Suchergebnisse

Retail management recognise the competitive edge that can be provided by actionable information. In moving towards an integrated retail management information system, it is recognised that a general driving force behind investments in information technology (IT) is the need for more detailed information about customers. Marketing (and distribution and service) can apply IT to increase their efficiency, and, more importantly, to promote their effectiveness in the increasingly competitive environment. It is argued that a management information-system should be viewed as 'emancipatory', permitting new decisionmaking processes, and that data from recent developments such as charge cards and electronic point of sales systems offer new opportunities. Attention focuses initially on the marketing function requirements for information about the local demand for goods and services and about the competitive position. It is suggested that real progress, driven by this external marketing perspective, will only occur through development of an integrated information-system (and that the necessary integration will require the framework of knowledge-based management-systems, rather than conventional data-based management-systems).

Any detailed review of Britain's research and development (R and D) would present generally a poor picture of our current and future prospects, especially in the intensely competitive world of new technologies and their commercial applications. It is argued that, although the issues facing us are complex and conflicts are inevitable, choices still exist; however, if the necessary strategic discussions are not forthcoming, existing choices will disappear and changes will occur through necessity (because of eventual technological domination and subordination). In this paper, it is argued that the major underlying problem is to make our R and D more effective by more directional management and targetting. The roles of higher education institutions, Government, and industry are considered, and the separate, albeit linked, stages of R and D are highlighted. Illustration of some of the ideas is given by reference to R and D associated with Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Importantly, priorities must be established.

As data become more readily available, it is agreed that the applications of quantitative methods will become increasingly important. However, the speed of this take-up is unclear at present; it is sufficient to say that it will be slow if current practices are not changed. Consequently, it is timely to discuss some of the practical issues. Among the issues addressed in this paper are software requirements, staffing implications, data availability, and the use of management consultants.

Information can be a source of competitive advantage. As marketing has evolved from 'mass marketing' to 'niche marketing', spatially disaggregated market analyses have become essential for companies to be able to plan both tactically and strategically with regard to customers' needs and competitive threats. The distinctive industry of companies providing geodemographic or market analyses developed in the mid-1970s and is now worth over £10 million per annum in Britain. Developments in Britain are summarised, and activities and potential opportunities across Europe are noted.

It is now officially recognised that the provision of combined heat and electrical-power generation plants in urban areas can improve the efficiency with which primary energy is consumed. An approach to assess the feasibility of such projects is exemplified by a case study of Leeds. Particular attention is given to the possible social and economic impacts, and it is argued that there is a need to go beyond a conventional financial accounting approach.

BACKGROUND: Non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) using cell-free fetal DNA in maternal plasma is a high accurate test for prenatal screening for Down syndrome. Although it has been reported to be cost effective as a contingent test, evidence about its budget impact is lacking. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate, using computer simulations, the budget impact of implementing NIPT as a contingent test in the Quebec Program of screening for Trisomy 21. METHODS: A semi-Markov analytic model built to simulate the budget impact of implementing NIPT into the current Quebec Trisomy 21 public Prenatal Screening, Serum Integrated prenatal screening (SIPS). Comparisons were made for a virtual population similar to that of expected Quebec pregnant women in 2015 in terms of size and age. Data input parameters were retrieved from a thorough literature search and in government databases, especially data from Quebec Program of screening for Trisomy 21. The 2015–2016 fiscal year budget impact was estimated from the Quebec healthcare system perspective and was expressed as the difference in the overall costs between the two alternatives (SIPS minus SPS + NIPT). RESULTS: Our study found that, at a baseline cost for NIPT of CAD$ 795, NIPT as a second-tier test offered to high-risk women identified by current screening program (SIPS + NIPT) may be affordable for Quebec health care system. Compared to the current screening program, it would be implemented at a neutral cost, considering a modest annual savings of $ 80,432 (95% CI $ 79, $ 874–$ 81,462). Results were sensitive to the NIPT costs and the uptake-rate of invasive diagnostic tests. CONCLUSION: Introducing NIPT as a contingent test in the Quebec Trisomy 21 screening program is an affordable strategy compared to the current practice. Further research is needed to confirm if our results can be reproduced in other healthcare jurisdictions.

House mice ( Mus musculus ) were introduced to South Africa's sub-Antarctic Marion Island, the larger of the two Prince Edward Islands, by sealers in the early 19th century. Over the last two centuries they have greatly reduced the abundance of native invertebrates. Domestic cats ( Felis catus ) taken to the island in 1948 to control mice at the South African weather station soon turned feral, killing large numbers of breeding seabirds. An eradication programme finally removed cats from the island by 1991, in what is still the largest island area cleared of cats at 290 km2. Removal of the cats, coupled with the warmer and drier climate on the island over the last half century, has seen increasing densities of mice accumulating each summer. As resources run out in late summer, the mice seek alternative food sources. Marion is home to globally important seabird populations and since the early 2000s mice have resorted to attacking seabird chicks. Since 2015 c. 5% of summer-breeding albatross fledglings have been killed each year, as well as some winter-breeding petrel and albatross chicks. As a Special Nature Reserve, the Prince Edward Islands are afforded the highest degree of protection under South African environmental legislation. A recent feasibility plan suggests that mice can be eradicated using aerial baiting. The South African Department of Environmental Affairs is planning to mount an eradication attempt in the winter of 2021, following a partnership with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds to eradicate mice on Gough Island in the winter of 2020. The eradication programme on Marion Island will be spearheaded by the South African Working for Water programme – Africa's biggest conservation programme focusing on the control of invasive species –which is already driving eradication projects against nine other invasive species on Marion Island.