When planning an IVF cycle, doctors decide the stimulation protocol based on certain demographics and basic clinical data. Yet, the treatment recommendations based on these parameters vary globally. AI, an umbrella term for multiple data-driven disciplines, has recently been employed to assist in various stages of the IVF process, particularly in embryo selection for transfer, for COS drug dosing, and for tracking follicular growth to better predict the trigger date. Can AI optimize treatment regimen choice and predict oocyte quantity and quality? Study design, size, duration Training of the AI aimed to build a model capable of predicting mature oocyte yield for a given COS protocol. An initial retrospective, anonymized dataset of 1463 autologous cycles from 757 patients collected between 2017-2021 was reduced to 769 cycles with complete data from 461 patients and used as input for the AI model. A multilayer perceptron deep learning network was implemented 100 times to validate statistical predictions of total/mature oocyte yield. Participants/materials, setting, methods Patients underwent IVF treatment at a private ART center using antagonist (77%), micro-dose Lupron flare (20%) or minimal-stimulation (3%) COS protocols. Demographic data including age, diagnoses, ethnicity, body mass index (BMI), anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH), Day-3 AFC, estradiol, and progesterone levels were used as input along with protocol type. An 80%, 10%, 10% split of the data was used for AI training, validation, and testing, respectively. Mean patient age was 36.8±4.3 years. Main results and the role of chance The AI model predictions were generated from baseline data, representing the clinical scenario prior to the start of a COS cycle. The mean absolute error (MAE) for the number of mature oocytes retrieved per cycle was 3.5. To assess the role of chance, performance was compared to a random model that assigned each true mature oocyte yield to a random patient from the dataset, resulting in an MAE of 6.1. (p < 0.001; Mann-Whitney U test). When predicting total oocyte count, MAE was 4.6 and 7.3 for the AI and random models, respectively (p < 0.001). The Spearman correlation coefficient revealed a strong positive correlation between the actual numbers of mature oocyte retrieved and mean predicted oocyte yield (0.748; p < 0.0001). Using this model, a preliminary AI tool was developed which can predict total and mature oocyte yield based on different planned COS protocols. Limitations, reasons for caution The results were generated from a model trained using retrospective, single-center data. To further validate the model, additional testing is needed using data from different ART centers, with additional COS protocols, and analyses comparing the results of the first COS cycle to the subsequent cycles of the same patient. Wider implications of the findings This oocyte yield prediction model, once validated, can be used by infertility specialists worldwide as a data-driven approach to individualized COS, with the potential to assist cycle programing and optimize lab preparations. Further training with data concerning COS drug dosages and complications, including ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome, will increase clinical application. Trial registration number N/A

Corrosion properties and biocompatibility of strontium doped calcium phosphate coated magnesium prepared by electrodeposition

The initial corrosion resistance and bioactivity of biodegradable magnesium is a major success factor in implant applications. In this study, Calcium phosphate doped Strontium was coated on magnesium by electrodeposition. The surface characteristics and biocompatibility of Calcium phosphate coated magnesium according to the Sr content were evaluated. The strontium-calcium phosphate coating was uniformly coated on the magnesium surface and strontium-calcium phosphate coating layer prevents damage and local corrosion of the magnesium surface. In addition, as the strontium content increased, the corrosion resistance of magnesium was improved. Cytotoxicity was evaluated through an in vitro test using the osteoblasts. Cell proliferation improved with increasing strontium content. Modified magnesium was implantation in rat tibia for 4 weeks and the effect on bone regeneration was confirmed. As a result, bone regeneration of strontium-calcium phosphate coated magnesium was improved. strontium-calcium phosphate coating on magnesium showed improved corrosion resistance, biocompatibility and improved bone regeneration, which may be beneficial for clinical use.

Strength and erosion resistance of mudbrick as an alternative local material for Australia’s Northern Territory remote housing

Housing in Australia’s Northern Territory (NT) remote areas has remained a challenge despite many years of attempts by policy makers and engineers. Community engagement has been found a major factor in success of remote projects and one way to attract local engagement and reduce construction cost in remote areas is using locally available materials in construction. In this paper technical feasibility of using mudbrick made from local soil is studied through standard compressive and erosion resistance tests. Results show that both compressive strength and erosion resistance of the mudbricks made in the study meet the requirements recommended by HB 195 – Australia earth building handbook. Findings suggest that mudbrick could be considered as an alternative construction material to the current common practice of using block work in NT remote areas. Inclusion of a low amount of high lime content Portland cement was found significantly effective in improving mudbrick erosion resistance properties.

Euro-BioImaging – Interdisciplinary research infrastructure bringing together communities and imaging facilities to support excellent research

Euro-BioImaging – Interdisciplinary research infrastructure bringing together communities and imaging facilities to support excellent research

Differences in Teachers’ Professional Action Competence in Education for Sustainable Development: The Importance of Teacher Co-Learning

This study builds on a research-practitioner partnership embedded within an education for sustainable development (ESD) project and aims to explore the major potential challenges (i.e., disciplinary boundaries set by subject specialization, especially in secondary education) and success factors (i.e., teacher co-learning experiences in ESD) associated with differences in teachers’ professional action competence (PACesd) in a sample of 557 in-service teachers in primary and secondary schools in Flanders, Belgium. The study employed a recently validated PACesd measurement instrument and involved quantitative data analysis in a structural equation modelling framework. The results show that primary education teachers tend to report higher PACesd levels compared to their peers in secondary education. Moreover, regardless of educational level, gender and teaching experience, all teachers participating in a working group or a learning community in ESD are more likely to show higher levels of PACesd. Implications of the findings, limitations and directions for future research are discussed.

Initial screening of critical success factors forgreen, lean and six Sigma implementation in Pakistani small and medium enterprises

It is believed that implementation of green, lean and six sigma (GLSS) practices in SMEs is important to achieve sustainable growth likewise large scale industries. Pakistan is a developing country and its economic development is heavily dependent over the existence and growth of SMEs. The aim of this study is to identify and rank the major critical success factors (CSFs) that will affect GLSS practices implementation in Pakistani SMEs .List of sixteen CSFs is developed based on the available literature and with the consultation of experts. Structured interviews are conducted from the academic and field experts to collect the data. Later on, data is statistically analyzed to rank the CSFs of GLSS implementation in SMEs. Top seven CSFs that achieved above 70% agreement by the experts are Management participation and support, Training and education, Leadership for GLSS, Legislation, Understanding GLSS methodologies, Organizational infrastructure and Technology up gradation in Pakistani SMEs. This study significantly lessens the implementation troubles and will assist in conducting empirical studies in SMEs by considering CSFs in Pakistani context.

MASS TRAINING FOR THE CUSTOMER ENTERPRISE STAFF AT THE STAGE OF PILOT SOLUTION DEVELOPMENT

The present article describes exactly how a mass training for the customer’s enterprise employees can be organized while elaborating the pilot implementation. It was considered that institutionalization of the customer’s company personnel training is the major factor for success of the implementation, while its non-exhaustiveness becomes the significant driver of on-site resistance. It was emphasized that the functionality of the implemented solution is actively developed before the pilot, which can be a serious challenge to the training group. The article presents a conceptual framework of relation between attitude to work and confirmation of the training completion. The software of the training process, i.e. solution on 1C:Enterprise platform and its deployment environments, as well as the hardware were described. The scopes were given as follows: total number of trainees, and indicators of peak and conventional amounts of actual users of the training systems. The article describes the role of everyone involved in the training process and its change over time, the training specifics, the methods of the learning outcomes scoring, the statistics collected, the process of receiving feedback from trainees. The study showed that the following was crucial to the process: a unified technology for the training assignment to all users, constant work on enriching and optimizing the courses, enhancement of the statistics collected, and building the support service for the customer. It was stated that the acceptance tests were successfully performed by the trained key users not only in advanced enterprises, but also in the mainstream of the pilot wave companies. It was concluded that effective mass training proved possible even while the functionality is being actively developed.

Critical Success Factors for Startups : A Study on Mumbai-Pune Region, Maharashtra, India

India featuring in the top five largest economies in the world relies heavily on the success of startup business enterprises for continuous economic growth and employment generation. Government of India through Startup India Initiative since 2015 has increased its focus on creating an inclusive environment for the growth and success of Startup Business Enterprises. This has shown positive outcome in terms of number of new startups and the amount of investment flown to this crucial sector of the economy. The present study was an attempt to understand the key success factors for startup in India through a study on selected startups in Mumbai-Pune region of western India, the traditional manufacturing and financial capital of India. Our analysis using the various ranking methods and Analytical Hierarchy Process helped us to identify entrepreneurship as the major success factor for new startups in India. This has larger policy implication for the promotion of entrepreneurship in this crucial sector.