What Makes Companies to Survive over a Century? The Case of Dongwha Pharmaceutical in the Republic of Korea

Considering their significant impacts on national economy, local communities, employees, suppliers, and other stakeholders, firm survival is an important goal for most companies. However, firm longevity is not an easy result to achieve, and it becomes more difficult as business environments shift dramatically. The average life span of companies listed in Standard and Poor’s 500 was 61 years in 1958, but it fell to less than 18 years in 2016. Nevertheless, more than 3000 companies over 200 years old still operate in Japan, mostly family inherited small and medium enterprises (SMEs), and Germany has many centenarian companies, especially in the manufacturing industry. However, in the Republic of Korea, with over 4000 years of history, there are no companies older than 200 years and only seven companies with over 100 years of history. Centenarian companies in Korea are very limited, and even after surviving over 100 years, they continue to face severe challenges they need to overcome in order to survive. However, it is not clearly proven what factors affect the survival of companies for over a century. Since SMEs contribute to the economic development and survival of a country, it is important to investigate the secrets of their longevity, which has become even more difficult than ever. However, as there is very limited research on firm longevity, the findings from this case study of Dongwha Pharmaceutical, balancing the continuity of tradition and innovation, provide significant implications and practical guidelines for Korean SMEs for their survival and sustainable management, which is an economic and business aspect of sustainability.

Dosing Therapeutic Radiopharmaceuticals in Obese Patients

The prevalence of obesity has increased dramatically in the Western population. Obesity is known to influence not only the proportion of adipose tissue but also physiological processes that could alter drug pharmacokinetics. Yet, there are no specific dosing recommendations for radiopharmaceuticals in this patient population. This could potentially lead to underdosing and thus suboptimal treatment in obese patients, while it could also lead to drug toxicity due to high levels of radioactivity. In this review, relevant literature is summarized on radiopharmaceutical dosing and pharmacokinetic properties, and we aimed to translate these data into practical guidelines for dosing of radiopharmaceuticals in obese patients. For radium-223, dosing in obese patients is well established. Furthermore, for samarium-153-ethylenediaminetetramethylene (EDTMP), dose-escalation studies show that the maximum tolerated dose will probably not be reached in obese patients when dosing on MBq/kg. On the other hand, there is insufficient evidence to support dose recommendations in obese patients for rhenium-168-hydroxyethylidene diphosphonate (HEDP), sodium iodide-131, iodide 131-metaiodobenzylguanidine (MIBG), lutetium-177-dotatate, and lutetium-177-prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA). From a pharmacokinetic perspective, fixed dosing may be appropriate for these drugs. More research into obese patient populations is needed, especially in the light of increasing prevalence of obesity worldwide.

Investigating the Barriers to Applying the Internet-of-Things-Based Technologies to Construction Site Safety Management

The utilization of Internet-of-Things (IoT)-based technologies in the construction industry has recently grabbed the attention of numerous researchers and practitioners. Despite the improvements made to automate this industry using IoT-based technologies, there are several barriers to the further utilization of these leading-edge technologies. A review of the literature revealed that it lacks research focusing on the obstacles to the application of these technologies in Construction Site Safety Management (CSSM). Accordingly, the aim of this research was to identify and analyze the barriers impeding the use of such technologies in the CSSM context. To this end, initially, the extant literature was reviewed extensively and nine experts were interviewed, which led to the identification of 18 barriers. Then, the fuzzy Delphi method (FDM) was used to calculate the importance weights of the identified barriers and prioritize them through the lenses of competent experts in Hong Kong. Following this, the findings were validated using semi-structured interviews. The findings showed that the barriers related to “productivity reduction due to wearable sensors”, “the need for technical training”, and “the need for continuous monitoring” were the most significant, while “limitations on hardware and software and lack of standardization in efforts,” “the need for proper light for smooth functionality”, and “safety hazards” were the least important barriers. The obtained findings not only give new insight to academics, but also provide practical guidelines for the stakeholders at the forefront by enabling them to focus on the key barriers to the implementation of IoT-based technologies in CSSM.

Paradigm shift in medical education due to the COVID-19 pandemic: guidelines for developing a blended learning curriculum in medical education

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has transformed the world’s economy, health and education in a blink of an eye. Almost 1 billion learners have been affected across the globe. This has resulted in a paradigm shift to blended learning. Therefore, it was felt necessary to provide practical guidelines for the development of blended curriculum in medical education. It would help to overcome the challenges faced due to unprecedented transformation of medical education on account of pandemic. Methods: Guidelines based on personal experience of the authors and literature search were developed using the complex adapted blended learning system (CALBS) framework. Seven experts developed these guidelines using the nominal group technique. The consent form and literature for CABLS framework was shared with experts. The experts developed the guidelines independently during phase one of the technique. After a given time, phase 2 started with moderator mediated discussion about the individual guidelines developed by the experts. After discussion and mutual consensus four types of guideline ideas were developed. During the third phase the experts ranked the guideline ideas on a scale of 1 to 5. The guideline idea that ranked highest was selected as a final guideline for developing a blended learning curriculum. Results: The group consensus resulted in developing seven guidelines for a blended course or curriculum in medical education. These guidelines are based on a conceptual framework supplemented by expert’s own personal experience and current evidence from literature. Conclusions: These guidelines would provide a comprehensive and systematic approach to develop a blended learning curriculum in medical education.

The role of accounting information systems in firms’ performance during the COVID-19 pandemic

This paper investigates the influence of accounting information systems (AIS) on firms’ performance during the COVID-19 pandemic and how they help enhance employees’ performance and the external auditing process. This paper is qualitative in nature using the inductive approach. In-depth primary data were gathered through semi-structured interviews conducted in the year 2020. Due to the pandemic, the interviews with ten auditors were done online through the Zoom software application. The empirical findings of this paper show a positive impact of AIS on firms’ performance and a more significant influence on employees’ performance and the auditing process. AIS reduces costs and human errors, eases operations, speeds up work tasks, and increases employees’ productivity during the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings also show that there is no direct impact on firms’ overall cash flow/revenues. This paper increases our understanding of how AIS can influence and improve firms’ performance and the significance of implementation factors such as training. It provides practical guidelines for regulators and managers to utilize accounting information systems to perform better.

The worldwide impact of telemedicine during COVID-19: current evidence and recommendations for the future

During the COVID-19 pandemic, telemedicine has emerged worldwide as an indispensable resource to improve the surveillance of patients, curb the spread of disease, facilitate timely identification and management of ill people, but, most importantly, guarantee the continuity of care of frail patients with multiple chronic diseases. Although during COVID-19 telemedicine has thrived, and its adoption has moved forward in many countries, important gaps still remain. Major issues to be addressed to enable large scale implementation of telemedicine include: (1) establishing adequate policies to legislate telemedicine, license healthcare operators, protect patients’ privacy, and implement reimbursement plans; (2) creating and disseminating practical guidelines for the routine clinical use of telemedicine in different contexts; (3) increasing in the level of integration of telemedicine with traditional healthcare services; (4) improving healthcare professionals’ and patients’ awareness of and willingness to use telemedicine; and (5) overcoming inequalities among countries and population subgroups due to technological, infrastructural, and economic barriers. If all these requirements are met in the near future, remote management of patients will become an indispensable resource for the healthcare systems worldwide and will ultimately improve the management of patients and the quality of care.

Treatment for Peritoneal Metastasis of Patients With Colorectal Cancer

From the perspective of survival outcomes, the cancer survival of colorectal cancer (CRC) in the whole stage has improved. Peritoneal metastasis (PM) is found in approximately 8% to 15% of patients with CRC, with a poorer prognosis than that associated with other sites of metastases. Randomized controlled trials and up-to-date meta-analyses provide firm evidence that cytoreductive surgery (CRS) plus hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) could significantly improve overall survival compared with systemic chemotherapy alone in selected patients with CRC-PM. Practical guidelines recommend that the management of CRC-PM should be led by a multidisciplinary team carried out in experienced centers and consider CRS plus HIPEC for selected patients. In this review, we aim to provide the latest results of land mark studies and an overview of recent insights with regard to the management of CRC-PM.

[The renewability of the groundwater resource in clean-up interventions: legal assumptions and technical implications of environmental sustainability]

[This Technical Note highlights some legal aspects and technical principles closely related to the concept of ground water renewability, in as far as this concept is considered when designing and implementing environmental clean-up projects and works. After outlining the quantitative importance of groundwater in meeting Italian water demand, some key points of the current regulations are commented on, and some practical guidelines are proposed which could be adopted during remediation of groundwater at contaminated sites, aiming at the protection and qualitative-quantitative restoration of the aquifers as an indication of sustainability]. [In Italian]