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Article
Publication date: 27 December 2021

Barnabas Addi, Benjamin Doe and Eric Oduro-Ofori

Over the past two decades, Community-Based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) has been a pragmatic strategy towards universal Primary Health Care (PHC) in Ghana. However, the…

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Abstract

Purpose

Over the past two decades, Community-Based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) has been a pragmatic strategy towards universal Primary Health Care (PHC) in Ghana. However, the ability and capacity of these facilities to deliver quality primary health care remain an illusion as they are still crumbling in myriad challenges. These challenges are translated to the poor-quality services provision and low community utilization of CHPS facilities. The study presents a comparative analysis of three communities in the Kassena-Nankana East Municipality, Ghana.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a mixed-method research design, the study gathered and analysed data from 110 households, three community health officers (CHOs) and three community leaders using semi-structured questionnaires and interview guides.

Findings

The findings indicated that the facilities do not have the requisite inputs such as drugs and supplies, logistics, appropriate health personnel, good infrastructure, funding support necessary to deliver quality and appropriate healthcare services that meet the health needs of the communities. For the CHPS to realize their full potentials as PHC facilities, it is required that the needed inputs such as logistics, drugs and appropriate staff are in place to facilitate the activities of CHOs.

Research limitations/implications

Due to the limited number of participants and selection of the study communities, the results may generalization. Also, the researchers acknowledged the inability to interview the district level health officials and the Kassena-Nankana Municipal Assembly during the field visits. This could have provided in-depth knowledge on the findings of this research as well as the validation of the results from the communities' perspective. Several attempts were made to contact and interview district-level authorities which proven futile due to the unavailability of targeted respondents. This resulted in limiting the studies at the community level. However, this limitation does not disprove the findings of this study.

Practical implications

The article implications for planning primary health care strategies include a keen assessment of community health needs and institutional management of primary health care facilities, equip PHC facilities with adequate resources such as drugs and appropriate staffing to provide the health needs of the communities.

Originality/value

The paper fulfils the gap in the literature by providing empirical data on how the challenges of primary health care facilities affected the provision of high quality service and how this can affect community’s use of the facilities.

Details

Journal of Health Organization and Management, vol. 36 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1477-7266

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Case study
Publication date: 20 January 2017

Kenneth M. Eades, Ben Mackovjak and Lucas Doe

This case is designed to present students with the challenges of formulating a discounted-cash-flow (DCF) analysis for a strategically important capital-investment decision…

Abstract

This case is designed to present students with the challenges of formulating a discounted-cash-flow (DCF) analysis for a strategically important capital-investment decision. Analytically, the problem is representative of most corporate investment decisions, but it is particularly interesting because of the massive size of the American Centrifuge Project and the potential of the project to significantly affect the stock price. Students must determine the relevant cash flows, paying close attention to the treatment of input costs, selling prices, timing of investment outlays, depreciation, and inflation. An important input is the appropriate cost of uranium, which some students argue should be included at book value, while others argue that market value should be used. Although the primary objective of the case is to focus on the estimation of cash flows, students are provided with a straightforward set of inputs to estimate USEC's weighted average cost of capital. The case is designed for students who are learning, or need a refresher on, DCF analysis. Because of the basic issues covered, the case works well with undergraduate, MBA, and executive-education audiences. The case also affords the opportunity to explore a variety of issues related to capital-investment analysis, including relevant costs, incremental analysis, cost of capital, and sensitivity analysis. The case is an excellent example of the value of a firm as the value of assets in place plus the net present value of future growth opportunities.

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Book part
Publication date: 11 December 2007

Rosalyn Benjamin Darling

In Great Britain in the 1960s and 1970s, a physician (Lorber, 1971) developed criteria that would exclude from treatment many babies born with spina bifida (“open spine”) based on…

Abstract

In Great Britain in the 1960s and 1970s, a physician (Lorber, 1971) developed criteria that would exclude from treatment many babies born with spina bifida (“open spine”) based on what he perceived to be a poor projected quality of life. In the US, the parameters of the modern debate developed around the case of “Baby Doe,” a child born in the early 1980s with Down syndrome and duodenal atresia, an intestinal blockage. Without surgery to correct the blockage, the baby would not survive. Because the infant also had Down syndrome, which typically includes some degree of intellectual disability, the parents decided not to consent to the surgery. The parents’ decision was met with outrage by disability advocacy groups, as was a similar decision a few years later to forego surgery to repair a myelomeningocele (spina bifida) in the case of “Baby Jane Doe.” The publicity surrounding these and other non-treatment decisions resulted in the US in the passage of the Child Abuse Amendments of 1984, largely through the efforts of then Surgeon General C. Everett Koop. This legislation effectively mandated universal treatment of newborns with disabilities. However, several court cases since have resulted in rulings allowing parents to discontinue life support based on quality-of-life issues, resulting in the establishment of state standards in addition to the federal ones (Clark, 1994). Still, the norm in the case of Down syndrome and spina bifida, two of the most common childhood impairments apparent at birth, continues to support the treatment of virtually all children born with these conditions. As a result, most post-natal decision making today involves infants with other, often more serious, impairments that result from perinatal complications or from extreme prematurity. Even in those cases, a bias toward treatment seems to prevail (Levin, 1990).

Details

Bioethical Issues, Sociological Perspectives
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-0-7623-1438-6

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Article
Publication date: 4 July 2023

Benjamin Scott

This paper aims to examine the history of data leaks and investigative journalism, the techniques and technology that enable them and their influence in Australia and abroad. It…

332

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to examine the history of data leaks and investigative journalism, the techniques and technology that enable them and their influence in Australia and abroad. It explores the ethical and professional considerations of investigative journalists, how they approach privacy and information-sharing and how this differs from intelligence practice in government and industry. The paper assesses the strengths and limitations of Collaborative Investigative Reporting based on Information Leaks (CIRIL) as a kind of public-facing intelligence practice.

Design/methodology/approach

This study draws on academic literature, source material from investigations by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, and a survey of financial crime compliance professionals conducted in 2022.

Findings

The paper identifies three key causal factors that have enabled the rise of CIRIL even as traditional journalism has declined: the digital storage of information; increasing public interest in offshore finance and tax evasion; and “virtual newsrooms” enabled by internet communications. It concludes that the primary strength of CIRIL is its creation of complex global narratives to inform the public about corruption and tax evasion, while its key weakness is that the scale and breadth of the data released makes it difficult to focus on likely criminal activity. Results of a survey of industry and government professionals indicate that CIRIL is generally more effective as public information than as an investigative resource, owing to the volume, age and quality of information released. However, the trends enabling CIRIL are likely to continue, and this means that governments and financial institutions need to become more effective at using leaked information.

Originality/value

Over the past decade, large-scale, data-driven investigative journalism projects such as the Pandora Papers and the Russian Laundromat have had a significant public impact by exposing money laundering, financial crime and corruption. These projects share certain hallmarks: the use of human intelligence, often sourced from anonymous leaks; inventive fusion of this intelligence with data from open sources; and collaboration among a global collective of investigative journalists to build a narrative. These projects prioritise informing the public. They are also an important information source for government and private sector organisations working to investigate and disrupt financial crime.

Details

Journal of Financial Crime, vol. 31 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1359-0790

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Article
Publication date: 12 September 2016

Amir Abolhassani, Ky Layfield and Bhaskaran Gopalakrishnan

The purpose of this paper is to analyze lean strategic practices being implemented in manufacturing facilities throughout Pennsylvania and West Virginia and identify the…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyze lean strategic practices being implemented in manufacturing facilities throughout Pennsylvania and West Virginia and identify the difficulty in implementing those lean practices.

Design/methodology/approach

A skip logic questionnaire was developed into multiple sections for analysis; demographics of respondents, identification of the knowledge and practice of lean methods, interpretation of lean application, strategic direction of lean methods, measurements of expertise, and difficulties for practicing lean. The questionnaire was sent to 327 manufacturing facilities where 51 usable responses were collected for the study.

Findings

Lean manufacturing is a widely recognized and practiced business philosophy as a significant percentage of manufacturers have implemented some variation of practice. However, the extent of knowledge does not mirror awareness. The application of lean manufacturing practices is not readily appropriate for every company, but adopting the concept of customer-focussed waste reduction to maximize value can be universally applied as waste reduction was the most prominent practice pursued. Lean practitioners found that poka-yoke and installing new process equipment have the highest degree of benefits from implementation while 5S and eliminating waste were the least difficult practices to implement. In general, the management personnel of the companies have an influential effect on lean manufacturing pursuance. This is illustrated by the fact of high agreement between facilities that resistance to change from employees is the most prominent difficulty for implementation followed by limited technical knowledge of lean manufacturing at operational and conceptual levels.

Research limitations/implications

The research findings are from a subset of manufacturing companies in Pennsylvania and West Virginia and may not represent all of the companies on a national level. The results must be interpreted in the context of the data acquisition approach due to the extent of the sample size involved, the procedure for how data were collected, and assuming that each lean strategic practice has the same weight to calculate the facility lean index.

Practical implications

The results provide insight about the effect of facility size and years of lean practicing for various lean strategic practices. The most beneficial and least difficult lean strategies, their implementation level, and the real challenges for implementing lean were also identified to help both lean practitioner and non-practitioner for the lean journey.

Originality/value

The research investigates current lean strategic practices pursued by manufacturers throughout Pennsylvania and West Virginia and identifies obstacles to implementation of lean practices. Lean manufacturing is widely sought after as a continuous improvement program, but success is divided. This study characterizes lean manufacturing comprehension while identifying knowledge areas of strengths and deficiencies. There lacks an established structure for lean practices to pursue. Therefore, this study provides manufacturers a measure for comparing their position for refined decision making.

Details

International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, vol. 65 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1741-0401

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Article
Publication date: 1 June 2005

Wimalin Sukthomya and James D.T. Tannock

The paper describes the methods of manufacturing process optimization, using Taguchi experimental design methods with historical process data, collected during normal production.

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Abstract

Purpose

The paper describes the methods of manufacturing process optimization, using Taguchi experimental design methods with historical process data, collected during normal production.

Design/methodology/approach

The objectives are achieved with two separate techniques: the Retrospective Taguchi approach selects the designed experiment's data from a historical database, whilst in the Neural Network (NN) – Taguchi approach, this data is used to train a NN to estimate process response for the experimental settings. A case study illustrates both approaches, using real production data from an aerospace application.

Findings

Detailed results are presented. Both techniques identified the important factor settings to ensure the process was improved. The case study shows that these techniques can be used to gain process understanding and identify significant factors.

Research limitations/implications

The most significant limitation of these techniques relates to process data availability and quality. Current databases were not designed for process improvement, resulting in potential difficulties for the Taguchi experimentation; where available data does not explain all the variability in process outcomes.

Practical implications

Manufacturers may use these techniques to optimise processes, without expensive and time‐consuming experimentation.

Originality/value

The paper describes novel approaches to data acquisition associated with Taguchi experimentation.

Details

International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, vol. 22 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0265-671X

Keywords

Available. Content available
Book part
Publication date: 30 June 2020

Racheal Harris

Abstract

Details

Photography and Death: Framing Death throughout History
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83909-045-5

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Book part
Publication date: 16 July 2015

Catherine Bliss

This chapter explores the rise in genetic approaches to health disparities at the turn of the twenty-first century.

Abstract

Purpose

This chapter explores the rise in genetic approaches to health disparities at the turn of the twenty-first century.

Methodology/approach

Analysis of public health policies, genome project records, ethnography of project leaders and leading genetic epidemiologists, and news coverage of international projects demonstrates how the study of health disparities and genetic causes of health simultaneously took hold just as the new field of genomics and matters of racial inequality became a global priority for biomedical science and public health.

Findings

As the U.S. federal government created policies to implement racial inclusion standards, international genome projects seized the study race, and diseases that exhibit disparities by race. Genomic leaders made health disparities research a central feature of their science. However, recent attempts to move toward analysis of gene-environment interactions in health and disease have proven insufficient in addressing sociological contributors to health disparities. In place of in-depth analyses of environmental causes, pharmacogenomics drugs, diagnostics, and inclusion in sequencing projects have become the frontline solutions to health disparities.

Originality/value

The chapter argues that genetic forms of medicalization and racialization have taken hold over science and public health around the world, thereby engendering a divestment from sociological approaches that do not align with the expansion of genomic science. The chapter thus contributes to critical discussions in the social and health sciences about the fundamental processes of medicalization, racialization, and geneticization in contemporary society.

Details

Genetics, Health and Society
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78350-581-4

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Book part
Publication date: 24 October 2017

Benjamin Bricker

This chapter examines the role that Citizens United v. FEC (2010) has played in shaping the current system of election spending in the United States. In Citizens United, the Court…

Abstract

This chapter examines the role that Citizens United v. FEC (2010) has played in shaping the current system of election spending in the United States. In Citizens United, the Court determined that individual rights to speech and expression can flow into the corporate entities they join. This chapter argues that the Court’s holding serves to redirect the focus of accountability away from those who seek to sway election outcomes through massive election spending and toward any efforts by government to regulate that type of spending. The practical result has been to allow for the creation of new organizations that can take in unlimited amounts of money while also effectively hiding the source of funds from disclosure. By muddying the waters of disclosure, these new entities – Super PACs and dark money organizations – lower the ability of citizens to maintain accountability over the electoral system. Finally, this chapter examines ways to encourage greater disclosure and accountability in government after Citizens United.

Details

Corruption, Accountability and Discretion
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78743-556-8

Keywords

Available. Content available
Book part
Publication date: 24 October 2017

Abstract

Details

Corruption, Accountability and Discretion
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78743-556-8

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