721 research outputs found
The impact of multi-cultural teams on the efficiency of hospital care in Dubai
No full textAncarani A., Ayach A., Di Mauro C., GITTO S., Mancuso P.
(2015). The impact of multi-cultural teams on the
efficiency of hospital care in Dubai. Research in the
Decision Sciences for Global Business: Best Papers from
the 2013 Annual Conference. p. 153-170, Pearson FT
Press, ISBN/ISSN: 978-0-13-405232-
Efficiency change, technological change and capital accumulation in Italian regions: a sectoral study
No full textThis paper examines the sources of labour productivity in the Italian regions during the period 1980–2004. Five economic sectors are investigated using data envelopment analysis (DEA) and taking into account productive specialisation and sector inefficiencies. Labour productivity change is decomposed into five components by means of Malmquist productivity indices: intra-sector efficiency change, composition efficiency change, input-biased technical change, magnitude component technical change and capital accumulation. Using bootstrap procedure, the components of labour productivity changes are statistically tested. Efficiency analysis shows that productive specialisation is not a source of inefficiency and efficiency gains can be obtained by sector-specific policies. Thus, it is possible to obtain improvements in efficiency in each sector of activity rather than reallocating resources among sectors. The results of the decomposition by sectors reveal heterogeneous sources of growth. The total economy has shown evidence of non-neutral technical change and, it has been found that agriculture, industry and construction experienced capital using technical change. The analysis of the decomposition of the labour productivity growth is complemented by an analysis of β-convergence
The measurement of productivity and efficiency: theory and applications
No full textQuesta tesi discute diversi metodi per la stima della produttivita’ ed efficienza. Sono discussi i recenti miglioramenti nelle tecniche di stima con tre diverse applicazioni.
Nella prima applicazione, l’indice di Tornqvist e’ usato per stimare la produttivita’ totale dei fattori di Alitalia, la principale compagnia area Italiana. Nella seconda applicazione, la DEA boostrata e’ impiegata per investigare l’efficienza e le caratteristiche manageriali degli aeroporti italiani. Nella terza applicazione, uno stimatore iperbolico alpha-quantile e’ utilizzato nello studio dell’efficienza e della produttività degli ospedali italiani.This thesis shows several methods to measure the productivity and the efficiency. Recent improvements in methods are discussed and three applications are reported.
In particular, I presented an application of the Tornqvist index numbers to measure the total factor productivity of Alitalia, the main Italian airline; a study of Italian airport sector with the use of bootstrapped-DEA; and an investigation of the efficiency of public Italian hospitals using a hyperbolic, alpha-quantile estimator
New evidence on the efficiency of Italian airports: a bootstrapped DEA analysis
No full textA bootstrapped DEA procedure is used to estimate technical efficiency of 18 Italian airports during the period 2000-2004. Departing from previous studies, we separate the efficiency related to ability to manage airside activities (operational) from that related to the management of all business activities (financial). In general, Italian airports operate at poor levels of efficiency, with slightly better performance in terms of their financial activities. In the current study, selected intrinsic and environmental characteristics are considered as possible drivers of Italian airport performance. In particular, we found that: (i) the airport dimension does not allows for operational efficiency advantages, (ii) on the other hand, the airport dimension allows for financial efficiency advantages for the case of hubs and disadvantages for the case of the smallest airports (iii) the type(s) of concession agreement(s) might be considered as important source of technical efficiency differentials for those airports running marginal commercial activities; (iv) the introduction of a dual-till price cap regulation might create incentives which lead to the increase of financial efficiency at the detriment of the operational performance. Lastly, the development of a second hub (Milano Malpensa), has negatively affected the performance of the country's national hub (Roma Fiumicino)
The contribution of physical and human capital accumulation to Italian regional growth: a nonparametric perspective
No full textThis paper examines changes in the labor productivity, efficiency, technology, and physical and human capital experienced by different regions in Italy between 1980 and 2006. Cobb-Douglas and translog production specifications are not supported by the data. Thus, non-parametric methods are used to compute the Malmquist indices and their components. Moreover, the bootstrap technique allows us to determine the confidence intervals of all components of the labor productivity decomposition. The results suggest that the contributions of efficiency, technology, and physical and human capital accumulation to labor productivity growth differ significantly between Southern Italy and the remainder of the country
The Italian airport industry in transition: a performance analysis
No full textThis paper analyzes the impacts of Italian government actions on the efficiency of 36 airports between 2001 and 2003 The changes have included privatization, enlargement of the services provided directly by airport management companies, through the modification of the concession agreements, and the creation of two hubs. The analysis, using the consolidated two-stage data envelopment analysis with bootstrapping, indicates that airports with a majority public holding are on average more efficient and the presence of two hubs is source of inefficiency (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd All rights reserve
Brand perceptions of airports using social networks
No full textThe management of social media activities by airports is an emerging issue, and existing empirical literature on the measurement of brand perception in the airport industry is lacking. Usually, the measurement of brand perception is carried out by surveys, which are costly and rapidly become outdated. This study employs a newly developed algorithm to infer brand perceptions by mining the social connections of airports. Twitter accounts of 118 airports in the world are analysed by considering three emerging attributes in the airport industry: environment, disability and luxury. The paper shows how it is possible to identify the current positions of airports in the perception of the customers
Restructuring the Alitalia business model
No full textThis paper analyzes the performance of the Italian airline company, Alitalia, after the deregulation in the air transport industry in the European Union. Company performance is analyzed using Tornqvist indices. The evidence shows as Alitalia productivity slowdown has been caused by the company failure to support an increase in input with a supply-oriented strategy. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserve
Severe Pulmonary Artery Hypertension Persisting After a Late Atrial Septal Defect (ASD) Closure: Presentation of a Case
No full textLearning Overview: After attending this presentation, attendees will understand the pathophysiology and the autopsy findings of pulmonary artery hypertension after a late ASD closure. Impact on the Forensic Science Community: This presentation will impact the forensic science community by demonstrating that pulmonary hypertension can persist after a late surgical repair of ASD. ASD is the most prevalent congenital cardiac anomaly in adults, representing ~35% of all congenital heart defects. oxygen-rich blood can flow directly from the left side of the heart to mix with the oxygen-poor blood in the right side of the heart, or vice versa. This can lead to lower-than-normal oxygen levels in the arterial blood that supplies organs and tissues. Due to the high blood flow from left to right, an ASD can also cause right ventricular remodeling and failure, with enlargement of right cardiac chambers, severe arrhythmias, and pulmonary artery hypertension. The left ventricle can be smaller than the right one and a reduced coronary perfusion can occur. blood flows between the atria of the heart: It consists of a heart defect in which Most adults with ASD are safely treated using available techniques of surgical or percutaneous repair and become free of complications over the long term. However, there is a small fraction of patients who are at risk for post-operative complications, particularly the persistence of elevated pulmonary vascular resistance and pulmonary artery hypertension. This presentation describes the case of a 47-year-old Asian female (height: 152cm; weight: 36kg) who was found unresponsive by her husband in the bathroom of their house. The husband promptly called the emergency medical services. A cardiopulmonary resuscitation was performed with negative results and the woman was pronounced dead. According to the medical records, the woman underwent a surgical repair of an atrial septal defect at the age of 37 and suffered from severe pulmonary hypertension, high blood pressure, paroxysmal atrial fibrillation, and multivalvular insufficiency. A few months prior to death, she had an episode of acute heart failure and underwent a chest-abdomen Computed Tomography (CT) and an echocardiogram that showed: persistence of a left superior vena cava probably draining in the coronary sinus, enlargement of the right heart with massive tricuspid regurgitation, enlargement of the pulmonary arteries with severe pulmonary regurgitation, bilateral pleural effusion, atelectasis of the left lung, chronic passive congestion of the liver, and ascites. At the autopsy, the heart weighted 650 grams and showed: an enlargement of the coronary sinus, a correctly positioned interatrial patch, a notable right ventricular hypertrophy with a small left ventricle, enlarged pulmonary arteries with fatty streaks, and pulmonary and tricuspid valve insufficiency. It was not possible to identify the left superior vena cava detected during the imaging studies; this could be due to the relatively small size of the vessel or to the presence of massive adhesions from prior surgery. At the microscopic examination, the heart showed multiple myocardiocites with enlarged nuclei and multiple areas of fibrosis. The lung showed hypertrophy of the media of the arterioles and plexiform lesions, findings consistent with a severe pulmonary artery hypertension. In this case, since the woman did not have the defect closed until such an advanced age (37 years old), probably all the autoptic findings could be attributed to the ASD. The left superior vena cava persistence may have contributed. A prolonged flow from the left atrium across the ASD to the right atrium caused the right ventricular hypertrophy and pulmonary hypertension. Moreover, the left ventricle was reduced in size and a myocardial fibrosis (presumably due to low coronary perfusion) was observed. It was not possible to understand if, in this case, the delay in surgical treatment was due to a late presentation of the defect or due to different reasons. In any case, the late surgical treatment allowed the subject to become free from the interatrial communication, but not from the advanced right ventricular remodeling and pulmonary vasculopathy, which caused death
Flexor digitorum superficialis tear in a wakeboarder : an unusual clinical case
No full textTears in the flexor digitorum superficialis muscle belly are rare injuries with one single case reported in the literature. In this article, we describe the first case of muscle tear of the flexor digitorum superficialis resulting from a wakeboarding trauma. The wakeboarder presented with pain localized in the anterior forearm, and early symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome. Ultrasonography demonstrated an intramuscular hematoma of the flexor digitorum superficialis myotendinous junction, which compressed the median nerve. After conservative treatment, the patient was asymptomatic and returned to his usual daily activities and sports within 5 weeks of the injury. In patients with a wakeboard trauma and similar presentations, a tear in the flexor digitorum superficialis muscle belly should be suspected
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