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Introduction: There is a high variability in the level of information intended for patients, with different content, format and presentation., Objective: To determine the perceived safety of the patients treated at the Country Hospital of Melilla (HCML) and to assess the quality of the documents using criteria adapted to the «International Patient Decision Aid Standards» (IPDAS)., Method: Descriptive study of the documents given to patients by the HCML. They included questionnaires on perceived safety, classification of the documents, and the level of adherence to the IPDAS criteria., Results: The Information given to patients during their stay in the HCML, their participation in decision-making, and the information about medication, did not exceed the average on the acceptance scale. Only 40 documents were studied (of the 131 collected), on being published in-house, and were classified, following the definitions of the RAE, into instructions (20), recommendations (14) and guidelines (6). Of these, only the 27.5% showed hospital logo. In the content analysis according to the IPDAS criteria, there was an overall adherence rate of 24.1% in instructions, 24.8% in recommendations, and 61.5% in guidelines., Conclusions: The perception of patient safety expressed in the questionnaire, and its assessment according IPDAS criteria, shows there may be a significant improvement within the organization. Furthermore, the quality of patient documentation provided can help decision making., (Copyright © 2013 SECA. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.)

(Series Information) European Papers - A Journal on Law and Integration, 2024 8(3), 1143-1154 | European Forum Insight of 16 January 2024 | (Table of Contents) I. Introduction. - II. The advent of Putinism in Europe: illiberalism in Hungary and Poland. - III. Diverging approaches to the invasion of Ukraine. - IV. Challenges and opportunities: discovering the EU’s militant democracy potential?. - V. Conclusion. | (Abstract) In the past decade, Hungary and Poland have experienced a process of rule of law backsliding that threatens the state of democracy at home, and affects the decision making and legitimacy of the European Union as a whole. In the face of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, the response of Hungary and Poland has been diametrically opposed, but equally damaging to the EU rule of law. The present Insight will analyse the response of these two member states to the Russian invasion, and it will argue that the war has highlighted major pitfalls in the EU’s policy toward backsliding governments, which continue to benefit from funds and veto powers, undermining the EU’s effectiveness in the process. However, a renewed fight for democracy in Europe could offer the perfect opportunity to be tough on autocrats inside and outside the Union.

This study aims to be one of the first to analyse the noise level in the peer review process of scientific articles. Noise is defined as the undesired variability in the judgements made by professionals on the same topic or subject. We refer to evaluative judgements in which experts are expected to agree. This is what happens when we try to judge the quality of a scientific work. To measure noise, the only information needed is to have several judgements made by different people on the same case to analyse their dispersion (what Kahneman et al. call a noise audit). This was the procedure followed in this research. We asked a set of reviewers from the journal WPOM (Working Papers on Operations Management) to review the same manuscript which had been previously accepted for publication in this journal, although the reviewers were unaware of that fact. The results indicated that if two reviewers were used, the probability of this manuscript not being published would be close to 8%, while the probability of it having an uncertain future would be 40% (one favorable opinion and one unfavorable opinion or both suggesting substantial changes). In the case of employing only one reviewer, in 25% of the cases, the audited work would have encountered significant challenges for publication. The great advantage of measuring noise is, once measured, it is usually possible to reduce it. This article concludes by outlining some of the measures which can be put in place by scientific journals to improve their peer review processes.

(Series Information) European Papers - A Journal on Law and Integration, 2023 8(1), 9-16 | European Forum Insight of 11 April 2023 | (Table of Contents) I. Introduction. - II. Electoral Reform. - II.1. Comment. - II.2. Proposed amendments. - III. Ordinary Revision Procedure. - III.1. Comment. - III.2. Proposed amendments. - IV. The General Passerelle Clause. - IV.1. Comment. - IV.2. Proposed amendments. - V. Affiliate Membership. - V.1. Comment. - V.2. Proposed new clause. - VI. Shifting Competences. - VI.1. Comment. - VI.2. Proposed amendment. | (Abstract) If there is not to be a Convention to revise the Treaty of Lisbon, here is a proposal to amend some key articles in order to strengthen the democratic legitimacy of the EU, to make its decision making more agile, and to enhance its capacity to act.

This paper intends to raise the potential interest that the principles and experiences of the so-called behavioral economy have in the field of public health and, more specifically, in behavioral changes, thus substituting harmful behaviors to health for salutogenic behaviors while respecting the final freedom of choice of the person. In this article, we review the foundations of behavioral economics, emphasizing the work of Tversky and Kahneman and their approach to prospective theory and the role of brain activity levels 1 (automatic) and 2 (reflective) in decision making process. On the basis of these approaches, Thaler and Sustein identify a series of biases that will be used as tools to facilitate behavioral changes through a set of actions "that modify people's behavior in a predictable way without prohibiting any option or significantly changing their economic incentives" based on the so-called libertarian paternalism. We review its interest in public health, citing some empirical studies that demonstrate its high level of effectiveness and efficiency, reflected in the creation of Nudge Units in various countries, and concluding that this can be an interesting tool to add (not to replace) the classical techniques of health promotion and disease prevention.

Objective: This study examines individuals' choice of private health insurance in Spain. Private health insurance choices reveal the attributes of health care most highly valued by the population, and the perceived responsiveness of the public system in delivering those preferences., Method: The paper exploits the 2004, 2009 and 2014 waves of the national Health Barometer survey, examining the health insurance choice separately for the general population and a small but influential sector of elite public-sector employees who can opt out from the public health system (civil servants)., Results: Public healthcare is a highly regarded provider in terms of technology and doctor training, even by those who chose private health insurance, but falls short in terms of amenities such as comfort and speed of attendance. These findings confirm well-known strengths and criticisms of the public system. However, the study also finds that citizens are concerned about the performance of the public sector in key domains of health system responsiveness, such as personal contact and information and these concerns also influence their decision to opt for private provision. Finally, civil servants, even the minority who opted for public provision, tend to have a lower opinion of the public health service than non-civil servants, especially in terms of personal contact, information, primary care and specialist care., Conclusions: These perceptions and concerns of the public about the performance of the public health service will be of interest for policy makers and should be investigated further., (Copyright © 2018 SESPAS. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.)

The changes initiated by the new National Civil and Commercial Code in Argentina underline the pediatric task to empower children's and adolescents' developing autonomy. In this paper, we have framed a model describing autonomy in child healthcare. We carried out a literature review focusing on i) the concept of autonomy referring to the absolute value of the autonomous individual, and ii) the age-driven process of competent decisionmaking development. We summarized our findings developing a conceptual model that includes the child, the pediatrician and the parents. The pediatricianchild relationship is based on different forms of guidance and cooperation, resulting in varying levels of activity and passivity. Parental authority influences the extent of autonomy, based on the level of respect of the child's moral equality. Contextual, existential, conceptual, and socialethical conditions shall be considered when applying the model to facilitate dialogue between pediatricians, children, parents and other actors., (Sociedad Argentina de Pediatría.)

The purpose of this paper is to determine the extent of the contribution of coaching in decision making, one of the most sought-after managerial skills in administrative management. Two perspectives are brought into dialogue in this paper. One from organizational coaching, a process leading to positive and lasting changes to pave the way for success in work teams. And the second one from managerial decisions, through the conscious development of skills and resources that allow linking emotions and reason, in the search for alternatives to choose the best option to undertake. This entails qualification of different aspects of the being, the knowing and the doing. While technical knowledge and skills associated to a position are necessary, it is essential to undertake new personal and professional experiences. Here, coaching is a valid option for paving the way for success. Therefore, it is highlighted that coaching effectively contributes, through a deep process of personal transformation, to decision-making, because when higher levels of awareness and internal connection are reached, the ability to fully evaluate situations is expanded, and more assertiveness to choose is achieved, resulting in superior outcomes.

To incorporate economic evaluation into decision-making, we need to know how much a health system is willing and able to invest in a quality-adjusted life year (QALY). In Spain, the figure of €30,000 per QALY as cost-effectiveness (CE) threshold has been widely cited. However, as in most health systems, no value has been formally adopted; mainly because of the arbitrariness, the lack of theoretical and scientific basis, and the controversy around its estimation and what the threshold should represent. Based on a systematic review of empirical studies on the estimation of the CE threshold undertaken by this research team, we conducted a critical appraisal of the state of the art, using a Delphi with the participation of 13 national experts. This paper contributes to assess the research progress on the CE threshold in Spain, to consider its utility in the decision making process supported by economic evaluation, and to propose further research to improve what has been achieved so far.

Recently, the translational research model (TR) has been established as a key feature in health worldwide. The objectives of this review are: (1) to define the TR and describe its complex nature; (2) to identify the components of the TR; (3) to link the TR to the decision-making process in health policies; (4) to recognize frequent obstacles and challenges of the association between the TR and the decision-making process in health policies. A systematic literature review was conducted in scientific databases and selected grey literature was done including TR and health policy as key words. We found 60 papers. Results show that the concept of TR and its theoretical formulation has evolved over time and has only recently incorporated the complexity that exists in the transference of scientific knowledge to health. International literature shows different applications of the TR in both research and clinical practice. The application of the TR to public health and health policy decision making is relatively new but necessary and could become a priority for health policies in the countries.

Introduction: Neuroeconomics is a new science that studies the brain processes involved in taking decisions, particularly related to economy and it has experienced an important advance in the recent years due to the development of the new neuroimaging techniques, basically functional magnetic resonance imaging. The aim of this paper it to carry out a review of the literature on the different neurological mechanisms involved in taking financial decisions, the concerned brain structures and the diseases that can affect them., Sources: We made a non systematic review of the literature in primary (PubMed) and secondary (Tripdatabase and Cochrane Library) bibliographic databases. We also used bibliography given by the Asociación Española de Neuroeconomía., Development: Brain reward and loss aversion systems suppose a balance that makes us take one or another decision. Dopamine plays an important role on it and several brain structures have been involved in this balance such as the amygdale, the insula, the medial prefrontal cortex, the anterior and posterior cingulated cortex, the accumbens nucleus and the ventral tegmental area. The alteration of this balance may produce inappropriate financial behaviors what may occur in common diseases including depression, mania, alcoholism, gambling and several impulse control disorders., Conclusions: Neurologists should define our role in this interdisciplinary field due to the privileged position of our specialty to study how the brain works and due to the potential growing of this science in the near future., (Copyright © 2010 Sociedad Española de Neurología. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.)

In the research area, the criterion to test a hypothesis is frequently the distance of each subject from the mean of the distribution. This concept of distance is constantly used and re-used as a source of evidence in the search for significant contrasts with respect to models of theoretical probability. This paper proposes a number of ideas regarding the use of new distance indicators related to statistics that rely less heavily on parametric assumptions, in particular, the use of median confidence intervals. We have simulated via EXCEL different data samples for a design of two independent groups under 15 different conditions in two different situations: mean equality and mean differences. The results showed the high sensitivity of the comparison of the confidence intervals, especially if a strict decision criterion is used. However, we did not obtain good results for sensitivity. In fact, in some cases, the comparison of the confidence intervals of the mean worked better than those of median.

In patients with anorexia nervosa, ethical dilemmas will appear in case of difficult and serious medical situations. Although the principle of beneficence could be used to argue for the use of coercive medical therapies, the respect for autonomy must take precedence. The latter is a central principle of bioethics. However, the interactions between autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, and justice become quite complex when these patients need to be treated. Difficulties must be overcome and a balance between these considerations must be reached. This paper gives an account of ethical values relevant to moral assessment in anorexia nervosa: conviction, responsibility and care.

Management implies decision-making and economics deals with efficiency which means to obtain the best possible results with the available resources, and to compare such results with those that were foreseen. The economic evaluation comprises a set of techniques aimed at comparing resource allocation on alternate courses of action and its consequences. In health care, these results are the overall well-being of the society. This paper summarizes the techniques that are customarily used in economic evaluation, and intends to serve as an introductory text to increasing the ability of the readers to grasp original articles in the field of health economics.

In the last decades, medical decisions are increasingly submitted to the courts of law for a number of reasons, also in our country. The various causes and different issues involved in such proceedings require comments referred to the possibility of causing an additional conflict to that which the courts of law are in theory required to address. In that context, this paper explores the repeated cases in which, due to the lack of positive legislation on a given issue, or due to different interpretations of existing legislation, or for lack of understanding of scientific progress or medical facts, defensive medicine finds its way to the detriment of society as a whole. In many other cases, fearful inexplicable attitudes of the doctors involved result in a transfer of exclusively medical decisions to the courts of law. This attitude contributes to the dismantling of a profession such as medicine, which is already subject to the difficult context of a variety of health systems that fail to sufficiently comply with their obligation of taking care of a community that needs and supports them.

This paper discusses the experiences and conceptual and theoretical lessons learned during interaction between researchers, policy-makers, program beneficiaries, and other actors in a research project on social protection, health, and forced displacement in Bogotá, Colombia. The article begins by presenting the methodological approach and a description of interaction between various actors. This experience provides the basis for a conceptual discussion on the factors and determinants of research use. The article also highlights the need for taking an epistemological view beyond the positivist and rationalist underpinnings of the dominant explanations concerning interaction between researchers and decision-makers.

Resumen. Los Recursos Humanos constituyen los únicos elementos vivos presentes en todo tipo de organización, quienes, a partir de sus conocimientos, habilidades y motivaciones, impulsan a las empresas a ser competitivas y a alcanzar sus metas. En aras de lograr dicho objetivo se hace necesario contar con herramientas que ayuden a que el proceso de toma de decisiones concerniente a la gestión de los mismos sea lo más certeros y objetivos. El presente trabajo propone un modelo de gestión de recursos humanos que integra herramientas basadas en la teoría de los subconjuntos borrosos. La investigación se encuentra estructurada en tres epígrafes. El primero analiza los modelos utilizados en Cuba para gestionar los recursos humanos. El segundo presenta el Modelo de Gestión de los Recursos Humanos que se propone, para finalmente, en un tercer epígrafe proceder a validarlo. La novedad del trabajo que se propone, radica en la integración de herramientas de la teoría de los subconjuntos borrosos en los procesos claves de la Gestión de los Recursos Humanos. Entre sus aportes se encuentran: la aplicación del método de alisado exponencial borroso a la planeación del personal, la extrapolación de un modelo de asignación resuelto a través del algoritmo húngaro a la formación del personal, así como la construcción de un sistema de indicadores borrosos para la evaluación de la Gestión de los Recursos Humanos. La propuesta fue validada a través de aplicaciones parciales en empresas seleccionadas así como con criterio de expertos. English abstract. Human resources are the only living elements present in all types of organizations who, from their knowledge, skills and motivations driving companies to be competitive and achieve their objectives and goals. In order to achieve this objective it is necessary to have tools that help the decision-making process regarding the management of human resources is as accurate and objective as possible. This paper proposes a Human resources management model based on fuzzy subsets theory to help reduce subjectivity that may be implied in these processes tools. This paper has been structured in three epigraphs. The first one presents an analysis of the Human Resources management Models used in Cuba. The second present the proposal of the Human Resources Management Model based on fuzzy subsets theory and finally on third epigraph the proposal is validated. The novelty of the proposed work lies in the integration of tools of the theory of fuzzy subsets in the key processes of Human Resources Management. Among the main contributions are: the application of the method of fuzzy to planning staff exponential smoothing, extrapolation of an allocation model solved through the Hungarian algorithm to staff training and building a system of fuzzy indicators for the evaluation of Human Resources Management. The proposal was validated through partial applications in companies in GECOMEX well as expert judgment.

The need to increase collective participation in health care decision-making is one of the main health reform issues in publicly financed health systems. The present article examines the arguments for collective participation, the means for improving it and the methods available to elicit collective preferences concerning health programs to be financed by the health system. We review the various collective participation tools, as well as the preference elicitation methods assist priority setting in collectively funded health care systems. Finally, the paper suggests some policy implications for policy making design in Spain.

The decision making capacity of patients will acquire special relevance with the introduction of informed consent in clinical practice and the new normative that will appear in the future when the bills about health services are approved in the Congress. This paper reviews the concept of decision making capacity in the context of health care and its legal background in Chile. The main problems that arise from the comprehension, use and assessment of decision making capacity, are analyzed. The assessment of this capacity is, in most cases, subjective since there are no criteria, protocols or standards to be used. In courts of justice, the exercise capacity assessment is requested to experts. These specilized physicians will evaluate the mental health of the subject and its implications in the capacity to make decisions. In practice, it is difficult to integrate the concept of capacity from the law or health care perspective. It is concluded that the elaboration of criteria, standards and procedures to evaluate the decision capacity of patients, is mandatory.

There is much neurological literature on clinical, pathological, technical aspects of diagnostic or therapeutic aspects, however there are few articles about clinical-neurological reasoning. This paper analyzes the psychological processes by which neurologists solve complicated diagnostic problems. Clinicians can use a variety of reasoning, such as model (pattern), exhaustive, probabilistic, deterministic (categorical), and hypothetical-deductive reasoning mechanisms. The neurologist must be aware of what kind of reasoning is being used at a given time as well as the errors that can occur. Most of these errors are found in the probabilistic setting and can be grouped into three categories: representativeness errors, availability or adjustment and anchoring biases. Most of them occur due to an inadequate intuitive judgement by the physician to handle the probabilities. There are other sources of error, related with the diagnostic process or with the environmental circumstances in which they develop. The most important ones as well as their theoretical and practical implications are described. In the evidence based medicine era, it is important for the clinical neurologists to be aware of this terminology and concepts for an adequate practice of neurology.

One of the main issues in radiology is image analysts and report. The two stages of this process are the extraction of the information from the image and the diagnostic exercise. This paper is a theoretical analysis of image interpretation from a quantitative perspective, using information theory and Bayesian inference, and relating it to the concepts of evidence based medicine. It is concluded that the amount of information is dependent on the previous state of knowledge and the acquaintance with the clinical history and complementary exams. The three determined stages of the diagnostic process are a priori, conditioned by the image and a posteriori analyses. The first stage is related to the degree of information and knowledge of the case. The second stage is dependent on the conditional probability for the presence of image signs of the disease and it is thus directly dependent on the sensitivity and specificity of the exam. The third stage is dependent of the previous stages, that in the simplest case can be expressed in function of the odds or likelihood ratios. These three stages allow to reach a decision about the usefulness of a given exam and they orient the questions that a given image may answer. They also orient the research on image analysis for an adequate decision making, minimizing diagnostic uncertainty.

Durante el año 2020, la normativa de la emergencia sanitaria obligó a las universidades a impartir la docencia bajo la modalidad de enseñanza a distancia, lo que representó un desafío en el diseño de cursos que requieren una alta efectividad. El propósito de este trabajo es presentar las estrategias que se aplicaron con éxito durante la enseñanza y aprendizaje de las herramientas de gestión del diseño de un proyecto de edificación, implementadas en un curso de la maestría en Ingeniería Civil de la Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú. La metodología consideró el efecto de la Pandemia del Covid-19 y tuvo como objetivo desarrollar habilidades blandas y empleabilidad, para lo cual se propuso un uso equilibrado de plataformas colaborativas virtuales, así como software para videoconferencia y laboratorios. Por otro lado, durante esta asignatura, los estudiantes desarrollaron una propuesta de planificación y gestión integrada de la fase de diseño utilizando herramientas de guías y directrices de sistemas de gestión de proyectos. Bajo este marco, se analizó la participación de los interesados, la toma de decisiones multicriterio, el desarrollo de los entregables del diseño del proyecto y la secuencia del proyecto. El éxito de esta metodología se refleja en la alta calidad de los trabajos y exposiciones finales, el resultado de las encuestas realizadas -eficacia del 99%-, y en las oportunidades de mejora detectadas. Se diseñó e implementó una asignatura no presencial flexible y exitosa, que podría adaptarse a la modalidad Blended Learning. Abstract During the year 2020, the sanitary emergency norm forced universities to teach under the remote learning method, representing a challenge of designing courses that require high effectiveness. The purpose of this work is to present the strategies that were successfully applied during the teaching and learning of design management tools for a building project, implemented in a course of the Civil Engineering master of the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru. The methodology considered the effect of the Covid-19 Pandemic and had as objective to develop soft skills and employability, for which a balanced use of virtual collaborative platforms as well as software was proposed for videoconference and laboratories. On the other hand, during this subject, students developed a proposal for integrated planning and management of the design phase using tools of norms and guidelines of construction management systems. Under this framework, the participation of stakeholders, multicriteria decision making, development of project design deliverables and project sequence was analyzed. The success of this methodology is reflected in the high quality of final papers and expositions, the result of surveys taken - effectiveness of 99%-, and in the improvement opportunities detected. A flexible and successful non-face to face subject was designed and implemented, which could be adapted to the Blended Learning modality.

Clinical decision-making in cardiology requires accurate estimates of the efficacy of diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. Defined as the quantitative integration of results from different studies on the same scientific question, meta-analyses are well-suited to summarize the evidence on the efficacy of clinical interventions. Meta-analyses aim at obtaining combined estimates of effect using all relevant information in a systematic fashion, complementing narrative reviews and expert committee reports. In this paper, the advantages and limitations of meta-analyses and their usefulness in clinical decision making in cardiology are illustrated using three recent examples in the literature--i.e., use of beta-blockers in secondary prevention of ischemic heart disease, intravenous streptokinase in acute myocardial infarction and fish intake in primary prevention of cardiovascular mortality. The steps to follow when conducting a meta-analysis are also discussed. Finally, a list of the most important meta-analyses in cardiology published to date is included for easy reference.

The principal purpose of this paper is to analyze different methods for decision making, with a focus on entrepreneurship in Latin America. Decision-making methods may be informed by aggregation operators that are based on the use of probabilities, weighted averages (WAs) and generalized aggregation operators. The paper presents a new generalized probabilistic weighted averaging (GPWA) operator that unifies WAs and probability in the same formulation, considering the degree of importance of each concept used in the analysis. The fundamental advantage of this approach is that it includes a wide range of particular cases including the probabilistic weighted averaging (PWA) operator, the probabilistic weighted geometric averaging (PWGA) operator and the probabilistic weighted quadratic averaging (PWQA) operator. Quasi-arithmetic means are used to obtain the Quasi-PWA operator and to generalize the approach, which is then applied to a set of hypothetical entrepreneurial investment decisions in a politically unified Latin American region.

This paper presents some reflections on strategic response models, in particular the models proposed by Pache, Santos and Oliver, and it evaluates their complementarity and differences, especially regarding the interactions between decision making and the possible strategic responses to institutional demands. It is argued that the theoretical contributions of Pache and Santos can be categorized under the dimension of utility, because they can enhance the potential to operationalize and test the model. However, the reflections made in this paper not only highlight the need to take into account other external and internal factors for the study of strategic responses, but also the integration of different linkages of the decision process with strategic responses to institutional demands.

Fuzzy cognitive maps have received increasing attention for the representation of causal knowledge, being especially useful in decision situations. In this paper a model for decision making based on fuzzy cognitive maps using the paradigm of computing with words in order to provide causal models that are easily understood is proposed. To this end, we propose the use of linguistic representation model based on linguistic 2-tuple, which provides results in this domain. The main advantage of the proposed decision-making based on fuzzy cognitive map model is that allows to increase the interpretability of the causal models and the results of the simulations are performed to evaluate the alternatives, and this fact useful in making decision. Finally, the paper presents an illustrative example of the model presented in the scenario analysis applied to software architecture in a business organization.

There is a growing interest in the role of socio-demographic variables in cognitive processing in recent years. Some studies in neuropsychology have been showing that socio-cultural factors can beimportant variables in the execution of neuropsychological tasks. However, investigations with healthy samples are still new in the field. This paper aims to present a systematic review of the literature about the role of the socio-demographic variables education, age and gender in the decision making processing assessed by the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT). Medline, Pubmed, Psycinfo and Web of Science databases were searched, from 2000 to 2010, with the following syntax keywords “education OR schooling AND Iowa Gambling Task” OR “somatic marker”; “age” OR “aging” AND “Iowa Gambling Task” OR“somatic marker”; and, “sex” OR “gender” AND “Iowa Gambling Task” OR “somatic marker”. Among the abstracts which fulfilled the inclusion criteria, 9 full- -text papers were analyzed for the age factor, 3 papers for education and 6 for gender. Only a few studies werefound about age, education and gender and their impact on IGT performance. The most studied variable was age. The majority of the studies showed that young adults presented better learning during the task when compared to elderly ones, but there were no differences regarding the total IGT score. When it comes to education fewstudies were found, and as regards gender, the results were contradictory. In this way the need of more studies with healthy samples which can clarify the role of age, schooling and gender in the decision making process evaluated by IGT was highlighted.

This paper applies educational data mining algorithms to present an analysis of the most relevant characteristics of potential dropout students. The study used a dataset of 10,635 instances, acquired between 2014 and 2019 from 53 bachelor’s degree programs at a private university in the state of Puebla (Mexico). The results show that the model obtained from the decision trees performs better than other algorithms and allows for easy interpretation through decision rules. Furthermore, the model performs better than other related models in the literature that have been applied to the same problem. The methods used to select characteristics yielded the most important attributes to identify potential dropouts, such as the period, last semester completed, credits completed, attendance, courses failed, and program. These attributes and decision rules can be used to create mechanisms that help prevent dropout.

A production planning problem related to income is addressed in a fruit supply chain of small producers, who prefer not to harvest if the market price does not allow their costs to be recovered. A mathematical model is proposed to represent the harvest decision where three elements are considered: the product perishability, the market prices behavior, and finally how much to harvest. This paper establishes that the income improvement of small agricultural producers is a strategy to support the socio-economic development of this sector. The model applied in a small citrus producer’s case study show that adequate harvest planning allows establishing a relationship between prices and sales to maximize small producer profits.