The Science of Individuality and Healthcare Quality

Author(s):  
Anastasius S. Moumtzoglou

The application of linear models to human systems and healthcare management and quality has improved our understanding of their system structure and function. However, such models often fall short of explaining experimental results or predicting future abnormalities in complex nonlinear systems which help in dissecting and analyzing individual system components. Nonlinear models may better explain how the individual components collectively act and interact to produce a dynamic system in constant flux. They also assist in filling in some of the results that are not adequately explained by linear models. In this context, we should consider the integration of linear and non-linear theories in healthcare quality and management, drawing the initial conditions of chaotic behavior from the standardization of the linear theory, and distinguishing between desirable and undesirable variation relegating statistical process control only to issues of high certainty regarding the outcome.

2022 ◽  
pp. 303-321
Author(s):  
Anastasius S. Moumtzoglou

The pandemic represents an opportunity to reimagine future healthcare and rethink healthcare management unbound by preconceived notions based on the following three main drivers that emerged during the pandemic. These include transformed business models, new care delivery models disrupted by ubiquitous data and technology, intelligent spaces, and digitally-enabled hospitality. In this context, it is imperative to reexamine all facets of healthcare management, considering that applying linear models to healthcare management has improved our understanding of their system structure and function. However, such models often fall short of explaining experimental results or predicting future abnormalities in complex nonlinear systems. Nonlinear models may better explain how the individual components collectively act and interact to produce a dynamic system in constant flux. They also assist in filling in some of the results which linear models do not adequately explain. Finally, chaos theory might provide new insights into standard as well as abnormal behavior within systems.


2005 ◽  
Vol 133 (9) ◽  
pp. 2552-2564 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Andrew Crook ◽  
Donna F. Tucker

Abstract The flow past heated topography is examined with both linear and nonlinear models. It is first shown that the forcing of an obstacle with horizontally homogenous surface heating can be approximated by the forcing of an obstacle with surface heating isolated over the obstacle. The small-amplitude flow past an obstacle with isolated heating is then examined with a linear model. Under the linear approximation, the flow response to heated topography is simply the addition of the separate responses to thermal and orographic forcing. These separate responses are first considered individually and then the combined response is examined. Nondimensional parameters are developed that measure the relative importance of thermal and orographic forcing. Nonaxisymmetric forcing is then considered by examining the flow along and across a heated elliptically shaped obstacle. It is shown that the low-level lifting is maximized when the flow is along the major axis of the obstacle. The linear solutions are then tested in a nonlinear anelastic model. The response to a heat source and orography are first examined separately. Good agreement is found between nonlinear and linear models for the individual responses to thermal and orographic forcing. The case of uniformly heated flow past an obstacle is then examined. In these simulations, the thermal response is isolated by subtracting the orographic-only response from the full thermal–orographic response. The numerical simulations are able to capture the main features of the thermal response. Finally, numerical simulations of the flow along and across an elliptically shaped heated obstacle are examined, where it is verified that the lifting is maximized when the flow is along the major axis of the obstacle. These results are extended in Part II of this study to examine the moist convective response to flow over both idealized terrain and the complex terrain of the Rocky Mountains of the United States.


Author(s):  
Yan Wang ◽  
Feng Hao ◽  
Yunxia Liu

Population change and environmental degradation have become two of the most pressing issues for sustainable development in the contemporary world, while the effect of population aging on pro-environmental behavior remains controversial. In this paper, we examine the effects of individual and population aging on pro-environmental behavior through multilevel analyses of cross-national data from 31 countries. Hierarchical linear models with random intercepts are employed to analyze the data. The findings reveal a positive relationship between aging and pro-environmental behavior. At the individual level, older people are more likely to participate in environmental behavior (b = 0.052, p < 0.001), and at the national level, living in a country with a greater share of older persons encourages individuals to behave sustainably (b = 0.023, p < 0.01). We also found that the elderly are more environmentally active in an aging society. The findings imply that the longevity of human beings may offer opportunities for the improvement of the natural environment.


2021 ◽  
pp. 109442812199190
Author(s):  
Mikko Rönkkö ◽  
Eero Aalto ◽  
Henni Tenhunen ◽  
Miguel I. Aguirre-Urreta

Transforming variables before analysis or applying a transformation as a part of a generalized linear model are common practices in organizational research. Several methodological articles addressing the topic, either directly or indirectly, have been published in the recent past. In this article, we point out a few misconceptions about transformations and propose a set of eight simple guidelines for addressing them. Our main argument is that transformations should not be chosen based on the nature or distribution of the individual variables but based on the functional form of the relationship between two or more variables that is expected from theory or discovered empirically. Building on a systematic review of six leading management journals, we point to several ways the specification and interpretation of nonlinear models can be improved.


2021 ◽  
pp. 019459982110133
Author(s):  
Ellen S. Deutsch ◽  
Sonya Malekzadeh ◽  
Cecelia E. Schmalbach

Simulation training has taken a prominent role in otolaryngology–head and neck surgery (OTO-HNS) as a means to ensure patient safety and quality improvement (PS/QI). While it is often equated to resident training, this tool has value in lifelong learning and extends beyond the individual otolaryngologists to include simulation-based learning for teams and health systems processes. Part III of this PS/QI primer provides an overview of simulation in medicine and specific applications within the field of OTO-HNS. The impact of simulation on PS/QI will be presented in an evidence-based fashion to include the use of run and statistical process control charts to assess the impact of simulation-guided initiatives. Last, steps in developing a simulation program focused on PS/QI will be outlined with future opportunities for OTO-HNS simulation.


Author(s):  
Nael Barakat ◽  
Hesham Enshasy

In spite of the recent advancements in wafer fabrication techniques, devices are still being individually checked and modified. This is due to the fact that the general manufacturing processes involved in wafer production have their inherent inconsistencies. As a consequence, individual devices show differences in characteristics that would render a big group of them operating out of the range of the pre-set spec limits. Therefore they would require types of modifications specific to the individual device. Knowing that the resources spent on checking and eliminating out-of-spec devices before they reach the customer are very significant, the manufacturing operation becomes hardly profitable. These wafers normally carry devices in the range of a thousand or so, making a statistical approach very attractive. In this paper, an actual industrial problem in wafer fabrication to the desired specifications is presented. The problem shows in passive filters built using Surface Acoustic Wave (SAW) theory. A solution considering a statistical process control approach to the population of devices on the wafer is proposed. The results of applying this solution are realized in significant product yield increase, huge cost cutting, and automation promotion and application.


2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 291-300 ◽  
Author(s):  
Berenice Rojo-Garibaldi ◽  
David Alberto Salas-de-León ◽  
María Adela Monreal-Gómez ◽  
Norma Leticia Sánchez-Santillán ◽  
David Salas-Monreal

Abstract. Hurricanes are complex systems that carry large amounts of energy. Their impact often produces natural disasters involving the loss of human lives and materials, such as infrastructure, valued at billions of US dollars. However, not everything about hurricanes is negative, as hurricanes are the main source of rainwater for the regions where they develop. This study shows a nonlinear analysis of the time series of the occurrence of hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea obtained from 1749 to 2012. The construction of the hurricane time series was carried out based on the hurricane database of the North Atlantic basin hurricane database (HURDAT) and the published historical information. The hurricane time series provides a unique historical record on information about ocean–atmosphere interactions. The Lyapunov exponent indicated that the system presented chaotic dynamics, and the spectral analysis and nonlinear analyses of the time series of the hurricanes showed chaotic edge behavior. One possible explanation for this chaotic edge is the individual chaotic behavior of hurricanes, either by category or individually regardless of their category and their behavior on a regular basis.


Author(s):  
Deana McDonagh ◽  
Kayla Arquines ◽  
Elizabeth T. Hsiao-Wecksler ◽  
Mahshid Mansouri ◽  
Girish Krishnan ◽  
...  

Abstract User-centered design relies upon the appreciation that assistive technology device solutions need to include the functional and supra-functional (e.g., emotional, social, cultural) needs of users. Developing solutions without basing decision-making on both quantitative (functional) and qualitative (supra-functional) needs can lead to imbalanced devices, services, and/or environments. Satisfying both functional and supra-functional needs is the foundation of user-centered design, which in itself relies upon empathic understanding of the person that one is aiming to serve. This paper presents a study of the lived experiences of people living with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, their caregivers, and members of the healthcare management team from a human-centered perspective in the pursuit of pain points, deeper understanding of the emotional needs, and revelation of opportunities for improving quality of life and human experience through more user-centered design. We focus on user-centered design-thinking research tools (e.g., mood boards, journey maps, personas) to (a) understand the authentic experience of the individual in their vernacular and their terminology, and (b) to support a data rich conversation that focuses upon both functional and supra-functional needs to highlight opportunities for design interventions).


Author(s):  
Xi Wang ◽  
Daoliang Tan ◽  
Tiejun Zheng

This paper presents an approach to turbofan engine dynamical output feedback controller (DOFC) design in the framework of LMI (Linear Matrix Inequality)-based H∞ control. In combination with loop shaping and internal model principle, the linear state space model of a turbofan engine is converted into that of some augmented plant, which is used to establish the LMI formulations of the standard H∞ control problem with respect to this augmented plant. Furthermore, by solving optimal H∞ controller for the augmented plant, we indirectly obtain the H∞ DOFC of turbofan engine which successfully achieves the tracking of reference instructions and effective constraints on control inputs. This design method is applied to the H∞ DOFC design for the linear models of an advanced multivariate turbofan engine. The obtained H∞ DOFC is only in control of the steady state of this turbofan engine. Simulation results from the linear and nonlinear models of this turbofan engine show that the resulting controller has such properties as good tracking performance, strong disturbance rejection, and satisfying robustness.


2011 ◽  
Vol 68 (9) ◽  
pp. 2042-2060 ◽  
Author(s):  
David A. Ortland ◽  
M. Joan Alexander ◽  
Alison W. Grimsdell

Abstract Convective heating profiles are computed from one month of rainfall rate and cloud-top height measurements using global Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission and infrared cloud-top products. Estimates of the tropical wave response to this heating and the mean flow forcing by the waves are calculated using linear and nonlinear models. With a spectral resolution up to zonal wavenumber 80 and frequency up to 4 cpd, the model produces 50%–70% of the zonal wind acceleration required to drive a quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO). The sensitivity of the wave spectrum to the assumed shape of the heating profile, to the mean wind and temperature structure of the tropical troposphere, and to the type of model used is also examined. The redness of the heating spectrum implies that the heating strongly projects onto Hough modes with small equivalent depth. Nonlinear models produce wave flux significantly smaller than linear models due to what appear to be dynamical processes that limit the wave amplitude. Both nonlinearity and mean winds in the lower stratosphere are effective in reducing the Rossby wave response to heating relative to the response in a linear model for a mean state at rest.


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