Adapted customer relationship management implementation framework:facilitating value creation in nursing homes

This paper proposes a framework to support Customer Relationship Management (CRM) implementation in nursing homes. The work extends research by Cheng et al. (2005) who conducted in-depth questionnaires to identify critical features (termed value-characteristics), which are areas identified as adding the most value if implemented. Although Cheng et al. did proposed an implementation framework, summary of, and inconsistent inclusion of value-characteristics, limits the practical use of this contribution during implementation. In this paper we adapt the original framework to correct perceived deficiencies. We link the value characteristics to operational, analytical, strategic and/or collaborative CRM solution types, to allow consideration in context of practical implementation solutions. The outcome of this paper shows that, practically, a 'one solution meets all characteristic' approach to CRM implementation within nursing homes is inappropriate. Our framework, however, supports implementers in identifying how value can be gained when implementing a specific CRM solution within nursing homes; which subsequently support project management and expectation management.

The neural bases of the short-term storage of verbal information are anatomically variable across individuals

What are the precise brain regions supporting the short-term retention of verbal information? A previous functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study suggested that they may be topographically variable across individuals, occurring, in most, in regions posterior to prefrontal cortex (PFC), and that detection of these regions may be best suited to a single-subject (SS) approach to fMRI analysis (Feredoes and Postle, 2007). In contrast, other studies using spatially normalized group-averaged (SNGA) analyses have localized storage-related activity to PFC. To evaluate the necessity of the regions identified by these two methods, we applied repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) to SS- and SNGA-identified regions throughout the retention period of a delayed letter-recognition task. Results indicated that rTMS targeting SS analysis-identified regions of left perisylvian and sensorimotor cortex impaired performance, whereas rTMS targeting the SNGA-identified region of left caudal PFC had no effect on performance. Our results support the view that the short-term retention of verbal information can be supported by regions associated with acoustic, lexical, phonological, and speech-based representation of information. They also suggest that the brain bases of some cognitive functions may be better detected by SS than by SNGA approaches to fMRI data analysis.

L'environnement auditif au travail

À haute intensité, les deux principales sources d'inconfort physique au travail sont la chaleur et le bruit (Pellerin & Candas, 2003). Même à des intensités modérées et faibles, le bruit affecte les performances cognitives, y compris dans les tâches de bureau courantes, mais il le fait de plusieurs manières différentes selon la nature du bruit (par exemple, discours vs. non-discours, intensité sonore, variabilité et prévisibilité etc.) et le type de tâche dans laquelle l'individu ou le groupe est engagé. Il est un peu surprenant, donc, que les individus expriment souvent une préférence pour travailler dans des conditions de bruit modérées (Schlittmeier & Hellbrück, 2009). Les multiples formes de perturbation auditive nuisant aux performances cognitives sont examinées et comparées avec leurs avantages potentiels dans le cadre du travail, résultant du traitement du bruit de fond en termes de sens du lieu, d'apprentissage fortuit des régularités dans le monde auditif, et de commutation intelligente de l'attention.

Fractal spaces in planning and governance

This paper discusses concepts of space within the planning literature, the issues they give rise to and the gaps they reveal. It then introduces the notion of 'fractals' borrowed from complexity theory and illustrates how it unconsciously appears in planning practice. It then moves on to abstract the core dynamics through which fractals can be consciously applied and illustrates their working through a reinterpretation of the People's Planning Campaign of Kerala, India. Finally it highlights the key contribution of the fractal concept and the advantages that this conceptualisation brings to planning.