Strategic Context Research Articles

Discoursing Terminology Standards and Interoperability in relation to the Philippine eHealth Strategy

Background. eHealth is the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) for health. It helps in improving the flow of information, through electronic means, in support of the delivery of health services, and the management of health systems. eHealth is used as the strategic context and tool in achieving population health, improved health system status, and socio-economic development goals.
 Objectives. This study is aimed at looking at the Philippine National eHealth Strategy, particularly the components of Terminology Standards and Interoperability concerning the eHealth strategy in the Philippines, and to assess the barriers and gaps in the integration of these two components.
 Methods. This study used secondary literature, internet search, Philippine laws, administrative orders, memorandum circulars, and grey literature to discourse terminology standards and interoperability in the Philippine eHealth system, and issues and gaps related to these components that may impede the delivery of Universal Health Coverage in the country.
 Results. The current Philippine National eHealth strategy includes the following sector governance, legislation, policy and compliance, eHealth solution (i.e., services and applications), strategy and investment, infrastructure (government), human resources, and standards and interoperability. Philippine Health Information Exchange (PHIE) is a software platform in the country that aims to connect many isolated electronic health systems. The proposed interoperability layer across health systems and services in the Philippines includes Patient’s Primary Healthcare Consultation at the Rural Health Unit, health research, legal information, patient healthcare at tertiary hospital, and health insurance claims. The study results showed that issues and gaps related to the interoperability of eHealth in the Philippines include technical issues such as lack of common semantics, lack of an institutional mechanism to regulate EMR, lack of incentives among eHealth providers and stakeholders to adopt standards for interoperability.
 Conclusion. The effort of the Philippines to achieve interoperability and standards in eHealth goals can be characterized as a work in progress. The government, private sector, physician, patient, and other stakeholders are deemed to continuously develop a shared vision and interoperate under a standardized guide as eHealth is a complex endeavor that covers many aspects.

The Vicious and Virtuous Facets of ICU Structure

Background: In the provision of medical facilities, intensive care units are very critical and it seems almost difficult to use the new therapeutic strategies without Intensive Care Unit (ICU). There are two types of ICU structure, known as the open or closed model. The aim of this study was to assess the variables driving the selection of the appropriate ICU management structure and modeling of the appropriate ICU management structure.Methods: This descriptive-exploratory study was performed among all resident doctors, consultants, therapists and neurosurgeons, ICU specialists, internal medicine specialists, respiratory diseases specialists, heads of associated units and head nurses, neurosurgery ICU workers and staff, and doctors of the Loghman Hakim Hospital in Tehran, Iran in 2018. The influence of independent variables on dependent variables and the effect of observed variables on latent variables were tested using the Structural Equation Technique (SEM technique) and the data collected in the LISREL program was analyzed.Results: This research included one hundred persons, including 91 men and 9 women. The factors affecting the performance and structure of the ICU were structural context (including open, semi-closed, and closed structure), organizational context, strategic context, treatment economics context, processes, and quality improvement.Conclusion: There is a good association between quality management and the application of the closed system of the ICU and each of the organizational, strategic, care economics, and processes factors.

Design and Development of Unibody Quadcopter Structure Using Optimization and Additive Manufacturing Techniques

Quadcopters represent rotary wing configuration of the Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) with immense application potential in industrial and strategic contexts. Tradeoff between flight endurance and payload capacity renders design optimization of UAVs a critical activity with substantial impact on the application possibilities. Among the structural parts of a typical Quadcopter, the central body frame constitutes major portion of the total weight. The present study aims at reduction of the frame weight while conforming with structural integrity requirements, through an integrated approach involving topology optimization, part consolidation and design for additive manufacturing (DFAM). Commercial UAV designs consist of multiple parts and fastening elements that necessitate considerable time and effort for assembly. This study reengineers the frame as a monocoque structure with desirable outcomes of weight reduction and less assembly time. The reengineered Quadcopter structure is manufactured through Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) and characterized with reference to structural, vibrational and fatigue characteristics. Concomitant application of modal analysis, computational fluid dynamics and wind tunnel testing reveals close match between theoretical estimates and experimental results. Assembly and field trials of the monocoque Quadcopter structure affirm betterment of operational superiority and endurance vis-a-vis commercial UAV designs.

The Development of Innovative Media Education Styles in the Era of Information and Communication Technologies

The new era of the 21st century is characterized by the rapid pace of digitalization of society and the development of information and communication technologies (ICTs). ICTs are transforming the basics of educational activities from the physical environment to the virtual one. There is a similarity between technology and media in content and strategic context. The media actively influence the public opinion, and information and communication technologies are used to increase the impact on academic performance. Therefore, there is a need for a critical analysis of information reality in order to develop the competence in future generation. The article provides the study of the process of development of innovative media education styles, which are effective in educational activities for the formation of a competent future generation capable of critical analysis of the information. The study of the formation of innovative media education styles was based on the Synyavsky’s communicative and organizational skills measurement methods in order to diagnose the main aspects of educational activities in the innovative context, Milman’s personal motivation technique, survey to determine the competency criterion of media education. A pedagogical experiment was conducted as part of the study. The results of the study became the ground for determining the content of innovative media education styles as an alternative to modern forms of education. Innovative media education styles are formed due to the influence of ICTs on educational activities. The obtained data were processed in SPSS 18.0.1.

Technology and Policy: System Acquisition in a Complex Operational Environment

The United States’ (US) ability to maintain a technological edge in the current operational environment is challenged by the increased ability of near-peer nations to produce military technology. In response to this problem, the US Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) seeks to model the three key elements of military system acquisition—context, product, and process—to develop a more comprehensive understanding regarding how and why nations acquire technical solutions. Through the application of the System Dynamics Modeling Process (SDMP), this research examines the interactions between the strategic context of Germany, the military products it acquires to address its operational needs, and the processes it employs to acquire military technology. The results of this research indicate that numerous dynamic variables of context impact the acquisitions process for Germany, particularly political support and subsequent monetary allocations to research and development.

Politics, Strategy, and State Responses to Conflict-Generated Migration: Evidence from India

AbstractWhy do states respond differently to conflict-generated migration crises across space and time? Building on valuable existing literature, this article offers a new conceptual typology of “situational strategic contexts” (SSCs). It hypothesizes that the interactions between the host state's domestic-political and international-strategic priorities generate different SSCs that shape policy responses. These contexts favor either accommodation, toleration, or repatriation of migrants and are implemented with or without support from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Sensitive to the history and future ambitions of a country, this framework demonstrates how an interplay between domestic and international-strategic logics at specific historical moments influences state behavior toward conflict-generated migration. The SSC framework is developed inductively using evidence from India, a democracy in the global south, which hosts conflict-evading migrants from many neighboring countries.

Disruptive Technologies and Nuclear Risks: What’s New and What Matters

Hype and fear have arisen about how certain technological developments are impacting the current nuclear order. New weapons systems and support facilities, potential vulnerabilities and associated destabilising dynamics could all place considerable strain on the global nuclear balance and accompanying architecture. This article examines five disruptive dynamics, explains their intricacies and nuances, and puts them in political and strategic context. The nature of nuclear risk is changing (in many cases for the worse), and there are a number of pressures which could have significant negative implications for escalation, stability and order if left unchecked. But these phenomena remain fundamentally political, and there are political mechanisms which can help reduce risks. Accordingly, while the risks posed by disruptive technologies to the nuclear order are real and growing, they should not be insurmountable.

U.S. Marines and NATO’s Northern Flank

The U.S. Department of the Navy released A Strategic Blueprint for the Arctic on 5 January 2021. The Navy is focused on preparing for an Alaskan and “Blue” Arctic. Recognizing the changing landscape of the Arctic, the US Navy seeks to maintain a competitive edge, freedom of the seas, and deterrent effect. For the Marine Corps, both the 2021 document and the previous Advantage at Sea: Prevailing with Integrated All-Domain Naval Power, highlight the Marines’ mission to assist the Navy in sea control and sea denial. These strategic documents reflect the direction both the Navy and Marine Corps are taking to better engage in the Arctic, and, therefore on NATO’s northern flank and elsewhere in the world. The Marine Corps’ new concept for warfighting, represented in The Tentative Manual for Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations (EABO) presumes that Marines are a “stand-in” force, i.e., they are already in areas within an adversary’s weapon’s engagement zone (WEZ). However, this is not the case on NATO’s northern flank, where Marines conduct training with NATO and under bilateral agreements. In order to better understand how these new concepts and strategic documents influence the USMC’s engagement on NATO’s northern flank, it is important to relate them to the overall strategic context in this region, as well as the possible gaps that exist down to include operational and some tactical levels implications.

Bending the Rules to Break the System: The Future of Interpol at a Crossroads

The scale and scope of the transnational serious and organized crime threat are growing at a concerning rate. These increasingly resilient and entrepreneurial organized crime groups directly threaten human security and the rule of law. In this strategic context, international law enforcement cooperation is more important than ever. The International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol), the preeminent multilateral cooperation mechanism in the rules-based order, is essential to the global response to this organized crime threat. Unfortunately, autocratic states increasingly seek to interact with international institutions in a manner that violates such institutions' rules and norms, as well as those of the broader global rules-based order. Because of its institutional vulnerabilities, Interpol also faces this threat. This paper explores, using case studies, how autocratic states like Turkey, Russia, and China continue to manipulate Interpol's systems to achieve outcomes that these mechanisms were not meant to achieve. Moreover, these same states are undermining the rules-based order. The paper argues that much will need to be done to future-proof Interpol and assure its continued relevance and strategic success. At the heart of this work is a requirement to dramatically increase Interpol's transparency while protecting operational security and privacy. This paper illustrates that a lack of transparency and accountability represents a distinct vulnerability. Exploiting this vulnerability is not simply about the organization and its functions but the broader functionality of multilateralism and the rules-based order. Reforming institutions like Interpol to create transparency and accountability is thus an essential step in preserving the rules-based order that generations have worked so hard to create and that benefits many.

Digitalization and Its Impact on Business

We are now in a new era of business management, where companies have understood that the sustainability and survival of their activities is based on mastering and adapting new technologies to their strategies. The result of the integration of technological power in the management of companies gives rise to digitalization that disrupts business strategies, contributing significantly to the creation of new business models. This profoundly affected the strategic context; changing the structure of competition, business conduct, and ultimately, performance across industries. This paper is a descriptive literature review of recent works discussing the impact digitalization has had on business. In this work, firstly, a theoretical overview of digitalization and its development is presented. Afterwards, the digitalization of business as well as its impact is discussed. The result of this review is a summary of the advantages and disadvantages that digitalization brings to businesses.

Strategic Innovation, Foresight and the Deployment of Project Portfolio Management under Mid-Range Planning Conditions in Medium-Sized Firms

The purpose of this paper is to examine the ability of a firm to innovate and absorb its innovative developments by borrowing concepts and models from project portfolio management (PPM). Using past research and the existing literature, it evaluates the potential to apply PPM to the medium-term strategic planning efforts of small- and medium-sized firms. The implementation of strategic innovation requires organizations to develop both a dynamic culture and flexible internal systems that yield to major external changes in their industry as well as internal resource changes. Such changes could include supply or value chain adjustments, changes in consumer behavior, re-allocation of internal resources or the responses of competitors. This paper examines the planning and implementation of project portfolio management tools in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) (50–250 employees) with a mid-range (2–4 years) planning horizon that are required to innovate in a strategic context to remain competitive or to take advantage of new opportunities. It relates strategic foresight to the ability of the firm to adjust tactically, including in the utilization and development of internal tools, processes, systems and culture. This paper contributes to the literature by examining the potential for PPM methodologies and models to support decision making in a strategic context in SMEs, an area that is under-represented in the research on strategy. It also relates this foresight with strategic innovation and draws parallels between the strategic management planning process and the use of project portfolio management models. It argues that strategic innovation is closely tied with the ability not just to innovate but to absorb this innovation within the organizational processes and build organizational maturity. It also examines the potential use of project portfolio management models to aid strategic innovation. The use of PPM models in support of strategic innovation may contribute to the sustainability of SMEs as businesses and to the potential to identify new business models that enhance the sustainability of a firm’s competitive advantage, particularly in the medium-term.

The limits of exporting the homeland security construct: lessons from the Gulf

ABSTRACT Many conceptualizations of homeland security posit a rigid division between national security, which focuses on global threats and challenges at the systemic level, and homeland or domestic security, which focuses on internal threats and challenges inside a state. Thus, in the United States, Iran is a national security threat, while human trafficking or natural disasters are homeland security threats and challenges. The American conceptualization has come to dominate much of the academic literature and curriculum on homeland security. Analysis of courses in domestic and homeland security in the Middle East shows that an American model of homeland security is a frequent export of American-style education. However, this artificial division is not relevant for small states, even aspiring regional powers, because their security priorities overlap the domestic and international. A case study of the United Arab Emirates demonstrates that its key security priorities are shaped by both domestic and global inputs, and require solutions at both levels. However, many courses on domestic and homeland security in the Emirates do not reflect this reality. In studying and teaching security in non-superpowers, the homeland security concept should be updated to properly fit the strategic context of a small state in theory and practice.

Human-Centered Leadership Development: A Communication-Based Approach for Promoting Authentic and Transformational Leadership

Leadership development (LD) has been shown to deliver significant value in both professional and academic settings. However, scholars of leadership communication and LD have argued for a need to recognize LD as a highly social, co-creative, and communicative process in which followership and larger organizational and social contexts play a significant role. Recent research has also argued for self-directed and experiential learning approaches to promote learning mindsets and psychological resources for long-term growth. The present study addresses these challenges by developing a holistic theoretical model and an applied design for LD comprised of evidence-based communication interventions that address intrapersonal, interpersonal, and strategic communication contexts in order to promote both authentic leadership and transformational leadership capacities. The model employs human-centered design methods to complement established experiential learning models and facilitate co-creative engagement with situated organizational challenges.

Should it be “Chinese Taipei” or “Taiwan”? A strategic relations analysis of name rectification referendum for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games

This paper aims to analyse how the actors and context interacted in the case of a name rectification referendum for the Olympic team of the Republic of China (Taiwan/ROC) based on a strategic relations approach. Through an analysis of supplemental documents and in-depth interviews involving actors and their strategic actions at different levels, three stages/junctures in relation to this case are addressed. The first is a critical event - the referendum proposal submission process. The second is a critical process - the referendum proposal establishment process. The third is a critical outcome - the failure of the referendum. From these three interlinked discussions, this study shows the strategic historical contexts among the stakeholders, which are used to interpret the strategic calculation. The case itself portrays how the outcome of every stage becomes the subsequent strategic knowledge and contexts and can transform into another selective context in relevant cases.

Dirichlet implications for portfolio management

AbstractWe extend the utility of Goodhardt's negative binomial distribution‐Dirichlet model to demonstrate how it can be used to support portfolio decisions relating to retail assortments. The approach is based on analysing polarisation of loyalty, , obtained via a transformation of the model's S parameter, to investigate loyalty to attributes. Prior research on loyalty to attributes suffers from limitations of method or application, so we develop a full treatment of the statistical basis and analytical methods required for ongoing research in this area. We then demonstrate the utility of our approach through application to four subcategories of coffee in the USA over 2 years. Importantly, we reveal the specific attribute levels (features) that generate the least and most loyalty, and show how this, when combined with market share, can be used to respond to the strategic context. Specifically, those attribute levels with low loyalty may be more suitable for seasonal or limited time offers for which maximising short‐term custom is more important than repeat purchase; conversely, attribute levels with high loyalty may be more suitable for achieving long‐term growth of brand share. In both cases, attribute levels with higher market share are preferable.

From Hey, you there! to Got you: re-materializing the encoding/decoding model in the computationally mediated city

ABSTRACT For European media studies, Stuart Hall’s encoding/decoding model epitomizes the transition from the mass communication research paradigm to the cultural one in the 1970s. Given its canonical status, Hall’s model offers an apt point of reference for reflecting on the challenges that cultural media studies itself faces today—after more than a decade into the turn to materiality in social theory. My suggestion is that the pervasively computed contemporary city provides a strategic context for media scholars in discussing the theoretical relevance of the encoding/decoding model, as well as semiotic models more generally, in terms of the ongoing paradigm shift.

Conceptual Model Based on Normative Multi-Agent System for Supply Chain Integration of Brazilian Gypsum LPA

The Brazilian gypsum has one of the highest levels of recognized mineral qualities in the world. Companies that operate in this sector support major economy-driving industries such as civil construction, architecture, medicine, and agriculture and are an input for the manufacture of paints, phosphors, and insecticides, among others. Most of the companies that constitute this sector are small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which require supply chain solutions to maintain competition in market share. Supply chain integration as a collaborative solution has become a necessary strategy for enhancing SMEs decision-making capability. This study proposes a conceptual model based on a normative multi-agent system approach that offers a dynamic view about supply chain integration for managers and other stakeholders. From this contribution, it is possible to obtain constant information flow among stakeholders and build an effective strategic context for SMEs in the Brazilian Gypsum Local Productive Arrangement (LPA).

The Art of Running Away: Escapes and Flight Movements During the Great Depression in São Tomé e Príncipe, 1930–1936

AbstractAs a coerced labour force living under repressive conditions, contract workers in São Tomé e Príncipe's cocoa plantations belong to a wider phenomenon of global plantation experience during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Flight appears as an important element of that experience and this article is an attempt to interpret the strategies of runaways in São Tomé's turbulent Great Depression years after 1930. The work set out here benefitted from a large selection of unexplored sources of the island's labour inspectorate, which can be found in the archipelago itself. Its analysis has enabled interpretation of the motives of escaping workers, and with it discussion of three principal strategic contexts of flight: the experiences of runaways who formed communities; attempts by escaped workers to hide and become part of “native” (forro) communities in rural areas or in the city of São Tomé; and the agency of workers trying to run away to subsequently renegotiate their conditions with labour inspectors or with plantation administrators sympathetic to their situation. The last part of the article attempts to locate that experience in the global history of runaways, connecting it with the types of “ecosystems of running” discussed for Atlantic slavery and later indentured labour systems.

Campaigning on the Ability to Govern: A Study of Strategic References to Competence Made by Political Parties in Europe

AbstractOne of the sources of the incumbent advantage over the challenger in a two-candidate election is the possibility of referring to accomplishments in office. Incumbents exploit this resource in their campaigning rhetoric by putting greater emphasis on competence than challengers do. However, this tendency has not been tested outside two-party systems yet. In multiparty settings, the outgoing government, often formed by a coalition of parties, faces multiple opposition forces. This can change the strategic context of the competition, so the generalizations made in two-party systems may not be adequate. Using the Comparative Campaign Dynamics Dataset, I demonstrate that the tendency to put more emphasis on competence does not apply to government parties in multiparty elections in Europe. However, parties with better positions in the pre-electoral polls are more likely to emphasize traits associated with the ability to govern efficiently during the campaign.

Asymptomatic and sub-microscopic Plasmodium falciparum infection in children in the Mount Cameroon area: a cross-sectional study on altitudinal influence, haematological parameters and risk factors

BackgroundThe Mount Cameroon area has experienced a 57.2% decline in confirmed malaria cases between 2006 and 2013 with the implementation of different control measures but, the disease is still of public health concern. The objective of the study was to assess the burden of asymptomatic and sub-microscopic Plasmodium infection, altitudinal influence on it, their effect on haematological parameters as well as identify the risk factors of infection.MethodologyA cross-sectional community-based survey involving 1319 children of both sexes aged 6 months to 14 years was conducted between July 2017 and May 2018. Malaria parasitaemia was confirmed by Giemsa-stained microscopy, sub-microscopic Plasmodium infection by 18S mRNA using nested PCR and full blood count analysis was done using an auto haematology analyser.ResultsMalaria parasite, asymptomatic malaria parasitaemia and sub-microscopic Plasmodium infection and anaemia were prevalent in 36.4%, 34.0%, 43.8% and 62.3% of the children, respectively. The risk of having sub-microscopic Plasmodium infection was highest in children 5‒9 (OR = 3.13, P < 0.001) and 10‒14 years of age (OR = 8.18, P < 0.001), non-insecticide treated net users (OR = 1.69, P < 0.04) and those anaemic (OR = 9.01, P < 0.001). Children with sub-microscopic infection had a significantly lower mean haemoglobin (9.86 ± 1.7 g/dL, P < 0.001), red blood cell counts (4.48 ± 1.1 × 1012/L, P < 0.001), haematocrit (31.92%, P < 0.001), mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration (313.25 ± 47.36, P = 0.035) and platelet counts (280.83 ± 112.62, P < 0.001) than their negative counterparts. Children < 5 years old (73.8%), having asymptomatic (69.8%) and sub-microscopic Plasmodium infection (78.3%) as well as resident in the middle belt (72.7%) had a higher prevalence of anaemia than their peers.ConclusionThe meaningful individual-level heterogeneity in the burden of asymptomatic and sub-microscopic Plasmodium infection in addition to its corollary on haematological variables among children in the different attitudinal sites of the Mount Cameroon Region accentuate the need for strategic context specific planning of malaria control and preventative measures.