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STRATEGIES FOR INCREASING CITATION FREQUENCY: Before & After Publications By: Nader Ale Ebrahim
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REGISTER NOW | One Day Course on Publication Marketing Tools "Enhancing Research Visibility and Improving Citations"
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REGISTER NOW | One Day Course on Publication Marketing Tools "Enhancing Research Visibility and Improving Citations"
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Multiagent Systems as a Team Member
- Multiagent Systems as a Team Member.
- Authors:
- Turner, John R.1
- Source:
- International Journal of Technology, Knowledge & Society. 2013, Vol. 9 Issue 1, p73-90. 18p.
- Document Type:
- Article
- Subject Terms:
- *MULTIAGENT systems
*TEAMS in the workplace
*DECISION making
*INFORMATION filtering systems
*INTELLIGENT agents (Computer software) - Author-Supplied Keywords:
- Multiagent Systems
Shared and Unshared Knowledge
Teams - Abstract:
- With the increasing complex business environment that organizations have to operate in today, teams are being utilized to complete complex tasks. Teams are capable of completing complex tasks that no one individual can achieve. Effective team decision-making requires team members to discuss new information (unshared knowledge) and to consider this new information along with existing information (shared knowledge). Research has shown that shared knowledge is favored over unshared knowledge during team discussions. One method of transferring unshared knowledge to shared knowledge is to take advantage of new multiagent systems that are designed to support teams. Multiagent systems are capable of filtering information without the bias toward shared information over unshared information. This paper takes a theoretical approach supporting the use of multiagent systems as a means to increase the effectiveness of team decision-making processes by better capturing shared and unshared information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Copyright of International Journal of Technology, Knowledge & Society is the property of Common Ground Publishing and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
- Author Affiliations:
- 1University of North Texas, USA
- ISSN:
- 1832-3669
- Accession Number:
- 91544662
- Database:
- Academic Search Premier
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ProQuest Document View - Improving virtual teams through knowledge management: A case study
Improving virtual teams through
knowledge management: A case study
knowledge management: A case study
by Laughridge, James F.,
D.M., UNIVERSITY OF PHOENIX, 2012, 153 pages; 3535530
D.M., UNIVERSITY OF PHOENIX, 2012, 153 pages; 3535530
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ProQuest Document View - Improving virtual teams through knowledge management: A case study
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The People Side of Virtualisation
TITLE
The People Side of Virtualisation
AUTHOR(S)
PUB. DATE
January 2013
SOURCE
Annual International Conference on Enterprise Marketing & Global;2013, p172
SOURCE TYPE
Conference Paper
DOC. TYPE
Article
ABSTRACT
Organisations have developed
collaborative alliances with the enterprises they interact with in the
virtual environment. This paper explores the impact and the possible
impact on virtual team members engaged in a collaborative network. A
literature review was conducted on virtualization in organizations to
ascertain the degree of attention given to the impact on individual team
members in collaborative networks.
collaborative alliances with the enterprises they interact with in the
virtual environment. This paper explores the impact and the possible
impact on virtual team members engaged in a collaborative network. A
literature review was conducted on virtualization in organizations to
ascertain the degree of attention given to the impact on individual team
members in collaborative networks.
ACCESSION #
87630812
The People Side of Virtualisation - Tags: STRATEGIC alliances (Business) -- Management VIRTUAL work teams -- Management
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Globally Distributed Work — Enzyklopaedie der Wirtschaftsinformatik
Globally Distributed Work
Unter Globally Distributed Work (GDW) versteht man eine Form der Arbeitsorganisation an weltweit verteilten Standorten.
Globally Distributed Work
Globally Distributed Work bezeichnet generell Arbeitsprozesse an weltweit verteilten Standorten und hat im Rahmen der Globalisierung stark zugenommen. Der deutschsprachige Ausdruck Global Verteilte Arbeit(sprozesse) wird nur selten verwendet. Weiterhin wird häufig der Begriff Global Virtual Team assoziiert, da verteilte Arbeitsprozess häufig virtuell bzw. durch Informations- und Kommunikationstechnologien unterstützt werden.GDW bezieht sich auf Arbeitsprozesse im Allgemeinen, unabhängig von der Domäne. Damit umfasst dieser Bereich verschiedenste Anwendungsbereiche, wie etwa verteilte Prozesse in der Fertigung bis hin zu Forschungskooperationen. Für die Wirtschaftsinformatik sind insbesondere die Anwendungsbereiche der Softwareentwicklung (Globally Distributed Software Development) unddie informationstechnologische Unterstützung verteilter Arbeitsprozesse (vgl. Globale Informationssysteme) von Bedeutung.
Global verteilte Arbeitsprozesse lassen sich durch folgende Attribute beschreiben und klassifizieren (vgl. auch Ebrahim et al, 2009, Shapiro et al, 2005):
- Verteilung: In welcher Region/welchen Regionen werden die Arbeitsprozesse durchgeführt bzw. sind sie intendiert? Welche kulturellen Einflussfaktoren ergeben sich aus der weltweiten Verteilung?
- Organisationsmodell: Welche Form der Arbeitsorganisation liegt der verteilten Arbeit zugrunde (siehe auch Outsourcing, Offshoring).
- Produkte/Services: Welche Produkte und Services werden erarbeitet/entwickelt?
- Koordinations-/ Kommunikationsmodell: Welche Mechanismen werden zur Koordination der Arbeitsprozesse und–ergebnisse verwendet?
Fazit
Globally Distributed Work ist ein allgemeines Konzept und fasst weltweit verteilte Arbeitsprozesse zusammen. Aufgrundder starken Variation der Anwendungsdomänen lassen sich nur wenige allgemeingültige Aussagen treffen. Die Möglichkeiten einer informationstechnologischen Unterstützung sinddaher ebenfalls stark domänenabhängig.Literatur
Ebrahim, N.A.; Ahmen, S.; Taha, Z.: Virtual Teams: A Literature Review. Australian Journal of Basic and Applied Sciences (2009), Nr. 3, S. 2653-2669.
Shapiro, D.L.; Von Glinow, M.A.; Cheng, J.L.: Managing multinational teams: Global perspectives. United Kingdom: Elsevier/JAI Press, 2005.
Autor
Prof. Dr. Jan M. Pawlowski, University of Jyväskylä, Information Technology Research Institute, Department of Computer Science and Information Systems, Mattillanniemi 2, 40014 University of Jyväskylä Finland
Autoreninfo
Autoreninfo
Globally Distributed Work — Enzyklopaedie der Wirtschaftsinformatik
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Items where Subject is "Electronic Publishing > Peer Review" - Cogprints
FARHADI, MARYAM and SALEHI, HADI and EMBI, MOHAMED AMIN and FOOLADI, MASOOD and FARHADI, HADI and AGHAEI CHADEGANI, AREZOO and ALE EBRAHIM, NADER
(2013)
Contribution of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in Country’S H-Index.
[Journal (Paginated)]
Ale Ebrahim, Nader and Salehi, Hadi and Embi, Mohamed Amin and Habibi Tanha, Farid and Gholizadeh, Hossein and Motahar, Seyed Mohammad and Ordi, Ali
(2013)
Effective Strategies for Increasing Citation Frequency.
[Journal (Paginated)]
Linhares, Dr Alexandre
(2013)
The emergence of choice: Decision-making and strategic thinking through analogies.
[Preprint]
Farhadi, Hadi and Salehi, Hadi and Yunus, Melor Md and Aghaei Chadegani, Arezoo and Farhadi, Maryam and Fooladi, Masood and Ale Ebrahim, Nader
(2013)
Does it Matter Which Citation Tool is Used to Compare the h-index of a Group of Highly Cited Researchers?
[Journal (Paginated)]
Mtibaa, S and Tagina, M
(2012)
An Automated Petri-Net Based Approach for Change Management in Distributed Telemedicine Environment.
[Journal (On-line/Unpaginated)]
Baianu, Prof.Dr. I.C.
(2012)
Category of Metabolic-Replication Systems
in Biology and Medicine.
[Conference Paper]
(In Press)
Baianu, , Professor I.C.
(2012)
Quantum Genetics and Quantum
Automata Models of Quantum-Molecular Selection Processes Involved in the
Evolution of Organisms and Species.
[Preprint]
Ale Ebrahim, Nader and Ahmed, Shamsuddin and Abdul Rashid, Salwa Hanim and Taha, Zahari
(2012)
Technology Use in the Virtual R&D Teams.
[Journal (Paginated)]
Ale Ebrahim, Nader and Abdul Rashid, Salwa Hanim and Ahmed, Shamsuddin and Taha, Zahari
(2011)
The Effectiveness of Virtual R&D Teams in SMEs: Experiences of Malaysian SMEs.
[Journal (Paginated)]
Ale Ebrahim, Nader and Rashid, S.H. Abdul and Ahmed, S. and Taha, Z.
(2011)
The effectiveness of virtual R\&D teams in SMEs: experiences of Malaysian SMEs.
[Journal (Paginated)]
Raval, MR. R. R. and Ale Ebrahim, Nader and Ahmed, Shamsuddin and Taha, Zahari
(2010)
WORK TOGETHER… WHEN APART CHALLENGES AND WHAT IS NEED FOR EFFECTIVE VIRTUAL TEAMS.
[Journal (Paginated)]
Ale Ebrahim, Nader and Ahmed, Shamsuddin and Taha, Zahari
(2010)
Virtual R&D teams and SMEs' growth: A comparative study between Iranian and Malaysian SMEs.
[Journal (Paginated)]
Ale Ebrahim, Nader and Ahmed, Shamsuddin and Taha, Zahari
(2010)
Critical Factors for New Product Developments in SMEs' Virtual Team.
[Journal (Paginated)]
Ale Ebrahim, Nader and Ahmed, S. and Taha, Z.
(2010)
Virtual R&D teams and SMEs growth: A comparative study between Iranian and Malaysian SMEs.
[Journal (Paginated)]
Ale Ebrahim, Nader and Ahmed, S. and Rashid, S.H. Abdul and Taha, Zahari
(2010)
Virtual teams: a new opportunity to develop a business.
[Conference Paper]
Ale Ebrahim, Nader and Ahmed, Shamsuddin and Taha, Zahari
(2010)
SMEs; Virtual research and development (R&D) teams and new product development: A literature review.
[Journal (Paginated)]
Manna, Indranil and Lal Khanna, Gulshan and Chandra Dhara, Prakash
(2010)
Effect of Training on Physiological and Biochemical Variables of Soccer Players of Different Age Groups.
[Journal (On-line/Unpaginated)]
Dobra, Alexandra
(2010)
Rawls’ two principles of justice: their adoption by rational self-interested individuals. In A Theory of Justice.
[Journal (On-line/Unpaginated)]
Ale Ebrahim, Nader and Ahmed, S. and Taha, Zahari
(2009)
Virtual R&D teams in small and medium enterprises: a literature review.
[Journal (Paginated)]
Dobra, Alexandra
(2009)
Is the Human Distinguishable from the Animal by being a Rational Animal?
In Principles of Nature and Grace by G. W. Leibniz.
[Journal (On-line/Unpaginated)]
Ale Ebrahim, Nader and Ahmed, S. and Taha, Zahari
(2009)
Virtual teams for new product development: an innovative experience for R&D engineers.
[Journal (Paginated)]
Ale Ebrahim, Nader and Ahmed, Shamsuddin and Taha, Zahari
(2009)
SMEs: ERP or virtual collaboration teams.
[Conference Paper]
Ale Ebrahim, Nader and Ahmed, Shamsuddin and Taha, Zahari
(2009)
Modified Stage-Gate: A Conceptual Model of Virtual Product Development Process.
[Journal (Paginated)]
Ale Ebrahim, Nader and Ahmed, S. and Taha, Zahari
(2009)
SMEs and virtual R&D teams: a motive channel for relationship between SMEs.
[Conference Paper]
Ale Ebrahim, Nader and Ahmed, S. and Taha, Zahari
(2009)
Virtual teams: a literature review.
[Journal (Paginated)]
Ale Ebrahim, Nader and Ahmed, S. and Taha, Zahari
(2008)
Concurrent collaboration in research and development.
[Conference Paper]
Items where Subject is "Electronic Publishing > Peer Review" - Cogprints
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Community Insights: Helping Community Leaders Enhance the Value of Enterprise Online Communities
Community Insights: Helping Community Leaders Enhance the Value of Enterprise Online Communities
We present Community Insights, a new tool to help community leaders
foster healthy communities that provide value to members and the
organization. Community Insights was co-developed with community leaders
to ensure it provides them with metrics that are useful, actionable,
and easy to interpret.
foster healthy communities that provide value to members and the
organization. Community Insights was co-developed with community leaders
to ensure it provides them with metrics that are useful, actionable,
and easy to interpret.
Background: Online Communities offer Business Value
Online communities are becoming increasingly prevalent in enterprises,
with easy-setup social software and increased awareness of benefits to
businesses and employees. These benefits include breaking down
organizational and distance barriers to knowledge sharing and
collaboration [3,11]; improved skills and ability to execute and retain
staff [11]; improved sales [2]; improved speed of execution, increased
quality, reduced costs [3,12]; and enhanced innovation processes [7].
However, attaining these benefits is no simple matter and an effective
community leader is a critical success factor [1,4,11].
with easy-setup social software and increased awareness of benefits to
businesses and employees. These benefits include breaking down
organizational and distance barriers to knowledge sharing and
collaboration [3,11]; improved skills and ability to execute and retain
staff [11]; improved sales [2]; improved speed of execution, increased
quality, reduced costs [3,12]; and enhanced innovation processes [7].
However, attaining these benefits is no simple matter and an effective
community leader is a critical success factor [1,4,11].
Because of their essential role in fostering community success, online
community leaders are a growing population in enterprises. Some
activities they perform within communities are to encourage
contributions and discussion, contribute and read content, organize and
curate content, answer questions, moderate, create a positive
environment, advertise the community externally, and maintain
infrastructure. Prior work documents effective leader strategies for
enacting these activities [4,5,6,9,10,11,12].
community leaders are a growing population in enterprises. Some
activities they perform within communities are to encourage
contributions and discussion, contribute and read content, organize and
curate content, answer questions, moderate, create a positive
environment, advertise the community externally, and maintain
infrastructure. Prior work documents effective leader strategies for
enacting these activities [4,5,6,9,10,11,12].
However, there is a critical gap between these guidelines and the
actual practice of facilitating valuable communities. Leaders’ unique
role involves assessing community progress on goals and intervening
to guide the group towards achieving those goals. Static guidelines
cannot help with such assessments; rather dynamic community analysis
tools are needed. However, there is very little research on tools for
community leaders. This background motivated the design and development
of Community Insights.
actual practice of facilitating valuable communities. Leaders’ unique
role involves assessing community progress on goals and intervening
to guide the group towards achieving those goals. Static guidelines
cannot help with such assessments; rather dynamic community analysis
tools are needed. However, there is very little research on tools for
community leaders. This background motivated the design and development
of Community Insights.
Community Insights: Designed to Help Community Leaders Run Effective Communities
Community Insights was designed to support community leaders’ two major
needs: (1) assessing community health and value and (2) determining
actions they could take to improve community health. To do so, Community
Insights provides metrics describing a community’s participation, people, and content.
needs: (1) assessing community health and value and (2) determining
actions they could take to improve community health. To do so, Community
Insights provides metrics describing a community’s participation, people, and content.
Participation: What activities are going on in my community?
The Participation page provides an overall assessment of your community's health, as shown in the screenshot above. Views (top-left), posts (top-right), and contributors (bottom-left) are important indicators of how active (and thus, how healthy) your community is.
Views by application: In particular, our research involving enterprise communities shows that the views metric is a good predictor of member-rated value of the community to their job, i.e., the more views your community's content gets, the higher your members would likely rate your community's value.
Posts by application is also an important indicator of how much activity is happening in each of your community's tools over time.
Contributors shows how many unique people are posting in your
community over time and provides a measure of how equally distributed
participation is across the community’s membership.
There are several other useful features on the Participation page:
Use the "Date Filter" at the top of the page to change the dates
and/or granularity of all of the charts on the page. To quickly switch
between charts showing the last year, four quarters, 12 weeks, or last
week, use the links under the custom date range boxes.
Hover over any bar in the charts to see an exact value of the bar.
Click on any of the blue tool names in the Activity by application table to see a list of every post in that tool and detailed stats about them.
People: Who are the members of my community?
The People page shows demographic information about all your members
(geographic locations, business divisions, manager vs. non-manager), how
many members are in your community, and a list of top contributors (not
shown in the picture above). (Note that these charts are configurable,
since different companies have different demographic information.) These
charts are aimed to help you identify several useful actions you might
take to foster participation and awareness among your members. In
particular, you can click on any circle, pie slice, or data point you
see in these charts to bring up a list of all the people who fit in the
selected sub-group. For example, in the picture above, the user clicked
on the "United States" circle in the map and a list of all the members
from the United States appeared on the right side. At the top of that
list, the user can click to email them or download a spreadsheet listing
their names and contact information. Here are a few ideas on actions
you might take based on these charts:
Welcome new members to your community and help them find information: Click on the right-most green dot in the membership chart to get a list of recent new members. Click "email them" to send them a note with community orientation information.
Ask managers to emulate community participation for their teams: Click on the "manager" pie slice in the manager vs. non-manager chart to get an email list of managers in your community.
Send role-specific newsletters: Click on different business divisions in the members' business division chart to get an email list.
Content: What content and topics do members find valuable?
Next is the Content page, which analyzes the content posted in your community and provides several useful metrics: popular topics, value of posts, and most valuable posts. For example, the popular topics metric is shown here:
Popular topics analyzes all of the text posted in your
community and, using keyword, date and author similarity analytics,
clusters them into topics. On the far left, the top keywords for each
topic are listed along with a bar showing the number of posts in that
topic. When you click on a topic keyword list, more details about that
topic load on the right, including the top contributors to that topic
and a list of the most valuable posts on that topic. For example, in the
screenshot above, we are looking at the "vpn, connectivity, cisco"
topic, which has several well-visited blog and wiki posts that might be
the first place to look for more information about this topic.
An important part of Community Insights are the help and tips. In the screenshot above, you can see a link to help and tips at the top-right of the metric, and can also scroll through the tips ("suggested interpretation & use") below the metric. All metrics in Community Insights provide these. Use help and tips to understand how the metric is calculated and how you can use it to help you manage the community.
Proven Business Value in 3 Organizations
Community Insights has been deployed in three different companies and
evaluated with 1300+ communities and over 3000+ users [8]. Leader
response to Community Insights was overwhelmingly positive. For example,
community leader users have said:
evaluated with 1300+ communities and over 3000+ users [8]. Leader
response to Community Insights was overwhelmingly positive. For example,
community leader users have said:
“This tool is exactly what I wanted. It’s like finding gold.”
“Thank you for your work with Community Insights. These metrics have
been invaluable as we work to improve [our community] in Connections.”
“Very
cool... This helps me understand if the content I'm putting out there
(digital reputation, primarily) is providing value to the community – I
can see that it is!
“Very interesting to see the nationality, work functions, etc. of
members, and extremely useful to discover what kind of posts they are
interested in reading.”
“Thank you for your work with Community Insights. These metrics have
been invaluable as we work to improve [our community] in Connections.”
“Very
cool... This helps me understand if the content I'm putting out there
(digital reputation, primarily) is providing value to the community – I
can see that it is!
“Very interesting to see the nationality, work functions, etc. of
members, and extremely useful to discover what kind of posts they are
interested in reading.”
Community leaders found it particular useful that Community Insights provided actionable analytics,
i.e., information that guided them toward taking remedial actions to
improve the community. There are four types of actionable analytics in
Community Insights:
(1) Identifying particular sub-groups or members for active engagement. Leaders wanted to intervene most often to engage
with specific subgroups or members, e.g. asking topic experts to
contribute new content, soliciting feedback from people who had left the
community, tailoring content to sub-groups. They found this information
in the people data, as described by one user:
“You
need to know who the people are visiting your community. I need to do
something to get more sales people visiting. I need to send
communications to them, specifically.”
need to know who the people are visiting your community. I need to do
something to get more sales people visiting. I need to send
communications to them, specifically.”
Leaders were particularly enthusiastic about the top contributors
metric, using this list to engage with the most popular contributing
members to take on informal leadership roles, elicit their feedback,
acknowledge stellar contributions, and evaluate their contributions to a
team. As one user described:
“I’ve
been particularly interested in the ‘people’ area and ‘top
contributors.’ We’re trying to create a council of [volunteers] to make
sure content is updated.”
(2) Identifying community health problems that require facilitation. Leaders actively used Community Insights to diagnose and addresscurrent or potential community health problems. Using Community Insights, leaders had access to long-term trend data to spot declines in activity.
“I
look at the metrics and facilitate discussions with community managers
based on the metrics. For example, if there’s lots of passive file
downloading, I will recommend that they start weekly community
discussions to facilitate active participation.”
(3) Identifying successful examples to emulate (e.g., popular posts or topics). Community Insights users were constantly looking for successful precedents to emulate to
improve their own community and leadership skills, which they found in
several of the tool’s metrics. For example, one user described:
“The
‘posts’ by application chart… tells me that in certain months, it was a
forum reply that really caught on. So then I can go back into my
community… and look at it and when I compare it with those forums that I
created this month, it reveals whether it was the language of the
forum, or if it was the aesthetic beauty of the forum that really made
the difference, or was it the positioning of the forum that made the
difference. So that comparative study that I could do is really
important.”
(4) Evaluating effects of particular actions/events in the community to aid future planning. Leaders examined Community Insights to evaluate the effects of particular actions or events to help with future planning. Most
leaders organized regular events involving phone conferences or
presentations that members could attend. Leaders logged how many people
attended, downloaded event materials, discussed the meeting, and so on.
Leaders used this information to select popular topics for future events
or modify the format or timing of meetings so more people could attend.
”If
we run a call and most of the people who are attending are downloads
instead of live attendees, maybe we have a bad meeting time for that
particular call.”
Similarly, leaders often wanted to evaluate their own actions,
e.g., sending out a newsletter or creating new content, using uptake
data to make improvements. Community Insights enabled them to do so, as
one user described:
“We
are thinking about writing more blogs. We want to see if writing blogs
has an impact in the community. So we want to be able to select a
particular day/time when a blog was posted and see what the metrics look
like before and after.”
Community Insights is Available for Customer Use
Please contact your IBM Software Services for Collaboration representative for more information.
References
Bourhis, A., Dubé, L., and Jacob, R. The Success of Virtual Communities of Practice: The Leadership Factor. Electronic J. of Knowl. Mgt. 3, 1 (2005), 23–34.
Brown, S.I., Tilton, A., and Woodside, D.M. The case for online communities. McKinsey Quarterly 1, (2002).
Ebrahim, N.A., Ahmed, S., and Taha, Z. Virtual R&D teams in small and medium enterprises: A literature review. SSRN eLibrary, (2009).
Kim, A.J. Community building on the web : Secret strategies for successful online communities. Peachpit Press, 2000.
Kraut, R.E. and Resnick, P. Building successful online communities: Evidence-based social design. MIT, 2012.
Leimeister,
J.M., Sidiras, P., and Krcmar, H. Success factors of virtual communities
from the perspective of members and operators: An empirical study. Proc. of HICSS, (2004).
Li, C. and Bernoff, J. Groundswell: Winning in a world transformed by social technologies. Harvard Bus., 2008.
Matthews, T.,
Whittaker, S., Badenes, H., et al. Community insights: helping community
leaders enhance the value of enterprise online communities. Proc. of CHI, ACM (2013), 513–522.
Saint-Onge, H. and Wallace, D. Leveraging communities of practice for strategic advantage. Butterworth, 2002.
Stuckey, B.
Making the Most of the Good Advice: Meta-Analysis of Guidelines for
Establishing an Internet-Mediated Community of Practice. Proc. of WBC.
Wenger, E., McDermott, R.A., and Snyder, W. Cultivating communities of practice: A guide to managing knowledge. Harvard Bus., 2002.
Williams, R. and Cothrel, J. Four smart ways to run online communities. Sloan Mgt. Rev. 41, 4 (2000), 81–92.
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IBM Software Services for Collaboration Blog
↧
Endeavoring Innovation via Research and Development Management: A Case of Iranian Industrial Sector
International Science Index
Endeavoring Innovation via Research and Development Management: A Case of Iranian Industrial Sector
Authors:
Abstract:
This study aims at investigating factors in research
and development (R&D) growth and exploring the role of R&D
management in enhancing social innovation and productivity
improvement in Iran-s industrial sector. It basically explores the
common types of R&D activities and the industries which benefited
the most from active R&D units in Iran. The researchers generated
qualitative analyses obtained from primary and secondary data.
The primary data have been retrieved through interviews with five
key players (Managing Director, Internal Manager, General Manager,
Executive Manager, and Project Manager) in the industrial sector.
The secondary data acquired from an investigation on Mazandaran, a
province of northern Iran. The findings highlight Iran-s focuses of R
& D on cost reduction and upgrading productivity. Industries that
have benefited the most from active R&D units are metallic,
machinery and equipment design, and automotive.
We rank order the primary effects of R&D on productivity
improvement as follows, industry improvement, economic growth,
using professional human resources, generating productivity and
creativity culture, creating a competitive and innovative environment,
and increasing people-s knowledge.
Generally, low budget dedication and insufficient supply of highly
skilled scientists and engineers are two important obstacles for R&D
in Iran. Whereas, R&D has resulted in improvement in Iranian
society, transfer of contemporary knowledge into the international
market is still lacking.
and development (R&D) growth and exploring the role of R&D
management in enhancing social innovation and productivity
improvement in Iran-s industrial sector. It basically explores the
common types of R&D activities and the industries which benefited
the most from active R&D units in Iran. The researchers generated
qualitative analyses obtained from primary and secondary data.
The primary data have been retrieved through interviews with five
key players (Managing Director, Internal Manager, General Manager,
Executive Manager, and Project Manager) in the industrial sector.
The secondary data acquired from an investigation on Mazandaran, a
province of northern Iran. The findings highlight Iran-s focuses of R
& D on cost reduction and upgrading productivity. Industries that
have benefited the most from active R&D units are metallic,
machinery and equipment design, and automotive.
We rank order the primary effects of R&D on productivity
improvement as follows, industry improvement, economic growth,
using professional human resources, generating productivity and
creativity culture, creating a competitive and innovative environment,
and increasing people-s knowledge.
Generally, low budget dedication and insufficient supply of highly
skilled scientists and engineers are two important obstacles for R&D
in Iran. Whereas, R&D has resulted in improvement in Iranian
society, transfer of contemporary knowledge into the international
market is still lacking.
Keywords:
World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology
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↧
The application and impact of using virtual team in Middle East (case study)
The application and impact of using virtual team in Middle East (case study)
Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to identify the application and
impact of using virtual team in Middle East in construction field. The
literature and various studies concluded that virtual teams are still in
its nascent stages and because of the relative newness of virtual
teams; many areas of research have not been examined, especially Middle
East region. Studies like these are rare or not exist in our region.
This paper is an endeavor to facilitate using of virtual team in Middle
East, types of virtual team, challenges of virtual team and benefits of
virtual team. The data were collected from construction organizations in
Middle East. In all, 140 self-administered questionnaires were
distributed among these organizations of different countries and they
returned 100 completed useable questionnaires for response rate of
71.4%. The statistical analysis showed that only 37.60% of companies in
middle east using virtual team. Due to these result a large engineering
effort is needed. This study is hoping presents a useful source of
information which would benefit organizations that achieved a global
scope of work by using virtual team in Middle East.
Keywords: Virtual team, construction field, Middle East.
impact of using virtual team in Middle East in construction field. The
literature and various studies concluded that virtual teams are still in
its nascent stages and because of the relative newness of virtual
teams; many areas of research have not been examined, especially Middle
East region. Studies like these are rare or not exist in our region.
This paper is an endeavor to facilitate using of virtual team in Middle
East, types of virtual team, challenges of virtual team and benefits of
virtual team. The data were collected from construction organizations in
Middle East. In all, 140 self-administered questionnaires were
distributed among these organizations of different countries and they
returned 100 completed useable questionnaires for response rate of
71.4%. The statistical analysis showed that only 37.60% of companies in
middle east using virtual team. Due to these result a large engineering
effort is needed. This study is hoping presents a useful source of
information which would benefit organizations that achieved a global
scope of work by using virtual team in Middle East.
Keywords: Virtual team, construction field, Middle East.
The
application and impact of using virtual team in Middle East (case
study) | El-Sheikh | European Journal of Business and Management
↧
Updating a credit-scoring model based on new attributes without realization of actual data
Stochastics and Statistics
Updating a credit-scoring model based on new attributes without realization of actual data
Abstract
Funding
small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to support technological
innovation is critical for national competitiveness. Technology credit
scoring models are required for the selection of appropriate funding
beneficiaries. Typically, a technology credit-scoring model consists of
several attributes and new models must be derived every time these
attributes are updated. However, it is not feasible to develop new
models until sufficient historical evaluation data based on these new
attributes will have accumulated. In order to resolve this limitation,
we suggest the framework to update the technology credit scoring model.
This framework consists of ways to construct new technology
credit-scoring model by comparing alternative scenarios for various
relationships between existing and new attributes based on explanatory
factor analysis, analysis of variance, and logistic regression. Our
approach can contribute to find the optimal scenario for updating a
scoring model.
small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to support technological
innovation is critical for national competitiveness. Technology credit
scoring models are required for the selection of appropriate funding
beneficiaries. Typically, a technology credit-scoring model consists of
several attributes and new models must be derived every time these
attributes are updated. However, it is not feasible to develop new
models until sufficient historical evaluation data based on these new
attributes will have accumulated. In order to resolve this limitation,
we suggest the framework to update the technology credit scoring model.
This framework consists of ways to construct new technology
credit-scoring model by comparing alternative scenarios for various
relationships between existing and new attributes based on explanatory
factor analysis, analysis of variance, and logistic regression. Our
approach can contribute to find the optimal scenario for updating a
scoring model.
Highlights
►
Updating credit scoring model with new screening attributes is
proposed. ► Various relationships between existing and new attributes
are investigated. ► Factor Analysis, ANOVA, and logistic regression are
used to confirm the best model.
Updating credit scoring model with new screening attributes is
proposed. ► Various relationships between existing and new attributes
are investigated. ► Factor Analysis, ANOVA, and logistic regression are
used to confirm the best model.
Keywords
- Finance;
- Credit-scoring model;
- Exploratory factor analysis (EFA);
- Logistic regression analysis;
- ANOVA;
- Small and medium enterprise
Updating a credit-scoring model based on new attributes without realization of actual data
↧
STRATEGIES FOR INCREASING CITATION FREQUENCY: Before & After Publications
THE
INTERNATIONAL BUREAU FOR CONSULTANCY AND TRAINING
INTERNATIONAL BUREAU FOR CONSULTANCY AND TRAINING
API,
UNIVERSITY MALAYA
UNIVERSITY MALAYA
Just
to remind you about the workshop of:
to remind you about the workshop of:
STRATEGIES
FOR INCREASING CITATION FREQUENCY:
FOR INCREASING CITATION FREQUENCY:
Before
& After Publications
& After Publications
Date: February
23rd 2014
Time: 9:00– 5:00pm
Venue: Computer Lab A (Block B - Level 3),
Academic of Islamic Studies, University Malaya, Kuala Lumpur
Academic of Islamic Studies, University Malaya, Kuala Lumpur
Speaker:
Nader Ale Ebrahim, PhD in
Technology Management
Technology Management
UM leading expert in “Virtual R&D
teams” & Founder of “Researcher Tol Box”
teams” & Founder of “Researcher Tol Box”
↧
Transtibial prosthetic suspension: Less pistoning versus easy donning and doffing
Source: http://www.rehab.research.va.gov/jour/2012/499/gholizadeh499.html
Volume 49 Number 9, 2012
Pages 1321 — 1330
lower-limb prostheses are to hold the prosthesis on the residual limb
and to decrease the motion that takes place at the
bone-skin-liner-socket interface during ambulation (pistoning, vertical
movements within the socket) [1]. Effective suspension systems and
prosthetic components can improve a person with amputation’s gait and
decrease his or her energy expenditure [2–3]. Prosthetic limbs should
have an intimate fit with the residual limb in order to replace the lost
body part with a device that offers high levels of comfort and
satisfaction [3–6].
Individuals with amputation believe that both the suspension
method and the fitting of a prosthetic device have significant effects
on their overall satisfaction with the prosthesis [6–8]. Several
questionnaires have been developed and a number of prosthetics surveys
have been conducted to analyze patient satisfaction with prosthetic
devices. The majority of researchers prefer the Prosthesis Evaluation
Questionnaire (PEQ) as a means of evaluating differences in function,
performance, and satisfaction between the different components or
techniques of prosthetics fabrication and adjustment (Appendix, available online only) Good reliability and validity have been reported for the PEQ [9–11].
Evidence shows that silicone liners are preferred by many
people with lower-limb amputation because they offer enhanced suspension
and fit within the socket as well as improved function [3,7–8,12].
Previous research on the silicone liners has found that patient comfort
and satisfaction are particularly higher in contrast with other
suspension systems, such as the belt for patellar tendon bearing socket
[3,8,12]. Silicone liners are believed to be more effective in
controlling the pistoning within the prosthetic socket than polyethylene
foam (pelite) liners. Pistoning at the socket-liner interface is said
to be lower with silicone liners (1–5 mm) than with pelite liners
(6.0–41.7 mm) [13–21].
Based on the literature, the pistoning is correlated with the
prosthetic suspension system and fit [15]. Thus, both clinicians and
researchers should be able to determine the quality of suspension and
prevent the negative effects of pistoning (such as gait deviation, skin
breakdown, and discomfort) by pistoning measurement [13–22].
A number of methods exist to measure the pistoning of various
interfaces within the socket (liner-socket) or the residual limb
(bone-soft tissue). These include X-ray [12,20,23–25], spiral
computerized tomography [26], and photoelectric sensors [22]. These
measurement methods are mostly useful for measuring the bone movement
inside the socket. Recently, two new methods were introduced for the
liner-socket interface in transtibial prostheses: a photographic method
and a motion analysis system [16–19]. The literature review revealed
that the majority of researchers measured the pistoning during quiet
standing (static) and only a few had evaluated the pistoning that
occurred inside the socket during gait (dynamic) [15].
A previous study by Gholizadeh et al. revealed low levels of
pistoning for the seal-in suspension (Seal-In X5 liner, Össur;
Reykjavik, Iceland) than the locking system (Dermo liner, Össur) during
standing [16]. The findings of that study motivated this current
research and prompted investigation on the effects of these suspension
systems during gait along with patient satisfaction. To our knowledge,
no study has previously compared the quality of suspension systems
during gait and the associated levels of patient satisfaction.
Ten subjects with unilateral transtibial amputation
participated in this study. We determined the participants’ mobility
grade based on the guidelines of the American Academy of Orthotists
& Prosthetists [27]. Table 1 lists subject characteristics.
In order to be eligible for the study, subjects with
transtibial amputation were required to be unilateral, without pain or
ulcer on the residual limb, and with a residual-limb length not less
than 13 cm. Furthermore, they could not have volume fluctuation in the
residual limb, could not depend on assistive devices such as a cane or
crutches for ambulation, and had to have good upper-limb strength.
Two transtibial prostheses (Figure 1)
were manufactured for each subject. Two different suspension systems
were used: Seal-In X5 liner with valve (Icelock Expulsion Valve 551,
Össur) and Dermo liner with shuttle lock (Icelock Clutch 4H 214, Össur).
All prosthetic feet were Flex-Foot Talux (Össur) [16,18].
One of the researchers (registered prosthetist) designed, fit,
and aligned all the prosthetic limbs. Two separate total surface bearing
sockets were fabricated individually for each of the two liners that
were used in the study. Transparent thermoplastic material (NorthPlex 12
mm, North Sea Plastics Ltd; Glasgow, United Kingdom) enabled us to
check the socket fit. The subjects attended a gait training session in
the Brace and Limb Laboratory (Department of Biomedical Engineering,
University of Malaya, Malaysia).
The prosthetist ensured that there was no gait abnormality and
that the fit of the prosthetic sockets was satisfactory. We determined
prosthetic alignment through bench, static (standing in an upright
position), and dynamic (during walking) alignment. All subjects had an
acclimation period of 4 weeks for each prosthetic device. To ensure
subject safety, one definite socket was also made for each liner type
for the 4-week acclimation period. Check sockets were used only during
the kinematic experiments.
Following the trial period, we performed pistoning evaluation
in the motion analysis laboratory with the Vicon 612 system using seven
MXF20 motion capture cameras (Vicon; Los Angeles, California), which is
believed to have an accuracy level of less than ±0.1 mm [28]. We adopted
a sampling rate of 200 Hz for the data collection. The signals from the
motion analysis system were filtered by a Butterworth filter (cutoff
frequency of 10 Hz).
We fixed 16 reflective markers to the subjects’ lower limbs in
accordance with the Helen Hayes marker set. The knee and tibia markers
for the prosthetic leg were located on the lateral proximal socket wall
and the lateral distal end of the socket, respectively (Figure 2). We placed two additional markers on the liner under the knee joint level (LLin1) and 5 cm below that (LLin2) [16].
Because knee joint movement could affect the actual pistoning
values, we positioned the additional markers (LLin1 and LLin2), aligned
by laser liner, on the liner below the knee joint. With the transparent
socket, the markers were visible through the hard socket and detectable
by the cameras [16]. By fixing the markers to one segment (the shank),
we avoided knee movements leading to unreal displacement.
The transparent socket could create some reflections that could
be mistakenly considered as markers, therefore we used paper tape
(except for the areas where additional markers were located) to mask the
socket wall [16]. Prior to the test, we asked subjects to walk in the
motion analysis laboratory in order to accustom themselves to the
environment. Afterward, the subjects walked at a self-selected speed on
an 8 m walkway. We recorded five successful trials per subject with each
type of liner. We considered a trial to be successful if the cameras
could capture all the markers. We could measure the pistoning by
analyzing the markers’ positions; however, in order to detect one gait
cycle in each trial, we also used two Kistler force plates. There was a 1
min rest interval between the trials. We used the distance between the
markers on the liner and on the socket to identify the piston motion.
The reproducibility of measurements was evaluated by
intraobserver intrasession, intraobserver intersession, and
interobserver intersession variabilities. Two observers performed the
experiments over two sessions with a 1 week interval.
Following the experiments, we asked the subjects to complete
one PEQ for each studied liner. We used some parts of the PEQ to
quantitatively assess patient satisfaction [10]. The PEQ consisted of
the following three sections:
We rated the responses on a scale from 0 to 100, where 0
indicated "dissatisfaction or extreme problems" with the system and 100
indicated "complete satisfaction or no problems."
We used SPSS 18.0 (IBM Corporation; Armonk, New York) for the data analyses, with p-values set at 0.05. A paired-samples t-test
compared the effects of the two different liners on pistoning during
each gait cycle. We divided the gait cycle (stance and swing) into eight
phases. We divided the stance phase by initial contact, loading
response, midstance, terminal stance, and preswing. Initial swing,
midswing, and terminal swing formed the swing phase of gait. In order to
analyze the data, we first calculated the peak pistoning that occurred
during each phase of one gait cycle for one gait trial of each subject.
Following that, we computed the average peak pistoning that occurred
across five successful gait trials. Finally, we found the overall
average of peak pistoning across the different phases of gait for all 10
subjects for the comparison between the liners.
The mean time since amputation was 7 years and all subjects had
undergone amputation at least 3 years prior to study participation. The
reproducibility of the measurements across the different trials of one
session and between two sessions by two observers was shown to be high.
The intraclass correlation coefficients of intraobserver intrasession,
intraobserver intersession, and interobserver intersession were 0.92,
0.87, and 0.79, respectively.
The results of the motion analysis revealed that the amount of
pistoning that occurred when the Seal-In X5 liner was used was
significantly less than the pistoning with the Dermo liner throughout
the gait cycle (p< 0.05),
with the exception of loading response (0.5 mm), midstance (0.0 mm) and
terminal stance (0.0 mm). Both liners exhibited no pistoning during
preswing (Table 2, Figures 3–4).
During initial contact, the Dermo liner was displaced 5.1 ± 0.7
mm (mean ± standard deviation) within the socket. However, this value
decreased rapidly to 0.0 mm at the end of loading response and remained
the same until the initial swing. Only 1.9 ± 0.4 mm of pistoning was
found with the Seal-In X5 liner during initial contact. Maximum
displacements in 10 subjects were 5.4 ± 0.6 mm for the Dermo and 2.5 ±
0.4 mm for the Seal-In X5 liners during the initial swing.
The PEQ revealed that the subjects were overall more satisfied (p
< 0.05) with the Dermo liner than the Seal-In X5 liner.
Nevertheless, many of them mentioned increased levels of pain and
pistoning when using the Dermo liner. Donning and doffing the Seal-In X5
liner was more difficult, but the satisfaction with the socket fit was
higher (Table 3). The
participants also stated that the prosthesis with the Seal-In X5 liner
acted like a natural part of their body and that they did not experience
any traction at the end of the liner.
Selecting a suitable suspension system for individuals who have
undergone transtibial amputation is a critical issue in rehabilitation
[7,16,18]. In this study, we evaluated two different prosthetic
suspension systems in 10 subjects with transtibial amputation to compare
pistoning movement and patient satisfaction with the device during
ambulation. The Vicon motion system was introduced for the purpose of
evaluating pistoning during gait.
The literature review revealed that the majority of existing
research was based on pistoning measurement in the static position of
quiet standing as opposed to walking [15]. The complications of taking
such measurements during gait and concerns over subject safety by
exposure to X-ray hampered such practice [22]. A few studies attempted
to use videofluoroscopy [29], photoelectric sensors [22], or axial
movement detectors [30] to measure the pistoning that occurred during
ambulation. However, they were only able to measure vertical movement
between the pelite liner and socket [22,30]. Among them, only Sanders et
al. provided the value of the pistoning that occurred across different
phases of gait [22].
In this study, the Vicon motion system was shown to be an
efficient method of measuring the pistoning at the liner-socket
interface during the gait. It also offered a harmless method of
pistoning measurement [22]. However, it is unable to detect bone
displacement within the soft tissue.
This study showed that the Seal-In X5 liner helps to decrease
pistoning by developing suction against the socket wall. The resultant
suction ensures firm attachment between the liner and the socket wall.
The purpose of silicone liners is to provide enhanced suspension by
causing less pistoning within the prosthetic socket [3,8,12,15]. The
findings of this study support this statement because the pistoning
values with both Seal-In X5 and Dermo liners were lower than those found
with the polyethylene foam liners [22,29–30].
With the exception of the preswing phase, we found significant differences between the two liners during the gait cycle (p< 0.05) (Figures 3–4, Table 2).
These significant differences can be attributed to the different
elongation properties of the liners used [16,18]. The pistoning that
occurred during the initial swing might have been high as a result of
peak flexion in the knee joint.
Finally, as a result of centrifugal forces, the pistoning
increased between the liners and socket during the terminal swing. We
noted significant difference in pistoning between the studied liners
during this phase of the gait (p < 0.05), which can be associated with the firm attachment between the Seal-In X5 liner and the socket.
Prosthetic satisfaction is an issue influenced by several
factors. Prosthetic users require more time and energy to don and doff
the Seal-In X5 liner [16,18]. They also need lubricant sprays to
facilitate donning. Moreover, hand dexterity is more critical for
donning and doffing a Seal-InX5
liner than for the Dermo liner. All locking liners usually have an
umbrella-shaped feature at the distal part that is connected distally to
a pin. Weight bearing during ambulation over this rigid and small pin
may result in pain at the distal end of the residual limb [31].
The Seal-In X5 liner seems to resolve the so-called problem of
"milking" (distal tissue stretch caused by the pin and lock) [32]. This
milking phenomenon can also result in pain, particularly at the end of
the tibia and along the tibial crest. The subjects in the current study
had more pain with the pin and lock suspension (Dermo liner) than the
Seal-InX5 liner.
Little is known about the effects of different prosthetic
components and systems on patient satisfaction with prostheses.
Effortless donning and doffing does appear to have a positive effect on
satisfaction with a prosthesis [6]. The participants of this study were
mainly dissatisfied with the Seal-In X5 in terms of donning and doffing
and many of them specified that donning and doffing was significantly
easier with the Dermo liner than with the Seal-In X5 liner. As such, the
subjects stated a preference for this suspension system over the
Seal-In X5 liner for long-term use.
One limitation of this study was the small sample size,
particularly for the satisfaction survey. In addition to this, further
research is needed to compare more suspension alternatives in order to
provide a better guideline for suspension system selection. Future
research should also investigate and compare the effects of these
suspension systems on proprioception.
In conclusion, amputation rehabilitation is influenced by
appropriate choice of prosthetic components in accordance with the real
needs of the individual. We can infer from the results of this study
that the Seal-In X5 liner decreased the pistoning within the prosthetic
socket significantly, possibly as a result of the strong suction seal
between the liner and the socket. Nevertheless, the subjects had
difficulty with donning and doffing. We can therefore conclude that
pistoning may not be the main factor that determines subjects’ overall
satisfaction with the prosthesis.
The study introduced a new method for evaluating the pistoning
at the liner-socket interface in transtibial prostheses during gait. The
Vicon system has the potential to detect the pistoning during gait
while also offering a safer alternative to X-ray. Further studies are
needed to come to a "gold standard" for pistoning.
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Transtibial prosthetic suspension: Less pistoning versus easy donning and doffing
Volume 49 Number 9, 2012
Pages 1321 — 1330
Transtibial prosthetic suspension: Less pistoning versus easy donning and doffing
Hossein Gholizadeh, MEngSc;1* Noor Azuan Abu Osman, PhD;1 Arezoo Eshraghi, MSc;1 Sadeeq Ali, BSc;1 Stefan Karl Sævarsson, MSc;2 Wan Abu Bakar Wan Abas, PhD;1 Gholam Hossein Pirouzi, BSc1
1Department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; 2Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada
Abstract—Poor suspension increases
slippage of the residual limb inside the socket during ambulation. The
main purpose of this article is to evaluate the pistoning at the
prosthetic liner-socket interface during gait and assess patients’
satisfaction with two different liners. Two prostheses with seal-in and
locking liners were fabricated for each of the 10 subjects with
transtibial amputation. The Vicon motion system was used to measure the
pistoning during gait. The subjects were also asked to complete a
Prosthesis Evaluation Questionnaire. The results revealed higher
pistoning inside the socket during gait with the locking liner than with
the seal-in liner (p< 0.05). The overall satisfaction with the locking liner was higher (p
< 0.05) because of the relative ease with which the patients could
don and doff the device. As such, pistoning may not be the main factor
that determines patients’ overall satisfaction with the prosthesis and
other factors may also contribute to comfort and satisfaction with
prostheses. The article also verifies the feasibility of the Vicon
motion system for measuring pistoning during gait.
slippage of the residual limb inside the socket during ambulation. The
main purpose of this article is to evaluate the pistoning at the
prosthetic liner-socket interface during gait and assess patients’
satisfaction with two different liners. Two prostheses with seal-in and
locking liners were fabricated for each of the 10 subjects with
transtibial amputation. The Vicon motion system was used to measure the
pistoning during gait. The subjects were also asked to complete a
Prosthesis Evaluation Questionnaire. The results revealed higher
pistoning inside the socket during gait with the locking liner than with
the seal-in liner (p< 0.05). The overall satisfaction with the locking liner was higher (p
< 0.05) because of the relative ease with which the patients could
don and doff the device. As such, pistoning may not be the main factor
that determines patients’ overall satisfaction with the prosthesis and
other factors may also contribute to comfort and satisfaction with
prostheses. The article also verifies the feasibility of the Vicon
motion system for measuring pistoning during gait.
Key words: amputation, gait, Iceross,
lower-limb amputation, motion analysis, pistoning, satisfaction,
suction, suspension, transtibial prosthesis.
lower-limb amputation, motion analysis, pistoning, satisfaction,
suction, suspension, transtibial prosthesis.
Abbreviations: PEQ = Prosthesis Evaluation Questionnaire.
*Address
all correspondence to Hossein Gholizadeh, MEngSc; Department of
Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Malaya,
50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; 603-7967-4581; fax: 603-7967-4579.
Email: gholizadeh@um.edu.my
The main roles of the suspension systems incorporated into all correspondence to Hossein Gholizadeh, MEngSc; Department of
Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Malaya,
50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; 603-7967-4581; fax: 603-7967-4579.
Email: gholizadeh@um.edu.my
lower-limb prostheses are to hold the prosthesis on the residual limb
and to decrease the motion that takes place at the
bone-skin-liner-socket interface during ambulation (pistoning, vertical
movements within the socket) [1]. Effective suspension systems and
prosthetic components can improve a person with amputation’s gait and
decrease his or her energy expenditure [2–3]. Prosthetic limbs should
have an intimate fit with the residual limb in order to replace the lost
body part with a device that offers high levels of comfort and
satisfaction [3–6].
Individuals with amputation believe that both the suspension
method and the fitting of a prosthetic device have significant effects
on their overall satisfaction with the prosthesis [6–8]. Several
questionnaires have been developed and a number of prosthetics surveys
have been conducted to analyze patient satisfaction with prosthetic
devices. The majority of researchers prefer the Prosthesis Evaluation
Questionnaire (PEQ) as a means of evaluating differences in function,
performance, and satisfaction between the different components or
techniques of prosthetics fabrication and adjustment (Appendix, available online only) Good reliability and validity have been reported for the PEQ [9–11].
Evidence shows that silicone liners are preferred by many
people with lower-limb amputation because they offer enhanced suspension
and fit within the socket as well as improved function [3,7–8,12].
Previous research on the silicone liners has found that patient comfort
and satisfaction are particularly higher in contrast with other
suspension systems, such as the belt for patellar tendon bearing socket
[3,8,12]. Silicone liners are believed to be more effective in
controlling the pistoning within the prosthetic socket than polyethylene
foam (pelite) liners. Pistoning at the socket-liner interface is said
to be lower with silicone liners (1–5 mm) than with pelite liners
(6.0–41.7 mm) [13–21].
Based on the literature, the pistoning is correlated with the
prosthetic suspension system and fit [15]. Thus, both clinicians and
researchers should be able to determine the quality of suspension and
prevent the negative effects of pistoning (such as gait deviation, skin
breakdown, and discomfort) by pistoning measurement [13–22].
A number of methods exist to measure the pistoning of various
interfaces within the socket (liner-socket) or the residual limb
(bone-soft tissue). These include X-ray [12,20,23–25], spiral
computerized tomography [26], and photoelectric sensors [22]. These
measurement methods are mostly useful for measuring the bone movement
inside the socket. Recently, two new methods were introduced for the
liner-socket interface in transtibial prostheses: a photographic method
and a motion analysis system [16–19]. The literature review revealed
that the majority of researchers measured the pistoning during quiet
standing (static) and only a few had evaluated the pistoning that
occurred inside the socket during gait (dynamic) [15].
A previous study by Gholizadeh et al. revealed low levels of
pistoning for the seal-in suspension (Seal-In X5 liner, Össur;
Reykjavik, Iceland) than the locking system (Dermo liner, Össur) during
standing [16]. The findings of that study motivated this current
research and prompted investigation on the effects of these suspension
systems during gait along with patient satisfaction. To our knowledge,
no study has previously compared the quality of suspension systems
during gait and the associated levels of patient satisfaction.
Ten subjects with unilateral transtibial amputation
participated in this study. We determined the participants’ mobility
grade based on the guidelines of the American Academy of Orthotists
& Prosthetists [27]. Table 1 lists subject characteristics.
*Inferior edge of patella to distal end of residual limb. †Based on American Academy of Orthotists & Prosthetists scale. K2 = Patient has ability or potential for ambulation with ability to traverse low-level environmental barriers such as curbs, stairs, or uneven surfaces—a typical community ambulator. K3 = Patient has ability or potential for ambulation with variable cadence—a typical community ambulator with ability to traverse most environmental barriers and may have vacation, therapeutic, or exercise activity that demands prosthetic use beyond simple locomotion. | |||||||
transtibial amputation were required to be unilateral, without pain or
ulcer on the residual limb, and with a residual-limb length not less
than 13 cm. Furthermore, they could not have volume fluctuation in the
residual limb, could not depend on assistive devices such as a cane or
crutches for ambulation, and had to have good upper-limb strength.
Two transtibial prostheses (Figure 1)
were manufactured for each subject. Two different suspension systems
were used: Seal-In X5 liner with valve (Icelock Expulsion Valve 551,
Össur) and Dermo liner with shuttle lock (Icelock Clutch 4H 214, Össur).
All prosthetic feet were Flex-Foot Talux (Össur) [16,18].
 Figure 1. Transtibial suspension systems: (a) Seal-In X5 liner (Össur; Reykjavik, Iceland) with transparent socket and valve and (b) Dermo liner (Össur) with transparent socket and shuttle lock. Click Image to Enlarge. View as PowerPoint Slide |
and aligned all the prosthetic limbs. Two separate total surface bearing
sockets were fabricated individually for each of the two liners that
were used in the study. Transparent thermoplastic material (NorthPlex 12
mm, North Sea Plastics Ltd; Glasgow, United Kingdom) enabled us to
check the socket fit. The subjects attended a gait training session in
the Brace and Limb Laboratory (Department of Biomedical Engineering,
University of Malaya, Malaysia).
The prosthetist ensured that there was no gait abnormality and
that the fit of the prosthetic sockets was satisfactory. We determined
prosthetic alignment through bench, static (standing in an upright
position), and dynamic (during walking) alignment. All subjects had an
acclimation period of 4 weeks for each prosthetic device. To ensure
subject safety, one definite socket was also made for each liner type
for the 4-week acclimation period. Check sockets were used only during
the kinematic experiments.
Following the trial period, we performed pistoning evaluation
in the motion analysis laboratory with the Vicon 612 system using seven
MXF20 motion capture cameras (Vicon; Los Angeles, California), which is
believed to have an accuracy level of less than ±0.1 mm [28]. We adopted
a sampling rate of 200 Hz for the data collection. The signals from the
motion analysis system were filtered by a Butterworth filter (cutoff
frequency of 10 Hz).
We fixed 16 reflective markers to the subjects’ lower limbs in
accordance with the Helen Hayes marker set. The knee and tibia markers
for the prosthetic leg were located on the lateral proximal socket wall
and the lateral distal end of the socket, respectively (Figure 2). We placed two additional markers on the liner under the knee joint level (LLin1) and 5 cm below that (LLin2) [16].
![Figure 2. Marker positions on socket (lateral proximal socket wall [LPS] and lateral distal end of socket [LDS]) and liner (LLin1 and LLin2).](http://www.rehab.research.va.gov/jour/2012/499/images/gholizadeh499f02th.jpg) Figure 2. Marker positions on socket (lateral proximal socket wall [LPS] and lateral distal end of socket [LDS]) and liner (LLin1 and LLin2). Click Image to Enlarge. View as PowerPoint Slide |
values, we positioned the additional markers (LLin1 and LLin2), aligned
by laser liner, on the liner below the knee joint. With the transparent
socket, the markers were visible through the hard socket and detectable
by the cameras [16]. By fixing the markers to one segment (the shank),
we avoided knee movements leading to unreal displacement.
The transparent socket could create some reflections that could
be mistakenly considered as markers, therefore we used paper tape
(except for the areas where additional markers were located) to mask the
socket wall [16]. Prior to the test, we asked subjects to walk in the
motion analysis laboratory in order to accustom themselves to the
environment. Afterward, the subjects walked at a self-selected speed on
an 8 m walkway. We recorded five successful trials per subject with each
type of liner. We considered a trial to be successful if the cameras
could capture all the markers. We could measure the pistoning by
analyzing the markers’ positions; however, in order to detect one gait
cycle in each trial, we also used two Kistler force plates. There was a 1
min rest interval between the trials. We used the distance between the
markers on the liner and on the socket to identify the piston motion.
The reproducibility of measurements was evaluated by
intraobserver intrasession, intraobserver intersession, and
interobserver intersession variabilities. Two observers performed the
experiments over two sessions with a 1 week interval.
Following the experiments, we asked the subjects to complete
one PEQ for each studied liner. We used some parts of the PEQ to
quantitatively assess patient satisfaction [10]. The PEQ consisted of
the following three sections:
• | Demographic data (sex, age, weight, height, time since amputation, and cause of amputation). |
• | Satisfaction (fit, donning and doffing, sitting, walking on level surface, walking on unlevel ground, ascending and descending stairs, cosmesis, and overall satisfaction). |
• | Problems (sweat, wound, skin irritation, pistoning, pain, swelling [edema], smell, and unwanted sounds). |
indicated "dissatisfaction or extreme problems" with the system and 100
indicated "complete satisfaction or no problems."
We used SPSS 18.0 (IBM Corporation; Armonk, New York) for the data analyses, with p-values set at 0.05. A paired-samples t-test
compared the effects of the two different liners on pistoning during
each gait cycle. We divided the gait cycle (stance and swing) into eight
phases. We divided the stance phase by initial contact, loading
response, midstance, terminal stance, and preswing. Initial swing,
midswing, and terminal swing formed the swing phase of gait. In order to
analyze the data, we first calculated the peak pistoning that occurred
during each phase of one gait cycle for one gait trial of each subject.
Following that, we computed the average peak pistoning that occurred
across five successful gait trials. Finally, we found the overall
average of peak pistoning across the different phases of gait for all 10
subjects for the comparison between the liners.
The mean time since amputation was 7 years and all subjects had
undergone amputation at least 3 years prior to study participation. The
reproducibility of the measurements across the different trials of one
session and between two sessions by two observers was shown to be high.
The intraclass correlation coefficients of intraobserver intrasession,
intraobserver intersession, and interobserver intersession were 0.92,
0.87, and 0.79, respectively.
The results of the motion analysis revealed that the amount of
pistoning that occurred when the Seal-In X5 liner was used was
significantly less than the pistoning with the Dermo liner throughout
the gait cycle (p< 0.05),
with the exception of loading response (0.5 mm), midstance (0.0 mm) and
terminal stance (0.0 mm). Both liners exhibited no pistoning during
preswing (Table 2, Figures 3–4).
Displacement,Mean ± SD (mm) | p-Value | ||
0.02† | |||
*Össur; Reykjavik, Iceland. †Statistically significant. | |||
 Figure 3. Sample pistoning patterns with Seal-In X5 liner (Össur; Reykjavik, Iceland) and Dermo liner (Össur) during one gait cycle for subjects (a) 2 and (b) 5. Click Image to Enlarge. View as PowerPoint Slide |
 Figure 4. Comparison of mean displacement in different phases of gait cycle (n = 10). Click Image to Enlarge. View as PowerPoint Slide |
mm (mean ± standard deviation) within the socket. However, this value
decreased rapidly to 0.0 mm at the end of loading response and remained
the same until the initial swing. Only 1.9 ± 0.4 mm of pistoning was
found with the Seal-In X5 liner during initial contact. Maximum
displacements in 10 subjects were 5.4 ± 0.6 mm for the Dermo and 2.5 ±
0.4 mm for the Seal-In X5 liners during the initial swing.
The PEQ revealed that the subjects were overall more satisfied (p
< 0.05) with the Dermo liner than the Seal-In X5 liner.
Nevertheless, many of them mentioned increased levels of pain and
pistoning when using the Dermo liner. Donning and doffing the Seal-In X5
liner was more difficult, but the satisfaction with the socket fit was
higher (Table 3). The
participants also stated that the prosthesis with the Seal-In X5 liner
acted like a natural part of their body and that they did not experience
any traction at the end of the liner.
Mean* | p-Value | Mean† | p-Value | |||||
Donning and Doffing | ||||||||
Pistoning Within Socket | ||||||||
0.04‡ | ||||||||
Swelling (edema) | ||||||||
*Greater mean indicates higher satisfaction. †Greater mean indicates less complaints/problems. ‡Statistically significant. | ||||||||
undergone transtibial amputation is a critical issue in rehabilitation
[7,16,18]. In this study, we evaluated two different prosthetic
suspension systems in 10 subjects with transtibial amputation to compare
pistoning movement and patient satisfaction with the device during
ambulation. The Vicon motion system was introduced for the purpose of
evaluating pistoning during gait.
The literature review revealed that the majority of existing
research was based on pistoning measurement in the static position of
quiet standing as opposed to walking [15]. The complications of taking
such measurements during gait and concerns over subject safety by
exposure to X-ray hampered such practice [22]. A few studies attempted
to use videofluoroscopy [29], photoelectric sensors [22], or axial
movement detectors [30] to measure the pistoning that occurred during
ambulation. However, they were only able to measure vertical movement
between the pelite liner and socket [22,30]. Among them, only Sanders et
al. provided the value of the pistoning that occurred across different
phases of gait [22].
In this study, the Vicon motion system was shown to be an
efficient method of measuring the pistoning at the liner-socket
interface during the gait. It also offered a harmless method of
pistoning measurement [22]. However, it is unable to detect bone
displacement within the soft tissue.
This study showed that the Seal-In X5 liner helps to decrease
pistoning by developing suction against the socket wall. The resultant
suction ensures firm attachment between the liner and the socket wall.
The purpose of silicone liners is to provide enhanced suspension by
causing less pistoning within the prosthetic socket [3,8,12,15]. The
findings of this study support this statement because the pistoning
values with both Seal-In X5 and Dermo liners were lower than those found
with the polyethylene foam liners [22,29–30].
With the exception of the preswing phase, we found significant differences between the two liners during the gait cycle (p< 0.05) (Figures 3–4, Table 2).
These significant differences can be attributed to the different
elongation properties of the liners used [16,18]. The pistoning that
occurred during the initial swing might have been high as a result of
peak flexion in the knee joint.
Finally, as a result of centrifugal forces, the pistoning
increased between the liners and socket during the terminal swing. We
noted significant difference in pistoning between the studied liners
during this phase of the gait (p < 0.05), which can be associated with the firm attachment between the Seal-In X5 liner and the socket.
Prosthetic satisfaction is an issue influenced by several
factors. Prosthetic users require more time and energy to don and doff
the Seal-In X5 liner [16,18]. They also need lubricant sprays to
facilitate donning. Moreover, hand dexterity is more critical for
donning and doffing a Seal-InX5
liner than for the Dermo liner. All locking liners usually have an
umbrella-shaped feature at the distal part that is connected distally to
a pin. Weight bearing during ambulation over this rigid and small pin
may result in pain at the distal end of the residual limb [31].
The Seal-In X5 liner seems to resolve the so-called problem of
"milking" (distal tissue stretch caused by the pin and lock) [32]. This
milking phenomenon can also result in pain, particularly at the end of
the tibia and along the tibial crest. The subjects in the current study
had more pain with the pin and lock suspension (Dermo liner) than the
Seal-InX5 liner.
Little is known about the effects of different prosthetic
components and systems on patient satisfaction with prostheses.
Effortless donning and doffing does appear to have a positive effect on
satisfaction with a prosthesis [6]. The participants of this study were
mainly dissatisfied with the Seal-In X5 in terms of donning and doffing
and many of them specified that donning and doffing was significantly
easier with the Dermo liner than with the Seal-In X5 liner. As such, the
subjects stated a preference for this suspension system over the
Seal-In X5 liner for long-term use.
One limitation of this study was the small sample size,
particularly for the satisfaction survey. In addition to this, further
research is needed to compare more suspension alternatives in order to
provide a better guideline for suspension system selection. Future
research should also investigate and compare the effects of these
suspension systems on proprioception.
In conclusion, amputation rehabilitation is influenced by
appropriate choice of prosthetic components in accordance with the real
needs of the individual. We can infer from the results of this study
that the Seal-In X5 liner decreased the pistoning within the prosthetic
socket significantly, possibly as a result of the strong suction seal
between the liner and the socket. Nevertheless, the subjects had
difficulty with donning and doffing. We can therefore conclude that
pistoning may not be the main factor that determines subjects’ overall
satisfaction with the prosthesis.
The study introduced a new method for evaluating the pistoning
at the liner-socket interface in transtibial prostheses during gait. The
Vicon system has the potential to detect the pistoning during gait
while also offering a safer alternative to X-ray. Further studies are
needed to come to a "gold standard" for pistoning.
Study concept and design: H. Gholizadeh, N. A. Abu Osman,
A. Eshraghi, S. Ali, S. K. Sævarsson, W. A. B. Wan Abas.
A. Eshraghi, S. Ali, S. K. Sævarsson, W. A. B. Wan Abas.
Acquisition of data: H. Gholizadeh, A. Eshraghi.
Analysis and interpretation of data: H. Gholizadeh, N. A. Abu Osman, A. Eshraghi, S. Ali.
Drafting of manuscript: H. Gholizadeh, A. Eshraghi.
Critical revision of manuscript for important intellectual content: H. Gholizadeh, N. A. Abu Osman, A. Eshraghi, S. Ali, S. K. Sævarsson, W. A. B. Wan Abas.
Obtained funding: H. Gholizadeh, N. A. Abu Osman, S. K. Sævarsson.
Administrative, technical, or material support: N. A. Abu Osman, S. K. Sævarsson, G. H. Pirouzi.
Study supervision: N. A. Abu Osman, W. A. B. Wan Abas.
Financial Disclosures: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
Funding/Support:
This material was based on work supported by the Malaysia UM/MOHE/HIR
(grant D000014–16001) and the prosthetic components were donated by
Össur.
This material was based on work supported by the Malaysia UM/MOHE/HIR
(grant D000014–16001) and the prosthetic components were donated by
Össur.
Additional Contributions: The authors would like to thank Mrs. Elham Sadat Yahyavi, Ms. Ása Guðlaug Lúðvíksdóttir, Dr. Nader Ale Ebrahim, and Mr. Scott Elliott for providing technical advice.
Institutional Review: The
ethical approval was granted from the University of Malaya Medical
Centre Ethics Committee. All subjects were asked to provide written
informed consent.
ethical approval was granted from the University of Malaya Medical
Centre Ethics Committee. All subjects were asked to provide written
informed consent.
Participant Follow-Up: The authors do not plan to inform participants of the publication of this study due to a lack of contact information.
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Submitted for publication November 21, 2011. Accepted in revised form March 23, 2012.
This article and any supplementary material should be cited as follows:
Gholizadeh
H, Abu Osman NA, Eshraghi A, Ali S, Sævarsson SK, Wan Abas WA, Pirouzi
GH. Transtibial prosthetic suspension: Less pistoning versus easy
donning and doffing. J Rehabil Res Dev. 2012;49(9):1321–30.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1682/JRRD.2011.11.0221
Gholizadeh
H, Abu Osman NA, Eshraghi A, Ali S, Sævarsson SK, Wan Abas WA, Pirouzi
GH. Transtibial prosthetic suspension: Less pistoning versus easy
donning and doffing. J Rehabil Res Dev. 2012;49(9):1321–30.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1682/JRRD.2011.11.0221
ResearcherID: Hossein Gholizadeh, MEngSc: G-4838-2012; Noor A. Abu Osman, PhD: B-9265-2010; Arezoo Eshraghi, PhD: A-4405-2011
Last Reviewed or Updated
Tuesday, January 8, 2013 11:11 AM
Transtibial prosthetic suspension: Less pistoning versus easy donning and doffing
↧
↧
[1402.3890] Power laws in citation distributions: Evidence from Scopus
Power laws in citation distributions: Evidence from Scopus
(Submitted on 17 Feb 2014)
Modeling distributions of citations to scientific papers is crucial for
understanding how science develops. However, there is a considerable empirical
controversy on which statistical model fits the citation distributions best.
This paper is concerned with rigorous empirical detection of power-law
behaviour in the distribution of citations received by the most highly cited
scientific papers. We have used a large, novel data set on citations to
scientific papers published between 1998 and 2002 drawn from Scopus. The
power-law model is compared with a number of alternative models using a
likelihood ratio test. We have found that the power-law hypothesis is rejected
for around half of the Scopus fields of science. For these fields of science,
the Yule, power-law with exponential cut-off and log-normal distributions seem
to fit the data better than the pure power-law model. On the other hand, when
the power-law hypothesis is not rejected, it is usually empirically
indistinguishable from most of the alternative models. The pure power-law model
seems to be the best model only for the most highly cited papers in "Physics
and Astronomy". Overall, our results seem to support theories implying that the
most highly cited scientific papers follow the Yule, power-law with exponential
cut-off or log-normal distribution. Our findings suggest also that power laws
in citation distributions, when present, account only for a very small fraction
of the published papers (less than 1% for most of science fields) and that the
power-law scaling parameter (exponent) is substantially higher (from around 3.2
to around 4.7) than found in the older literature.
[1402.3890] Power laws in citation distributions: Evidence from Scopus
↧
A framework for SaaS software packages evaluation and selection with virtual team and BOCR of analytic network process
Volume 67, Issue 1, January 2014, Pages 219-238
A framework for SaaS software packages evaluation and selection with virtual team and BOCR of analytic network process
School of Management and Economics, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610054, China
Abstract
Software packages evaluation and
selection is one of the most important activities encountered by
software as a service (SaaS) users in the high performance networked
computing environment, especially for the small or medium-sized
enterprises. In this paper, we propose a framework for SaaS software
packages evaluation and selection by combining the virtual team (VT) and
the BOCR (benefits, opportunities, costs, and risks) of the analytic
network process (ANP). Different from the traditional application of the
BOCR model of ANP, the proposed VT-BOCR model attempts to solve the
complex ANP model and overloaded pairwise comparisons by decomposing the
tasks to four parts, and performed by benefits virtual team (B-VT),
opportunities virtual team (O-VT), costs virtual team (C-VT), and risks
virtual team (R-VT) separately. The interactive networked media on
distributed environments not only makes the proposed framework possible
without the limitations of time, space, and human resources, but also
can take full advantage of the talent experts who are geographically
dispersed. The proposed framework also shows great potentials for aiding
practitioners and researchers concerned with the cloud services. ©
Springer Science+Business Media New York 2013.
selection is one of the most important activities encountered by
software as a service (SaaS) users in the high performance networked
computing environment, especially for the small or medium-sized
enterprises. In this paper, we propose a framework for SaaS software
packages evaluation and selection by combining the virtual team (VT) and
the BOCR (benefits, opportunities, costs, and risks) of the analytic
network process (ANP). Different from the traditional application of the
BOCR model of ANP, the proposed VT-BOCR model attempts to solve the
complex ANP model and overloaded pairwise comparisons by decomposing the
tasks to four parts, and performed by benefits virtual team (B-VT),
opportunities virtual team (O-VT), costs virtual team (C-VT), and risks
virtual team (R-VT) separately. The interactive networked media on
distributed environments not only makes the proposed framework possible
without the limitations of time, space, and human resources, but also
can take full advantage of the talent experts who are geographically
dispersed. The proposed framework also shows great potentials for aiding
practitioners and researchers concerned with the cloud services. ©
Springer Science+Business Media New York 2013.
Author keywords
ANP; BOCR; Distributed environments; Pairwise comparison; SaaS; Virtual team
ISSN: 09208542
CODEN: JOSUESource Type: Journal
Original language: English
DOI: 10.1007/s11227-013-0995-7Document Type: Article
Scopus - Document details
↧
Introduction to the Research Tools Mind Map | ZENODO
Article A10.4 Introduction to the Research Tools Mind Map Nader Ale Ebrahim Research Support Unit, Centre of Research Services Institute of Research Management and Monitoring (IPPP) University of Malaya, Malaysia aleebrahim[at]siswa.um.edu.my Published Online: June 14, 2013 With the increasing use of information and communications technology (ICT), researchers are able to use computer software tools to find, organise, manipulate, analyse, and share relevant information. However, there are hundreds of such tools to select from, for various research-related uses. I have collected over 700 tools that can help researchers do their work efficiently. It is assembled as an interactive Web-based mind map, titled Research Tools, which is updated periodically. Created using the MindMeister software platform, Research Tools provides a convenient interface with zoom in/out, screen drag, and other user-friendly features. Being a mind map, Research Tools consists of a hierarchical set of nodes. It has four main nodes: (1) Searching the literature, (2) Writing a paper, (3) Targeting suitable journals, and (4) Enhancing visibility and impact, and six auxiliary nodes. In the mind map, each parent node has several child nodes associated with it, which can be accessed by clicking on the plus (+) sign. Several free tools can be found in the child nodes. Some paid tools are also included. The four main nodes are described below, listing some tools as examples. In the mind map, a green tick sign indicates my preference for some tools. Users can access the tools by clicking on the arrow sign that appears next to the tool title. 1. Searching the Literature Tools under this node would assist first-year research students and other early-stage researchers in expanding their knowledge base and developing a research focus (Ale Ebrahim, 2013). A sample of these tools is given below, grouped under the specific purposes for which these tools might be used: (a) Find keywords: Google AdWords, Google Trends, Springer Realtime, KwMap (b) Develop a new keyword/phrase: Microsoft Adcenter Lab, Keyword Density Analyser, Free Keyword Tool (c) Find research materials: Web of Science, Scopus®, ProQuest,Research Papers in Economics, Munich Personal RePEc Archive (d) Evaluate a paper: Publish or Perish,Readermeter, Microsoft Academic Search (e) Access databases: Social Science Research Network, Refdoc, iSEEK Education, Electrical Engineering & Computer Science (f) Compare resources: Top 30 Web Tools to Search, 100 Useful Tips and Tools to Research the Deep Web (g) Search visually: Kartoo, Redz 2. Writing a Paper Several tools on research writing have been assembled under this node. These tools help researchers in various aspects of scientific and scholarly writing. Here is a sample of such tools: (a) Write and edit: Ginger, Spell Checker, Plagiarisma, Springer Exemplar (b) Analyse and summarise texts: Smmry, Tools 4 Noobs, Free Summarizer (c) Search desktop: DtSearch, Copernic Desktop Search (d) Write collaboratively: Google Drive, Adobe acrobat professional (e) Synthesise and visualise information: MindMeister, MindMaple, Text2mindmap (f) Manage bibliographic data: Mendeley, EndNote, Zotero (g) Build and share article collections: Bibliogo, WizFolio (h) Detect and avoid plagiarism:Viper, The Plagiarism Checker, Turnitin, Paper Rater 3. Targeting Suitable Journals Sometimes, researchers are not sure about the journal they should target for publishing their research papers. They would like to evaluate a journal’s visibility and credibility before submitting their papers. Researchers can use a range of tools to identify, assess, and select appropriate journals with a view to enhancing their publication profile (Ale Ebrahim, 2010). (a) Identify potential journals: Elsevier journal finder, JANE (from The Biosemantics Group),Springer journal advisor (b) Detect relevant journals: Google Alerts, My Citation Alerts (from Web of Knowledge) (c) Evaluate journal quality (impact factor and journal ranking): Journal Citation Report (Thomson Reuters), SJR (Scimago Lab), Eigenfactor® (University of Washington) 4. Enhancing Visibility and Impact Publishing a research paper in a scholarly journals is necessary but not sufficient for receiving citations in future. We need to ensure that the paper is visible to the relevant users and authors. There are tools that help in enhancing the visibility and readership of research papers. Effective use of these tools can result in increased citations and, thus, improve the h-index of the author (h-index shows the author’s influence as a researcher, see Ale Ebrahim, 2012; Aghaei Chadegani et al., 2013). Here is a sample of tools to increase the visibility of one’s published papers: (a) Create an online CV:ResearcherID, Publications List,ORCID, Google Scholar My Citations,A visual resume (b) Create an online repository: CiteuLike, Getcited, PubZone, Social Science Open Access Repository, arXiv, HAL (c) Share bookmarks: Diigo, Delicious, BibSonomy, ScienceWISE (d) Publish and share information: Scribd, Docstoc®, figshare, Udemy (e) Network with other researchers:ResearchGate, Academia, LinkedIn 5. Auxiliary Nodes Research tools which could not be categorised under the above four main nodes have been placed under six auxiliary nodes. The auxiliary nodes are: Survey, Links, Keeping up-to-date (Alert service), h-index, General, and Download. The tools under these nodes can assist researchers in keeping track of their research interest and activities in various ways. (a) Stay current with research: Science direct alerts, MIT press, PubMed, Conference Alerts, WikiCFP (b) Collect data: SurveyMonkey, Formsite,Survey share, Google Docs, eSurveysPro, Free Online Survey, KwikSurvey (c) h-index: Prediction scientific h-index, Finding h-index in Web of Science, Optimizing your article for search engines, 10 Ways to Increase Usage and Citation of your Article Using Social Media 6. Conclusion We can save plenty of research time by using specific tools for specific purposes. This can facilitate quick progress and early completion of research projects. In my experience, research students who use these tools are able to complete their literature review in less than 3 months. Acknowledgement Sincere thanks to Professor D. P. Dash for his kind encouragement to write this article and his useful advice on its organisation. References Aghaei Chadegani, A., Salehi, H., Yunus, M. M., Farhadi, H., Fooladi, M., Farhadi, M., & Ale Ebrahim, N. (2013). A comparison between two main academic literature collections: Web of Science and Scopus databases. Asian Social Science, 9(5), 18-26. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.5539/ass.v9n5p18 Ale Ebrahim, N. (2010). Target ISI journals: How to write/publish ISI papers [Presentation material]. Retrieved from http://works.bepress.com/aleebrahim/1/ Ale Ebrahim, N. (2012). Publication marketing tools: Enhancing research visibility and improving citations [Presentation material]. Retrieved from http://works.bepress.com/aleebrahim/64/ Ale Ebrahim, N. (2013). The effective use of research tools and resources. [Presentation material]. Retrieved from http://works.bepress.com/aleebrahim/73/ Suggested Citation: Ale Ebrahim, N. (2013). Introduction to the Research Tools mind map. Research World, 10, Article A10.4. Retrieved from http://www1.ximb.ac.in/RW.nsf/pages/A10.4 Copyleft Xavier Institute of Management, Xavier Square, Bhubaneswar 751013, India Research World (ISSN 0974-2379) http://www1.ximb.ac.in/RW.nsf/pages/Home | ||
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Introduction to the Research Tools Mind Map | ZENODO
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British Journal of Cancer - What is a virtual multidisciplinary team (vMDT)[quest]
What is a virtual multidisciplinary team (vMDT)?
1Ninewells Hospital and Medical School, Dundee, DD1 9SY, UK
Correspondence: Professor A J Munro, E-mail: a.j.munro@dundee.ac.uk
Received 2 January 2013; Revised 28 March 2013; Accepted 17 April 2013
Advance online publication 11 June 2013
Advance online publication 11 June 2013
Top of page
Abstract
- Background:
- Methods:
- Results:
- Conclusion:
- A possible taxonomy for a virtual MDT
- Technology for virtual MDT
- What is already known about virtual teams?
- Potential barriers to implementation of a ‘virtual MDT’
- Towards an implementation strategy for a virtual MDT
- Conclusions
- References
- Acknowledgements
- Figures and Tables
Background:
Multidisciplinary
team meetings (MDTs), also known as tumour boards or multidisciplinary
case conferences, are an integral component of contemporary cancer care.
There are logistical problems with setting up and maintaining
participation in these meetings. An ill-defined concept, the virtual MDT
(vMDT), has arisen in response to these difficulties. We have, in order
to provide clarity and to generate discussion, attempted to define the
concept of the vMDT, outline its advantages and disadvantages, and
consider some of the practical aspects involved in setting up a virtual
MDT.
team meetings (MDTs), also known as tumour boards or multidisciplinary
case conferences, are an integral component of contemporary cancer care.
There are logistical problems with setting up and maintaining
participation in these meetings. An ill-defined concept, the virtual MDT
(vMDT), has arisen in response to these difficulties. We have, in order
to provide clarity and to generate discussion, attempted to define the
concept of the vMDT, outline its advantages and disadvantages, and
consider some of the practical aspects involved in setting up a virtual
MDT.
Methods:
This
is an unstructured review of published evidence and personal experience
relating to virtual teams in general, and to MDTs in particular.
is an unstructured review of published evidence and personal experience
relating to virtual teams in general, and to MDTs in particular.
Results:
We
have devised a simple taxonomy for MDTs, discussed some of the
practicalities involved in setting up a vMDT, and described some of the
potential advantages and disadvantages associated with vMDTs.
have devised a simple taxonomy for MDTs, discussed some of the
practicalities involved in setting up a vMDT, and described some of the
potential advantages and disadvantages associated with vMDTs.
Conclusion:
The
vMDT may be useful for discussions concerning rare or unusual tumours,
or for helping guide the assessment and management of patients with
uncommon complications related to treatment. However, the vMDT is a
niche concept and is currently unlikely to replace the more traditional
face-to-face MDT in the management of common tumours at specific sites.
vMDT may be useful for discussions concerning rare or unusual tumours,
or for helping guide the assessment and management of patients with
uncommon complications related to treatment. However, the vMDT is a
niche concept and is currently unlikely to replace the more traditional
face-to-face MDT in the management of common tumours at specific sites.
Keywords:
multidisciplinary teams; virtual teams; tumour board; multidisciplinary case conference; information technology; telemedicine
Our purpose here is to stimulate
and inform discussions about an idea that has, hitherto, been somewhat
ill-defined – the concept of the virtual multidisciplinary team (vMDT).
By drawing attention to the concept, we hope to encourage further
research into the development of virtual teams in the management of
patients with cancer.
and inform discussions about an idea that has, hitherto, been somewhat
ill-defined – the concept of the virtual multidisciplinary team (vMDT).
By drawing attention to the concept, we hope to encourage further
research into the development of virtual teams in the management of
patients with cancer.
Multidisciplinary team (MDT)
meetings (also known as tumour boards or multidisciplinary case
conferences), in which new patients with cancer are discussed on a
regular basis by a group of specialists with the expertise relevant to
their clinical management, are an integral part of modern cancer care.
The MDT meetings are costly in both time and money. This has led to the
emergence of an ill-defined concept: the ‘virtual MDT’ (vMDT). The
question of what a vMDT might be arises in response to a series of other
questions. How can the beneficial effects of MDT working be preserved
while reducing some of the financial costs, disruption, and
inconvenience associated with regular MDT team meetings? How might the
advantages of the MDT approach be extended to the management of patients
with rare or unusual problems related to malignancy or its treatment?
Are there effective alternatives to face-to-face MDT meetings?
meetings (also known as tumour boards or multidisciplinary case
conferences), in which new patients with cancer are discussed on a
regular basis by a group of specialists with the expertise relevant to
their clinical management, are an integral part of modern cancer care.
The MDT meetings are costly in both time and money. This has led to the
emergence of an ill-defined concept: the ‘virtual MDT’ (vMDT). The
question of what a vMDT might be arises in response to a series of other
questions. How can the beneficial effects of MDT working be preserved
while reducing some of the financial costs, disruption, and
inconvenience associated with regular MDT team meetings? How might the
advantages of the MDT approach be extended to the management of patients
with rare or unusual problems related to malignancy or its treatment?
Are there effective alternatives to face-to-face MDT meetings?
The
concept of the cancer MDT was formally introduced into UK practice in
the 1990s. A major impetus was the publication of the Calman-Hine report
in 1995 and the consequent drive to ensure that all patients with
cancer, no matter where they might live, and to whom they might have
been referred, would have equal access to a high and uniform standard of
care (Haward, 2006).
If ubiquity is a criterion for success, then the concept of the MDT
meeting must be judged successful. There are at least 1500 cancer MDTs
currently active in the United Kingdom, and the annual cost, in staff
time alone, is over £100 million (Taylor et al, 2010).
concept of the cancer MDT was formally introduced into UK practice in
the 1990s. A major impetus was the publication of the Calman-Hine report
in 1995 and the consequent drive to ensure that all patients with
cancer, no matter where they might live, and to whom they might have
been referred, would have equal access to a high and uniform standard of
care (Haward, 2006).
If ubiquity is a criterion for success, then the concept of the MDT
meeting must be judged successful. There are at least 1500 cancer MDTs
currently active in the United Kingdom, and the annual cost, in staff
time alone, is over £100 million (Taylor et al, 2010).
There is some evidence that MDT meetings have improved outcomes for patients with cancer (Forrest et al, 2005; Stephens et al, 2006; Back et al, 2007; Bydder et al, 2009; MacDermid et al, 2009; Friedland et al, 2011; Kesson et al, 2012; Saini et al, 2012).
There is a reasonable belief that MDT working has achieved what it was
supposed to achieve; it has helped to ensure equality of access to
high-quality care for all patients with cancer in the United Kingdom.
These improvements have, however, not been without costs, both direct
and indirect, and there is also evidence that some teams function more
effectively than others (Fleissig et al, 2006; Taylor et al, 2012).
One of the main problems with current practice is the need for members
of the team to meet regularly in order to discuss patients. There is an
opportunity cost here: surgeons discussing patients are not operating
and radiologists presenting the results of previous imaging
investigations are not at their workstations (Kane et al, 2007).
Consequently, it is worth exploring new ways of MDT working that are
more efficient in the use of health professionals’ time and that might
allow the benefits of the MDT approach to be extended to a wider variety
of patients and clinical problems.
There is a reasonable belief that MDT working has achieved what it was
supposed to achieve; it has helped to ensure equality of access to
high-quality care for all patients with cancer in the United Kingdom.
These improvements have, however, not been without costs, both direct
and indirect, and there is also evidence that some teams function more
effectively than others (Fleissig et al, 2006; Taylor et al, 2012).
One of the main problems with current practice is the need for members
of the team to meet regularly in order to discuss patients. There is an
opportunity cost here: surgeons discussing patients are not operating
and radiologists presenting the results of previous imaging
investigations are not at their workstations (Kane et al, 2007).
Consequently, it is worth exploring new ways of MDT working that are
more efficient in the use of health professionals’ time and that might
allow the benefits of the MDT approach to be extended to a wider variety
of patients and clinical problems.
The concept of
the vMDT is gradually finding its way into the design of pathways for
cancer care, but the expression means different things to different
people. Part of the reason for this confusion is that there is no real
definition of what is, and what is not, a virtual team. In order to
address this fundamental problem, this paper will identify the aspects
of virtuality that might be useful in the context of the cancer MDT and
classify them in such a way as to produce a preliminary taxonomy.
the vMDT is gradually finding its way into the design of pathways for
cancer care, but the expression means different things to different
people. Part of the reason for this confusion is that there is no real
definition of what is, and what is not, a virtual team. In order to
address this fundamental problem, this paper will identify the aspects
of virtuality that might be useful in the context of the cancer MDT and
classify them in such a way as to produce a preliminary taxonomy.
Top of page
A possible taxonomy for a virtual MDT
- Background:
- Methods:
- Results:
- Conclusion:
- A possible taxonomy for a virtual MDT
- Technology for virtual MDT
- What is already known about virtual teams?
- Potential barriers to implementation of a ‘virtual MDT’
- Towards an implementation strategy for a virtual MDT
- Conclusions
- References
- Acknowledgements
- Figures and Tables
The
assumption underlying this approach to defining and classifying vMDTs
is that it is not always possible for all the essential members of the
team to be present in the same room; they are, in the jargon, not
colocated. Table 1a and b defines and demonstrates the characteristics of conventional (face to face) and completely virtual teams.
assumption underlying this approach to defining and classifying vMDTs
is that it is not always possible for all the essential members of the
team to be present in the same room; they are, in the jargon, not
colocated. Table 1a and b defines and demonstrates the characteristics of conventional (face to face) and completely virtual teams.
An
MDT that, for reasons of convenience or geography, chooses to use some
form of teleconferencing is not a fully vMDT. The approach is not
particularly novel and has been well described in the literature (Axford et al, 2002; Kunkler et al, 2007; Hazin and Qaddoumi, 2010).
Asynchronous communication is one of the defining features of a vMDT
and has been used in a series of projects (AFIP, iPath, UICC-TPCC,
Virtual International Pathology Institute; http://www.diagnomx.eu/vipi/home.php) in diagnostic pathology. This approach, reviewed by Kayser et al (2011),
was specific to the discipline of pathology. It provided expert opinion
at a distance, but could not be considered multidisciplinary.
MDT that, for reasons of convenience or geography, chooses to use some
form of teleconferencing is not a fully vMDT. The approach is not
particularly novel and has been well described in the literature (Axford et al, 2002; Kunkler et al, 2007; Hazin and Qaddoumi, 2010).
Asynchronous communication is one of the defining features of a vMDT
and has been used in a series of projects (AFIP, iPath, UICC-TPCC,
Virtual International Pathology Institute; http://www.diagnomx.eu/vipi/home.php) in diagnostic pathology. This approach, reviewed by Kayser et al (2011),
was specific to the discipline of pathology. It provided expert opinion
at a distance, but could not be considered multidisciplinary.
A completely vMDT should have all of the characteristics summarised in the second column of Table 1a.
Hybrid forms of MDT, between the conventional face-to-face MDT and the
fully vMDT, are possible but it is reasonable to regard only those MDT
meetings that are asynchronous as truly virtual. This leads to the
following definition of a vMDT:
Hybrid forms of MDT, between the conventional face-to-face MDT and the
fully vMDT, are possible but it is reasonable to regard only those MDT
meetings that are asynchronous as truly virtual. This leads to the
following definition of a vMDT:
A vMDT meeting
involves participants who may, or may not, be part of a permanent team
and who interact with each other non-simultaneously using shared
clinical data. They may operate at a local or a national level and their
remit is not necessarily confined to tumours presenting at a particular
anatomical site.
involves participants who may, or may not, be part of a permanent team
and who interact with each other non-simultaneously using shared
clinical data. They may operate at a local or a national level and their
remit is not necessarily confined to tumours presenting at a particular
anatomical site.
This definition deliberately
excludes any specification of the form of communication. Communication
could include: text-based comments; images with annotations; short
segments of audio or video, any or all of which could be uploaded onto a
web-based system used to host the vMDT.
excludes any specification of the form of communication. Communication
could include: text-based comments; images with annotations; short
segments of audio or video, any or all of which could be uploaded onto a
web-based system used to host the vMDT.
Top of page
Technology for virtual MDT
- Background:
- Methods:
- Results:
- Conclusion:
- A possible taxonomy for a virtual MDT
- Technology for virtual MDT
- What is already known about virtual teams?
- Potential barriers to implementation of a ‘virtual MDT’
- Towards an implementation strategy for a virtual MDT
- Conclusions
- References
- Acknowledgements
- Figures and Tables
The
cardinal principle should be that the technology is subservient to the
needs of the team, and not vice versa. There are various ways in which
technology can help people to work together. One way to classify the
technology is to consider the information that can be transferred and
then consider it within the context of a fully vMDT.
cardinal principle should be that the technology is subservient to the
needs of the team, and not vice versa. There are various ways in which
technology can help people to work together. One way to classify the
technology is to consider the information that can be transferred and
then consider it within the context of a fully vMDT.
Data-only systems, such as email and messaging services, allow
the exchange of text and images. These systems are easy to implement for
a vMDT but may not provide the richness of content that is likely to be
necessary.
Decision Support Systems are a particular subtype of data-only
systems in which the input (data) are used to provide an output that is
usually in the form of a suggestion or recommendation. Decision support
systems (Patkar et al, 2011)
could be seamlessly integrated into the processes used to support the v
MDT. Simple examples could include: the use of such automated systems
to screen patients for eligibility for clinical trials and thereby
identify which patients might be suitable for enrolment into clinical
studies (McNair et al, 2008);
linkage between the clinical information entered into the system and
clinical guidelines – this could automatically generate a
guideline-based recommendation as a point of departure for further
discussion (Patkar et al, 2012);
and integration of data on molecular profiling of patients’ tumours so
that specific targeted therapies could be suggested for each individual (Blackhall et al, 2013).
Audio-only systems, such as telephony and voicemail, transmit the
spoken word. They involve, as in a conference call, participants all
being available at the same time. Consequently, these systems will have
limited utility for a vMDT.
Video systems allow the transmission of both sound and vision. In
the context of a vMDT, a short video segment in which a patient
discussed his/her current state of knowledge, concerns, and expectations, would add an important extra dimension to the online discussions.
There
is, increasingly, a blurring of the boundaries between the classical
route for the electronic delivery of information, telephony, and
information transfer via the Internet. Many organisations now used
web-based telephone systems that, to the user, seem identical to older,
wire-based, systems. Groupware is the generic term used to
describe software, usually web-based, that can be used to facilitate
meetings and interactions between geographically dispersed individuals.
is, increasingly, a blurring of the boundaries between the classical
route for the electronic delivery of information, telephony, and
information transfer via the Internet. Many organisations now used
web-based telephone systems that, to the user, seem identical to older,
wire-based, systems. Groupware is the generic term used to
describe software, usually web-based, that can be used to facilitate
meetings and interactions between geographically dispersed individuals.
There are several important factors that need to be considered when choosing the technology to support a virtual team (Table 2).
Top of page
What is already known about virtual teams?
- Background:
- Methods:
- Results:
- Conclusion:
- A possible taxonomy for a virtual MDT
- Technology for virtual MDT
- What is already known about virtual teams?
- Potential barriers to implementation of a ‘virtual MDT’
- Towards an implementation strategy for a virtual MDT
- Conclusions
- References
- Acknowledgements
- Figures and Tables
Virtual microscopy (Fonyad et al, 2012; Kayser, 2012)
is an application that has already been used in health care and its
conceptual basis is very similar to that of a virtual team. Virtual
microscopy could be incorporated into the vMDT, enabling detailed
discussions of pathological findings to inform the conclusions reached
by the vMDT.
is an application that has already been used in health care and its
conceptual basis is very similar to that of a virtual team. Virtual
microscopy could be incorporated into the vMDT, enabling detailed
discussions of pathological findings to inform the conclusions reached
by the vMDT.
There is a wealth of information
available on the role of virtual teams in the industrial and commercial
sectors. Standard texts (Lipnack and Stamps, 2000; Duarte and Snyder, 2006)
contain accounts of disaster as well as of success. The topic has
spawned its own jargon, the result of which is that different terms are
often used to describe very similar and very obvious concepts. Recent
reviews have, however, pointed out that there is remarkably little
empirical fieldwork in this area (Baltes et al, 2002; Kirkman et al, 2002; Axtell et al, 2004; Powell et al, 2004; Hertel et al, 2005; Curseu et al, 2008; Ebrahim et al, 2009).
Most studies deal with artificial laboratory simulations, often
oversimplified, some using ‘teams’ of only two members. What follows is
an identification and clarification of the key concepts that are
relevant to vMDTs for the management of cancer and its consequences.
available on the role of virtual teams in the industrial and commercial
sectors. Standard texts (Lipnack and Stamps, 2000; Duarte and Snyder, 2006)
contain accounts of disaster as well as of success. The topic has
spawned its own jargon, the result of which is that different terms are
often used to describe very similar and very obvious concepts. Recent
reviews have, however, pointed out that there is remarkably little
empirical fieldwork in this area (Baltes et al, 2002; Kirkman et al, 2002; Axtell et al, 2004; Powell et al, 2004; Hertel et al, 2005; Curseu et al, 2008; Ebrahim et al, 2009).
Most studies deal with artificial laboratory simulations, often
oversimplified, some using ‘teams’ of only two members. What follows is
an identification and clarification of the key concepts that are
relevant to vMDTs for the management of cancer and its consequences.
When
people meet around a table they are aware of each other. They are,
whether they like it or not, socially connected. The term social presence
is used to describe the extent to which a virtual system facilitates
this type of personal connection between team members. When discussions
take place, information is exchanged. In a face-to-face meeting, this
communication is both verbal and nonverbal. Body language provides
additional information about team members’ feelings, such as boredom,
frustration, anger, or anxiety. Information richness describes
the amount and variety of information that a virtual system can handle,
including data, images, tone of voice, facial expression, body language,
or environmental cues. Sometimes there is simply too much information
and participants become distracted by peripherals (that tie is really
horrible, why does he make that horrible slurping noise as he drinks his
tea?). This is, in the world of virtual teams, referred to as surplus meaning,
there is too much information richness or social presence and the
result is that team members become distracted and lose concentration.
people meet around a table they are aware of each other. They are,
whether they like it or not, socially connected. The term social presence
is used to describe the extent to which a virtual system facilitates
this type of personal connection between team members. When discussions
take place, information is exchanged. In a face-to-face meeting, this
communication is both verbal and nonverbal. Body language provides
additional information about team members’ feelings, such as boredom,
frustration, anger, or anxiety. Information richness describes
the amount and variety of information that a virtual system can handle,
including data, images, tone of voice, facial expression, body language,
or environmental cues. Sometimes there is simply too much information
and participants become distracted by peripherals (that tie is really
horrible, why does he make that horrible slurping noise as he drinks his
tea?). This is, in the world of virtual teams, referred to as surplus meaning,
there is too much information richness or social presence and the
result is that team members become distracted and lose concentration.
A
vMDT for the management of cancer or its consequences should combine a
high degree of social presence with sufficient information richness
while avoiding surplus meaning. The process of setting up any virtual
team must respect the fact that different teams will have, or will
develop, different cultures and that, provided the teams function well,
this cultural heterogeneity is to be welcomed rather than feared.
vMDT for the management of cancer or its consequences should combine a
high degree of social presence with sufficient information richness
while avoiding surplus meaning. The process of setting up any virtual
team must respect the fact that different teams will have, or will
develop, different cultures and that, provided the teams function well,
this cultural heterogeneity is to be welcomed rather than feared.
Top of page
Potential barriers to implementation of a ‘virtual MDT’
- Background:
- Methods:
- Results:
- Conclusion:
- A possible taxonomy for a virtual MDT
- Technology for virtual MDT
- What is already known about virtual teams?
- Potential barriers to implementation of a ‘virtual MDT’
- Towards an implementation strategy for a virtual MDT
- Conclusions
- References
- Acknowledgements
- Figures and Tables
Technology
The
chief barrier to the implementation of a fully vMDT is the fact that,
in oncological practice, there are very few precedents for this way of
working and, given the innate conservatism of many professionals, it may
be difficult to persuade participants that the effort involved in
learning the skills required is a worthwhile investment. This problem
will be exacerbated if the technology is unreliable or inefficient.
chief barrier to the implementation of a fully vMDT is the fact that,
in oncological practice, there are very few precedents for this way of
working and, given the innate conservatism of many professionals, it may
be difficult to persuade participants that the effort involved in
learning the skills required is a worthwhile investment. This problem
will be exacerbated if the technology is unreliable or inefficient.
Team
members do not need to understand the technology in order to use it.
Anyone who is aware of how teenagers use Facebook knows that web-based
communication tools can be used creatively and effectively by those who
neither understand, nor ever wish to understand, the technology
involved.
members do not need to understand the technology in order to use it.
Anyone who is aware of how teenagers use Facebook knows that web-based
communication tools can be used creatively and effectively by those who
neither understand, nor ever wish to understand, the technology
involved.
Communal memory is an important aspect of
MDT working. The virtual team should not lose this attribute and,
depending upon the technology employed, communal memory may even be
enhanced – a searchable repository of problems and outcomes could be an
invaluable resource. One feature of the vMDT is that there can be
automatic capture of the extent to which individuals have participated
and contributed. This can provide a tool for collective recall, although
some participants might feel threatened by this and there is a moral
question concerning the extent to which our working lives ought to be
monitored.
MDT working. The virtual team should not lose this attribute and,
depending upon the technology employed, communal memory may even be
enhanced – a searchable repository of problems and outcomes could be an
invaluable resource. One feature of the vMDT is that there can be
automatic capture of the extent to which individuals have participated
and contributed. This can provide a tool for collective recall, although
some participants might feel threatened by this and there is a moral
question concerning the extent to which our working lives ought to be
monitored.
The sociologist Richard Sennett has
recently described some of the problems he experienced while trying to
work within a virtual team using the, now defunct, Google Wave system (Sennett, 2012).
The team members found that the architecture of the software limited
and distorted their ability to communicate. Sennett attributed this to
the fact that the software was unable to accommodate a conversational
approach and hence forced participants into a more assertive form of
communication, point followed by counterpoint, and, as a result, the
flow of ideas was linear and hierarchical rather than lateral and
inclusive. Cancer MDTs are already sufficiently hierarchical and it
would be a retrograde step if we were to adopt an approach to the vMDT
that restricted, rather than broadened, discussion. Furthermore, any
technical support that is required needs to be instantly available.
Asking team members to log a problem with a help desk and then expecting
them to wait for days for a reply will not encourage participation.
recently described some of the problems he experienced while trying to
work within a virtual team using the, now defunct, Google Wave system (Sennett, 2012).
The team members found that the architecture of the software limited
and distorted their ability to communicate. Sennett attributed this to
the fact that the software was unable to accommodate a conversational
approach and hence forced participants into a more assertive form of
communication, point followed by counterpoint, and, as a result, the
flow of ideas was linear and hierarchical rather than lateral and
inclusive. Cancer MDTs are already sufficiently hierarchical and it
would be a retrograde step if we were to adopt an approach to the vMDT
that restricted, rather than broadened, discussion. Furthermore, any
technical support that is required needs to be instantly available.
Asking team members to log a problem with a help desk and then expecting
them to wait for days for a reply will not encourage participation.
Tribalism
Tribal
allegiances and social identities may, just as in a traditional MDT,
cause problems with the effectiveness of a virtual team (Au, 2010). In the context of the cancer MDT, tribes may be disciplinary (e.g., endocrinologists; vascular surgeons) or institutional (clinicians at teaching hospital A; clinicians at district general hospital B) or there may be tribes within tribes (endocrinologists at hospital A vs
surgeons at hospital B). The vMDT automatically captures all input and,
by classifying contributions at both the individual and the group
level, it should be possible to identify tribal behaviour and, by
demonstrating its existence, discourage its persistence.
allegiances and social identities may, just as in a traditional MDT,
cause problems with the effectiveness of a virtual team (Au, 2010). In the context of the cancer MDT, tribes may be disciplinary (e.g., endocrinologists; vascular surgeons) or institutional (clinicians at teaching hospital A; clinicians at district general hospital B) or there may be tribes within tribes (endocrinologists at hospital A vs
surgeons at hospital B). The vMDT automatically captures all input and,
by classifying contributions at both the individual and the group
level, it should be possible to identify tribal behaviour and, by
demonstrating its existence, discourage its persistence.
Lack of incentive
If
participation in a vMDT is not in an individual’s job description, then
there is a problem with credit, reward, and recompense. This will apply
at the individual, departmental, and institutional levels.
Participation costs time, time costs money, and if the money cannot be
charged or recouped, then full and enthusiastic participation is
unlikely.
participation in a vMDT is not in an individual’s job description, then
there is a problem with credit, reward, and recompense. This will apply
at the individual, departmental, and institutional levels.
Participation costs time, time costs money, and if the money cannot be
charged or recouped, then full and enthusiastic participation is
unlikely.
Leadership
The performance of a MDT is critically dependent upon the quality of its leadership (West et al, 2003; Ruhstaller et al, 2006; Lamb et al, 2012a).
Those who would lead a virtual team must have qualities over and above
those normally associated with a good MDT leader. The virtual team
leader needs to have some familiarity with the uses and limitations of
the technology. They require both the inclination and the time to deal
with work that is not packaged into a single period of time but which
will ebb and flow unpredictably over a period of days. Leading a virtual
team may be a fairly thankless task. There are none of the immediate
boosts to the ego that the leader of a face-to-face team might enjoy.
Identifying good leaders for virtual teams will not be easy; retaining
their interest and goodwill may be even harder.
Those who would lead a virtual team must have qualities over and above
those normally associated with a good MDT leader. The virtual team
leader needs to have some familiarity with the uses and limitations of
the technology. They require both the inclination and the time to deal
with work that is not packaged into a single period of time but which
will ebb and flow unpredictably over a period of days. Leading a virtual
team may be a fairly thankless task. There are none of the immediate
boosts to the ego that the leader of a face-to-face team might enjoy.
Identifying good leaders for virtual teams will not be easy; retaining
their interest and goodwill may be even harder.
Communication style
There
is a risk that communication within the vMDT might become stilted. For
most people, talking is easier than typing and electronic communications
are characterised by terseness and spelling mistakes. There is also the
risk of the opposite – younger clinicians, brought up on Facebook, may
forget that the vMDT may be part of the clinical record and start using
an overly informal style. Mentoring and modulating the style in which
the vMDT communicates is one of the responsibilities of the team leader.
is a risk that communication within the vMDT might become stilted. For
most people, talking is easier than typing and electronic communications
are characterised by terseness and spelling mistakes. There is also the
risk of the opposite – younger clinicians, brought up on Facebook, may
forget that the vMDT may be part of the clinical record and start using
an overly informal style. Mentoring and modulating the style in which
the vMDT communicates is one of the responsibilities of the team leader.
Top of page![Figure 1 - Unfortunately we are unable to provide accessible alternative text for this. If you require assistance to access this image, please contact help@nature.com or the author]()
(A) Flow chart for a vMDT illustrating processes from referral to feedback. (B) Detail of processes involved in setting up vMDT discussion.
Full figure and legend (238K)
![Table 3 - Advantages and disadvantages of a virtual multidisciplinary team (MDT) compared with traditional MDT meeting - Unfortunately we are unable to provide accessible alternative text for this. If you require assistance to access this image, please contact help@nature.com or the author]()
Full table
Towards an implementation strategy for a virtual MDT
- Background:
- Methods:
- Results:
- Conclusion:
- A possible taxonomy for a virtual MDT
- Technology for virtual MDT
- What is already known about virtual teams?
- Potential barriers to implementation of a ‘virtual MDT’
- Towards an implementation strategy for a virtual MDT
- Conclusions
- References
- Acknowledgements
- Figures and Tables
The
previous discussion of barriers to implementation has already given
some idea of the issues that need to be resolved if a vMDT is to be
effective. Any attempt to set up a vMDT has to start with the
involvement of the team members themselves. Imposed solutions are
unlikely to succeed. Participation, from the beginning of the process,
will bring a sense of power and ownership (Kerber and Buono, 2004; Cordery and Soo, 2008).
The technology should be appraised and selected after, but not before,
team members have agreed about how they would wish to work together. The
vMDT should be set up so that it will replace, rather than be an
addition to, existing working practices.
previous discussion of barriers to implementation has already given
some idea of the issues that need to be resolved if a vMDT is to be
effective. Any attempt to set up a vMDT has to start with the
involvement of the team members themselves. Imposed solutions are
unlikely to succeed. Participation, from the beginning of the process,
will bring a sense of power and ownership (Kerber and Buono, 2004; Cordery and Soo, 2008).
The technology should be appraised and selected after, but not before,
team members have agreed about how they would wish to work together. The
vMDT should be set up so that it will replace, rather than be an
addition to, existing working practices.
The size and
composition of a virtual team are crucial to its success. If the team
is too large, communication becomes difficult as the number of potential
interactions between participants will increase exponentially. If the
team is too small, it may lack expertise and breadth of opinion,
particularly if it is being asked to deal with complex problems. One
solution is to have a core team who are able, as required, to call on
the expertise of additional clinicians. The idea of a problem-based MDT,
whose membership changes according to the nature of each individual
problem that is discussed, is appealing but it might be difficult to
maintain the interest of potential participants. The presence of a
defined goal for a defined group will improve the sense of social
cohesion among group members.
composition of a virtual team are crucial to its success. If the team
is too large, communication becomes difficult as the number of potential
interactions between participants will increase exponentially. If the
team is too small, it may lack expertise and breadth of opinion,
particularly if it is being asked to deal with complex problems. One
solution is to have a core team who are able, as required, to call on
the expertise of additional clinicians. The idea of a problem-based MDT,
whose membership changes according to the nature of each individual
problem that is discussed, is appealing but it might be difficult to
maintain the interest of potential participants. The presence of a
defined goal for a defined group will improve the sense of social
cohesion among group members.
The easiest way to
decide upon the membership of a vMDT is to base the virtual team upon an
existing MDT. This has several advantages: members know each other and
their foibles, and as they have established patterns of working
together, a degree of social cohesion already exists; they are likely to
regard the approach as supportive – adding to their capabilities, while
making it easier for each individual to contribute; and it is
reasonably straightforward to establish what is acceptable and what is
not. However, there are some disadvantages associated with converting an
existing team to a virtual team: dysfunctional relationships and
working practices may already be entrenched and the move to a virtual
team may exacerbate the problems; the problems that need solutions may
not have a team available or an existing team may not have the full
repertoire of skills or expertise available for the task; and the
approach involves consolidation rather than innovation, when it may be
innovation that is required.
decide upon the membership of a vMDT is to base the virtual team upon an
existing MDT. This has several advantages: members know each other and
their foibles, and as they have established patterns of working
together, a degree of social cohesion already exists; they are likely to
regard the approach as supportive – adding to their capabilities, while
making it easier for each individual to contribute; and it is
reasonably straightforward to establish what is acceptable and what is
not. However, there are some disadvantages associated with converting an
existing team to a virtual team: dysfunctional relationships and
working practices may already be entrenched and the move to a virtual
team may exacerbate the problems; the problems that need solutions may
not have a team available or an existing team may not have the full
repertoire of skills or expertise available for the task; and the
approach involves consolidation rather than innovation, when it may be
innovation that is required.
Setting up a virtual
team from scratch has its difficulties. It is not easy to turn a
collection of strangers, who may never meet face to face, into a
cohesive social unit. It is particularly difficult when the team members
and coordinators are also trying to come to terms with unfamiliar
technology. It is naive to assume that such adversity will somehow bring
the group together. The effect could be quite the reverse – creating a
group of individuals who are resentful of being used as guinea pigs.
There are clear advantages to setting up a completely new team: there
are no historical grievances and the team members can be selected so
that all the expertise that is required will be available. An initial
face-to-face meeting, in the form of a retreat or an away day, can help
ease some of the problems that arise when a group of geographically
dispersed strangers are asked to work effectively together.
team from scratch has its difficulties. It is not easy to turn a
collection of strangers, who may never meet face to face, into a
cohesive social unit. It is particularly difficult when the team members
and coordinators are also trying to come to terms with unfamiliar
technology. It is naive to assume that such adversity will somehow bring
the group together. The effect could be quite the reverse – creating a
group of individuals who are resentful of being used as guinea pigs.
There are clear advantages to setting up a completely new team: there
are no historical grievances and the team members can be selected so
that all the expertise that is required will be available. An initial
face-to-face meeting, in the form of a retreat or an away day, can help
ease some of the problems that arise when a group of geographically
dispersed strangers are asked to work effectively together.
Data
protection and confidentiality are important issues. There are wide
variations in policies between trusts and, if a vMDT is to work across
several trusts, the procedures will have to comply with the criteria set
out by the most restrictive of the participating units. One way round
this potential problem is to strip all distributed data and images of
personal and institutional identifiers. This involves extra work
initially and at the end of the process where the recommendations are
fed back to the referring clinicians, but does mean that the salient
features of each problem can be discussed openly and without elaborate
security procedures.
protection and confidentiality are important issues. There are wide
variations in policies between trusts and, if a vMDT is to work across
several trusts, the procedures will have to comply with the criteria set
out by the most restrictive of the participating units. One way round
this potential problem is to strip all distributed data and images of
personal and institutional identifiers. This involves extra work
initially and at the end of the process where the recommendations are
fed back to the referring clinicians, but does mean that the salient
features of each problem can be discussed openly and without elaborate
security procedures.
Figure 1
illustrates one approach to the organisation of work flow through the v
MDT. A key feature is that patients’ views can be incorporated into the
process from the very beginning. The initial scenarios are prepared
using direct input from each patient. At the end of the process, each
patient is given a summary of the online discussions that explains, in
simple language using lay terms, the nature and provenance of any
recommendations.
illustrates one approach to the organisation of work flow through the v
MDT. A key feature is that patients’ views can be incorporated into the
process from the very beginning. The initial scenarios are prepared
using direct input from each patient. At the end of the process, each
patient is given a summary of the online discussions that explains, in
simple language using lay terms, the nature and provenance of any
recommendations.
Figure 1.
(A) Flow chart for a vMDT illustrating processes from referral to feedback. (B) Detail of processes involved in setting up vMDT discussion.Full figure and legend (238K)
Any
changes to the organisation and delivery of MDT discussions should not
be allowed to compromise the effectiveness of the existing process. A
document published by the National Cancer Action team (NCAT) outlines
the characteristics of an effective MDT (NCAT, 2010),
and this provides a framework within which some of the potential
advantages and disadvantages of a wholly vMDT might be considered. Table 3 summarises an analysis based on this approach.
changes to the organisation and delivery of MDT discussions should not
be allowed to compromise the effectiveness of the existing process. A
document published by the National Cancer Action team (NCAT) outlines
the characteristics of an effective MDT (NCAT, 2010),
and this provides a framework within which some of the potential
advantages and disadvantages of a wholly vMDT might be considered. Table 3 summarises an analysis based on this approach.
Table 3 - Advantages and disadvantages of a virtual multidisciplinary team (MDT) compared with traditional MDT meeting.
Full table Evaluation of the effectiveness of each vMDT should be built in from the very beginning (Lamb et al, 2012b).
Those that are successful provide an example to others, and those that
fail provide counterexamples and lessons for learning. Table 4
summarises some of the domains that need to be considered when
assessing the performance of a vMDT. With an increasing emphasis on
ensuring that patients are involved in decisions made about their care (Coulter and Collins, 2011),
it is important to incorporate patient-related outcome measures (PROMs)
into the evaluation of the vMDT. These measures should go beyond the
traditional measures of quality of life (de Haes et al, 2000) and should include patient satisfaction (http://www.nhssurveys.org) (Jean-Pierre et al, 2011; Kamo et al, 2011) and patients’ perceptions of the extent to which they felt that they were involved in the decision-making process (Elwyn et al, 2005; Kriston et al, 2010).
Those that are successful provide an example to others, and those that
fail provide counterexamples and lessons for learning. Table 4
summarises some of the domains that need to be considered when
assessing the performance of a vMDT. With an increasing emphasis on
ensuring that patients are involved in decisions made about their care (Coulter and Collins, 2011),
it is important to incorporate patient-related outcome measures (PROMs)
into the evaluation of the vMDT. These measures should go beyond the
traditional measures of quality of life (de Haes et al, 2000) and should include patient satisfaction (http://www.nhssurveys.org) (Jean-Pierre et al, 2011; Kamo et al, 2011) and patients’ perceptions of the extent to which they felt that they were involved in the decision-making process (Elwyn et al, 2005; Kriston et al, 2010).
Top of page
Conclusions
- Background:
- Methods:
- Results:
- Conclusion:
- A possible taxonomy for a virtual MDT
- Technology for virtual MDT
- What is already known about virtual teams?
- Potential barriers to implementation of a ‘virtual MDT’
- Towards an implementation strategy for a virtual MDT
- Conclusions
- References
- Acknowledgements
- Figures and Tables
The
potential role of the vMDT will be to extend the advantages of the MDT
approach into areas that are currently underserved. These could include:
the treatment of rare or unusual tumours; the assessment and management
of patients who have unusually severe late effects following previous
treatment; the investigation and management of patients who present with
tumours of unknown primary site; the management of recurrent disease in
patients previously discussed by a traditional MDT at their original
presentation. Current arrangements for re-discussion are highly variable
and the breadth of expertise that the vMDT could offer might be of
particular benefit to patients with unusual or difficult problems.
potential role of the vMDT will be to extend the advantages of the MDT
approach into areas that are currently underserved. These could include:
the treatment of rare or unusual tumours; the assessment and management
of patients who have unusually severe late effects following previous
treatment; the investigation and management of patients who present with
tumours of unknown primary site; the management of recurrent disease in
patients previously discussed by a traditional MDT at their original
presentation. Current arrangements for re-discussion are highly variable
and the breadth of expertise that the vMDT could offer might be of
particular benefit to patients with unusual or difficult problems.
Any
recommendations that the virtual team makes should be as appropriate
and as robust as those made by a traditional team. The process of
engagement and participation should be as easy, and certainly no more
difficult, than that associated with a conventional team. Convenience
should be increased because of lack of need for a fixed time and place
of meeting, and costs should be less. There should be evidence of the
ability to expand into clinical areas where locally based expertise is
unavailable. The vMDT should be judged by all the standards that apply
to conventional MDT, but with the following additional outcomes: proof
that team members have embraced the technology; proof that team members
find the vMDT more convenient than the traditional MDT and that this
convenience translates into more frequent attendance and deeper
engagement; proof that the approach is affordable.
recommendations that the virtual team makes should be as appropriate
and as robust as those made by a traditional team. The process of
engagement and participation should be as easy, and certainly no more
difficult, than that associated with a conventional team. Convenience
should be increased because of lack of need for a fixed time and place
of meeting, and costs should be less. There should be evidence of the
ability to expand into clinical areas where locally based expertise is
unavailable. The vMDT should be judged by all the standards that apply
to conventional MDT, but with the following additional outcomes: proof
that team members have embraced the technology; proof that team members
find the vMDT more convenient than the traditional MDT and that this
convenience translates into more frequent attendance and deeper
engagement; proof that the approach is affordable.
The
truly vMDT, non-colocated and asynchronous, offers a potential means
for dealing with some of the limitations and difficulties associated
with conventional MDT meetings. However, vMDTs should not be introduced
unless and until:
truly vMDT, non-colocated and asynchronous, offers a potential means
for dealing with some of the limitations and difficulties associated
with conventional MDT meetings. However, vMDTs should not be introduced
unless and until:
- there is an established framework for their constitution, organisation, and function;
- there is proof that the technology and IT systems are acceptable to team members;
- mechanisms are in place to ensure that technical and IT support is available at all times;
- there are processes to ensure that each individual team is evaluated from its inception.
Data
on team organisation and performance should be pooled for all teams and
should be available in real time so that we are able to assess not only
how well or how badly each team is doing, but whether or not the
overall approach is improving the management of patients with cancer.
Given all these considerations, it is highly unlikely that existing
site-specific MDTs can be effectively replaced by vMDTs.
on team organisation and performance should be pooled for all teams and
should be available in real time so that we are able to assess not only
how well or how badly each team is doing, but whether or not the
overall approach is improving the management of patients with cancer.
Given all these considerations, it is highly unlikely that existing
site-specific MDTs can be effectively replaced by vMDTs.
There
is promise here, but clarity and preparation are required in order to
maximise the potential that the approach will deliver on its promises.
Otherwise, a decade from now, there will be only scattered accounts of a
few hopeful experiments. Clinicians will still not know whether or an
MDT that is fully virtual can offer significant advantages over
traditional methods such as face-to-face meetings or video conferencing.
If vMDTs are to make any useful contribution to the management of
patients with cancer, then a nationally coordinated and planned
programme of research is required. The ad hoc development will not lead to meaningful progress.
is promise here, but clarity and preparation are required in order to
maximise the potential that the approach will deliver on its promises.
Otherwise, a decade from now, there will be only scattered accounts of a
few hopeful experiments. Clinicians will still not know whether or an
MDT that is fully virtual can offer significant advantages over
traditional methods such as face-to-face meetings or video conferencing.
If vMDTs are to make any useful contribution to the management of
patients with cancer, then a nationally coordinated and planned
programme of research is required. The ad hoc development will not lead to meaningful progress.
The
MDT meetings were introduced somewhat precipitously into cancer care in
the United Kingdom in the mid to late 1990s. There was little initial
planning and structure, and virtually no prospective assessment of
performance or outcome. This all came later (Kee et al, 2004; Fleissig et al, 2006; Lanceley et al, 2008; Lamb et al, 2011a, 2011b, 2012a)
and, as a result, despite nearly two decades of MDT team working, the
extent to which this approach has directly contributed to improvements
in cancer care in the United Kingdom is still unclear. We should not
allow ourselves to be seduced by the apparent charms of the ‘vMDT’ into
making the same mistake again.
MDT meetings were introduced somewhat precipitously into cancer care in
the United Kingdom in the mid to late 1990s. There was little initial
planning and structure, and virtually no prospective assessment of
performance or outcome. This all came later (Kee et al, 2004; Fleissig et al, 2006; Lanceley et al, 2008; Lamb et al, 2011a, 2011b, 2012a)
and, as a result, despite nearly two decades of MDT team working, the
extent to which this approach has directly contributed to improvements
in cancer care in the United Kingdom is still unclear. We should not
allow ourselves to be seduced by the apparent charms of the ‘vMDT’ into
making the same mistake again.
Top of page
Notes
This
work is published under the standard license to publish agreement.
After 12 months the work will become freely available and the license
terms will switch to a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share
Alike 3.0 Unported License.
work is published under the standard license to publish agreement.
After 12 months the work will become freely available and the license
terms will switch to a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share
Alike 3.0 Unported License.
Top of page
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- A possible taxonomy for a virtual MDT
- Technology for virtual MDT
- What is already known about virtual teams?
- Potential barriers to implementation of a ‘virtual MDT’
- Towards an implementation strategy for a virtual MDT
- Conclusions
- References
- Acknowledgements
- Figures and Tables
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Top of page
Acknowledgements
- Background:
- Methods:
- Results:
- Conclusion:
- A possible taxonomy for a virtual MDT
- Technology for virtual MDT
- What is already known about virtual teams?
- Potential barriers to implementation of a ‘virtual MDT’
- Towards an implementation strategy for a virtual MDT
- Conclusions
- References
- Acknowledgements
- Figures and Tables
This
work was supported by Macmillan Cancer Relief as part of the National
Cancer Survivorship Initiative (NCSI) – the views expressed are solely
those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of Macmillan
Cancer Relief, the NCSI, or the Department of Health. We are grateful to
the many colleagues with whom we have discussed these ideas over the
past few years – in particular, Professor Jane Maher, Dr Gill Levitt, Ms
Chris Steele, and Dr Lesley Smith.
work was supported by Macmillan Cancer Relief as part of the National
Cancer Survivorship Initiative (NCSI) – the views expressed are solely
those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of Macmillan
Cancer Relief, the NCSI, or the Department of Health. We are grateful to
the many colleagues with whom we have discussed these ideas over the
past few years – in particular, Professor Jane Maher, Dr Gill Levitt, Ms
Chris Steele, and Dr Lesley Smith.
To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/
British Journal of Cancer - What is a virtual multidisciplinary team (vMDT)[quest]
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scientific publication journal-Analysis Effective Factors in New product development Using ANP Method in an Automotive Industry (Saipa industrial company)
Analysis Effective Factors in New product development Using ANP
Method in an Automotive Industry (Saipa industrial company)
Mohsen Heidarinezhad
Department of Industrial Management, Qazvin branch, Islamic Azad
University (IAU), Qazvin, Iran
Abstract:
In this study try to analysis Effective Factors in New Product
Development using ANP Method. To identify critical influential
factors, the authors studied and reviewed relevant literature
from numerous fields of study associated with the essential
issues of new product development. Results of the ANP method
shows that Technological factors, Management and Staff factors,
Commercialization factors, Organizational factors and Marketing
factors are the most important factors in new product
development.
[Mohsen Heidarinezhad. Analysis Effective Factors in New
product development Using ANP Method in an Automotive Industry (Saipa
industrial company). Rep Opinion
2014;6(1):38-46].
(ISSN: 1553-9873).
http://www.sciencepub.net/report. 8
product development Using ANP Method in an Automotive Industry (Saipa
industrial company). Rep Opinion
2014;6(1):38-46].
(ISSN: 1553-9873).
http://www.sciencepub.net/report. 8
Keywords:
New product development, Multi-criteria decision making,
Analytic Network Process
↧
Analysis Effective Factors in New product development Using ANP Method in an Automotive Industry (Saipa industrial company)
8 | Analysis Effective Factors in New product development Using ANP Method in an Automotive Industry (Saipa industrial company) Mohsen Heidarinezhad Department of Industrial Management, Qazvin branch, Islamic Azad University (IAU), Qazvin, Iran Abstract: In this study try to analysis Effective Factors in New Product Development using ANP Method. To identify critical influential factors, the authors studied and reviewed relevant literature from numerous fields of study associated with the essential issues of new product development. Results of the ANP method shows that Technological factors, Management and Staff factors, Commercialization factors, Organizational factors and Marketing factors are the most important factors in new product development. [Mohsen Heidarinezhad. Analysis Effective Factors in New product development Using ANP Method in an Automotive Industry (Saipa industrial company). Rep Opinion 2014;6(1):38-46]. (ISSN: 1553-9873). http://www.sciencepub.net/report. 8 Keywords: New product development, Multi-criteria decision making, Analytic Network Process | 8 |
scientific publication journal
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