Commitment Of Resources Research Articles

Supporting Evidence in Phase 2 Cancer Trial Protocols: A Content Analysis.

Phase 2 trials are instrumental for designing definitive efficacy trials or attaining accelerated approval. However, high attrition of drug candidates in phase 2 raises questions about their supporting evidence. We developed a typology of supporting evidence for phase 2 cancer trials. We also devised a scheme for capturing elements that enable an assessment of the strength of such evidence. Using this framework, we content analyzed supporting evidence provided in protocols of 50 randomly sampled phase 2 cancer monotherapy trials starting between January 2014 and January 2019, available on ClinicalTrials.gov. Of the 50 protocols in our sample, 52% were industry funded. Most invoked supporting evidence deriving from trials against different cancers (n = 28, 56%) or preclinical studies (n = 48, 96%), but not from clinical studies involving the target drug-indication pairing (n = 23, 46%). When presenting evidence from models, only one protocol (2%) explained their translational relevance. Instead, protocols implied translatability by describing molecular (86%) and pathophysiological (84%) processes shared by model and target systems. Protocols often provided information for assessing the magnitude, precision and risk of bias for supporting trials (n = 43, 93%, 91%, 47%, respectively). However, such information was often unavailable for preclinical studies (n = 49, 53%, 22%, 59%). Supporting evidence is key to justifying the commitment of scientific resources and patients to a clinical hypothesis. Protocols often omit elements that would enable critical assessment of supporting evidence for phase 2 monotherapy cancer trials. These gaps suggest the promise of more structured approaches for presenting supporting evidence.

Daily Diagnostic Quality Computed Tomography-on-Rails (CTOR) Image Guidance for Abdominal Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy (SBRT)

Background/Objectives: Stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) for abdominal targets faces a variety of challenges, including motion caused by the respiration and digestion and a relatively poor level of contrast between the tumor and the surrounding tissues. Breath-hold treatments with computed tomography-on-rails (CTOR) image guidance is one way of addressing these challenges, allowing for both the tumor and normal tissues to be well-visualized. Using isodose lines (IDLs) from CT simulations as a guide, the anatomical information can be used to shift the alignment or trigger a replan, such that normal tissues receive acceptable doses of radiation. Methods: This study aims to describe the workflow involved when using CTOR for pancreas and liver SBRT and demonstrates its effectiveness through several case studies. Results: In these case studies, using the anatomical information gained through diagnostic-quality CT guidance to make slight adjustments to the alignment, resulted in reductions in the maximum dose to the stomach. Conclusions: High-quality imaging, such as CTOR, and the use of IDLs to estimate the doses to OARs, enable the safe delivery of SBRT, without the added complexity and resource commitment required by daily online adaptive planning.

DATA MODELING OF GOLD PRICES USING SUPPORT VECTOR REGRESSION WITH LINEAR, POLYNOMIAL, AND RADIAL BASIS FUNCTION KERNELS

Investment is a commitment of funds or other resources made with the goal of obtaining profits in the future. Gold is one of the commodities favored by investors because of its relatively stable value. Although relatively stable, gold prices experience fluctuations, which introduce risks associated with gold investments. The pattern of gold prices can be mathematically modeled using Support Vector Regression (SVR). SVR finds a function as a hyperplane (separating line) in the form of a regression function that fits all input data with an error and minimizes it as much as possible. SVR enables a balance between data fitting and overfitting through the use of kernel functions. The pattern of gold prices and SVR is the main focus of this research, aiming to model gold prices effectively. Furthermore, SVR seeks to obtain a hyperplane (regression function) that fits all input data by minimizing errors. The gold price modeling results using SVR indicated that the best model was obtained with a linear kernel, showing an error of 0.73% with parameters C = 10^(-4) and ? = 10^(-4). This implies the model's strong ability to follow data patterns accurately, resulting in highly reliable forecasting.

Pitch envisaging: The role of narrative transportation in pitching success

How are entrepreneurs able to optimize their ability to persuade angel investors to commit resources? Narrative transportation theory suggests that familiar elements of a story can change an audience's perceptions of, and attitudes about, the opportunity by influencing their cognition. When experiencing the effects of narrative transportation, individuals are “transported” into the story and begin to accept the narrative world as created by the story in lieu of personal knowledge, experiences, or real-world facts. In an entrepreneurship context, we posit that if investors are narratively transported through a familiar pitch narrative, they may envisage a favorable outcome of what is pitched and adapt the opportunity in their minds with the result of, ultimately, committing resources. The findings from our study of investors who watched and reported on multiple pitches suggest that cognitive processes induced by narrative transportation explain the relationship between familiarity and entrepreneurial opportunity adaptation, which—in turn—increase the likelihood of angels' resource commitment. The key insight of our study reveals that when the investors are mentally transported into the story contained within a pitch narrative, they will be more likely to adapt the opportunity and more likely to commit their resources.

Propositions and Recommendations for Enhancing the Legacies of Major Sporting Events for Disadvantaged Communities and Individuals

This consensus statement is the outcome of comprehensive collaboration through an international working group on the disparities in the legacies of major sporting events, specifically for communities and individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds (CIDBs). The workshop brought together scholars to discuss current challenges and develop four propositions and recommendations for event leveraging, policy stakeholders, and researchers. The propositions included (1) the nature of “disadvantage” needs to be recognized and the specific targeted CIDBs in each event context must be carefully identified or clearly defined; (2) CIDBs should be considered as an integral part of the whole event hosting cycle to ensure legacy inclusivity; (3) dedicated event leverage, sufficient financial backing, and resource commitments for CIDBs are needed; and (4) it is critical to establish a system of legacy governance for CIDBs. The recommendations aim to inform change in practice and ensure lasting positive legacies for the communities that need them most.

The evolution of transnational municipal knowledge networks

AbstractThe recent growth of transnational municipal networks requires a better understanding of their evolution. For some actors, this growth has resulted in arbitrary or top‐down decisions on network membership followed by low commitment and inefficient use of time and financial resources. By reinterpreting secondary data through an evolutionary approach, this paper argues that the overall systemic nature of the networks is shaped not only by their institutional settings and the composition of actors but also by a set of specific qualities (coherence, boundedness and unified function) that may change over time. Based on the network perspective and system approach, the paper advances our understanding of transnational knowledge networks and the maximising of their effectiveness. Using exemplars, it suggests a conceptual framework for the evolution of transnational municipal knowledge networks.

Adapting International Business Models for EU Projects: Macro- and Micro-Foundations of the Uppsala Model in Multinational Collaborations

This study examines the adaptation of the Uppsala Model to enhance the management of European Union (EU)-funded projects, particularly focusing on the macro- and micro-foundational elements of the model. The Uppsala Model, originally developed for firm-level internationalization, provides a valuable framework for addressing the complex challenges of EU project implementation, which include bureaucratic hurdles, diverse stakeholder management, and the intricacies of European integration. This paper highlights the persistent issues faced by project managers despite improved application processes and skilled beneficiaries. By applying the Uppsala Model, which emphasizes incremental knowledge development and resource commitment, this study aims to bridge the gap between fund acquisition and project delivery. The integration of both macro- (broad external factors) and micro- (individual and organizational behaviors) perspectives of the Uppsala Model offers a comprehensive approach to managing international, multi-stakeholder EU initiatives. This approach is exemplified through the SuMaNu project, which addresses nutrient recycling and sustainable manure management in the Baltic Sea Region. The findings suggest that the Uppsala Model’s principles can be effectively applied to enhance the execution of complex EU projects by fostering better stakeholder relationships, incremental learning, and adaptive strategies. This study underscores the relevance of experiential learning and network perspectives in achieving successful project outcomes in the EU context.

RESOURCE COMMITMENT AND PARTNER SELECTION IN ASYMMETRIC CORPORATE-STARTUP COLLABORATIONS

Startups and established firms collaborate in order to leverage complementary resources and innovative capabilities to sustain a competitive advantage. By forming alliances, startups are able to mitigate challenges connected to their smallness and lack of legitimacy. However, the underlying criteria by which startups screen and select potential collaboration partners in such asymmetric collaborations remain poorly understood. This paper examines the dynamics of these asymmetric collaborations, exploring the motives, selection criteria, and the willingness of startups to partner from a resource-based perspective. We conduct a conjoint experiment to examine the relationship between diverse resource commitment types and startups’ willingness to partner. The findings of the study confirm a strong influence of financial, technological, managerial, and physical resources in a startup’s decision-making process regarding partner selection. Notably, the attractiveness of a partner was found to diminish when they possess a similar market portfolio, potentially fostering future competition. Consequently, startups must implement effective control and protection mechanisms to prevent opportunistic behaviours from collaboration partners operating in the same market. To contribute to the existing literature, we adopt a resource-based theoretical lens that emphasises the pivotal role of capabilities in a startup’s decision-making process and demonstrates their influential role in forging successful collaborations with established partners. Ultimately, our findings enhance the understanding of the partner selection criteria, offering valuable insights for new ventures seeking beneficial partnerships at the early stages of a collaboration.

Development and Implementation of Mental Healthcare Plans in Three Districts in Ghana: A Mixed-Method Process Evaluation Using Theory of Change.

In Ghana, a severe mental healthcare gap of 95-98% exists due to limited services. Ghana Somubi Dwumadie set out to address this by developing district mental healthcare plans (DMHPs) in three demonstration districts. Following the Programme for Improving Mental Healthcare model, district mental health operations teams were formed and used Theory of Change (ToC) to develop DMHPs. Key elements included training non-specialist health workers and enrolling individuals in relevant healthcare programmes. Evaluation methods included routine data, health facility surveys, and qualitative analysis within the ToC framework. Results showed improved integration of mental health services, enhanced case management through training, and increased service utilisation, shown through 691 service user enrollments. However, there was limited commitment of new resources and no significant improvement in primary care workers' capacity to detect priority mental health conditions. The study concludes that DMHPs, implemented with an integrated approach, can improve mental health service utilisation, contingent on committed leadership, resource availability, and stakeholder engagement.

THE EFFECTIVENESS OF EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE IS REVIEWED FROM ORGANIZATIONAL COMPETENCY AND COMMITMENT THROUGH JOB SATISFACTION AS AN INTERVENING VARIABLE AT THE CENTRAL STATISTICAL AGENCY FOR THE WEST SUMATRA REGION

<span lang="EN-US">The lack of optimal competency, organizational commitment and performance of human resources (HR) as well as excellent service that has not yet been fully realized for users of statistical data at the West Sumatra Regional Central Statistics Agency, encourages researchers to conduct further research on "Effectiveness of Employee Performance in View of Competence And Organizational Commitment Through Job Satisfaction as an Intervening Variable at the West Sumatra Regional Central Statistics Agency." The aim of this research is to analyze the influence of competence and organizational commitment on performance through job satisfaction as an intervening variable for employees of the West Sumatra Regional Central Statistics Agency. The data in this study was collected by distributing questionnaires selected using the proportional random sampling method and then the data was tested using SEM PLS. The results of data processing from 7 hypotheses, the direct and indirect effects obtained are: 1) competence has a positive and significant effect on employee job satisfaction, 2) organizational commitment has a positive and significant effect on employee job satisfaction, 3) competence has a positive and insignificant effect on employee job satisfaction. employee performance, 4) organizational commitment has a positive and significant effect on employee performance, 5) job satisfaction has a positive and significant effect on employee performance, 6) job satisfaction is able to mediate competence on employee performance, and 7) job satisfaction is able to mediate organizational commitment on employee performance.</span>

The Role of High-Level Isolation Units in Response to High-Consequence and Emerging Infectious Diseases: Experience of the German STAKOB Network.

This case study describes the experience of the German Permanent Working Group of Competence and Treatment Centers for High Consequence Infectious Diseases, known as STAKOB (Ständiger Arbeitskreis der Kompetenz- und Behandlungszentren für Krankheiten durch hochpathogene Erreger). STAKOB brings together public health authorities (competence centers) and high-level isolation units (treatment centers) to collaborate on the clinical management of high-consequence infectious diseases (HCIDs) and emerging infectious diseases. The network is coordinated by the Robert Koch Institute, Germany's federal public health institute. The main tasks of STAKOB are to strengthen HCID clinical and public health management and increase expert knowledge on HCID and non-HCID emerging infectious diseases in Germany. STAKOB enables the exchange of knowledge and experiences; development of guidelines on infection prevention and control measures, clinical management, and therapy; and support for the World Health Organization and other outbreak responses internationally. The past years have shown how important the STAKOB network is for Germany-not only in providing critical care for HCID cases but also increasing capacity to support public health and clinical management of emerging infectious disease cases. However, maintaining several high-level isolation units in Germany requires a high commitment of financial, material, and human resources. Due to the rarity of HCID and emerging infectious disease events, maintaining the appropriate level of preparedness and ensuring sufficient investments is an ongoing struggle. Nevertheless, it is essential to have a network ready to react to HCID and non-HCID emerging infectious diseases in times of a changing biosecurity and infectious landscape.

Re-imagining the Factors Influencing the Choice of Project Management Tools and Techniques in Tanzanian Infrastructure Projects: Elicitation of Practitioners’ Perspectives

Construction project Management tools and Techniques (CPMTT) are vital for the success of construction projects. Nonetheless, there is a paucity of studies that examined the factors influencing the choice of CPMTT in developing countries, particularly, Tanzania. The objective of the study was to analyze the factors influencing the choice of CPMTT in Tanzanian public infrastructure projects, with the aim to fill the knowledge gap. The study was descriptive in nature and employed a mixed method approach. Using purposive and snowball sampling techniques, data was collected from 60 out of 70 Project management practitioners including Consultants and project Coordinators within Dar-es-salaam Metropolitan Development Projects (DMDP) and similar infrastructure projects. Fifty valid responses were received equivalent to 83% response rate and interviews were done. Quantitative data from respondents was analyzed using IBM SPSS v25. The directed content analysis method was employed for qualitative data from 10 Resident Engineers to supplement the quantitative results. Using factor analysis, four groups of organization support, ease of access and usefulness of tools, fulfilment of project objectives, and project environment and idea generation were determined to influence the choice of CPMTT. Project managers frequently choose tools that are easily accessible without considering the organization's project objectives or resource commitment. The findings could be used as a guide for project practitioners to critically assess the areas of weakness and select CPMTT that can help address those weaknesses and hence improve project delivery in Tanzania, an unexplored context. Project managers are called to re-imagine project needs based on priority and select the CPMTT that satisfies the needs based on experience, skills and project objectives as crucial factors in the selection of CPMTT rather than using their discretion. This would improve the delivery of infrastructure projects and, hence, performance outcomes in the construction sector in Tanzania and other emerging countries. This study was limited to DMDP public infrastructure projects in Tanzania. Keywords: Construction Project Management Tools and Techniques (CPMTT), Decision analysis, mixed-methods, Tanzania

Strategies, requirements, and challenges of transformation of accounting courses to digital teaching via electronic applications: Insights from KKU accounting faculty

The study examined how accounting education has changed from traditional to digital, emphasizing using electronic applications. It aimed to address potential challenges, provide cutting-edge teaching methodologies, and identify transitional requirements. The findings were based on a survey administered to KKU accounting professors, with an 85.7% response rate. A clear strategic vision, adequate funding, a solid digital infrastructure, faculty training in electronic applications, cooperation with technology professionals, and broad support systems are all critical components of the digital transition. Challenges include a lack of accounting software experience among professors, many students, and the high cost of electronic lab equipment. Digital technologies can achieve a smooth transition, planned electronic education, self-study, virtual enterprise applications, and follow-ups on practical applications to ensure proficiency. The study encourages resource allocation, strategic planning, overcoming transitory challenges (mainly through faculty development), and implementing digital teaching methodologies tailored to the specific needs of accounting education. The study underlines the importance of a strategic approach to digital education in accounting to improve student learning and meet modern educational needs. It accomplishes this by emphasizing the importance of faculty training, resource commitment, clear visions, and digital tactics.

Resource Commitment and Partner Selection in Asymmetric Corporate-Startup Collaborations

Resource Commitment and Partner Selection in Asymmetric Corporate-Startup Collaborations

“Born global” poduzeća u doba digitalizacije

This study contributes to the general body of knowledge on the born global theory in the specific context of digital marketing agencies. In today’s interconnected digital landscape, driven by rapid technological advancements and evolving market dynamics, many companies across diverse sectors are shifting their growth strategies toward proactive internationalization. This study looks at the determinants and challenges of the internationalization strategies of digital marketing agencies in Croatia. The motivations, obstacles, and strategic choices that guide these agencies on their ‘born global’ journey are explored through a qualitative analysis. The research findings revealed that these agencies are venturing into global markets by taking advantage of competitive pricing, gaining invaluable experience, and expanding their competencies. This experiential learning shapes their strategies and operations and increases their competitiveness. On the other hand, Croatian digital marketing agencies face numerous obstacles to internationalization, including a lack of resources and market information, language barriers, and the complexity of managing remote multicultural teams. To overcome these challenges, agencies employ various strategies, such as utilizing word of mouth and maintaining a physical presence in target countries, emphasizing the importance of adaptability and resource commitment in successful international expansion. In addition, agencies employ direct foreign investment, client-driven regional expansion, and remote working to navigate the complexities and opportunities of international business.

Involvement of children and young people in the conduct of health research: A rapid umbrella review.

Patient and public involvement and engagement (PPIE) have long been considered important to good research practice. There is growing, yet diverse, evidence in support of PPIE with children and young people (CYP). We must now understand the various approaches to involvement of CYP in research. This rapid umbrella review aimed to provide an overview of when, how and to what extent CYP are involved in the conduct of health research, as well as the reported benefits, challenges, and facilitators of involvement. We searched OVID Medline, Embase and PubMed. Published reviews were included if they reported meaningful involvement of CYP in the conduct of health research. Extracted data were synthesised using thematic analysis. The 26 reviews included were predominately systematic and scoping reviews, published within the last decade, and originating from North America and the United Kingdom. CYPs were involved in all stages of research across the literature, most commonly during research design and data collection, and rarely during research funding or data sharing and access. Researchers mostly engaged CYP using focus groups, interviews, advisory panels, questionnaires, and to a lesser extent arts-based approaches such as photovoice and drawing. Visual and active creative methods were more commonly used with children ≤12 years. The evidence showed a shared understanding of the benefits, challenges, and facilitators for involvement of CYP, such as time and resource commitment and building partnership. Overall, the review identified consistency in the range of methods and approaches used, and stages of research with which CYP are commonly involved. There is a need for more consistent reporting of PPIE in the literature, both in terminology and detail used. Furthermore, the impact of approaches to CYP involvement on research and community outcomes must be better evaluated. This review forms part of broader research initiatives being led by the authors. Together, these projects aim to support embedding of child voices in research practice and to explore the desirability and suitability of Young Persons Advisory Groups within birth cohort studies. The findings from this review, alongside public and stakeholder consultation, will inform development of resources such as practice recommendations to guide future involvement of CYP in health research undertaken at the author's respective institutions.

Implementation of Village Fund Allocation Policy to Realize Village Self-Reliance

Introduction: The welfare of rural communities in developing countries such as Indonesia is a significant concern for the government. Therefore, the government's implementation of policies related to village fund allocation is expected to enhance the welfare of village communities. However, in practice, this policy has not yet brought about significant changes in the local communities, particularly in achieving village self-reliance. Literature review: Policy implementation from the Triangle Model perspective is an approach developed by Walt & Gilson, (1994) which emphasizes four main stages in the policy process, namely agenda setting, formulation, implementation and evaluation. The agenda setting stage involves the selection of various problems faced by society to become the focus of decision makers. Next, in the formulation stage, legislative and decision-making bodies design and ratify policies. The implementation process is carried out by the government, followed by an evaluation stage that assesses the impact of the policy. Method: This article aims to examine the process of implementing village fund allocation policies using the triangle analysis model (Buse et al., 2005) .The research informants comprised 23 individuals. Result and Discussion: The results of this study indicate that the objectives of implementing village fund allocation in the Semangga district are known to the implementers/actors, as well as the benefits of village fund allocation being perceived by the village communities. However, the policy implementers lack effective communication to convince and educate the village communities. Additionally, there is a need to enhance human resource commitment and allocate additional funds to advance the villages towards self-reliance. Conclusion: The findings of this study specifically demonstrate the real conditions in the research location regarding village fund allocation. This article presents opportunities for further research using the triangle analysis model in the implementation of village fund allocation policies.

Improving the Concrete Crack Detection Process via a Hybrid Visual Transformer Algorithm.

Inspections of concrete bridges across the United States represent a significant commitment of resources, given their biannual mandate for many structures. With a notable number of aging bridges, there is an imperative need to enhance the efficiency of these inspections. This study harnessed the power of computer vision to streamline the inspection process. Our experiment examined the efficacy of a state-of-the-art Visual Transformer (ViT) model combined with distinct image enhancement detector algorithms. We benchmarked against a deep learning Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) model. These models were applied to over 20,000 high-quality images from the Concrete Images for Classification dataset. Traditional crack detection methods often fall short due to their heavy reliance on time and resources. This research pioneers bridge inspection by integrating ViT with diverse image enhancement detectors, significantly improving concrete crack detection accuracy. Notably, a custom-built CNN achieves over 99% accuracy with substantially lower training time than ViT, making it an efficient solution for enhancing safety and resource conservation in infrastructure management. These advancements enhance safety by enabling reliable detection and timely maintenance, but they also align with Industry 4.0 objectives, automating manual inspections, reducing costs, and advancing technological integration in public infrastructure management.

Sentiment and time-series analysis of direct-message conversations

Social media and mobile communications in general are an extremely rich source of digital forensic information. We present our new framework for analysing this resource with an innovative combination of time series and text mining methods. The framework is intended to create a tool to analyse and operationally summarise extended trails of social media messages, thus enabling investigators for the first time to drill down into specific moments at which sentiment analysis has detected a change of tone indicative of a particularly strong and significant response. Crucially, the method will give investigators an opportunity to reduce the time and resource commitment required for ongoing and hands-on analysis of digital communications on media such as Texts/SMS, WhatsApp and Messenger.

Strategy Typology and Cost Structure: A Textual Analysis Approach

This study investigates the impact of firms’ strategic positioning on cost structure. Using textual analysis based on 10-K filings, we capture business strategy along three dimensions: product leadership, customer intimacy, and operational excellence. Firms pursuing the product leadership strategy emphasize innovation and confront high congestion risk caused by rapid growth. We find that these firms display a more rigid cost structure by incurring higher strategic fixed investments in R&D and choosing higher committed capacity to reduce congestion risk. We also document that firms following the other two strategies on average exhibit a less rigid cost structure. This is possibly because customer-intimate firms tend to invest in specialized resources in small chunks and take on-demand inputs to tailor offerings, while operational-excellence firms may adopt real options and flexible models to achieve production efficiency and mitigate default risk. Our results are robust to using a difference-in-difference approach based on a quasinatural shock caused by the Inevitable Disclosure Doctrine adoption and a change analysis based on firms’ internal strategic shifts. Our findings suggest that organizational strategy has a significant impact on firms’ resource commitments and capacity choices.