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The importance of adequate risk management is growing, whereas quality management unifies all managerial processes to direct and manage activities toward the achievement of organisational goals. The goal of this study is to validate the relevance of the link between the application of quality management principles and risk management maturity. This paper constitutes a critical literature review and an analysis of the latest scientific articles, published in international databases, and other scientific sources over a period of 15 years. In summary, organisation can attain a higher level of risk management maturity through the synergistic application of all seven quality management principles. The findings practically are beneficial for all types of organisations that seek to successfully implement risk management processes.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore existing and desired methodologies for systematic quality work to promote quality in preschools from the principal's perspective. Design/methodology/approach: A collaborative approach was used in this research project, and principals were asked to complete portfolio assignments. Their answers to those portfolio assignments were analysed by the research team and subsequently compared to total quality management values. Findings: Existing and desired methodologies for systematic quality work are presented and sorted into 13 and 17 groups, respectively. The principals desire four times more methodologies than they are presently using to promote systematic quality work, and the results show that they must extend their methodologies to support TQM values. Research limitations/implications: This research is based on answers collected from 18 principals in one municipality in Sweden. Practical implications: The use of the cornerstone model provides a framework to illustrate the application of TQM in preschools. Originality/value: Principals struggle to find time for systemic quality work. The presented results can be used to work systematically with quality in preschools and other organizations.

World university rankings have had an impact on academic competition worldwide. The comparability of ranking results depends on how data is collected within each university. When data concepts are interpreted differently, data variety is introduced and ranking results cannot be used in a meaningful manner. In this case study, the effect of semantic harmonisation of the data concepts of the "Times Higher Education" World University Ranking is evaluated. Based on two independent initiatives, in Italy and in Belgium, the data and results of this ranking before and after interuniversity harmonisation of data collection are compared. This study demonstrates that, despite the data definitions provided by the ranking organisation, the data concepts 'academic staff' and 'students' are interpreted differently within each university. These differences can affect how universities are positioned relative to each other in ranking tables. A profound level of semantic harmonisation is then required to ensure semantically comparable data.

This article explores how the Swedish policy of municipal adult education (MAE) is interpreted, translated, and enacted in study and career counselling. The data consists of semi-structured interviews with adult education leaders and study and career counsellors. Swedish MAE is characterised by extensive marketisation, with many different providers, which makes the education system complex. The findings show that a study and career counsellor is characterised as a key person for both the students and the organisation, with a role as a marketer and 'map reader' for applicants, in addition to responsibilities in admissions, the validation and mapping of students' knowledge, and quality work. The counsellor becomes a hub in a system that applicants and students find difficult to navigate and fulfils a vital function in the marketing of adult education and quality work. Thus, this complex system requires more resources for counselling to function to the benefit of the individual student. However, there is no clear regulation for how counselling should be organised, which means that counselling is organised in different ways in different municipalities with different providers. This in turn means that the availability of adequate counselling may depend on the municipality in which you live.

In January 2020, a workshop was held at EMBL-EBI (Hinxton, UK) to discuss data requirements for the deposition and validation of cryoEM structures, with a focus on single-particle analysis. The meeting was attended by 47 experts in data processing, model building and refinement, validation, and archiving of such structures. This report describes the workshops motivation and history, the topics discussed, and the resulting consensus recommendations. Some challenges for future methods-development efforts in this area are also highlighted, as is the implementation to date of some of the recommendations.

To optimise production planning, maintenance strategies, and quality control in imperfect manufacturing systems, most existing works set the buffer stocking time at the cycle start time. However, excess inventory holding costs will be incurred if the buffer is stocked too early. This means that while the abovementioned setting can make the optimisation model simple, it might increase costs. Taking the uncertain practical buffer stocking time of an imperfect manufacturing system into account, this study aimed to find the production cycle, maintenance frequency, quality inspection cycle, and number of inspections that will minimise the expectation unit cost of the system. To this end, we developed a new model to optimise production, maintenance, and quality control considering timely replenishment. First, excess inventory holding and shortage costs were considered and the production process was divided into five scenarios based on the buffer stocking time and inspection time for assignable causes. Second, the link between production, maintenance, and quality was addressed by capturing the dynamic and random behaviour of production systems. An x-bar control chart was integrated into the model to monitor quality. A case study and sensitivity analysis were undertaken to verify the effectiveness and superiority of the proposed optimisation strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyzes the impact of Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB)-type regulatory oversight and legal liability on audit quality and social surplus. We show the conditions under which regulatory oversight can improve audit quality and social surplus, as compared with the impact of legal systems. Moreover, we demonstrate that regulatory oversight is not likely to substitute effectively for a legal system. This is the first study that analyzes the possible effects of an audit regulator on auditors under different legal systems, and our results enhance understanding of the complex relationship between regulatory oversight, a legal system, and social surplus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Competing exonucleases that promote 3' end maturation or degradation direct quality control of small non-coding RNAs, but how these enzymes distinguish normal from aberrant RNAs is poorly understood. The Pontocerebellar Hypoplasia 7 (PCH7)-associated 3' exonuclease TOE1 promotes maturation of canonical small nuclear RNAs (snRNAs). Here, we demonstrate that TOE1 achieves specificity toward canonical snRNAs through their Sm complex assembly and cap trimethylation, two features that distinguish snRNAs undergoing correct biogenesis from other small non-coding RNAs. Indeed, disruption of Sm complex assembly via snRNA mutations or protein depletions obstructs snRNA processing by TOE1, and in vitro snRNA processing by TOE1 is stimulated by a trimethylated cap. An unstable snRNA variant that normally fails to undergo maturation becomes fully processed by TOE1 when its degenerate Sm binding motif is converted into a canonical one. Our findings uncover the molecular basis for how TOE1 distinguishes snRNAs from other small non-coding RNAs and explain how TOE1 promotes maturation specifically of canonical snRNAs undergoing proper processing.

An efficient multivariate single control chart to simultaneously monitor 'location or mean' and 'scale or variabilities', based on individual observations of multiple quality characteristics (MQC), is a continuous research endeavour. Compared to rational subgroups, time-ordered individual sample observations of MQC are common in manufacturing. However, few researchers proposed parametric and nonparametric multivariate control charts to monitor individual observations in this context. The proposed parametric approach has limited applicability due to the restrictive distribution assumption of MQC. In addition, most of the suggested parametric or nonparametric approaches recommend multiple charts to monitor process 'location' and 'scale' parameters simultaneously. Multiple charts can increase the control complexities and overall false-alarm-rate. MQC can also have significant nonlinear correlation structures and follow unknown or nonnormal distributions in real-life scenarios. Single parametric or nonparametric multivariate charts for individual observations can exhibit poor performance in such situations. In this study, an adaptive Mahalanobis depth and k-nearest neighbour (k-NN) rule-based r-AMD chart is proposed and verified to address the lacuna mentioned above. Monte-Carlo simulation studies are used to evaluate the performance of the r-AMD chart. Four real-life manufacturing scenarios are also considered to validate the suitability and superiority of r-AMD over the existing 'r-MD' and other competing charts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous literature on the engagement quality (EQ) review argues that EQ reviewers should provide more efforts into the review process when fieldwork auditors' judgments and conclusions on the financial statements are potentially biased. Little empirical study has been done, however, partly due to the confidentiality of the detailed data on EQ reviewers' audit hours. The purpose of the article is to shed light on the existing literature by conducting an empirical investigation using a unique actual data set available in Korea. The results show that the EQ review hours are positively associated with CEO turnovers, a proxy for the audit risk, which supports the prediction of the theory on the EQ review. Additional analyses show that such results are stronger under (a) the upward earnings management and (b) the forced CEO turnover. The article extends the existing literature on the EQ review process and enhances the understanding of the engagement-level quality control in the volatile audit environment by providing empirical evidence to the analytic discussions on the EQ review. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context.--Two major categories of laboratories performing nonwaived testing under the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988 (CLIA) are the Certificate of Accreditation (CoA) and Certificate of Compliance (CoC) laboratories. Accreditation organizations collect more detailed laboratory personnel information than the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Quality Improvement and Evaluation System (QIES). Objective.--To estimate total numbers of testing personnel and testing volumes in CoA and CoC laboratories, by laboratory type and state. Design.--We developed a statistical inference method by using the respective correlations between testing personnel counts and test volume by laboratory type. Results.--QIES reported 33 033 active CoA and CoC laboratories in July 2021. We estimated testing personnel to be 328 000 (95% CI, 309 000-348 000), which is supported by the count of 318 780 reported by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. There were twice as many testing personnel in hospital laboratories as in independent laboratories (158 778 versus 74 904, P < .001). Independent laboratories had the highest test volume per person, which was twice as high as physician office laboratories (62 228 versus 30102, P < .001). Hospital and independent laboratories comprised 34% of all CoA and CoC laboratories but performed the largest portion of testing (81 %). Physician office laboratories, accounting for 44% of all CoA and CoC laboratories, performed a comparatively low proportion of total tests (9%). Conclusions.--Numbers of testing personnel vary considerably by laboratory type and across states. These data can provide valuable insight when assessing laboratory workforce training needs and planning for public health emergencies. doi: 10.5858/arpa.2022-0345-0A, Clinical laboratory testing plays a critical role in health care, public health surveillance, and emergency response. A detailed study by the Lewin Group for the Centers for Disease Control and [...]

To meet net-zero carbon emissions in injection molding, it is desirable to use regrind polymers in plastic parts fabrication. However, the quality of regrind polymer differs from virgin polymer due to the effects of temperature, pressure, and shear stress in the prior molding process. Consequently, the molded components differ in quality compared to those made from virgin material. This study investigates the feasibility of enhancing the quality consistency of regrind plastic components by controlling melt quality in plasticization. The evaluation of melt quality involves extracting two quality metrics from the pressure signal (i.e., the peak pressure and the pressure integral). They are then used to adjust the plasticization parameters as required to ensure that the weight and dimensions of the final regrind parts approach those of parts produced using virgin polymer. The experimental results show that the pressure integral effectively indicates the quality variation of the molded part during the injection molding of regrind polymer. Notably, by adjusting the back pressure, the quality of the molded part closely resembles that of the part made from virgin feedstock after six shots. KEYWORDS back pressure, plasticization quality control, pressure integral, regrind polymer injection molding Highlights * Using regrind polymer is a trend in manufacturing to reduce carbon emissions. * Quality varies considerably between regrind and virgin polymer parts. * Quality indicators are designed to examine changes in material properties. * Method ensures quality consistency in virgin and regrind polymers molding., 1 | INTRODUCTION Plastic is widely used in daily life for such applications as packaging, household items, personal care products, and many more. Among the many types of plastics available [...]

BACKGROUND Electronic health records (EHR) have become commonplace in medicine. A disconnect between developers and users while creating the interface often fails to create a product that captures clinical workflow, and issues become apparent with implementation. Optimization allows collaboration of clinicians and informaticists after implementation, but documentation of success has only been at the institutional level. METHODS A 4-month, department-wide EHR optimization was conducted with information technology (IT). Optimizations were developed from an intensive quality improvement process involving all levels of clinicians and clinical staff. The optimizations were then categorized as accommodations (department adjusted workflow to EHR), creations (IT developed new workflows within EHR), discoveries (department found workflows within EHR), and modifications (IT changed workflows within EHR). Departmental productivity, defined as number of visits, charges, and payments, was standardized to ratios prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and evaluated by Taylor's change point analysis. Significant improvements were defined as shifts (change points), trends (5 or more consecutive values above/below the mean), and values outside 95% CIs. RESULTS The 124 optimizations were categorized as 43 accommodations, 13 creations, 54 discoveries, and 14 modifications. Productivity ratios of monthly charges (0.74 to 1.28) and payments (0.83 to 1.58) significantly improved with the optimization efforts. Monthly visit ratios increased (0.65 to 0.98) but did not change significantly. CONCLUSION Departmental collaboration with organizational IT for EHR optimization focused on detailed analysis of how workflows can impact productivity. Discovery optimization predominance indicates many solutions to EHR usability problems were already in the system. A large proportion of accommodation optimizations reinforced the need for better developer-user collaboration before implementation. Key words: electronic health records; health information management; organizational efficiency; quality improvement, INTRODUCTION In 2009, $27 billion in incentives were generated by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act for development and implementation of electronic health records (EHRs). (1-8) [...]