bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Paradigm shift: The effect of nativity and years-in-country on television programme viewing across three Hispanic generational levels
Authors: Beniflah Jake , Hughes Brian , Garcia Carlos
Published: July 2024

US Spanish-language television was an estimated US$6.1bn industry in 2013 and has more than tripled since 2003. Marketing has changed dramatically during this time with digital and social media revolutionising the industry with improved metrics and real-time analytics. Unfortunately, television measurement of the US Hispanic population has not changed significantly in more than two decades, has relied on ‘language’ as its sole metric during this time, and has not kept up with the full diversity of the changing Hispanic population. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether there are better and more efficient ways to measure the US Hispanic television audience, which would help leading corporations optimise their media investments. By way of a quantitative primary study, this paper advances two variables — nativity and years-incountry — which we propose are more effective and efficient in targeting Hispanics than language alone. We hope this initial study will spur innovation and an open discussion on new ways to measure the US Hispanic television audience and help corporations drive media efficiency and target effectiveness. Although this study focused on US Hispanics, there is an opportunity to test and apply the findings across other multicultural groups in the USA and abroad.
FURst Aid: Advancement opportunities from hybrid public outreach series
Authors: Odegaard Jens
Published: July 2024

FURst Aid is a series of free, hybrid events for animal lovers. Attendees learn practical first aid and preventative care skills from a diverse pool of experts at the Oregon State University (OSU) Carlson College of Veterinary Medicine (CCVM) to help them look after their furry friends. This case study will cover how the FURst Aid series offers public outreach, engagement and service, as well as continuing education to professionals (including CCVM alumni). It will also elaborate some practical tips and lessons learned for offering a successful hybrid event series. Though produced by a small advancement team and on a tight budget, the series yields great results and reaches a wide spectrum of audiences. By offering all events free of charge, economic barriers to the public's participating in and receiving benefits from this service are greatly reduced. From an advancement perspective, the series has enabled the college as well as the OSU Foundation to engage with a strategically important community for marketing, alumni relations and fundraising efforts. Readers will learn how to tap into their own experts to engage their own core communities, and considerations to plan, advertise and deliver a hybrid event series.
Is engagement the answer to the challenges of online education?
Authors: Lavin Amy , Mandviwalla Munir
Published: July 2024

In 2017, the trend to offer degree online programs and courses continues to increase.1 The trend will likely continue because online programs offer convenience, flexibility, accessibility, lower cost and access to a broader range of topics regardless of location. Moreover, there is now an institutional imperative to jump into the online space, given lowered barriers to entry (ie no classroom space or facilities needed), ability to reach a broader market and the opportunity to generate income in the face of dwindling state and local support. Yet, there are many challenges. Will students have the focus, motivation, perseverance and self-discipline to succeed? How will institutions meet standards for recruitment quality, retention, student success and accreditation? This paper outlines a new approach to online education, an approach centred on high engagement as the driver for student and institutional success. This is in contrast to the traditional approach that is typically based on the automation of existing structures (eg record a lecture) to increase scale and reach. Specifically, the paper seeks to answer the question: Can high engagement enabled by digital innovation in an online degree programme generate superior outcomes for both students and institutions? The paper explores the above question in the context of a specific case: In 2014, Temple University launched the 100 per cent online Master of Science — Digital Innovation in Marketing (MS DIM) programme to provide the skills required of today’s digital marketer — a mix of marketing, technology and communications. The development of the MS DIM serves as the backdrop for the ideas presented in this paper.
How RegTech tools enable regulatory compliance for cryptoassets: A case study for cryptoasset transaction monitoring
Authors: Boškić Magdalena
Published: July 2024

BBVA, BNP Paribas, Citigroup, DBS, JPMorgan, Société Générale — these are the names of just a few well-known traditional banks that have already established or are in the process of establishing a cryptoasset offering to their clients. While various challenges need to be overcome in introducing a cryptoasset offering, some might see the true challenge starting once customers can not only ‘buy and hold’ cryptoassets but also transfer these assets to a wallet outside the banking environment or bring their already existing cryptoassets into the banking environment. Compliant yet efficient cryptoasset transaction monitoring as part of an effective cryptoasset compliance framework is an important component of a successful cryptoasset offering by a traditional bank. This paper discusses some of the challenges related to cryptoasset transaction monitoring, provides insights on regulatory technology (RegTech) tools that address those challenges and illustrates in a case study the approach of Sygnum Bank, the world’s first digital asset bank, to overcome these challenges.
Video: The new frontier in metadata standards
Authors: Schleu Thomas
Published: July 2024

In spite of the exponential rise in the popularity of video — both in terms of those creating video and those viewing it — numerous challenges are preventing organisations from taking full advantage of all that this medium has to offer. Businesses have long recognised the complexities involved with video publishing, including the lack of universal standards, such as different devices and browsers requiring the use of different file formats or codecs. This paper explores the state of video metadata today, including their unique characteristics and attributes, as well as the various types of video metadata that exist in the market. It also offers perspective on how organisations are viewing the use of video and video metadata in the corporate world. Finally, the paper summarises the way digital asset management can be a conduit between the complexities of video usage and the metadata that serve as the key for businesses worldwide to unlock greater value from this communication medium.
The Asset-Liability Committee: Ensuring effective balance sheet risk management during a market-wide stress event
Authors: Choudhry Moorad
Published: July 2024

Risk management in banking is universally the ultimate responsibility of the board of directors. That said, boards generally delegate various aspects of this responsibility to various executive management committees. Stewardship of the bank’s balance sheet is given typically to the Asset-Liability Committee (ALCO). The mere existence and operation of an ALCO is not sufficient to prevent banks failing however, as the events of 2008 showed. Twelve years after that period, the markets are experiencing another global stress event, this time the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. This brings under focus again the role and effectiveness of the ALCO, as banks strive to assist their customer franchise while simultaneously ensuring the maintenance of balance sheet viability. The author assesses the factors that an ALCO must address if it is to remain fit-for-purpose during an economic crisis, and what specific operating methods and culture it should operate under. The paper concludes that an open culture at ALCO, which fully debates all issues is a key ingredient in this regard. Other aspects of importance include an appropriate governance structure, membership and reporting suite of risk indicators.
Integrating an incident management system within a continuity of operations programme/ Case study of the Bank of Canada
Authors: Loop Carole
Published: July 2024

Carrying out critical business functions without interruption requires a resilient and robust business continuity framework. By embedding an industry-standard incident management system within its business continuity structure, the Bank of Canada strengthened its response plan by enabling timely response to incidents while maintaining a strong focus on business continuity. A total programme approach, integrating the two disciplines, provided for enhanced recovery capabilities. While the value of an effective and efficient response organisation is clear, as demonstrated by emergency events around the world, incident response structures based on normal operating hierarchy can experience unique challenges. The internationally-recognised Incident Command System (ICS) model addresses these issues and reflects the five primary incident management functions, each contributing to the overall strength and effectiveness of the response organisation. The paper focuses on the Bank of Canada’s successful implementation of the ICS model as its incident management and continuity of operations programmes evolved to reflect current best practices.
Strengthening downtown public spaces in our smaller communities
Authors: Milder N. David
Published: July 2024

Today, downtowns large and small are facing the challenges of the new normal, especially a contraction in retail-drawn customer traffic. Vibrant parks and public spaces can fill the slack and help maintain and grow a downtown’s pool of visitors. Too many of them in smaller communities focus just on being event venues, however, while failing to provide the simple amenities and programming that are essential to attracting users on non-event days. This paper suggests that properly located public spaces can successfully target and attract the daytime markets segments present in these smaller communities, if the appropriate and affordable programming and improvements are made.
Integrated marketing for annual giving
Authors: Quinn Stephanie Mcbride
Published: July 2024

Integrated marketing is used to great effect in the for-profit business world, as a means to cut through the noise, reach a target audience and inspire desired action. It is an approach that can also be applied in higher education fundraising, as the annual giving team at Boston University (BU) demonstrates. By employing the four integrated marketing principles of creating a concentrated effort, building consistent messaging, coordinating marketing channels and committing to tracking and analysis, BU is able to create key moments throughout the fiscal year to engage alumni and prospects and convert them into donors. This approach led to 106 per cent year-over-year growth in gifts from BU’s spring participation challenge, and has become the foundation of the team’s planning throughout the year.
Can we keep up with the machines? Stronger and faster artificial intelligence systems require robust risk management practices
Authors: O'Keefe Edward , Carter Jules , Byrne Sarah , Meeks Barbara , Stoker‡ John , Shields Randal
Published: July 2024

No longer just an issue of isolated enterprise, regulatory or reputational risk for financial institutions, compliance failures are indicators of potential systemic deficiencies that can frustrate the mission and ethical goals of a firm. What is more, compliance failures may impede and compromise a financial institution's ability to deliver core financial products and investments. Recent advancements in data management and computing capacity have ushered in a wave of business technology solutions that rely on the power of artificial intelligence (AI) to transform vast quantities of data into useful business and risk management information. Financial institutions utilise these technologies to predict behaviour, make decisions, identify threats and meet regulatory requirements. An unintended consequence of the proliferation of Big Data and advanced analytics is the concomitant expansion of AI-driven models that tend to amplify social and economic biases. As AI-based technologies expand across compliance and risk management functions, they must be subject to rigorous examination and testing. Robust model governance must be a core component of every financial institution's overall risk management and corporate governance strategies. The extent of a financial institution's model governance must align with the extent and sophistication of its model use. This paper sets out the regulatory trends related to AI in compliance and risk management applications and the risks associated with inadequate data management, over-automation and other risk management oversight failures. The possible adverse outcomes are illustrated by means of a case study relating to the detection of money laundering associated with human trafficking. Recommendations for model risk management and model governance follow.
Winners and losers in the complex web of global supply chains
Authors: Glendon Lee
Published: July 2024

This paper discusses how supply chain, risk and business continuity professionals can collaboratively address the consequences of increasing supply chain complexity in order to deliver both resilient and sustainable supply chains. The paper identifies the key drivers of complexity supported by recent case examples, including the equine DNA scandal and the Rana Plaza tragedy in Bangladesh.
Media brands in social network sites: Problems German media companies have faced and lessons they have learned
Authors: Rohn Ulrike , Baumann Sabine
Published: July 2024

This paper describes a study aimed at understanding how representatives of media organisations in Germany manage their brands on social network sites (SNSs). The study is based on a series of in-depth interviews with media managers conducted in 2011 and 2013/2014 in which the interviewees were encouraged to discuss the problems they had faced and the lessons they had learned. The transcripts show that many media companies have difficulties navigating the social networking environment as the rules for how media brands are presented are set by the SNSs and their users rather than the media companies themselves. Most crucially, the interviews reveal that SNS profiles for media brands are predominantly created and maintained by editors and journalists, with little or no involvement from their marketing departments. The paper emphasises the role of integrated brand communication in order to fully leverage the many branding possibilities associated with the social networking environment.
From cost to opportunity: Holistic regulatory change management
Authors: Narayanan Anand
Published: July 2024

Regulations and regulatory change management (RCM) are critical for safeguarding organisations and the overall economy by providing operating guardrails for managing risks. This paper discusses the purpose of regulations, the role of regulators and the need for proactive adoption of a robust RCM framework. It provides a practitioner’s perspective for establishing in-house RCM operations, outlining opportunities for adopting regulatory technology to support efficient compliance and organisational growth needs.
Strategies and criteria for new payments technology investments
Authors: Foy Patrick C.
Published: July 2024

In the relatively short span of perhaps a decade, ‘payments’ have emerged from sub-conscious obscurity in the back shops of banks to assume a functional identity of their own as a valueadded financial services industry, and a priority item in the strategic planning agenda of virtually every institution. But payments are also at the core of the ongoing revolution in banking, from a traditional mainframe- and paper-based transaction model to an Internetbased, electronic transaction model. As technology improvements, new regulations, competitive pressure and customer expectations drive an accelerating evolution from paper-based cheques to electronic forms of payment, banks and the vendors that provide their payments-related technology find themselves at odds with longestablished processes, systems, revenue streams and value propositions. Vendors, in particular, are facing many new questions and challenges as they plan their market strategies and product portfolios for financial institutions. With the payments arena in such upheaval, how should a financial services vendor determine what technology to invest in or bring to market? What factors are involved and what criteria are important in this new payments environment? This paper addresses how a leading financial services technology vendor approaches these and similar questions. By carefully laying out how to distinguish between tactical and strategic approaches to the changing payments landscape, it will provide vendors, bankers and other interested parties with a practical road map that can ensure alignment between short-term and long-term technology objectives.
Regeneration: Should it be targeted at a city-region or neighbourhood scale?
Authors: Sutton Derek
Published: July 2024

The UK Government's regeneration policies constantly vary their focus between setting priorities at the city-region and the neighbourhood levels. This paper argues, based on the writer's experience in the North West of England, that the regeneration outcomes, whether economic, environmental, artistic or social, that have an impact on most individuals come from activities at a level between these two, namely at a district or town level. Recognising this does not necessarily imply an acceptance of lower standards or inferior quality. Examples of outcomes of regional and national significance which are not confined to city areas are used to make this case.
Quantum identity and the enhancement of communication
Authors: Bernal-Merino Miguel Á.
Published: July 2024

Some companies may be tempted by a move towards traditional brand identities and marketing strategies following the recent rise of populism in politics, but the reality of today’s consumers is far more complex to navigate, and a return to old approaches is unlikely to work. In the global marketplace of the 21st century, identity has become an elusive yet essential priority for businesses. Companies need to deeply understand who ‘they’ are, who they are selling ‘to’ and who they are competing ‘against’. The growing consumption of foreign audio-visual entertainment in most locales and the integration of multimedia interactive technology into many aspects of everyday life are ushering in an age of individuals who combine traditional with new identities, and this has immediate effects on their consumer behaviour. Brands are competing in the land grab for individuals’ minds, but today’s consumers exercise their quantum identities more freely away from the traditional preference of kin, clan and country, and loyalty is shifting towards a more reciprocal model. In a world where ad-avoidance sentiment and technology are growing, companies need to strengthen their identity and enhance their communication strategies in order to sustain their success.
The ‘devicefication’ of the car: Adding personal vehicles to the digital marketing mix
Authors: Maugain Olivier
Published: July 2024

Cars are gradually turning into mobile devices — just like some of the phones, cameras or watches available on the market. This paper describes this ‘devicefication’ process as the result of innovations in the automotive industry in three areas: human– machine interaction, connectivity and intelligence. It offers examples of features, functions and technologies typical for handheld devices, which automotive manufacturers and suppliers have already developed or intend to deploy in their products. The paper also shows how personal vehicles can be used as information, advertising or sales channels for the benefit of both marketers and consumers. Finally, it illustrates the four stages in the creation of data-driven customer experiences, providing options and recommendations about how to reap the marketing benefits of the devicefied car.
Ready, set, bake: Using the ‘Great British Bake Off’ to learn important lessons in incidence response
Authors: Anderson Kerry A.
Published: July 2024

Adults learn from experiences, be they lived or virtual. In the latter case, television programming offers a variety of opportunities for virtual learning. Indeed, while some people regard ‘reality television’ as no more than simple entertainment, the manner in which participants tackle complex situations can in fact provide opportunities for learning. ‘The Great British Bake Off’ (GBBO) provides a case in point, due to the striking parallels between it and the incidence response process. Both involve executing complex processes in abbreviated timeframes with numerous opportunities for failure. Just like no two ‘bakes’ are alike, no two incident response events run identically. GBBO bakers and incident response practitioners need to be knowledgable, agile and prepared to manage in a variety of circumstances. This paper offers insights into enhancing incident response using the GBBO as a model for performing incident response. Please note: in the US GBBO is known as ‘The Great British Baking Show’.
Sentiment analysis and emotion recognition: Evolving the paradigm of communication within data classification
Authors: Gross Ted William
Published: July 2024

The process of sentiment analysis and emotion recognition (SAER) entails using artificial intelligence components and algorithms to extract emotions and sentiments from online texts, such as tweets. The information extracted can then be used by marketing, customer support and public relations teams to foster positive consumer attitudes. Advances in this discipline, however, are being hindered by two significant obstacles. First, although ‘emotion’ and ‘sentiment’ are distinct entities that require distinct analysis, there is no agreed definition to distinguish between the two. Secondly, the nature of language within the electronic medium has evolved to include much more than textual statements, including (but not limited to) acronyms, emojis and other visuals, such as video (in its many forms). As visual communication lacks universal interpretation, this can lead to erroneous analysis and conclusions, even where there is a differentiation between emotion and sentiment. This paper uses examples and case studies to explain the theoretical basis of the problem. It also offers conceptual direction regarding how to make SAER more accurate.
Are you ready for the applied GDPR?
Authors: Wilkinson Stephen
Published: July 2024

There have been several large developments within the practice of data protection over the last year, all of which culminate in 2018, the ‘data big bang’ year. This paper aims to assist data practitioners in navigating the fast-moving field of data privacy protection and will also look at the only legally binding instruments in the world in the field of the protection of personal data which, because of their open nature, had a universal scope. It will also look at the implementation of the Applied General Data Protection (and other) Regulations, which will shape the direction and future of data privacy protection not just in the UK, but globally. All data practitioners must be aware that new technologies bring with them their own unique challenges for data privacy, processing as well as compliance. Add this to the impending legislation changes with additional data subject rights, then 2018 will be exceptionally busy for the data privacy practitioner. As Moreland described, making conclusions from the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA) was like ‘weaving his way through a thicket’ (Campbell v MGN ltd (HL) [2004] UKHL 22; [2004] 2 AC 457; [2004] 2 WLR 1232; [2004] EMLR 247); Lord Philipps at the Court of Appeal agreed and added: ‘the Act is certainly a cumbersome and inelegant piece of legislation’. Once you read the Data Protection Act 18 (DPA18) along with the applied General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), then ‘thicket’ becomes a ‘forest’. With this in mind, it is hard to understand why the Digital Culture Media and Sport (DCMS) has not released a copy of the ‘applied GDPR’ with the changes implemented by the government in the DPA18. For an unofficial copy of the ‘applied GDPR’, please contact GODPO.
Power to the people: Putting community into urban regeneration
Authors: Maliphant Andrew
Published: July 2024

This is a perspective on two approaches to regeneration in the same city, Gloucester in the west of England, between 2004 and 2014. A more community-based approach came from the Community Strategy team of Gloucester City Council, while a more site-based approach came from the Gloucester Heritage Urban Regeneration Company (of which the City Council was a lead partner). Sometimes the two approaches worked well together, and sometimes not so well. As both of these teams have now been dissolved, it is perhaps time to identify the lessons learned from the process. This case study illustrates two particular points: the value of genuine community-led action rather than work done on the community’s behalf, and the need for long-term attention to how community needs and aspirations can link effectively with major regeneration schemes. The text reviews a number of available techniques to these ends.
Internet of things data protection and privacy in the era of the General Data Protection Regulation
Authors: Chaudhuri Abhik
Published: July 2024

The emerging internet of things (IoT) technology has immense potential for unprecedented business offerings in various domains. To provide reliable IoT products and services that comply with regulatory demands, businesses must meet users’ data protection and privacy needs. With the General Data Protection Regulation (GPDR) coming into force from 24th May, 2016 and applicable from 25th May, 2018, IoT businesses must strategise privacy alignment for their products or services by incorporating in their design the privacy and data protection capabilities necessary for regulatory compliance and gaining user trust. This paper discusses the associated data protection and user privacy concerns, making reference to such IoT service offerings as smart retail, the smart home, smart wearables, smart health devices, smart television and smart toys. The three steps to privacy alignment strategy discussed in this paper comprise the privacy inquisition (PI) analysis model, the IoT privacy impact assessment (iPIA) and the privacy state transition process through which IoT businesses pass on their path to attaining ‘perfect alignment’ with respect to the GDPR data protection requirements and user privacy needs. Privacy inquisition, iPIA and privacy state transition should be performed on a periodic basis, preferably under the guidance of a privacy governance board with supervisory authority and representation from the organisation’s board of directors, the controller and the data protection officer.
Increasing in-store sales through creative omni-channel digital and social media marketing strategies: Case study of HobbyTown
Authors: Smith Andrew
Published: July 2024

Many retailers with brick-and-mortar locations are losing ground or failing due to the rapid rise of e-commerce. In stark contrast, US toys and games retailer HobbyTown saw 5 consecutive quarters of increased in-store sales and customer engagement following 12 consecutive quarters of declining sales. This dramatic reversal resulted from successful, strategic digital and social media marketing campaigns featuring strategies that revitalised the social, web and mobile channels through which HobbyTown connected and interacted with current and potential customers. HobbyTown understood the unique value of the immersive in-store experience offered to customers and capitalised on this knowledge by using highly personalised and localised digital marketing techniques to increase purchases within physical store locations. This paper explores the methodology of these digital and social media marketing strategies, including campaign development, implementation, measurement and results. The insights shared will enable retailers with physical store locations to develop effective digital and social media strategies to deploy when social distancing directives for COVID-19 are fully lifted and business returns to normal.
My TV lies over the ocean: The digitisation of France’s overseas heritage
Authors: Abadie Geneviève , Amouroux Brice , Letienne Gérard , Boulon Sandrine
Published: July 2024

This paper describes the successes and setbacks of a 12-year project to digitise over 150,000 hours of audiovisual footage from France’s overseas territories. After a brief overview of the major milestones of the project, the paper focuses on technical and metadata processing issues, and the various unexpected problems that were faced along the way.
Evaluating the removal performance and friction characteristics of runway contaminants
Authors: Ho Chun-Hsing , Romero Pedro
Published: July 2024

The skid resistance of runway pavements is very important for the safety of aircraft operations. The reasons that lead to lower friction are complicated and include factors such as the number of aircraft landings, micro and macro texture changes, mechanical wear and polishing actions from aircraft tyres rolling or braking on the pavement. Thoroughly identifying friction characteristics can be time-consuming and impractical for airport operations as most airport employees do not operate friction-related testing instruments such as the sand patch device, British pendulum tester, dynamic friction tester etc. This paper presents an algorithm used to track friction changes and evaluate rubber removal performance to illustrate how measured friction data can be formulated so they can be interpreted and analysed into a series of readable results. A series of friction datasets was obtained from an international airport as a case study to show airport employees the process of data acquisition, interpretation and analysis so as to monitor/track friction changes and evaluate the performance of rubber removal actions without further texture measurements or friction tests.
Converting critical enterprise risks into a usable risk matrix
Authors: Powell Janice
Published: July 2024

Successful compliance is built upon a solid foundation of risk management. Effective compliance programmes begin with a thorough assessment to identify areas of risk within the organisation. Developing a risk management framework is crucial to an organisation's ability to develop appropriate protocols to identify, monitor, and if needed, mitigate the risks. Aside from the practical benefits a risk assessment can provide, it can also demonstrate to a regulator that a compliance programme is ‘reasonably designed’ to prevent violations of federal securities laws.1 The purpose of this paper is to discuss practical ways to develop and implement a risk management programme as well as conveying identified risks to senior management for use in practical business decisions.
Business continuity strategies for cyber defence: Battling time and information overload
Authors: Streufert John
Published: July 2024

Can the same numbers and letters which are the life blood of modern business and government computer systems be harnessed to protect computers from attack against known information security risks? For the past seven years, Foreign Service officers and technicians of the US Government have sought to maintain diplomatic operations in the face of rising cyber attacks and test the hypothesis that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. As eight out of ten attacks leverage known computer security vulnerabilities or configuration setting weaknesses, a pound of cure would seem to be easy to come by. Yet modern security tools present an unusually consequential threat to business continuity — too much rather than too little information on cyber problems is presented, harking back to a phenomenon cited by social scientists in the 1960s called ‘information overload’. Experience indicates that the longer the most serious cyber problems go untreated, the wider the attack surface adversaries can find. One technique used at the Department of State, called ‘risk scoring’, resulted in an 89 per cent overall reduction in measured risk over 12 months for the Department of State’s servers and personal computers. Later refinements of risk scoring enabled technicians to correct unique security threats with unprecedented speed. This paper explores how the use of metrics, special care in presenting information to technicians and executives alike, as well as tactical use of organisational incentives can result in stronger cyber defences protecting modern organisations.
MALO (more activity, less overcrowding): A bed management model as a high-impact solution to the problem of hospital overcrowding
Authors: Vega Josep Lluís , Casadevall Ricard
Published: July 2024

There is abundant literature that relates the overcrowding of the emergency departments (EDs) to the presence of patients admitted to the ED for want of beds in the hospitalisation area. Likewise, there is also abundant evidence on the relationship between hospital overcrowding and the deterioration of multiple indicators of healthcare quality. In this paper we present our bed management model (MALO model: more activity, less overcrowding), which we have successfully applied in three different hospitals. The three characteristic elements of this model are: 1. PREBEDA formula: this consists of a simple but useful formula for calculating the availability of beds on the basis of the scheduled activity and the activity estimated based on recent history 2. Coordinated surgical programming: surgical programming is coordinated with the bed availability forecast 3. ‘Beds czar’: a person responsible for the management of hospital beds is appointed, which acts according to the prioritization criteria established by a ‘bed management committee’, in which the medical director and the nursing director participate.
Business resilience best practices that do not work: Cautions and guidance
Authors: Thomas Cliff
Published: July 2024

Across the world, there is an increasing tendency for businesses to rely on best practices, based on the assumption that they provide proven, credible and efficient solutions. In-depth scrutiny of ‘best practicism’, however, paints a different picture of its effectiveness; indeed, the adoption of best practices is commonly ineffective due to their misapplication or the use of unsupported assumptions. This article explores the use of best practices in the business resilience profession and describes reasons why assumptions about them are often incorrect. Cautions about best practices focus on the importance of change processes, underestimating problem complexity, and the influence of confirmation bias. These factors, and ways to address them, are described in the context of business resilience.
Strengthening community hospital/ university partnerships through establishment of a virtual library to support clinical practice, research and education
Authors: Buzalko Russell J.
Published: July 2024

During a time when many hospitals were eliminating library services, a clinical and an academic organisation worked together to develop a new dedicated paediatric hospital virtual library. This paper describes the strengthening of existing partnerships and use of experts during the change management process and well into the early sustainment phase. The new healthcare service library offered additional resources and services and provided informational equity to those who previously had limited access in their support roles. With a relatively modest increase in spending, the hospital saw a 700-per cent increase in downloads of papers and received expert research support not readily available during previous library arrangements. The use of experts in various functional areas and formal change management practices were crucial to the positive results garnered by both organisations. The implementation team largely avoided major impediments and commonly expected issues through the leveraging of existing partnerships. Minor barriers, however, related to communication, time constraints, vendor negotiations and overcoming preconceived notions based on past experiences associated with inferior products were easily managed during the course of this project. This paper offers a non-traditional model for organisations to consider while redesigning library services with the intent to improve support for medical education, research and clinical outcomes.
More than science fiction: Using artificial intelligence and machine-learning techniques to supercharge your marketing
Authors: Thurber Korey
Published: July 2024

With the rise of data creation, channel proliferation and technologies, today’s marketers struggle to find actionable insights to optimise their marketing spend. In the past few years, machine learning — a form of artificial intelligence — has come to the marketer’s aid by finding patterns, deriving insights and making predictions from tremendous amounts of data. This paper analyses machine-learning capabilities, providers and applicability as they relate to marketing.
Data protection, anti-money laundering and tax evasion: Seeking an equilibrium between public policy and fundamental rights
Authors: Polverino Fabio
Published: July 2024

This paper explores the interaction between data protection rules and important (even urgent) public policies addressing the issues raised by the financial crisis. In particular, the proposed amendments to the Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Directive are referred to, which are designed to answer concerns that money laundering and terrorism financing may rely on innovative means and have thus become more dynamic and unpredictable. The amendments also rest on the awareness that tax evasion and elusion threaten economic development and the recovery of the economy from the financial crisis. There is little doubt that such economic circumstances require urgent legislative intervention. A more incisive legislation, however, imposes a burden on individuals and on their fundamental rights to privacy and data protection. Like many other mechanisms, innovative policy tools rely on the availability and intensive processing of information, which includes personal data. Can these conflicting interests (ie, the achievement of public policy goals and the protection of the individual) be reconciled or shall either of the two be subordinated to the other? A combination of the two is, in the author’s opinion, possible. From this perspective, purpose limitation and proportionality in the processing of the relevant personal data shall be the guiding principles in this balancing exercise. Such principles have been implemented with some imperfection in the proposed amendments to the AML Directive. Nonetheless, as the legislative process is ongoing and the debate on the topic is still open, there is time to improve and achieve a correct implementation of data protection rules.
Lessons learned from a seven-year digitisation project at the National Institute of Standards and Technology
Authors: Bucher Katelynd E.
Published: July 2024

With the completion of a large-scale project comes the inevitable question: what have we learned and how can we apply it in the future? This article reviews the lessons learned from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Information Services Office’s (ISO) project to digitise and preserve its collection of grey literature published by NIST and its predecessor, the National Bureau of Standards. This legacy digitisation project supported ISO’s mission to create, maintain and disseminate a knowledge base that supports NIST’s scientific, engineering and technical research. The article examines the project over its seven-year duration, its goals and lessons learned, and the path it has laid for digitisation and preservation of NIST publications in the future.
Payment trends and developments in the Western Balkan countries: An interview with Aleksandar Birovljev
Authors: Bruggink Diederik , Birovljev Aleksandar
Published: July 2024

The Western Balkan region — comprising Albania and five former Yugoslav republics — represents an emerging market for payments. Current cashless payments volumes are low and there is significant potential for the development of electronic payments. Although the six different economic and administrative areas have different potential for growth, there are many similarities between these markets, as well as a historic interconnection between their economies and business. Once businesses start to grow beyond their national borders, their expansion into neighbouring countries will be facilitated by the similar language and the interconnectivity of these markets. Cash is still king in the Western Balkans. However, the number of non-cash transactions is slowly growing. A major challenge for online payments in the Western Balkan countries relates to the high costs for processing transactions — card assessment fees are up to four times higher than in the EU. Central banks have announced plans to align domestic policies with EU regulations, such as the Interchange Regulation and PDS2, which could lead to market liberalisation and lower transaction costs.
Risk-minimising investment strategies — Embedding portfolio optimisation into a dynamic insurance framework
Authors: Theiler Ursula
Published: July 2024

While Markowitz's framework of portfolio optimisation aims to eliminate diversifiable risk, it does not consider protection against the undiversifiable, systematic risk of market downturns. This paper investigates a concept of risk-minimising investment strategies, which embeds revolving portfolio optimisations into a framework of dynamic portfolio insurance and thus links the two approaches of minimising the diversifiable and controlling the undiversifiable risk. Investment strategies are generated which minimise the diversifiable risk by revolving optimisations based on newer downside risk measures, value-at-risk and conditional value-at-risk. Portfolio insurance is applied on the investment strategies, in order to control the systematic risk over time. The concept is illustrated by a simplified application example based on historical data, which comprise the most recent period of the financial crisis. The example demonstrates that the performance of investment strategies is stabilised by the application of portfolio optimisation. The choice of risk measure turns out to be of minor relevance. In the period of market decline the impacts of portfolio insurance overlay the impacts of portfolio optimisation. The observations of the case study give reason to suggest that in times of financial instabilities portfolios primarily should be protected against downside risk by adequate portfolio insurance.
How putting the customer at the heart of everything can supercharge growth
Authors: Zhou Julie
Published: July 2024

Building great technology or products only gets you so far. Customers expect more. They expect relationships as well as results. So if you do not know your customers and they do not know you, there will come a time when they start to disengage and your growth will start to plateau. And if you do not know the signals and how to act on them, then you are going to be in trouble. Using AdRoll as a case study we will talk about how to identify this and the steps you can take and the operating principles you need to embrace to ensure everyone is your customer now and into the future.
Time for bold moves in transaction banking
Authors: Bernad Andrés
Published: July 2024

By 2012, the banking landscape will be different. There will be few really efficient global commercial banks, some transaction specialists’ global banks, many shifted regional retail banks and new non-banking entrants. Payments will be a more regulated, open and competitive business in many regions. As banks will focus on payments as a source of more recurrent, stable and lower-risk revenues, they will separate distribution from manufacturing to deliver innovative personalised products and services through different integrated channels — mobile banking being a key one — at the right price to current and new customers and to untapped segments. Back offices will have simplified operating models and consolidated payments platforms based on new technology concepts such as SOA or cloud computing, thus reducing the cost-to-serve ratio. This paper advises banks to focus on five key levers to achieve higher profitability in the forthcoming payments landscape: strategic cost reduction, robust customer management, pricing optimisation, integrated risk management and inorganic growth and divestitures. In their path to becoming high performers in the payments arena, successful banks will capture the benefits of digitalisation, mass customisation, social networking and mobility, positioning at the centre of an ecosystem of bank and non-bank players to create new profit pools for the benefit of all participants and users.
Generic airport location-based services using an integrated indoor positioning system
Authors: Law Ian , Loe Humphrey
Published: July 2024

This paper documents the results of an experiment to provide location-based services information to smart phone apps in an airport terminal from a back-end cloud-based server environment, replacing the need for smart phone app integration with proprietary location-based services software development kits (SDKs). Specifically, the experiment implements a low-energy Bluetooth (BLE) indoor positioning system (IPS) and a mobile application using a Representational State Transfer (REST) application programming interface (API) to a cloud-hosted IPS. A proprietary SDK is not required to be compiled into the native mobile application. The experiment tests a system architecture to determine if indoor positions can be processed by a cloud system instead of by a native mobile application using only Bluetooth radio signal readings. No other sensors and readings from the compass, accelerometer or gyroscope are required by the IPS to determine device location. The IPS’s performance is evaluated by measuring location accuracy, time to process location requests, client battery usage while using the API, and scalability to handle simultaneous API requests from multiple devices.
How to survive the 21st century: Three existential threats to humanity
Authors: Harari Yuval Noah
Published: July 2024

This paper discusses how the 21st century presents three existential threats to humanity: social and economic upheaval, unprecedented inequality due to the artificial intelligence revolution and the rise of digital dictatorships. The world is at risk of technology dividing it into wealthy elites and exploited ‘data colonies’. This paper makes the case for better international cooperation in order to tackle global challenges.
Best practices and important considerations for AI and digital transformation in an economic downturn
Authors: Deakin Brendan
Published: July 2024

Banks surged ahead with digital transformation during the pandemic — largely out of necessity — when faced with lockdowns and the shift to digital-first transactions. Now, as the banking industry moves into the post-pandemic era, and given the current state of economic uncertainty, the adoption of digital transformation is even more crucial. A large proportion of investment will involve AI to improve automation and personalisation while improving the speed and accuracy of decision making. This is essential for banks to address today’s ever-changing risk landscape, especially as consumers and businesses navigate economic uncertainty, rising inflation and energy prices. In the midst of the current economic downturn, organisations must be purposeful in their digital transformation efforts. This paper provides an overview of best practices for digital transformation in the banking sector when every dollar is coming under increased scrutiny.