The aim of this study was to verify the existence of business and strategic intelligence policies at the level of Congolese companies and at the state level, likely to foster progress and healthy development in the ea...The aim of this study was to verify the existence of business and strategic intelligence policies at the level of Congolese companies and at the state level, likely to foster progress and healthy development in the east of the DRC. The study was based on a mixed perspective consisting of objective analysis of quantitative data and interpretative analysis of qualitative data. The results showed that business and strategic intelligence policies have not been established at either company or state level, as this is an area of activity that is not known to the players in companies and public departments, and there are no units or offices in their organizational structures responsible for managing strategic information for competitiveness on the international market. In addition, there is a real need to establish strategic information management units within companies, upstream, and to set up a national strategic information management department or agency to help local companies compete in the marketplace, downstream. This reflects the importance and timeliness of building business and strategic intelligence policies to ensure economic progress and development in the eastern DRC. Business and strategic intelligence provides companies with an appropriate tool for researching, collecting, processing and disseminating information useful for decision-making among stakeholders, in order to cope with a crisis or competitive situation. The study suggests a number of key recommendations based on its findings. To the government, it is recommended to establish the national policy of business and strategic intelligence by setting up a national agency of strategic intelligence in favor of local companies;and to companies to establish business intelligence units in their organizational structures in favor of stakeholders to foster advantageous decision-making in the competitive market and achieve progress. Finally, the study suggests that studies be carried out to fully understand the opportunities and impact of business and strategic intelligence in African countries, particularly in the DRC.展开更多
We sought to examine how the impact of revocable behavioral interventions,e.g.,shelterin-place,varies throughout an epidemic,as well as the role that the proportion of susceptible individuals had on an intervention...We sought to examine how the impact of revocable behavioral interventions,e.g.,shelterin-place,varies throughout an epidemic,as well as the role that the proportion of susceptible individuals had on an intervention's impact.We estimated the theoretical impacts of start day,length,and intensity of interventions on disease transmission and illustrated them on COVID-19 dynamics inWake County,North Carolina,to inform how interventions can be most effective.We used a Susceptible,Exposed,Infectious,and Recovered(SEIR)model to estimate epidemic curves with modifications to the disease transmission parameter(β).We designed modifications to simulate events likely to increase transmission(e.g.,long weekends,holiday seasons)or behavioral interventions likely to decrease it(e.g.,shelter-in-place,masking).We compared the resultant curves'shape,timing,and cumulative case count to baseline and across other modified curves.Interventions led to changes in COVID-19 dynamics,including moving the peak's location,height,and width.The proportion susceptible,at the start day,strongly influenced their impact.Early interventions shifted the curve,while interventions near the peak modified shape and case count.For some scenarios,in which the transmission parameter was decreased,the final cumulative count increased over baseline.We showed that the timing of revocable interventions has a strong impact on their effect.The same intervention applied at different time points,corresponding to different proportions of susceptibility,resulted in qualitatively differential effects.Accurate estimation of the proportion susceptible is critical for understanding an intervention's impact.The findings presented here provide evidence of the importance of estimating the proportion of the population that is susceptible when predicting the impact of behavioral infection control interventions.Greater emphasis should be placed on the estimation of this epidemic component in intervention design and decision-making.Our results are generic and are applicable to other infectious disease epidemics,as well as to future waves of the current COVID-19 epidemic.Developed into a publicly available tool that allows users to modify the parameters to estimate impacts of different interventions,these models could aid in evaluating behavioral intervention options prior to their use and in predicting case increases from specific events.展开更多
文摘The aim of this study was to verify the existence of business and strategic intelligence policies at the level of Congolese companies and at the state level, likely to foster progress and healthy development in the east of the DRC. The study was based on a mixed perspective consisting of objective analysis of quantitative data and interpretative analysis of qualitative data. The results showed that business and strategic intelligence policies have not been established at either company or state level, as this is an area of activity that is not known to the players in companies and public departments, and there are no units or offices in their organizational structures responsible for managing strategic information for competitiveness on the international market. In addition, there is a real need to establish strategic information management units within companies, upstream, and to set up a national strategic information management department or agency to help local companies compete in the marketplace, downstream. This reflects the importance and timeliness of building business and strategic intelligence policies to ensure economic progress and development in the eastern DRC. Business and strategic intelligence provides companies with an appropriate tool for researching, collecting, processing and disseminating information useful for decision-making among stakeholders, in order to cope with a crisis or competitive situation. The study suggests a number of key recommendations based on its findings. To the government, it is recommended to establish the national policy of business and strategic intelligence by setting up a national agency of strategic intelligence in favor of local companies;and to companies to establish business intelligence units in their organizational structures in favor of stakeholders to foster advantageous decision-making in the competitive market and achieve progress. Finally, the study suggests that studies be carried out to fully understand the opportunities and impact of business and strategic intelligence in African countries, particularly in the DRC.
基金This study was funded by an National Science Foundation grant 2027802 Operational COVID-19 Forecasting with Multisource Information.
文摘We sought to examine how the impact of revocable behavioral interventions,e.g.,shelterin-place,varies throughout an epidemic,as well as the role that the proportion of susceptible individuals had on an intervention's impact.We estimated the theoretical impacts of start day,length,and intensity of interventions on disease transmission and illustrated them on COVID-19 dynamics inWake County,North Carolina,to inform how interventions can be most effective.We used a Susceptible,Exposed,Infectious,and Recovered(SEIR)model to estimate epidemic curves with modifications to the disease transmission parameter(β).We designed modifications to simulate events likely to increase transmission(e.g.,long weekends,holiday seasons)or behavioral interventions likely to decrease it(e.g.,shelter-in-place,masking).We compared the resultant curves'shape,timing,and cumulative case count to baseline and across other modified curves.Interventions led to changes in COVID-19 dynamics,including moving the peak's location,height,and width.The proportion susceptible,at the start day,strongly influenced their impact.Early interventions shifted the curve,while interventions near the peak modified shape and case count.For some scenarios,in which the transmission parameter was decreased,the final cumulative count increased over baseline.We showed that the timing of revocable interventions has a strong impact on their effect.The same intervention applied at different time points,corresponding to different proportions of susceptibility,resulted in qualitatively differential effects.Accurate estimation of the proportion susceptible is critical for understanding an intervention's impact.The findings presented here provide evidence of the importance of estimating the proportion of the population that is susceptible when predicting the impact of behavioral infection control interventions.Greater emphasis should be placed on the estimation of this epidemic component in intervention design and decision-making.Our results are generic and are applicable to other infectious disease epidemics,as well as to future waves of the current COVID-19 epidemic.Developed into a publicly available tool that allows users to modify the parameters to estimate impacts of different interventions,these models could aid in evaluating behavioral intervention options prior to their use and in predicting case increases from specific events.
