The choice of small immediate rewards as opposed to larger delayed rewards, or delay discounting, is an important dimension of impulsive decision making. The inability to delay gratification is related to obesity, as well as other maladaptive behaviors such as substance abuse, problem drinking, smoking, pathological gambling, and risky HIV behaviors. One way to reduce delay discounting (DD) may...

The Highways Agency (HA) has recently rethought the way it commissions maintenance work on the trunk roads and motorways for which it is responsible. Taking on recommendations from recent reports into the UK construction industry, the HA have introduced the Construction Management Framework (CMF) in Areas 9 and 10 which covers a large area of the UK from Herefordshire to Lancashire. The CMF loo...

BACKGROUND The demand for cataract surgery is rising, calling for pathways that have good access and are cost-effective. Lean thinking is a management strategy, aimed at improving quality while reducing costs. Lean production processes are designed to identify gaps between expected and actual performance. AIM To analyse the efficacy and efficiency of a lean cataract pathway. METHODS Lean ca...

Executive Summary1 The full article describes how Buckman, a U.S.-based chemical manufacturer, redefined itself and its IT organization using “value” as the focal point for analysis. Buckman’s Value Stream Initiative (VSI) used a microlevel, individual view of value as assessed by customers. The VSI project carried out a comprehensive and detailed micro review of the value of all key processes....

This work proposes a set of actions to assist redesign procedure in existing products of Electric and Electronic Equipment (EEE). The aim is to improve their environmental behavior after their withdrawal in the End-of-Life (EOL) phase. In the beginning data collection takes place. Then follows selection and implementation of the optimal EOL Treatment Strategy (EOL_TS) and its results’ evaluatio...

Organ donation is a complex process that challenges health system professionals and managers. This study aimed to introduce a theoretical model to organize brain-dead patient assistance and the organ donation process guided by the main lean thinking ideas, which enable production improvement through planning cycles and the development of a proper environment for successful implementation. Lean ...

The concept of an innovation space where different knowledge and perspectives can interact leading to innovation is central to lean thinking. The SECI framework of organizational knowledge creation identifies five enabling conditions which impinge on this space, namely intent, autonomy, fluctuation, redundancy and variety. User Stories, introduced in XP and now commonly used in Scrum, are a key...

This work proposes a set of actions to assist redesign procedure in existing products of Electric and Electronic Equipment (EEE). The aim is to improve their environmental behavior after their withdrawal in the End-of-Life (EOL) phase. In the beginning data collection takes place. Then follows selection and implementation of the optimal EOL Treatment Strategy (EOL_TS) and its results’ evaluatio...