bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Corporate governance and strategic information on the internet
Authors: García Sánchez Isabel‐María , Rodríguez Domínguez Luis , Gallego Álvarez Isabel 
Published: May 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this study is twofold: to evidence the disclosure practices of Spanish companies in relation to a voluntary typology of strategic information; and to determine the factors that explain these practices. Among the factors considered, the study seeks to focus on the role of the Board of Directors in depth. According to Agency Theory, strategic information has positive consequences on external funds costs. On the other hand, Proprietary Costs theory limits these practices, given that they can lead to competitive disadvantages.Design/methodology/approachFirst, online strategic information disclosure practices are analysed by examining non‐financial quoted Spanish firms. A disclosure index is created, and subsequently, certain factors related to corporate governance – Activity, Size and Board Independence – as well as other factors traditionally analysed, are used to explain the volume of strategic information disclosed on the internet.FindingsThe results indicate that Spanish companies, on average, give out little strategic information, mainly related to objectives, their mission, and the company's philosophy. “Company annual planning” and “Information on risks” are scarcely disclosed. The findings also emphasise that companies where the Chairperson of the Board is the same person as the CEO and, moreover, in which there is a lower frequency of meetings, disclose a greater amount of strategic information on their web sites.Practical implicationsThe findings suggest that the disclosure of strategic information is a decision taken by executives with the aim of satisfying the demands of creditors and investors. The Board of Directors represents the shareholders' interests, but it does not participate in strategic decision‐making disclosure, maybe due to the fact that the proprietary costs lack influence.Originality/valueThe link between corporate governance and strategic information disclosed online has scarcely been analysed in previous literature. This study provides interesting insights into how several Board characteristics can affect the disclosure of strategic information on the internet.
Does patient satisfaction affect patient loyalty?
Authors: Kessler Daniel P. , Mylod Deirdre 
Published: May 2011

PurposeThis paper aims to investigate how patient satisfaction affects propensity to return, i.e. loyalty.Design/methodology/approachData from 678 hospitals were matched using three sources. Patient satisfaction data were obtained from Press Ganey Associates, a leading survey firm; process‐based quality measures and hospital characteristics (such as ownership and teaching status) and geographic areas were obtained from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The frequency with which end‐of‐life patients return to seek treatment at the same hospital was obtained from the Dartmouth Atlas. The study uses regression analysis to estimate satisfaction's effects on patient loyalty, while holding process‐based quality measures and hospital and market characteristics constant.FindingsThere is a statistically significant link between satisfaction and loyalty. Although satisfaction's effect overall is relatively small, contentment with certain hospitalization experience may be important. The link between satisfaction and loyalty is weaker for high‐satisfaction hospitals, consistent with other studies in the marketing literature.Research limitation/implicationsThe US hospitals analyzed are not a random sample; the results are most applicable to large, non‐profit teaching hospitals in competitive markets.Practical implicationsSatisfaction ratings have business implications for healthcare providers and may be useful as a management tool for private and public purchasers.Originality/valueThe paper is the first to show that patient satisfaction affects actual hospital choices in a large sample. Because patient satisfaction ratings are also correlated with other quality measures, the findings suggest a pathway through which individuals naturally gravitate toward higher‐quality care.
Factors affecting nurses' perceptions of patient safety
Authors: Mwachofi Ari , Walston Stephen L. , Al‐Omar Badran A. 
Published: May 2011

PurposeNurses heavily influence patient care quality and safety. This paper aims to examine socioeconomic and organizational/system factors affecting patient safety and quality perceptions.Design/methodology/approachA questionnaire was constructed to gather demographic, managerial support, information technology implementation and integration information. Data were collected from nurses in five Riyadh hospitals, Saudi Arabia. Registered nurses working in hospital departments participated in the survey. A total of 566 completed questionnaires were returned. Subsequent data were analyzed through binary logistic regression.FindingsFactors that improve patient safety and the likelihood that nurses use their own facility include: fewer visible errors; ability to communicate suggestions; information technology support and training; and a confidential error reporting system.Research limitations/implicationsThe survey was a cross‐sectional study. Consequently, it is difficult to establish causation. Furthermore, nursing in these hospitals is dominated by foreign nationals. Also, as with all surveys, this research may be subject to response bias. Although the questionnaire was randomly distributed, there were no mechanisms to assure privacy and minimize peer influence. The high positive patient safety perceptions may be influenced by either individual or peer biases.Practical implicationsNurses are important communicators; especially about hospital safety and quality. The research informs leaders about areas that need considering and improving. Findings indicate that system factors, including functional feedback, suggestions, and error reporting significantly affect patient safety improvements. Likewise, nurse education to operate their information systems has positive effects. Healthcare leaders need to understand factors that affect patient safety perceptions when creating a patient safety culture.Originality/valueFew international articles examine the factors that influence nurses' patient safety perceptions or examine those factors that affect these perceptions. This paper adds value by researching what influences patient safety perceptions among Riyadh nurses.
A computerized surveillance system for asthma
Authors: Karakis Isabella , Blumenfeld Moshe , Yegev Yaron , Goldfarb Dan , Bolotin Arkady , Weiler Zeev , Carel Rafael 
Published: May 2011

PurposeAsthma is a chronic inflammatory airways disease characterized by acute exacerbations interspaced by symptom‐free periods. Its management imposes a substantial burden on healthcare services, as well as personal suffering and significant financial tolls. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate links between routinely used computerized databases and to establish an automatic mechanism for monitoring asthma patients.Design/methodology/approachThe study population was all adult subscribers to a major health maintenance organization (HMO) in Southern Israel (230,000 adults, age 20‐65 years). Relevant data for this retrospective analysis (2000 to 2004) were extracted from several computerized databases routinely used in the service: pharmacy; administrative; and each person's personal computerized medical file in the primary care clinic.FindingsBased on data from 72 regional primary care clinics, during the study period, 11,054 adults were treated simultaneously by β2 agonists and steroids – assumed to be asthmatics. In contrast, asthma diagnosis was recorded in only 4,061 personal files. The intersection between two databases yielded 2,569 persons recorded in both. These findings attest to the feasibility of developing computerized automatic surveillance systems for monitoring asthma patients with certain algorithms to assure service quality.Research limitations/implicationsData extracted from the various databases were unequal quality, a factor that imposed data management difficulties.Practical implicationsSimilar surveillance systems can be developed relatively easily by using comparable algorithms for monitoring different chronic diseases or introducing management indices to secure quality of services.Originality/valueThe paper focuses on developing an automatic asthma monitoring model, using information from routinely used computerized HMO DBs.
Hospital cost structure in the USA: what's behind the costs? A business case
Authors: Chandra Charu , Kumar Sameer , Ghildayal Neha S. 
Published: May 2011

PurposeHospital costs in the USA are a large part of the national GDP. Medical billing and supplies processes are significant and growing contributors to hospital operations costs in the USA. This article aims to identify cost drivers associated with these processes and to suggest improvements to reduce hospital costs.Design/methodology/approachA Monte Carlo simulation model that uses @Risk software facilitates cost analysis and captures variability associated with the medical billing process (administrative) and medical supplies process (variable). The model produces estimated savings for implementing new processes.FindingsSignificant waste exists across the entire medical supply process that needs to be eliminated. Annual savings, by implementing the improved process, have the potential to save several billion dollars annually in US hospitals. The other analysis in this study is related to hospital billing processes. Increased spending on hospital billing processes is not entirely due to hospital inefficiency.Research limitations/implicationsThe study lacks concrete data for accurately measuring cost savings, but there is obviously room for improvement in the two US healthcare processes. This article only looks at two specific costs associated with medical supply and medical billing processes, respectively.Practical implicationsThis study facilitates awareness of escalating US hospital expenditures. Cost categories, namely, fixed, variable and administrative, are presented to identify the greatest areas for improvement.Originality/valueThe study will be valuable to US Congress policy makers and US healthcare industry decision makers. Medical billing process, part of a hospital's administrative costs, and hospital supplies management processes are part of variable costs. These are the two major cost drivers of US hospitals' expenditures that were examined and analyzed.
Understanding the effects of addition of copper nanoparticles to Sn‐3.5 Ag solder
Authors: Nadia Aemi , Haseeb A.S.M.A. 
Published: May 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to focus on the fabrication of SAC nanocomposites solder and discuss the effects of nanoCu addition on the structure and properties of resulted nanocomposite solder.Design/methodology/approachBall milling is a nonequilibrium processing technique for producing composite metal particles with submicron homogeneity by the repeated cold welding and fracture of powder particles. This method is believed to offer good processablity, precise control over the solder composition, and produce more homogeneous mixture.FindingsIt is found that the melting temperature, the wetting behaviour, and hardness are improved when the Cu nanoparticles are added.Originality/valueSo far, no work has been done on the preparation of Cu nanoparticle added composite by ball milling. This paper presents the fabrication of Sn‐Ag‐Cu nanocomposite solders in a planetary ball mill process, and the data are compared with related researches done.
Enhanced thermal fatigue endurance and lifetime prediction of lead‐free LGA joints in LTCC modules
Authors: Nousiainen O. , Salmela O. , Putaala J. , Kangasvieri T. 
Published: May 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to describe the effect of indium alloying on the thermal fatigue endurance of Sn3.8Ag0.7Cu solder in low‐temperature co‐fired ceramic (LTCC) modules with land grid array (LGA) joints and the feasibility of using a recalibrated Engelmaier model to predict the lifetime of LGA joints as determined with a test assembly.Design/methodology/approachTest assemblies were fabricated and exposed to a temperature cycling test over a temperature range of −40‐125°C. Organic printed wiring board (PWB) material with a low coefficient of thermal expansion was used to reduce the global thermal mismatch of the assembly. The characteristic lifetime, θ, of the test assemblies was determined using direct current resistance measurements. The metallurgy and failure mechanisms of the interconnections were verified using scanning acoustic microscopy, an optical microscope with polarized light, and scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive spectrometry (SEM/EDS) investigations. Lifetime predictions of the test assemblies were calculated using the recalibrated Engelmaier model.FindingsThis work showed that indium alloying increased the characteristic lifetime of LGA joints by 15 percent compared with Sn3.8Ag0.7Cu joints. SEM/EDS analysis showed that alloying changed the composition, size, and distribution of intermetallic compounds within the solder matrix. It was also observed that a solid‐state phase transformation (Cu,Ni)6Sn5(→ (Ni,Cu)3Sn4 occurred at the Ni/(Cu,Ni)6Sn5 interface. Moreover, the results pointed out that individual recalibration curves for ceramic package/PWB assemblies with high (≥ 10 ppm/°C) and low (≈ 3‐4 ppm/°C) global thermal mismatches and different package thicknesses should be determined before the lifetime of LGA‐type assemblies can be predicted accurately using the recalibrated Engelmaier model.Originality/valueThe results proved that indium alloying of LGA joints can be done using In‐containing solder on pre‐tinned pads of an LTCC module, despite the different liquidus temperatures of the In‐containing and Sn3.8Ag0.7Cu solders. The characteristic metallurgical features and enhanced thermal fatigue endurance of the In‐alloyed SnAgCu joints were also determined. Finally, this work demonstrated the problems that exist in predicting the lifetime of ceramic packages with LGA joints using analytical modeling, and proposals for developing the recalibrated Engelmaier model to achieve more accurate results with different ceramic packages/PWB assemblies are given.
Effect of solder joint integrity on the thermal performance of a TEC for a 980 nm pump laser module
Authors: Takyi G. , Amalu E.H. , Bernasko P.K. 
Published: May 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to evaluate the effect of solder wettability on the thermal performance of a thermo‐electric cooler (TEC) of a 980 nm pump laser module.Design/methodology/approachIn this paper, TEC thermal performance has been evaluated using a heat pump test. The results were compared with scanning acoustic microscopy (C‐SAM) results in order to have a better understanding of the thermal behaviour of the TEC. In the C‐SAM experiments, images were taken at the interfaces between the housing and TEC, as well as at the interfaces between the chip‐on‐carrier (CoC) and TEC.FindingsThe heat pump test results indicate a strong correlation with the C‐SAM test results. The C‐SAM observations show good solder joint at the interface between the TEC and housing in the case of the device that yielded a good heat pump test result (11.5°C) and poor solder joints (gross de‐lamination) at the interface between the TEC and housing in the case of the device that yielded a poor heat pump test result (24.4°C). The C‐SAM observations did not show much difference at the interface between the CoC and TEC. The results from this study were used to qualify the post‐vacuum soldered laser pump devices at JDS Uniphase, Plymouth, UK.Originality/valueThe findings presented in this paper indicate that the level of solder wettability at the interfaces between the piece parts impacts the thermal performance of the TEC.
Understanding the roles of management accountants
Authors: De Loo Ivo , Verstegen Bernard , Swagerman Dirk 
Published: May 2011

PurposeThe goal of this paper is to use a coherent conceptual framework to discern variables (triggers) that affect a management accountant's role in an organization, thereby generating a comprehensive empirical picture of the management accountant profession in The Netherlands. Similar research was conducted in 2004, which allows a comparison of the data to see if, and to what extent, developments in the profession have taken place.Design/methodology/approachUsing survey data, groups of management accountants are distinguished based on coherent combinations of activities. Factor and cluster analyses are applied to obtain a segmentation of the data. By doing this, it is established if homogeneous groups of management accountants can be distinguished, how many groups there are and what the characteristics of these groups are in terms of activities.FindingsIt was found that controllers either operate as “reporting business analysts” or “business system analysts”. Whether someone is found to be a reporting business analyst or business system analyst is among other things affected by personality traits, a person's experience in finance and accounting, the financial status of an organization and changes in laws and regulations.Research limitations/implicationsThe conceptual framework proposed integrates several previous studies on the roles of management accountants. It allows an analysis of their activities, yielding an empirically founded classification of management accountants in groups. In addition, possible factors underlying this classification can be discerned. As this is a generally applicable framework, it can, at a later stage, be used to make a comparison between countries, for instance in Europe.Practical implicationsThe resulting picture of the management accountant profession provides information on how to form or even design the financial function in an organization. Apparently, the developments in the profession reflect changes in the business environment and society as a whole, as it seems that internal analysis and risk management have become more fundamental to the profession.Originality/valueThis research uses an original framework covering several previous studies to generate a comprehensive empirical picture of the management accountant profession in The Netherlands. The framework is used to track changes over a three‐year period.
Identifying the characteristics of small specialist international retailers
Authors: Hutchinson Karise , Quinn Barry 
Published: May 2011

PurposeThis paper seeks to examine the internationalisation process of small, specialist retailers with the aim of identifying the key characteristics that define this specific category of international retailer.Design/methodology/approachQualitative case studies of nine UK‐based small international retailers, coupled with interviews with government and consultancy organisations, form the empirical basis of the work.FindingsThe findings highlight five characteristics of small specialist international retailers: possession of a strong company brand image/identity with luxury/middle market appeal; niche strategy; dual strategy of expansion; ownership characteristics defined either by the founder or parent company; and vertical integration from manufacturing to retailing.Practical implicationsWith the increasing internationalisation of retail operations, the specialist sector comprises a significant number of retailers operating in international markets or contemplating the move into the international marketplace. The findings of the current work highlight the key factors that characterise those small specialist firms that operate outside their domestic market.Originality/valueThe paper identifies the key characteristics that define a significant category of international retailer, hitherto unexplored in the literature.
Profiled fiber cross‐sectional shape characterization for identification
Authors: Wang Zhaoli , Zhong Yueqi , Wang Shanyan 
Published: May 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to show how shape analysis and quantitative characterization of fiber cross sections, with the aid of image analysis techniques, provide a quick, powerful approach to automated profiled fiber identification.Design/methodology/approachIn this paper, an effective method of cross‐sectional shape characterization for profiled fiber identification is reported with extraction of the distance fluctuation curve of fiber cross‐sectional boundary to the centroid. By calculating their cross‐correlations using signal processing techniques, the authors tackle the problem of calibrating the starting points of fiber objects orientated arbitrarily in image successfully, which are difficult to deal with by means of image processing, to finish the normalization of distance fluctuation curves. For two fiber cross‐sections, the similarity degree of their boundary fluctuation curves normalized can effectively reflect the similarity degree of themselves.FindingsBased on this, the method presented extracts the curves of all fiber cross‐sections in one sample, compares the similarity degrees between each other, and creates clusters to identify profiled fiber.Originality/valueExperimental results validate that this curve can effectively characterize profiled fiber cross‐sectional contour for profiled fiber identification and the normalization method is feasible.
Mesh topology in scanned garment reconstruction
Authors: Liu Hongyan , Zhong Yueqi , Wang Shanyuan 
Published: May 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the draping behavior of a scanned garment model in irregular and regular mesh topology. 3D garment with high fidelity can be obtained via range data scanning. The original output of a body scanner is an unorganized points cloud. In this paper, the geometrical surface of 3D garment is reconstructed through a series of treatments.Design/methodology/approachThe primary target of this work is to investigate the dynamic behavior of the corresponding physical model transferred from different mesh topologies. A mass‐spring model is constructed for both regular and irregular meshes. The performance under various integration methods is evaluated.FindingsExperimental results reveal the procedure of regularization is suitable for the integrators that are sensitive to the physically‐based simulation of scanned garments.Originality/valueThe geometrical surface of 3D garment is reconstructed through a series of treatments solving the problem of points cloud data for high definition 3D data.