Eui H. Park, Jinsuh Park, Celestine Ntuen, Daebeom Kim and Kendall Johnson
Patient satisfaction with the Emergency Department (ED) in a hospital is related to the length of stay, and especially to the amount of waiting time for medical treatments. ED…
Abstract
Patient satisfaction with the Emergency Department (ED) in a hospital is related to the length of stay, and especially to the amount of waiting time for medical treatments. ED overcrowding decreases quality and efficiency, therefore affecting hospitals’ profitability. This paper presents a forecasting and simulation model for resource management of the ED at Moses H. Cone Memorial Hospital. A linear regression forecasting model is proposed to predict the number of ED patient arrivals, and then a simulation model is provided to estimate the length of stay of ED patients, system throughput, and the utilization of resources such as triage nurses, patient beds, registered nurses, and medical doctors. The near future load level of each resource is presented using the proposed models.
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Policarpo C. deMattos, Daniel M. Miller and Eui H. Park
This paper aims to examine complex clinical decision‐making processes in trauma center units of hospitals in terms of the immediate impact of complexity on the medical team…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine complex clinical decision‐making processes in trauma center units of hospitals in terms of the immediate impact of complexity on the medical team involved in the trauma event.
Design/methodology/approach
It is proposed to develop a model of decision‐making processes in trauma events that uses a Bayesian classifier model with convolution and deconvolution operators to study real‐time observed trauma data for the decision‐making process under tremendous stress. The objective is to explore and explain physicians' decision‐making processes under stress and time constraints during actual trauma events from the perspective of complexity.
Findings
Because physicians have blurred information and cues that are tainted by random environmental noise during injury‐related events, they must de‐blur (de‐convolute) the collected data to find a best approximation of the real data for decision‐making processes.
Research limitations/implications
The data collection and analysis is innovative and the permission to access raw audio and video data from an active trauma center will differentiate this study from similar studies that rely on simulations, self report and case study approaches.
Practical implications
Clinical decision makers in trauma centers are placed in situations that are increasingly complex, making decision‐making and problem‐solving processes multifaceted.
Originality/value
The science of complex adaptive systems, together with human judgment theories, provide important concepts and tools for responding to the challenges of healthcare this century and beyond.
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Yoon Jeong Baek, Seung-Hyun Kim, Sayup Kim, Eui-Sang Yoo and Joo-Young Lee
The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the effect of air mattress pressure on sleep quality.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the effect of air mattress pressure on sleep quality.
Design/methodology/approach
Ten young healthy males participated in all hard surface [AH], shoulder soft [SS] and shoulder and hip soft mattress [SHS] conditions. The surface pressure for SS and SHS were set at their preferred levels.
Findings
The results showed that sleep efficiencies were over 95% for all the three conditions; there were no significant differences in individual sleep variables among the three conditions, but overall sleep quality was better for SS than AH (p = 0.065); heart rates during sleep was greater for AH than the other two conditions (p < 0.1); and a stronger relationship between clothing and bed microclimate humidity were found for SS and SHS than that for AH.
Research limitations/implications
These results indicated that the both pressure relief air mattresses that were set at their own preferred levels provided high quality sleep with no marked differences.
Practical implications
Air pressure relief mattresses can improve sleep quality of healthy individuals during sleep at night. The results can be used to understand appropriate pressure distribution on surface mattress according to body region, and also to develop algorithms to provide optimum sleep using mattresses with surface pressure control by body region.
Originality/value
The present study found that the shoulder and/or hip pressure relief air mattresses that were set at their own preferred levels provided high quality sleep with no marked differences.
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Clara Lee Brown, Natalia Ward and Benjamin H. Nam
While conceived to examine key factors affecting post-retirement career advancement of retired elite athletes in South Korea, the purpose of this paper is to report how English…
Abstract
Purpose
While conceived to examine key factors affecting post-retirement career advancement of retired elite athletes in South Korea, the purpose of this paper is to report how English, as a de facto global lingua franca, functions as a powerful gatekeeper in the sports administration field.
Design/methodology/approach
Interpreted through the lens of Bourdieu’s linguistic capital and Gramsci’s hegemony of language, the present study draws on content analysis of semi-structured individual interviews, as well as focus group interviews, conducted with thirty former South Korean elite athletes.
Findings
Based on the data analysis, systematic bias toward athletes was uncovered, privileging English as the single determining factor for employment. Furthermore, the educational implications for adult learners of English as a Foreign or English an Additional Language reveal unrealistic expectations of top–down language policies.
Originality/value
Perspectives of athlete participants, an underrepresented group in educational research, within the South Korean globalization context shed critical light on the pervasive aspects of English hegemony and its unexamined dimensions.
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Baabak Ashuri, Jun Wang, Mohsen Shahandashti and Minsoo Baek
Building energy benchmarking is required for adopting an energy certification scheme, promoting energy efficiency and reducing energy consumption. It demonstrates the current…
Abstract
Purpose
Building energy benchmarking is required for adopting an energy certification scheme, promoting energy efficiency and reducing energy consumption. It demonstrates the current level of energy consumption, the value of potential energy improvement and the prospects for additional savings. This paper aims to create a new data envelopment analysis (DEA) model that overcomes the limitations of existing models for building energy benchmarking.
Design/methodology/approach
Data preparation: the findings of the literature search and subject matter experts’ inputs are used to construct the DEA model. Particularly, it is ensured that the included variables would not violate the fundamental assumption of DEA modeling, DEA convexity axiom. New DEA formulation: controllable and non-controllable variables, e.g. weather conditions, are differentiated in the new formulation. A new approach is used to identify outliers to avoid skewing the efficiency scores for the rest of the buildings under consideration. Efficiency analysis: three distinct efficiencies are computed and analyzed in benchmarking building energy: overall, pure technical, and scale efficiency.
Findings
The proposed DEA approach is successfully applied to a data set provided by a utility management and energy services company that is active in the multifamily housing industry. Building characteristics and energy consumption of 124 multifamily properties in 15 different states in the USA are found in the data set. Buildings in this data set are benchmarked using the new DEA energy benchmarking formulation. Building energy benchmarking is also conducted in a time series manner showing how a particular building performs across the period of 12 months compared with its peers.
Originality/value
The proposed research contributes to the body of knowledge in building energy benchmarking through developing a new outlier detection method to mitigate the impact of super-efficient and super-inefficient buildings on skewing the efficiency scores of the other buildings; avoiding ratio variables in the DEA formulation to adhere to the convexity assumption that existing DEA methods do not follow; and distinguishing between controllable and non-controllable variables in the DEA formulation. This research contributes to the state of practice through providing a new energy benchmarking tool for facility managers and building owners that strive to relatively rank the energy-efficiency of their properties and identify low-performing properties as investment targets to enhance energy efficiency.
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Philip R. Walsh, Holly Dunne and Omid Nikoubakht-Tak
The purpose of this study is to examine the application of sustainable building design and operation within a university setting to determine its economic efficacy and potential…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine the application of sustainable building design and operation within a university setting to determine its economic efficacy and potential for further university investment.
Design/methodology/approach
This study incorporated a life cycle cost analysis (LCCA), simple payback period and discounted payback period calculations to determine the return on investment, including a sensitivity analysis when comparing the energy use and financial benefits of the sustainable design of a multi-use facility at Toronto Metropolitan University with buildings of similar size and use-type.
Findings
It was found that there is a positive business argument for Canadian Universities to consider the use of sustainable design to reduce energy use and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. A reasonable payback period and net present value within an institutional context were determined using a life-cycle cost assessment approach.
Research limitations/implications
This study was limited to the measure of only a single location. Certain assumptions regarding energy pricing and interest rates and the related sensitivities were anchored on a single year of time, and the results of this study may be subject to change should those prices or rates become significantly different over time. Considerations for future research include a longitudinal approach combined with a more detailed analysis of the effect of use-type on the variables discussed.
Practical implications
For university administrators, the results of this study may encourage institutions such as universities to approach new building projects through the lens of energy efficiency and environmental sustainability.
Social implications
GHG emissions are a well-proven contributor to global climate change, and buildings remain a significant source of GHG emissions in Canada due to their winter heating and summer cooling loads. As a result, sustainable building design on university campuses can mitigate this impact by optimizing and reducing energy consumption.
Originality/value
Research related to the economic evaluation of sustainable building design on university campuses is generally limited, and this study represents the first of its kind in regard to an LCCA of a sustainably designed building on a Canadian University campus.
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Although Korean sociology of sport is relatively unknown to the international community of scholars, it is a mature field in Korea. Sociology of sport was first introduced in…
Abstract
Although Korean sociology of sport is relatively unknown to the international community of scholars, it is a mature field in Korea. Sociology of sport was first introduced in Korea in the mid-1960s when the field first evolved in North America and Europe. However, the development of the field shows different aspects from its Western counterpart due to unique cultural and environmental factors both in academia and in society. There are three major research trends that form Korean sociology of sport. First, there is the research focus on the benefit of sport and physical activity by examining empirical data using quantitative methodologies. The second group of researchers pays attention to individual experience in diverse sport fields and utilize qualitative methodologies to investigate empirical or secondary data. The third and most recent trend is a critical approach that theoretically analyzes ideologies, power relations, and identity politics in sport and society. When looking at the future, there are problems and limitations within the field in Korea. These include lack of continuity in terms of conference sub-themes, over-production of doctoral degree graduates, conservatism rooted in the field, and a danger of regarding sport policy research as an exit for sport sociologists. However, there are also possibilities and reasons for optimism. The biggest possibility for Korean sociology of sport is globalization of the field. Another significant possibility is the need for sport sociologists in planning, developing, and evaluating sport policy. Finally, diversification of the field gives ample opportunities for future research.
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Anthony D. May, Hirokazu Kato, Makoto Okazaki, Daniel Sperling, Kazuaki Miyamoto and Varameth Vichiensan
Ho‐Gyun Kim, Chang‐Ok Bae and Dong‐Jun Park
This paper aims to present a simulated annealing (SA) algorithm to search the optimal solution of reliability‐redundancy allocation problems (RRAP) with nonlinear resource…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to present a simulated annealing (SA) algorithm to search the optimal solution of reliability‐redundancy allocation problems (RRAP) with nonlinear resource constraints.
Design/methodology/approach
The developed SA algorithm is coded in C++ and is applied to reliability design problems which include the series system (P1(a) and P1(b)), the series‐parallel system (P2), and the complex (bridge) system (P3). The numerical experiments are executed on an IBM‐PC compatible with a Pentium IV 2.0 GHz. The results are compared with those of previous studies.
Findings
The SA algorithm can find better solutions comparable to the previous studies in all problems except the problem P1(b). The difference on the order of 10−4 between the best and worst for all problems indicates good solution convergence of the SA algorithm. Note that the CPU times for these problems are within a few seconds by Pentium IV 2.0 GHz (P1(a) =2.78 sec, P1(b) =3.37 sec, P2=1.38 sec, and P3=1.40 sec).
Originality/value
The application of the SA is expanded to the RRAP, which can help reliability engineers design the system reliability.