During the past two decades the implementation and adoption of information technology has rapidly increased. As a consequence the way businesses operate has changed dramatically. For example, the amount of data has grown exponentially. Companies are looking for ways to use this data to add value to their business. This has implications for the manner in which (financial) governance needs to be organized. The main purpose of this study is to obtain insight in the changing role of controllers in order to add value to the business by means of data analytics. To answer the research question a literature study was performed to establish a theoretical foundation concerning data analytics and its potential use. Second, nineteen interviews were conducted with controllers, data scientists and academics in the financial domain. Thirdly, a focus group with experts was organized in which additional data were gathered. Based on the literature study and the participants responses it is clear that the challenge of the data explosion consist of converting data into information, knowledge and meaningful insights to support decision-making processes. Performing data analyses enables the controller to support rational decision making to complement the intuitive decision making by (senior) management. In this way, the controller has the opportunity to be in the lead of the information provision within an organization. However, controllers need to have more advanced data science and statistic competences to be able to provide management with effective analysis. Specifically, we found that an important skill regarding statistics is the visualization and communication of statistical analysis. This is needed for controllers in order to grow in their role as business partner..
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ABSTRACT Purpose: Polypharmacy is a known risk factor for potentially inappropriate prescribing. Recently there is an increasing interest in clinical decision support systems (CDSS) to improve prescribing. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of a CDSS, with the START-STOPP criteria as main content in the setting of a geriatric ward. Endpoints were 1) appropriateness of prescribing and 2) acceptance rate of recommendations. Methods: This prospective study comparing the use of a CDSS with usual care involved patients admitted to geriatric wards in two teaching hospitals in the Netherlands. Patients were included from January to May 2017. The medications of 64 patients in the first six weeks was assessed according to the current standard, whereas the medications of 61 patients in the second six weeks were also assessed by using a CDSS. Medication appropriateness was assessed with the Medication Appropriateness Index (MAI). Results: The medications of 125 patients (median age 83 years) were reviewed. In both the usual care group and the intervention group MAI scores decreased significantly from admission to discharge (within group analyses, p<0.001). This effect was significantly larger in the intervention group (p<0.05). MAI scores at discharge in the usual care group and the intervention group were respectively 9.95±6.70 and 7.26±5.07. The CDSS generated 193 recommendations, of which 71 concerned START criteria, 45 STOPP criteria, and 77 potential interactions. Overall, 31.6% of the recommendations were accepted. Conclusion: This study shows that a CDSS to improve prescribing has additional value in the setting of a geriatric ward. Almost one third of the software-generated recommendations were interpreted as clinically relevant and accepted, on average one per patient.
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Potato cyst nematodes (PCN) are in the Northern Netherlands and the Weser-Ems Region in Germany a major issue for farmers. The yearly average damage by PCN is about 100 Euros/hectare for farmers. Infestations of potato cyst nematodes can be controlled in a sustainable way by proper potato variety selection. Potato varieties vary in the degree of tolerance and resistance to PCN. However, this knowledge is used by only a small fraction of the farmers. The AGROBIOKON project, which is funded by the INTERREG EDR-region, the Landwirtschaftskammer Niedersachsen and the Dutch farmers association, have developed a decision support system for potato variety selection based upon population dynamic models for PCN: OPTIRas. The scientific principles and the model behind the decision support system will be presented. The model will be applied to PCN field experiments in the Weser-Ems region. Experience of using this decision support system in farmer study groups in the Netherlands and Germany will be shared.
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The focus of this project is on improving the resilience of hospitality Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) by enabling them to take advantage of digitalization tools and data analytics in particular. Hospitality SMEs play an important role in their local community but are vulnerable to shifts in demand. Due to a lack of resources (time, finance, and sometimes knowledge), they do not have sufficient access to data analytics tools that are typically available to larger organizations. The purpose of this project is therefore to develop a prototype infrastructure or ecosystem showcasing how Dutch hospitality SMEs can develop their data analytic capability in such a way that they increase their resilience to shifts in demand. The one year exploration period will be used to assess the feasibility of such an infrastructure and will address technological aspects (e.g. kind of technological platform), process aspects (e.g. prerequisites for collaboration such as confidentiality and safety of data), knowledge aspects (e.g. what knowledge of data analytics do SMEs need and through what medium), and organizational aspects (what kind of cooperation form is necessary and how should it be financed).Societal issueIn the Netherlands, hospitality SMEs such as hotels play an important role in local communities, providing employment opportunities, supporting financially or otherwise local social activities and sports teams (Panteia, 2023). Nevertheless, due to their high fixed cost / low variable business model, hospitality SMEs are vulnerable to shifts in consumer demand (Kokkinou, Mitas, et al., 2023; Koninklijke Horeca Nederland, 2023). This risk could be partially mitigated by using data analytics, to gain visibility over demand, and make data-driven decisions regarding allocation of marketing resources, pricing, procurement, etc…. However, this requires investments in technology, processes, and training that are oftentimes (financially) inaccessible to these small SMEs.Benefit for societyThe proposed study touches upon several key enabling technologies First, key enabling technology participation and co-creation lies at the center of this proposal. The premise is that regional hospitality SMEs can achieve more by combining their knowledge and resources. The proposed project therefore aims to give diverse stakeholders the means and opportunity to collaborate, learn from each other, and work together on a prototype collaboration. The proposed study thereby also contributes to developing knowledge with and for entrepreneurs and to digitalization of the tourism and hospitality sector.Collaborative partnersHZ University of Applied Sciences, Hotel Hulst, Hotel/Restaurant de Belgische Loodsensociëteit, Hotel Zilt, DM Hotels, Hotel Charley's, Juyo Analytics, Impuls Zeeland.
National forestry Commission (SBB) and National Park De Biesbosch. Subcontractor through NRITNational parks with large flows of visitors have to manage these flows carefully. Methods of data collection and analysis can be of help to support decision making. The case of the Biesbosch National Park is used to find innovative ways to figure flows of yachts, being the most important component of water traffic, and to create a model that allows the estimation of changes in yachting patterns resulting from policy measures. Recent policies oriented at building additional waterways, nature development areas and recreational concentrations in the park to manage the demands of recreation and nature conservation offer a good opportunity to apply this model. With a geographical information system (GIS), data obtained from aerial photographs and satellite images can be analyzed. The method of space syntax is used to determine and visualize characteristics of the network of leisure routes in the park and to evaluate impacts resulting from expected changes in the network that accompany the restructuring of waterways.
The focus of the research is 'Automated Analysis of Human Performance Data'. The three interconnected main components are (i)Human Performance (ii) Monitoring Human Performance and (iii) Automated Data Analysis . Human Performance is both the process and result of the person interacting with context to engage in tasks, whereas the performance range is determined by the interaction between the person and the context. Cheap and reliable wearable sensors allow for gathering large amounts of data, which is very useful for understanding, and possibly predicting, the performance of the user. Given the amount of data generated by such sensors, manual analysis becomes infeasible; tools should be devised for performing automated analysis looking for patterns, features, and anomalies. Such tools can help transform wearable sensors into reliable high resolution devices and help experts analyse wearable sensor data in the context of human performance, and use it for diagnosis and intervention purposes. Shyr and Spisic describe Automated Data Analysis as follows: Automated data analysis provides a systematic process of inspecting, cleaning, transforming, and modelling data with the goal of discovering useful information, suggesting conclusions and supporting decision making for further analysis. Their philosophy is to do the tedious part of the work automatically, and allow experts to focus on performing their research and applying their domain knowledge. However, automated data analysis means that the system has to teach itself to interpret interim results and do iterations. Knuth stated: Science is knowledge which we understand so well that we can teach it to a computer; and if we don't fully understand something, it is an art to deal with it.[Knuth, 1974]. The knowledge on Human Performance and its Monitoring is to be 'taught' to the system. To be able to construct automated analysis systems, an overview of the essential processes and components of these systems is needed.Knuth Since the notion of an algorithm or a computer program provides us with an extremely useful test for the depth of our knowledge about any given subject, the process of going from an art to a science means that we learn how to automate something.
