Co-located agile teams rely heavily on physical proximity, face-to-face communication, coordination and close collaboration. These tenets of agile methods are hampered in globally distributed environments and the shortcomings have to be consciously addressed and supported through various activities between the onshore and offshore locations. This paper reports on preliminary findings of the com...

The number of healthcare organizations that require targeted cost reduction due to state and federal budget shortfalls demands intense senior leader accountability. Leaders are discovering that traditional methods for curbing expenses have been largely exhausted, and they seek fresh approaches to meet their strategic imperatives. This study of more than 200 U.S. healthcare organizations, which ...

Can the freedom to choose how retirement funds are invested leave workers worse off? Via simulation, we document that choice in stock v. bond allocation and type of equity investments in private accounts leads to lower utility and greater risk of income shortfalls relative to private accounts without choice. We also compare private account outcomes to currently promised Social Security benefits...

This paper reports on a 2004 survey of primary care experiences among adults in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The survey finds shortfalls in delivery of safe, effective, timely, or patient-centered care, with variations among countries. Delays in lab test results and test errors raise safety concerns. Failures to communicate, to engage patients, or t...

Army medical professionals must maintain the high level of proficiency required to fulfill the Army's medical missions of supporting military operations and providing beneficiary care. Because beneficiary care demands in a U.S. medical treatment facility (MTF) do not mirror those in a combat setting and sometimes can exceed the MTF's capacity, some MTFs enter into agreements with local civilian...

In this paper we exploit a volunteer-based paradigm for archeological aims. In particular, we present PetroAdvisor, a system supporting several fundamental activities to digitally preserve petroglyph sites. The system exploits a rewarding strategy to stimulate people participation to the project, so that those entering useful information gain free archeological data, tips on excursions and tour...

States include genetics services among their public health programs, but budget shortfalls raise the question, is genetics an essential part of public health? We used the Essential Services of Public Health consensus statement and data from state genetics plans to analyze states' public health genetics programs. Public health genetics programs fulfill public health obligations: birth defects su...

objective: the present study aims to achieve awareness about the current status of ict implementations as a tool for information management within astan quds razavi libraries authorities methodology: a descriptive survey methods was employed. questionnaire, interview and observation served as primary data collection tools. 41 managers and deputy managers of aqrla made up the sample findings: aq...

The question—what explains cost overruns and benefit shortfalls—remains an important conversation in project management. Two theoretical principles, the Planning Fallacy Hiding Hand, shed light on behavior, that is how projects take different complex out-turns. denotes tendency for forecasts of schedules, costs, benefits to be unrealistically close best-case scenarios. however, suggests it not ...

Projections are analyzed for the future supply and demand of scientists and engineers. The demographics of the college-age population combined with estimates of the percentage of students who will pursue careers in science and engineering indicate significant shortfalls between supply and demand for the next several decades at both the baccalaureate and Ph.D. levels. If these projections are re...