HealthCare Bottleneck Relief Essay -- essays research papers

Many health-care industry bottlenecks can be eliminated, resulting in major improvements in efficiency, cost savings and patient care when hospitals borrow principles from production lines on the factory floor, according to researchers in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences at the University at Buffalo. At UB's Center of Excellence for Global Enterprise Management, Li Lin, Ph.D., professor of industrial engineering, and his colleagues apply industrial-engineering tools, including Six Sigma and other lean enterprise methodologies originally developed for manufacturing processes, to improve the operations and competitiveness of hospitals. "In today's competitive environment, especially with the severe shortage of skilled nurses, the pressure on streamlining hospital operations continues to increase," said Lin. "Health-care managers are seeking new perspectives and creative ways to manage their business. We can engineer medical services with improved cost, quality and efficiency." Lin and his colleagues use animated computer simulations that are based on statistical analyses -- routinely used to model the flow of parts through complex manufacturing processes -- to uncover the bottlenecks or potential problem areas in health-care facilities. "What do cars on highways, manufactured parts in a factory and patients in a hospital have in common?" he asks. "They all move. We use computer simulations to analyze how patients flow through hospitals, while ensuring that th...

Rice Terraces in Danger Essay

With bare hands and primitive tools, traditional farmers in the highlands of the Phippines have been shaping the Banaue or Ifugao rice terraces into a grandeur feat that attracts the attention of worldwide visitors. The rice terraces with the cluster sites are dated more than 2,000 years old. These spectacular creations, however, are now in danger of crumbling down into oblivion. The Area in Danger These terraces are situated in the mountain region of the northern part of the Philippines about 340 kilometers away from Manila. From here, the high place could be reached some 8 to 9 hours by motor ride. These terraces have been hand-fashioned like great stairs that if laid straight from one point to another are capable of encircling half the earth’s diameter. For thousands of years, this magnificent human feat has intruded human imagination boosting human creativeness and ingenuity. For all the good attributes rendered to this property, the United Nations Educational Scientific Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has listed the site as a world heritage dubbing it as the â€Å"Eight Wonder of the World. † In 1973, the Philippine government gave these heritage properties a special recognition as a national landmark of being a valuable treasure. In 1995, the UNESCO inscribed the Banaue Rice Terraces and the cluster sites in the World Heritage List. In 1994, by virtue of the Presidential Executive Order 158, it created the Ifugao Rice UNESCO Terraces Commission that gives advisory matters to the Philippine President regarding factors affecting them. Diverse Life Forms For thousands of years, the terrace has been serving as home for diverse life forms including aquatic animals, fishes, etc. , thriving in the water-filled, pollution-free paddies. The terrace is also a home for some native red rice varieties and other indigenous rices, which are also considered endangered. In recent years, however, keen observers have noted some negative changes happening within and outside the terraces. Some contributing factors that have been diverting the terraces to these negative changes include environmental degradation and neglect, the rampant use of synthetic pesticides, degrading rice yield, fast rate of urbanization, growing poverty among terrace farmers, and the fermentation of the once solid indigenous folk cultures. Some parts of the heritage property, which were once verdantly green and fertile have now turned into partly eroded brownish, drying grasslands. In 1950, a data report from Abano (2007) shows that farmers cultivated some 15,000 hectares (about 37,000 acres) of this highland terrace. Today, that figure has dwindled to merely 5,000 hectares (about 12,000 acres) maintained by some 100,000 tribal farmers. UNESCO gave warnings in 2001 the possibility of delisting the Banaue Rice Terraces from the World Heritage List. This is because little efforts have been exerted in saving the heritage property from widening irreversible damage. From a distance, desolate terraced landscapes have already shown wears while other similar areas slowly UNESCO disappear due to lack of care. Younger populations from the darkly terraced areas have instead preferred to migrate to the cities where ‘the lights are brighter’ with more income opportunities to choose from. This transmigration has resulted to erosion, not only of the physical terraces they till, but also of the culture and traditions they have been preserving for thousands of years.

The effect of internal audit reports on audit quality and earnings performance. An empirical Study on the companies listed in London Stock exchange (LCE) Free Essay Example, 1750 words

The Effect Of Internal Audit Reports to Stakeholders On Audit Quality And Earnings Performance. An Empirical Study Of the Companies Listed On London Stock Exchange (LCE). Introduction Internal audit is an independent and objective consulting and assurance activity where the philosophy of adding value to improve the operations of a company is the guiding principle. It helps the company in accomplishing its objective by bringing a systematic and disciplined approach to evaluating and improving the efficiency of the company’s governance, internal control and risk management (IIA 1). The quality of audit plays a vital role in maintaining an efficient market environment. However, an independent quality audit underpins confidence in the credibility and the integrity of financial statements that is essential for well functioning of the markets and enhancement of the financial operations (Faraouk and Hassan 2). The internal audit department provides an objective, reliable and neutral service to the management, board of directors and the audit committee (Ljubisavljević and Jovanovi 124). On contrary, the interest of stakeholders is on return on the investments, sustainable growth, reliable reporting on the financial performance, strong leadership and the business practices of a company (Al-Matari, Al-Swidi & Fadzil 35). Recently the issue of globalization of audit has increased, and the need for ensuring quality of audit functions at different locations is essential. We will write a custom essay sample on The effect of internal audit reports on audit quality a nd earnings performance. An empirical Study on the companies listed in London Stock exchange (LCE) or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/pageorder now Similarly, the growth of investments across borders has increased and thus the importance of evaluating the quality of financial statements attested to by audit firms in other areas (Kleinman et al. , 62) The responsibility of the auditor is not exclusively in satisfying the needs of individual customers or the employee. Either the auditor owes the responsibility to the decision makers internally or externally since they use the information believing there are no material misstatements in those financial statements (Hoa, Pham et al. 73). The responsibility of the auditor is, therefore, to act in the interest of the public since the perception of audit quality is necessary to ensure public confidence in public accounting profession. Scope of internal auditing According to IIA (2015), the definition of internal audit states the essential purpose, nature and the extent of internal auditing. IIA identify internal audit as an independent, purposeful assurance and consulting undertaking intended to improve value and functions of a firm.