Creativity Enhancement

2011 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Monty McNair ◽  
Caroline Howard ◽  
Indira Guzman ◽  
Paul Watkin
Keyword(s):  
Information Systems ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Creative Performance ◽  
Creativity Training ◽  
Low Levels ◽  
Adaptive Approaches ◽  
Information Systems Personnel

Since the dawn of humanity, creativity has been critical to surmounting the challenges of life. Innovation is particularly essential to survival on every level from an individual solving his/her problems to a world dependent on adaptive approaches to cope with rapidly expanding populations and enormous international tensions. Currently, information systems programs are not fostering the creativity needed to sustain the innovation required to compete in the 21st century marketplace. Educators and researchers need to better understand the effects of creativity training on creative performance to best design programs that meet the needs of information systems personnel and their employers. The results of this study provide evidence that it would be valuable for organizations to experiment with creativity tutorials and recommend that future research be conducted using larger samples of individuals with low levels of creativity. Because the costs of informing people about creativity are low and creativity tutorials can be designed to be easily administered and completed, the authors recommend that a low-cost tutorial would be a cost effective and beneficial strategy for organizations to employ with information systems personnel, especially those who assess themselves as low in creativity.

Creativity Enhancement

2013 ◽  
pp. 161-168
Author(s):  
Monty McNair ◽  
Caroline Howard ◽  
Indira Guzman ◽  
Paul Watkin
Keyword(s):  
Information Systems ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Creative Performance ◽  
Creativity Training ◽  
Low Levels ◽  
Adaptive Approaches ◽  
Information Systems Personnel

Since the dawn of humanity, creativity has been critical to surmounting the challenges of life. Innovation is particularly essential to survival on every level from an individual solving his/her problems to a world dependent on adaptive approaches to cope with rapidly expanding populations and enormous international tensions. Currently, information systems programs are not fostering the creativity needed to sustain the innovation required to compete in the 21st century marketplace. Educators and researchers need to better understand the effects of creativity training on creative performance to best design programs that meet the needs of information systems personnel and their employers. The results of this study provide evidence that it would be valuable for organizations to experiment with creativity tutorials and recommend that future research be conducted using larger samples of individuals with low levels of creativity. Because the costs of informing people about creativity are low and creativity tutorials can be designed to be easily administered and completed, the authors recommend that a low-cost tutorial would be a cost effective and beneficial strategy for organizations to employ with information systems personnel, especially those who assess themselves as low in creativity.

Motivating Compliance: Firm Response to Mandatory Disclosure Policies

2018 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 103-119
Author(s):  
Colleen M. Boland ◽  
Chris E. Hogan ◽  
Marilyn F. Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Conflict Of Interest ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Data Availability ◽  
Policy Adoption ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Regulated Firms ◽  
Firm Response ◽  
Disclosure Rules ◽  
The Impact

SYNOPSIS Mandatory existence disclosure rules require an organization to disclose a policy's existence, but not its content. We examine policy adoption frequencies in the year immediately after the IRS required mandatory existence disclosure by nonprofits of various governance policies. We also examine adoption frequencies in the year of the subsequent change from mandatory existence disclosure to a disclose-and-explain regime that required supplemental disclosures about the content and implementation of conflict of interest policies. Our results suggest that in areas where there is unclear regulatory authority, mandatory existence disclosure is an effective and low cost regulatory device for encouraging the adoption of policies desired by regulators, provided those policies are cost-effective for regulated firms to implement. In addition, we find that disclose-and-explain regulatory regimes provide stronger incentives for policy adoption than do mandatory existence disclosure regimes and also discourage “check the box” behavior. Future research should examine the impact of mandatory existence disclosure rules in the year that the regulation is implemented. Data Availability: Data are available from sources cited in the text.

scholarly journals Helping farmers and regulators manage and assure the cumulative flood safety of agricultural dams: a cost-effective regionalised review/design tool from Australia

2015 ◽  
Vol 47 (5) ◽  
pp. 996-1013 ◽  
Author(s):  
John D. Pisaniello
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Design Tool ◽  
Community Safety ◽  
Dam Failure ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Dam Safety ◽  
Safety Assurance

In Australia and other countries, small private dams in agricultural catchments pose both disastrous individual and cumulative dam failure flood threats to downstream communities; threats that can be exacerbated by increased rainfall intensities caused by climate change. This paper addresses the need for a low cost, scientifically acceptable mechanism and policy guidance to help dam owners and governments better understand and manage these risks and assure community safety. To this end an innovative, cost-effective farm dam flood safety review/design tool is developed and tested in Australia, including hydrology-diverse Tasmania, to complement best practice dam safety assurance policy. The tool's development involved generating complex catchment data to represent hydrologically homogenous regions using best practice water engineering methods, to derive simple regionalised dam flood capability prediction relationships of acceptable accuracy. Results demonstrate the tool's successful development and potential transferability to different hydrological regions; how the relationships can be refined by future research and potentially made to account for climate change; and how the tool can be applied within a best practice dam safety assurance policy which includes additional farmer-friendly elements. The findings are potentially transferable to any region to assure communities that cumulative safety threats posed by rural catchment dams are minimised.

scholarly journals Volatile Fatty Acid Production from Organic Waste with the Emphasis on Membrane-Based Recovery

Fermentation ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 159
Author(s):  
Prawat Sukphun ◽  
Sureewan Sittijunda ◽  
Alissara Reungsang
Keyword(s):  
Organic Waste ◽  
Volatile Fatty Acids ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Fatty Acid Production ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Acidogenic Fermentation ◽  
Recovery Techniques ◽  
Biotechnological Processes

In recent years, interest in the biorefinery concept has emerged in the utilization of volatile fatty acids (VFAs) produced by acidogenic fermentation as precursors for various biotechnological processes. This has attracted substantial attention to VFA production from low-cost substrates such as organic waste and membrane based VFA recovery techniques to achieve cost-effective and environmentally friendly processes. However, there are few reviews which emphasize the acidogenic fermentation of organic waste into VFAs, and VFA recovery. Therefore, this article comprehensively summarizes VFA production, the factors affecting VFA production, and VFA recovery strategies using membrane-based techniques. Additionally, the outlook for future research on VFA production is discussed.

scholarly journals Cytotoxicity and Sterilization Resistance of Electronic Components for Disposable Smart Biomedical Devices

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 297-301
Author(s):  
Valerie M. K. Werner ◽  
Daniel Strömsdörfer ◽  
Viet Nga Bui ◽  
Niklas von Wittenburg ◽  
Markus Eblenkamp
Keyword(s):  
Low Cost ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Electronic System ◽  
In Vitro Cytotoxicity ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Biomedical Devices ◽  
Electronic Components ◽  
Light Emitting ◽  
Standard Components

AbstractThe design of Smart Biomedical Devices will be a defining element of future research in the context of intelligent medical devices for the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT). A prerequisite for serving the disposable market is the use of cost-effective electronic components and the highest reliability of the developed products in terms of biocompatibility and bioprotection. In the study, resistors, capacitors, and light-emitting diodes, different in their materials and construction forms, were examined. The selected types represented electronic components as they are commonly installed on electronic system from the segment of low-cost standard components. These were subjected to steam sterilization with up to 50 cycles, gamma sterilization, and a CCK-8 assay to test in vitro cytotoxicity. Functional failure could not be determined for any component. Gamma sterilization did not result in significant changes in resistance values, but in capacitors with barium titanate as dielectric. Non-cytotoxic electronic components could be identified. The results show that certain electronic standard components are suitable for disposable Smart Biomedical Devices.

From Commuter Rail to Regional Rail: Operating Practices for the 21st Century

1998 ◽  
Vol 1623 (1) ◽  
pp. 127-134 ◽  
Author(s):  
John G. Allen
Keyword(s):  
21St Century ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Rail Transit ◽  
Rapid Transit ◽  
Service Levels ◽  
Port Authority ◽  
Bay Area ◽  
Unit Costs ◽  
Commuter Rail ◽  
Low Levels

Several low-cost, low-technology measures can upgrade service levels and reduce unit costs of operation on commuter railroads. By gradually implementing one-person operation and other techniques borrowed from rapid transit, busier commuter rail properties can emulate the frequency and comfort of such modern regional rail transit lines as the Port Authority Transit Corporation, Bay Area Rapid Transit, and the Washington Metro. Metra Electric (formerly the Illinois Central Electric) offers an example of how these measures might be implemented. In their heyday, the Illinois Central Electric and other commuter railroads provided service of similar quality to today’s regional rapid transit lines. Today these commuter lines operate at needlessly low levels of efficiency, but these measures should help commuter railroads develop their potential. The result should be a win-win situation: more efficiency for management, more jobs for labor (as a result of more frequent service), and more service for customers.

scholarly journals Aerosolised fluorescein can quantify FFP mask faceseal leakage: a cost-effective adaptation to the existing point of care fit-test.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sameer Zaman ◽  
Henry Seligman ◽  
Freya Hepworth Lloyd ◽  
Keval Tushar Patel ◽  
Digby Chappell ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Filter Paper ◽  
Point Of Care ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Test Protocol ◽  
Taste Test ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Fit Testing ◽  
Total Fluorescence ◽  
Low Levels

Abstract Background Filtering facepiece (FFP) respirators must provide an adequate faceseal to protect healthcare workers from harmful particles. A qualitative fit-test using bitter-tasting aerosols the commonest way to determine if an FFP mask is safe enough for clinical use. This taste-test is subjective and can be biased by placebo. We propose a cheap and quantitative modification of the taste-test, by measuring the amount of fluorescein staining filter paper behind the FFP mask after a fit-test protocol, using digital image analysis. Methods Medical grade fluorescein was added to bitter-tasting denatonium benzoate solution and Aerosolised during a mask fit-testing protocol. Scientific filter paper was placed on the inner surface of the mask. Participants were asked if they could taste the solution to determine their qualitative ‘pass’ or ‘fail’ result. Filter paper photographs were analysed after the test to quantify total fluorescence (TF). TF levels in the taste-test ‘pass’ and ‘fail’ groups were compared.Results Fifty-six healthcare professionals completed the fluorescein mask fit-test protocol. 32 (57%) ‘passed’ the qualitative (taste) test and the remainder ‘failed’. There was a significant difference in TF between the groups based on their qualitative results (p <0.001). A cut-off of TF = 5.0 x 106 fluorescence units was determined by analysing the precision (78%) and recall (84%) of the fluorescein test. Applying this cut-off resulted in 5 out of 56 participants (9%) being reclassified from ‘pass’ to ‘fail’ by the fluorescein test. 7 out of 56 (12%) participants were reclassified from ‘fail’ to ‘pass’.Conclusions Fluorescein is detectable and sensitive to identify faceseal leaks in FFP masks. The fluorescein fit-test is discriminating in its ability to divide people into ‘pass’ and ‘fail’ groups similarly to the taste-test. The adaptations are low-cost and could be incorporated in the point-of-care setting. After further validation the fluorescein test could increase safety for staff by reducing the number of false ‘pass’ by the taste-test. It could also reassure people who have ‘failed’ the taste-test that they have low levels of fluorescein leak, enabling them to return to clinical practice safely.

scholarly journals Towards a Low-Cost Mobile Subcutaneous Vein Detection Solution Using Near-Infrared Spectroscopy

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Juric ◽  
Vojko Flis ◽  
Matjaz Debevc ◽  
Andreas Holzinger ◽  
Borut Zalik
Keyword(s):  
Infrared Spectroscopy ◽  
Near Infrared Spectroscopy ◽  
Near Infrared ◽  
Infrared Imaging ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Grey Literature ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Research Direction ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Pubmed Database

Excessive venipunctures are both time- and resource-consuming events, which cause anxiety, pain, and distress in patients, or can lead to severe harmful injuries. We propose a low-cost mobile health solution for subcutaneous vein detection using near-infrared spectroscopy, along with an assessment of the current state of the art in this field. The first objective of this study was to get a deeper overview of the research topic, through the initial team discussions and a detailed literature review (using both academic and grey literature). The second objective, that is, identifying the commercial systems employing near-infrared spectroscopy, was conducted using the PubMed database. The goal of the third objective was to identify and evaluate (using the IEEE Xplore database) the research efforts in the field of low-cost near-infrared imaging in general, as a basis for the conceptual model of the upcoming prototype. Although the reviewed commercial devices have demonstrated usefulness and value for peripheral veins visualization, other evaluated clinical outcomes are less conclusive. Previous studies regarding low-cost near-infrared systems demonstrated the general feasibility of developing cost-effective vein detection systems; however, their limitations are restricting their applicability to clinical practice. Finally, based on the current findings, we outline the future research direction.

Towards Low-Cost Energy Monitoring

2015 ◽  
pp. 2965-2970
Author(s):  
Aqeel H. Kazmi ◽  
Michael J. O'Grady ◽  
Gregory M.P. O' Hare
Keyword(s):  
Energy Demand ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Energy Prices ◽  
Energy Usage ◽  
Energy Monitoring ◽  
Load Monitoring ◽  
Future Research Directions ◽  
Residential And Commercial Sectors

A number of energy problems including limited energy resources, increased energy demand, and rising energy prices, have motivated energy conservation in the residential and commercial sectors. Access to real-time energy usage information is perceived as a prerequisite for energy usage reductions. A variety of computational approaches have been proposed to monitor energy usage within buildings. Currently, Non-intrusive Load Monitoring (NILM) is perceived as the most cost-effective and scalable solution. In this article, a technological profile of this technique is constructed through the provision of key background developments, revision of existing solutions, consideration of outstanding problems, and identification of some pertinent future research directions.

scholarly journals Application of Graphene-Based Materials for Detection of Nitrate and Nitrite in Water—A Review

Sensors ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 54 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daoliang Li ◽  
Tan Wang ◽  
Zhen Li ◽  
Xianbao Xu ◽  
Cong Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Graphene Oxide ◽  
Electrochemical Sensors ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Detection Range ◽  
Long Term Stability ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Limit Sensitivity ◽  
Nitrate And Nitrite

Nitrite and nitrate are widely found in various water environments but the potential toxicity of nitrite and nitrate poses a great threat to human health. Recently, many methods have been developed to detect nitrate and nitrite in water. One of them is to use graphene-based materials. Graphene is a two-dimensional carbon nano-material with sp2 hybrid orbital, which has a large surface area and excellent conductivity and electron transfer ability. It is widely used for modifying electrodes for electrochemical sensors. Graphene based electrochemical sensors have the advantages of being low cost, effective and efficient for nitrite and nitrate detection. This paper reviews the application of graphene-based nanomaterials for electrochemical detection of nitrate and nitrite in water. The properties and advantages of the electrodes were modified by graphene, graphene oxide and reduced graphene oxide nanocomposite in the development of nitrite sensors are discussed in detail. Based on the review, the paper summarizes the working conditions and performance of different sensors, including working potential, pH, detection range, detection limit, sensitivity, reproducibility, repeatability and long-term stability. Furthermore, the challenges and suggestions for future research on the application of graphene-based nanocomposite electrochemical sensors for nitrite detection are also highlighted.

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