Priority Aspects Research Articles

SUBSTANTIATION FOR MINING AND CONCENTRATING ENTERPRISES’ FINANCIAL STABILITY BASED ON INTEGRAL BANKRUPTCY INDICATORS

The article deals with basic modern theoretical and practical aspects of financial stability of mining and concentrating enterprises with full cycle of mining and processing of minerals.It was found that nowadays there is no clearly developed system of quantitative and target indicators of strategic management of sustainable development of modern mining and concentrating enterprises in conditions of economic instability.Results. Basing on the usage of key models of multiple discriminant analysis – assessing the probability of bankruptcy, we have developed appropriate recommendations that reflect negative trends of further development of certain mining and concentrating enterprise and likelihood of termination of his activity in the short term.Novelty. Obtained research results and relevant financial and economic calculations must be used in considered mining and concentration enterprises in order to improve the efficiency of their production and business activities, implementation of anti–crisis management measures and possibility of strengthening of competitive positions in the market of iron ore in conditions of uncertainty.Practical significance. Basing on systematic research, we proposed scientific and methodical approach to substantiation of impact of priority aspects of the development of mining and concentrating enterprises on the effectiveness of their activity taking into account the development of competitive strategies of support and efficient exploitation of deposits in difficult economic conditions.

Evaluasi Program - Program Strategis Pemerintah Kota Bandung Di Bidang Ekonomi dalam Upaya Penguatan dan Peningkatan Kemampuan Daya Beli Masyarakat : Suatu Tinjauan Analisis Kebijakan Publik

This study aims to evaluate and prioritize the various forms of strategic programs at the Bandung City Government in strengthening the economy and increasing purchasing power of the people in the city of Bandung based on public policy analysis. This study is comprehensive covering macro aspects, namely the potential and economic profile as well as the Human Development Index (HDI) and micro aspects, namely the external and internal environmental analysis relating to economic policy on purchasing power. Furthermore, evaluation and economic policy priorities in an effort to increase the purchasing power of the city of Bandung. There are few steps or effort in evaluating various forms of local government strategic program Bandung in economics in order to increase the purchasing power of the city of Bandung, namely: 1) Observing the potential and the problems by SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats). 2) Evaluation and prioritization of programs of economic analysis AHP (analytical hierarchy process) and connect it to the macroeconomic indicators Bandung. In conducting the evaluation and priority, strategic programs are done also based on the study of literature and discussions with experts. The number of respondents in this study is 15 (fifteen) and sampling was done by purposive convenience sampling. Based Matrix EFAS (External Strategic Factors Analysis Summary) shows that the Bandung City Government is in a strong position to exploit the opportunities that exist to minimize the threats that will arise with regard to the external factors that affect the purchasing power of the city of Bandung. The Government of Bandung can utilize the opportunities, which are significant factors, in order to increase the purchasing power of the people. These are plans such as: the Central Government Policies Regarding Rice for the Poor (RASKIN), Health Insurance for the Poor (insurance for the poor), and the School Operational Assistance (BOS), National Program Community Empowerment (PNPM), the People's Business Credit (KUR) with Interest Subsidy to Help Low Income Communities . Furthermore, from the results of Matrix IFAS (Internal Strategic Factor Analysis Summary) shows that the Bandung City Government is in a relatively strong position to use and harness the forces that exist to minimize the shortcomings encountered in efforts to improve the people's purchasing power. Internal factors that significantly influence the increase in purchasing power of the city of Bandung are the strong commitment of the Government of Bandung to increase purchasing power. Meanwhile, the biggest disadvantage factor and should be watched and minimized by the Bandung City Government in improving the purchasing power of the city of Bandung is a "Weak Monitoring and Evaluation Capability Strengthening Program Buy". The estimation results of AHP (analytical hierarchy process) to local agencies regarding the analysis of preference evaluation of Government programs of Bandung in economics in improving and strengthening the purchasing power suggests that external factors are the priority aspects. Meanwhile, based on analysis of the preferences of businesses, communities and government agencies to the actors who play an important role in strengthening the purchasing power of the city of Bandung show that the relevant local government agencies play an important role in influencing people's purchasing power state through a set of policies and programs it has taken.

Audit Sistem Informasi Menggunakan Cobit 4.1 pada PT. Erajaya Swasembada, Tbk.

Main priority aspects of information and communication technologies is given to a control or control mechanisms, both internal and external, to ensure that the report and the decision received and generated by the management decision-making is an honest and have high integrity based on the results of the audit conducted on based systems of information and communication technology.
 The object of research is the PT Erajaya Swasembada, Tbk. This company was founded in 1990, running a business as a distributor of mobile phones, which have widespread outlets in various cities in Indonesia. Business processes studied include sales, purchasing, finance, and the warehouse. The system used is “Erajaya Live Application Server” version of the July-December 2012 and based ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning).
 The research was including a General Controls, Boundary Controls, Input Controls, Process Control, Output Controls, Database Control, Application Communication control, and Operating system controls. Data collection methods by performing interviews with the IT managerial departments, distributed questionnaires to the five respondents form of answer was “Yes”, “No” or “Do not Know”, and also observations to the PT Erajaya Swasembada, Tbk. The collected data were analyzed using techniques COBIT 4.1.
 The results obtained 15 audit findings. The results of maturity model formulation were known domain Plan and Organize at level 4, Acquire and Implement at level 5, Deliver and Support at level 4, Monitor and Evaluate at level 4.
 Index Terms - Audit, COBIT 4.1, Maturity Model.

Perancangan Model Pengukuran Kinerja Rantai Pasok Berbasis Lean dan Green menggunakan Balance Scorecard di PT. P&P Lembah Karet

Rapid technological developments helped bring an increase in the level of business competition. Competitive business strategies required to address the challenges of business competition. PT P&P Lembah Karet is a company engaged in the plantation and crumb rubber processing industry. Marketing area is scattered inside and outside the country led to the supply chain performance become one of the important issues in the company. The use of Lean and Green concept in the supply chain system can become a competitive advantage for PT. P&P Lembah Karet to create a more effective and efficient supply chain strategy in terms of expenditure and environmental impact. Performance measurement is required to determine the effectiveness and efficiency of these two concepts implementation in the supply chain companies.Performance measurement system was developed based on four perspectives of the Balanced Scorecard (BSC): financial, customer, internal business processes, learning and growth. Key Performance Indicator (KPI) which is used as a measurement basis is formulated through the concept of lean and green. The weight value of each KPI is determined using Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) with relevant experts as respondents. Respondents selected based on the experience and knowledge, especially experience and knowledge that relevant with the topic of this research. The weight value determined the order of KPI priority. Face validity is used to validate the performance measurement model. Data processing and analysis yielded 25 lean and green-based KPIs that are relevant to crumb rubber supply chain at PT. P&P Lembah Karet with 3 KPI for financial perspective, 4 KPI for customer perspective, 11 KPI for internal business process perspective and 7 KPI for learning and growth perspective. The structure of designed models showed that customer perspective is the most priority aspects.

A new measure for comparing biomedical regions of interest in segmentation of digital images

The segmentation of the region of interest (ROI) of digital images is generally the first step in the pattern recognition (PR) procedure. Automatic segmentation of biomedical images is desirable and comparisons among new approaches, by using available databases, are important. We present a new approach to compute the Hausdorff distance (HD) between digital images. Although HD is the most used distance estimator among sets, we show why it is not suitable for biomedical applications. In this paper, a new technique to define the degree of correction of the ROI is developed to serve as a basis for the comparisons used to validate works on segmentation of biomedical images. As for online diagnosis, the comparison among possible techniques must be efficient enough to: (1) be done in real time (i.e. during the examination), (2) allow the inclusion of priority aspects, and (3) be intuitive and simple enough to be easily followed by people with no computational or mathematical background. We develop a new index by considering the expectations of the medical doctors who are using computer systems for diagnostic aids, and take into consideration how these systems use ROIs to extract feature properties from the examinations. We discuss conditions for empirically defining a measure for calculating similarities and differences between ROIs. The proposed method is applied to both real and simulated data examples.

Clinical Care for the Patient with Heart Failure: A Nursing Care Perspective

Providing clinical nursing care to a patient with a heart disease requires the application of the knowledge of disease process which informs the nursing intervention. This paper presents a discussion on some priority aspects of clinical care for the patient with heart failure from the perspective of nursing care as summarized in the figure below. A brief summative overview of the disease process and the central concept in heart failure as fundamental to the conceptualization of clinical care needs for a patient with heart failure was presented. Application of the framework of the nursing process in providing clinical nursing care for a patient with a heart disease and the application of ethical principles were discussed. Thus, competent and therefore safe clinical care for a patient with heart failure requires comprehensive nursing care which embraces both the scientific approach and ethics of care.

Intelligence audit: Planning and assessment of organizational intelligence systems

This paper presents a methodology to audit the functioning of an organizational intelligence system that covers all human, informational, technological and procedural elements involved. The methodological process is based in a triangulation of data, qualitative techniques and perspectives, organized in three phases: exploratory, intermediate and focused. A literature review, a participant observation and a case study in the intelligence department of a Spanish private security company are carried out. The results enabled the authors to propose the preference for an operational advisory audit, the operational principles, the procedures to define priority elements and aspects to be audited, the stages and the activities to be carried out, and the techniques and instruments for the collection and analysis of information. The intelligence audit makes it possible to identify the active elements and the relevant actions in the intelligence system and understand how they function within the framework of their relationships with the organization to which it belongs and its environment. The intelligence system should be audited by paying attention to strategic business processes and taking into account the organizational structure, procedures, culture and information behaviour involved. The proposed intelligence audit can be applied to the planning and assessment of any kind of organization due to its comprehensiveness and flexibility.

A systems-based partnership learning model for strengthening primary healthcare

BackgroundStrengthening primary healthcare systems is vital to improving health outcomes and reducing inequity. However, there are few tools and models available in published literature showing how primary care system strengthening can be achieved on a large scale. Challenges to strengthening primary healthcare (PHC) systems include the dispersion, diversity and relative independence of primary care providers; the scope and complexity of PHC; limited infrastructure available to support population health approaches; and the generally poor and fragmented state of PHC information systems.Drawing on concepts of comprehensive PHC, integrated quality improvement (IQI) methods, system-based research networks, and system-based participatory action research, we describe a learning model for strengthening PHC that addresses these challenges. We describe the evolution of this model within the Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander primary healthcare context, successes and challenges in its application, and key issues for further research.DiscussionIQI approaches combined with system-based participatory action research and system-based research networks offer potential to support program implementation and ongoing learning across a wide scope of primary healthcare practice and on a large scale. The Partnership Learning Model (PLM) can be seen as an integrated model for large-scale knowledge translation across the scope of priority aspects of PHC. With appropriate engagement of relevant stakeholders, the model may be applicable to a wide range of settings. In IQI, and in the PLM specifically, there is a clear role for research in contributing to refining and evaluating existing tools and processes, and in developing and trialling innovations. Achieving an appropriate balance between funding IQI activity as part of routine service delivery and funding IQI related research will be vital to developing and sustaining this type of PLM.SummaryThis paper draws together several different previously described concepts and extends the understanding of how PHC systems can be strengthened through systematic and partnership-based approaches. We describe a model developed from these concepts and its application in the Australian Indigenous primary healthcare context, and raise questions about sustainability and wider relevance of the model.

Patient’s expectation on communication performances community of Dental Health Services providers located in urban and rural area

Background The quality of dentist’s communication skills is considered as one of important aspects on the quality of dental health services assessment. During the initial interview conducted at Ketabang, Dupak, and Kepadangan community dental health services, it appeared that eighty percent of initial respondents were not satisfied with the communication aspect. Community Dental Health Services (CDHS) need to assess the communication performances based on community characteristics in effort to promote the quality and effectiveness of the dental health services. Purpose The objective of this study was to analyze patient’s expectation values priorities on dentists’ communication performances in CDHS that located in urban and rural area. Methods The study was conducted in Ketabang Surabaya, Dupak Surabaya and Kepadangan Sidoarjo CDHSs on July and August 2011. The participants were 400 patients above 18 old. Participants were assessed their expectation value using the communication performances of dental health services questionnaire. Results Patients in urban CDHS appeared that there were two priority aspects which had high values, namely the clarity of instructions and the dentist’s ability of active listening to the patient, while patients in rural CDHS revealed that the clarity of instructions and dentist-patient relationship were the aspects with high values. Conclusion Patients in CDHS that located in rural area expect more dentist-patient interpersonal relationship performance than patients in CDHS located in urban area. This finding becomes a valuable information for CDHS to develop communication strategies based on community characteristics.

Kidney Transplantation Group of the Spanish Society of Nephrology.

• Promoting activities of high scientific interest in the generation of evidence and value in the area of kidney donation and kidney transplantation: clinical trials, observational studies, systematic revisions, guidelines and recommendations. • Promoting first class training activities that focus on kidney transplantation learning for nephrologists, both in the context of the annual S.E.N. Conference and in other meetings, as well as through its online platform. • Extending, both to nephrologists and other health professionals and society in general, initiatives to overcome barriers, inequalities, and ethical issues and in general, anything that might prevent more extensive access with the best possible results in renal transplant both from living and deceased donors in all their possible forms. T he Board of Directors of the Spanish Society of Nephrology (S.E.N.) approved at its ordinary meeting of 18 December 2012 the creation of a Transplantation Working Group (SENTRA). In accordance with the Regulations of the S.E.N. Working Groups, in promoting the establishment of a working group, four priority aspects must be addressed:

Hybrid Decision Aspect Prioritization Technique for Globally Distributed Developments

In incremental software development, requirement prioritization is undertaken to make a decision about set of requirements to be implemented. Effectiveness of requirement prioritization depends on effectiveness of decision aspects selected for prioritizing requirements. This paper proposed new technique for prioritizing decision aspects in geographically distributed environments. This hybrid technique prioritizes the negotiated and hence mutually agreed decision aspects by creating win-win situation among diverse globally distributed stakeholders. Hybrid technique is applied on embedded payroll management software system that was failed project, delivered in two increments earlier. The results of the experiment conducted on the software system, were found to be very promising. Results proved the technique to be effective in terms of selection of highest priority aspects thereby enhancing customer satisfaction and ultimately resulting in successful software development.

Exploring Determinants of Pedestrians’ Satisfaction with Sidewalk Environments: Case Study in Korea

This study intends to explore people’s satisfaction with sidewalk environments and to examine its association with emotional perceptions and physical components. A perception survey was taken to evaluate the emotional perceptions of 20 sidewalk environments with 105 participants. Two perception factors were identified as harmoniousness and openness through factor analysis. Then, a path model was tested to examine the relationship among satisfaction, identified perception factors, and physical components of sidewalk environments. The path model demonstrates a good fit with the data. Furthermore, the results show that overall satisfaction is more strongly directly affected by perception factors than by physical components. The indirect effects of physical components on overall satisfaction through emotional perceptions are much more than the direct effect. This study provides a useful method to connect emotional perceptions and physical components of and overall satisfaction with the sidewalk environments simultaneously. With refinements of the perception survey, the method can be a powerful tool to inform urban planners and designers of what should be priority aspects when designing the sidewalk environment.

Structural capital, innovation capability, and size effect: An empirical study

AbstractThe aim of this paper is to analyze the impact of different organizational enablers – i.e. ‘structural capital’ – on the ideation stage of innovation processes from an ‘intellectual capital’ (IC) perspective. Considering company size as one of the most relevant contingent variables as regards organizational conditions, the moderator role of this variable is also examined. To gather information about the variables under study, a questionnaire has been designed and addressed to the CEOs of a set of 142 Spanish manufacturing firms with more than 50 employees and which carry out R&D activities. Structural equation modelling (SEM) based on partial least squares (PLS) has then been applied in order to test the hypotheses drawn from the research. The results obtained show the organizational components which exert the greatest impact on the ideation phase and, therefore, the priority aspects to work on, in order to enhance this particular dimension of the innovation capability.

Structural capital, innovation capability, and size effect: An empirical study

AbstractThe aim of this paper is to analyze the impact of different organizational enablers – i.e. ‘structural capital’ – on the ideation stage of innovation processes from an ‘intellectual capital’ (IC) perspective. Considering company size as one of the most relevant contingent variables as regards organizational conditions, the moderator role of this variable is also examined. To gather information about the variables under study, a questionnaire has been designed and addressed to the CEOs of a set of 142 Spanish manufacturing firms with more than 50 employees and which carry out R&D activities. Structural equation modelling (SEM) based on partial least squares (PLS) has then been applied in order to test the hypotheses drawn from the research. The results obtained show the organizational components which exert the greatest impact on the ideation phase and, therefore, the priority aspects to work on, in order to enhance this particular dimension of the innovation capability.

The New EU Directives Requirements and the Innovation in Pesticide Application Techniques

Abstract The first reference to crop protection equipment dates back to the second half of the 19th century. From that time until the recent years, the evolution of sprayers had two objectives: The adaptation of machines to the needs of applying the chemicals available in the market and improving their working capacity. Only since the 1980s that the safety aspects related to the operator and to the environment have been taken into account as priority aspects. This line of evolution will be enforced in the near future especially in Europe due to the European Union (EU) Directive on Sustainable Use of Pesticides (2009/128/EC) and amendment of the EU Machinery Directive (2009/127/EC). Due to the globalisation process, developing countries are now also facing the need to promote the development of plant protection machinery in order to improve the quality of spray application and to reduce the environmental risks related to PPP dispersal. In this review paper, several examples of the use of information technologies to improve the performance of sprayers are reported as solutions for reducing water contamination of PPP due to point and diffuse sources. Finally, it is estimated that potential market improvement for sprayers and components due to the enforcement of the new EU Directive could be 1.3 billion euros for the next 7 years.

Do patient experiences on priority aspects of health care predict their global rating of quality of care? A study in five patient groups

Patient-given global ratings are frequently interpreted as summary measures of the patient perspective, with limited understanding of what these ratings summarize. Global ratings may be determined by patient experiences on priority aspects of care. (i) identify patient priorities regarding elements of care for breast cancer, hip- or knee surgery, cataract surgery, rheumatoid arthritis and diabetes, (ii) establish whether experiences regarding priorities are associated with patient-given global ratings, and (iii) determine whether patient experiences regarding priorities are better predictors of global ratings than experiences concerning less important aspects of care. Data collected for the development of five consumer quality index surveys - disease-specific questionnaires that capture patient experiences and priorities - were used. Priorities varied: breast cancer patients for example, prioritized rapid access to care and diagnostics, while diabetics favoured dignity and appropriate frequency of tests. Experiences regarding priorities were inconsistently related to global ratings of care. Regression analyses indicated that demographics explain 2.4-8.4% of the variance in global rating. Introducing patient experiences regarding priorities increased the variance explained to 21.1-35.1%; models with less important aspects of care explained 11.8-23.2%. Some experiences regarding priorities are strongly related to the global rating while others are poorly related. Global ratings are marginally dependent on demographics, and experiences regarding priorities are somewhat better predictors of global rating than experiences regarding less important elements. As it remains to be fully determined what global ratings summarize, caution is warranted when using these ratings as summary measures.

Faktor-faktor yang berhubungan dengan tingkat kepuasan pasien rawat inap terhadap pelaksanaan konsultasi gizi ruangan di Rumah Sakit Umum Mataram

Background: Nutrition counseling is one of the nutrition services successful indicators in hospitals. The quality of nutrition counseling will improve the effectiveness and efficiency of resources utility and furthermore, it will improve patients’ satisfaction. The quality of nutrition counseling services effect directly on internal and external customers’ satisfaction. Evaluation about nutrition counseling services in hospital ward and its association with patients’ satisfaction was needed to determine priority aspects to be improved.Objective: To determine factors that associate with the rate of hospitalized patients’ satisfaction towards nutrition counseling in Mataram Hospital.Method: A total 38 hospitalized adult patients included in this observational study with cross sectional design. Proportional stratified sampling was conducted to determine subjects of study. Data collections included the description of nutrition counseling factors consisted of counselors, materials, methods, media, time, place, and visitation frequency of dietitians based on questionnaires completed directly by hospitalized adult patients. Spearman rank correlation and linear regression analysis were used to determine the association between nutrition counseling factors with the rate of hospitalized patients’ satisfaction, completely by multiple linear regressions to analyze all of nutrition counseling factors in the same time.Results: This study showed that counselors, time, place, and dietitians’ nutrition counseling visitation were the significant factors associated with the rate of hospitalized adult patients’ satisfaction (R = 0,086 p = 0,027; R = 0,099 p = 0,017; R = 0,108 p = 0,013; R = 0,166 p = 0,002, respectively). The most dominant factors among all of associated factors were visitation frequency of dietitians (p = 0,035).Conclusion: There was a significant association between counselors, time, place, and dietitians’ nutrition counseling visitation frequency with the rate of hospitalized patients’ satisfaction. The most dominant factors among all of associated factors were visitation frequency of dietitians.

Forensic psychiatric nursing: skills and competencies: II clinical aspects

This study reports on research undertaken to identify the skills and competencies of forensic psychiatric nurses working in secure psychiatric services in the UK. The rationale for this research is the lack of clarity in the role definition of nurses working in these environments and the specific content that may underscore the curriculum for training forensic nurses. Over 3300 questionnaires were distributed to forensic psychiatric nurses, non-forensic psychiatric nurses and other disciplines and information obtained on (1) the perceived clinical problems that give forensic nurses the most difficulty; (2) the skills best suited to overcome those problems; and (3) the priority aspects of clinical nursing care that needs to be developed. A 35% response rate was obtained with 1019 forensic psychiatric nurses, 110 non-forensic psychiatric nurses and 43 other disciplines. The results highlighted a 'top ten' list of main problems with possible solutions and main areas for development. The conclusions drawn include a focus on skills and competencies regarding the management of personality disorders and the management of violence and aggression.

先進諸国との比較におけるわが国のエネルギーセキュリティレベルの評価研究

In response to the recent structural imbalance of oil supply and demand, Japan has placed energy security at the top agenda of its energy policies. A review of the energy security level has importance in formulating and steering energy policies. Although energy security meant national energy security that puts the main priority on a stable energy supply, we are now required to consider energy security from wider viewpoints of global energy security, which includes environment, nuclear concerns, international relations and others as its priority aspects. This report is prepared to suggest a method of estimating energy security level in a quantitative manner. In this method, Japan's energy supply and demand structure is evaluated on the selected aspects and indexes as standard deviation among eight advanced nations and one area. The aspects and indexes include energy consumption, environment and economics as well as energy supply. The outcomes prepared by this method show that Japan is now placed at a lower position than most advanced nations and area, although its energy security level has been improved mainly with the contribution of the diversification of energy supply sources. The estimation also shows that Japan's energy security could improve until the portion of nuclear energy in the power supply reaches around 60% on the assumption of its present energy supply and demand structure. The future task is to determine the aspects and indexes to be picked up or the possible weight to be distributed among the aspects and indexes in response to the situations surrounding energy.

Strategy to Accelerate Progress towards the Attainment of International Development Goals and Targets Related to Reproductive Health

Reproductive and sexual ill-health account for 20% of the global burden of ill-health for women, and 14% for men. The strategy presented in this document is the World Health Organization's first global strategy on reproductive health. It was adopted by the 57th World Health Assembly (WHA) in May 2004. Five priority aspects of reproductive and sexual health are targeted: improving antenatal, delivery, postpartum and newborn care; providing high-quality services for family planning, including infertility services; eliminating unsafe abortion; combatting sexually transmitted infections, including HIV, reproductive tract infections, cervical cancer and other gynaecological morbidities; and promoting sexual health. The strategy was developed as a result of extensive consultations in all regions with representatives from ministries of health, professional associations, non-governmental organizations, United Nations partners and other key stakeholders. It lays out actions needed for accelerating progress towards the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and other international goals and targets relating to reproductive health, especially those from the International Conference on Population and Development in 1994 and its five-year follow-up. “The strong endorsement of this strategy by the WHA represents an unequivocal message that countries are committed to do all they can to achieve the goals and targets of the ICPD Programme of Action adopted in 1994.” (Dr Paul Van Look, Director, WHO Department of Reproductive Health and Research).