Although the purpose of strategic planning is straightforward to outline where an organization wants to go and how it’s going to get there its nature is complex and dynamic. Two techniques, the critical success factor (CSF) method and future scenario planning, can augment strategic planning efforts by illuminating an organization’s present situation and potential future. This paper explores the...

The introduction of new contraceptive technologies has great potential for expanding contraceptive choice, but in practice, benefits have not always materialized as new methods have been added to public-sector programs. In response to lessons from the past, the UNDP/UNFPA/WHO/World Bank Special Programme of Research, Development, and Research Training in Human Reproduction (HRP) has taken major...

We present a description and initial results of a computer code that coevolves Fuzzy Logic rules to play a two-sided zero-sum competitive game. It is based on the TEMPO Military Planning Game that has been used to teach resource allocation to over 20,000 students over the past 40 years. No feasible algorithm for optimal play is known. The coevolved rules, when pitted against human players, usua...

This paper proposes a formal framework for agent communication where agents can reason about their goals using strategic reasoning. This reasoning is argumentation-based and enables agents to generate a set of strategic goals depending on a set of constraints. Subgoals are generated using this reasoning and they can be cancelled or substituted for alternatives during the dialogue progress. An o...

A game is a decision-making situation with many players, each having objectives that conflict with each other. The players involved in the game usually make their decisions under conditions of risk or uncertainty. In this paper, a fuzzy approach is proposed to solve the strategic game problem in which the pure strategy set for each player is already defined. Based on the concepts of fuzzy set t...

Dental caries is a chronic, bio-behavioural disease that extends throughout the life span of human beings. Prevention of dental caries includes measures to prevent the occurrence of disease, such as risk factor reduction, but also to arrest the progress of disease and reduce consequences of the disease once it is established. Preventive measures like fluoride therapy and pit and fissure sealant...

A sound retention strategy should incorporate a business plan, a value proposition, progress measures, and management influences. The business plan will indicate whether a healthcare organization will achieve a return on investment for its effort. A value proposition will showcase an organization's strengths and differentiate it from its competitors. Measuring progress toward meeting retention ...

In a report released in 2006, the ILO highlighted the difficulties of labour inspection in its member States and advocated a number of measures to strengthen its effectiveness. The author argues that inspectorates must go beyond calls for more inspectors by adopting a clear strategic framework for reacting to incoming complaints and targeting programmed investigations in order to maximize effec...