Search

The invoicing process is critical to the financial management of organizations. However, modeling this process presents challenges such as data updating, information availability, and aligning planned activities with the actual execution of the process. One difficulty is that designing the invoicing process requires extensive knowledge of the activities involved, and process representations based on organizational repositories are not necessarily aligned with the actual invoicing processes in the organization. Process Mining is complemented by the use of dashboards, which are inherent to business intelligence and allow for visual tracking of process behavior. This paper explores how the combination of process mining and business intelligence can enable a new level of process modeling that addresses specific issues in constructing processes that are aligned with real-world activities. To accomplish this, we first propose the Design Science Research (DSR) methodology, which outlines how a researcher or practitioner should approach the task of modeling a specific process using Process Mining augmented with dashboard resources. The research strategy was to identify the most appropriate methodology to construct the actual billing process, which led to the identification of the DSR methodology. This methodology, with its 12-step plan, allowed the construction of an artifact representing the actual invoicing process. Ultimately, the objective of constructing a real invoicing process in the Colombian pharmaceutical sector is achieved through the development of an artifact, complemented by business intelligence dashboards that ensure the alignment of the execution of activities within the process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, water has become a resource that generates controversy due to shortage alarms and high consumption by production companies. Making good use of water has become the main objective of government institutions. The food industry generates a large amount of wastewater, concentrating the largest number of contaminants originated in its processes. Wastewater from the food industry is characterized by having a large amount of organic matter, especially fats and oils, as well as suspended solids. The objective of this research is to carry out a characterization of effluents generated in a wastewater treatment plant in the food sector based on Mexican and international regulations to determine whether it is reusable. This article addresses Mexico's lag in the reuse of treated wastewater in the face of the water crisis, highlighting the urgency of adopting these practices to mitigate water scarcity. For the development of this investigation, samples were collected at the discharge point produced by the company's effluents, followed by an evaluation of their physical, chemical, and biological parameters, and finally, it was determined that the effluent follows the regulatory standards for discharge into the city sewer but outside the range for reuse in productive processes or irrigation of green areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The institutions-cum-forest use dynamics literature is growing, albeit marred by scanty evidence on actor roles in shaping the process in sub-Saharan Africa. Cameroon represents a useful "laboratory" to explore such actor-driven change processes. Recent studies have reported the change process linked to a colonial hangover in parts of Cameroon that came under French influence, suggesting the need for fresh evidence to uncover such change processes in parts of the country which came under British influence. Using the Bakossi Landscape as a case, this article (i) traces the pathways of forest-linked institutional change, (ii) estimates the role of actor groups in shaping forest-linked institutional change, and (iii) explores the determinants of forest-linked institutional change in the Bakossi Landscape. A representative sample of 116 households in 3 selected communities was performed. This was complemented by focus group discussions (n = 6) and key informant interviews (n = 10). Descriptive statistics were used to establish forest-linked institutional change, while the ordinary least square was employed to estimate the effect of actor groups and other determinants on forest-linked institutional change. The results lead us to the following conclusions: First, both forest-linked institutional structures and processes witnessed changes over the years. Second, raising the intensity of actor group processes (in-migrants, local elites, traditional leadership, timber dealership and NTFP traders) significantly decreases changes in forest-linked traditional rules, while migration, state officials and the church significantly increase changes in forest-linked institutional structure. Finally, an increase in the composite index of process-mix traditional leadership and NTFP traders decreases changes in forest-linked institutional structures. Future studies should uncover gender dimensions of changes in forest-based institutions, as well as the role of conflict actors in engendering institutional change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Quality management (QM) can support organisations in contributing to sustainable development. As a result of an expanding focus from customers towards stakeholders within QM, the perspectives to consider multiply. Understanding how practices and tools for process management are specifically affected by this increase in perspectives is key to creating the right conditions for improvement initiatives that support sustainable development. Design/methodology/approach: This paper constructs a typology wherein the use of process management practices and tools is described in nine distinguished system contexts. Inductive discrimination is used to differentiate the system contexts and different use cases for process practices and tools. Findings: Using the system of systems grid (SOSG), mainstream business process management (BPM) practices are positioned in a simple unitary context, whilst sustainability challenges also involve more complex contexts. Addressing these challenges requires integrating new tools and methods from paradigms outside of traditional functionalist business process management practices. Research limitations/implications: This paper highlights the necessity to consider system contexts when developing feasible practices and tools for effective process management. Practical implications: Practical implications are that quality practitioners aiming to exploit the potential in process management to support sustainability get support for planning and conducting process improvement initiatives aiming to consider several stakeholder perspectives. Originality/value: This paper presents a new typology for understanding the context of QM process initiatives and BPM in light of a contemporary sustainability focus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to examine the application of judicial processes for individuals with disabilities. The research method employed is normative legal research. The findings of this study are as follows: The implementation of criminal sentencing for offenders with special needs often requires adjustments to ensure fairness. The judicial system typically considers these special needs, such as accessibility or more humane treatment, and may offer alternative sentences or specialized care to safeguard their well-being throughout the legal process. In applying criminal penalties to offenders with disabilities, it is advisable to use a normative descriptive method, which involves collaboration between judges and psychiatrists. Psychiatrists determine the presence of a mental illness, while judges evaluate whether this illness affects the individual's capacity to be held criminally responsible for their actions. The normative method assesses whether the defendant is able to understand that their actions are wrongful or contrary to the law.

Research on the creative process has focused on how an idea develops within a single focal creative project. But creators often work to develop creative portfolios featuring multiple projects that overlap and intertwine over time. Through an inductive qualitative study of creative workers in independent theater and in architecture, we explore how creators manage ideas across multiple projects when developing creative portfolios. Our emergent model shows how creators shift ideas across projects by stockpiling ideas from one creative project, transforming them into resources, and mobilizing them in their portfolios. Our analysis reveals that these practices unfold in distinct ways across two different processes for managing ideas: managing ideas strategically to build portfolios by realizing stockpiled ideas in new creative products across different opportunities, and managing ideas symbolically to balance creative outputs with new meanings constructed from unrealized ideas that represent the creator's identity and journey. Our findings reveal the critical role of stockpiling in creative work, showing how different ways of stockpiling transform ideas into resources for developing a portfolio. Our portfolio perspective on the creative process informs our understanding of creative portfolios as they develop and evolve as well as the dynamics of creative processes as they unfold across different projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Workflow model links ICTs with organizational and managerial management processes, with the aim of assisting decision-making in a hierarchical framework in companies, being a tool that contributes to business productivity, which should be empowered by all direct actors in the organization, in this sense the present research is carried out, The purpose of this research is to investigate the impact of the Workflow model in the associative management of agricultural organizations in Manabí, in order to establish the optimal workflow model for associative management and to analyze the impact of the model on the exchange of information between the hierarchical levels of agricultural organizations.. Regarding the methodological design, the analytical-heuristic method is used to determine the components of this research, starting from the characterization of the variables under study, also as a tool to obtain data, a survey of 15 questions is used, applied to 30 agricultural organizations in Manabí, which are organized into latent variables in order to ensure a structured measurement of the information. As conclusions, it was possible to establish that there is a significant and positive relationship between the Workflow Model and the associative management of agricultural organizations.

Abstract Introduction Contraceptive use is known to have a positive impact on maternal and child health outcomes; however, its use is still low in low-income countries, especially among people in humanitarian situations. This study explored decision-making processes towards the use of contraceptives by people in humanitarian situations to inform program design and uptake. Methods A qualitative exploratory study was conducted among women of reproductive age (15–49 years) and men (15–60 years) living in three refugee settlements of Pagirinya, Nyumanzi, and Mirieyi and the surrounding host communities in Adjumani district, Uganda. Data were collected using 49 in-depth interviews (IDIs), 11 Key Informant Interviews (KIIs,) and 20 Focus Group Discussions (FGDs). Inductive thematic analysis was done with the aid of Atlas ti. Version 14. Results We found that the decision-making processes entailed linear and nonlinear internalized cognitive and contextual processes involving four dynamic pathways. In the linear pathway, participants reported starting with 1) idea inception, 2) followed by cognitive processing, 3) consultation, and 4) decision-making for contraceptive use. The complex linear pathway happened when participants did not go through consultation but went straight to decision-making. However, participants who followed the non-linear pathway repeatedly went back to cognitive processing. Some women after consultation, or those already using and those not using contraceptives, decided to go back to cognitive processing to reconsider their current positions. This study found that some women who were not using contraceptives ended up using, while some who were using contraception ended up dropping out. Conclusions This study showed dynamic decision-making processes involving both internal and external environments as triggers to decision-making for contraceptive use. Interventions to increase contraceptive use should target both users and significant others who influence the decision to use particularly among refugees. Trial registration This study was registered by Makerere University School of Public Health Higher Degrees Research and Ethic Committee (HDREC) #188 and approved by Uganda National Council of Science and Technology on 15th/7/2021, Registration number—SS809ES.

Background. The significance of studying resource-based thinking is due to its important role in the organization and successful implementation of various types of activities. The study of the relationship between humor and resourcefulness of thinking can provide the ways to find resources for a subject to more effectively resolve the difficulties arising in the course of his life activities. Objective. The study had its purpose to investigate the interrelation between humor style and resourcefulness of thinking. Study Participants. The study sample (N = 150) included senior psychology students (50 people), high school students profiled in social science, humanities, etc. (50 people), working people aged 30–45 years (50 people). Methods. “Martin's questionnaire of humor styles” and “Methodology for diagnosing the resource-based thinking” (for professions of a socionomic type) by Serafimovich, Medvedeva, Surina. The Pearson correlation coefficient and the Student's parametric t-test were used to process quantitative data. Results. The study revealed that a self-supporting style of humor is prevailing among students and adults, while minimally manifested among schoolchildren. Significant differences were found in the indicators of self-deprecating humor: they are significantly higher among students compared to adults. The study discovered some age-related specifics in the development of resource-based thinking: in adults, its general level as well as the motivational-goal component is significantly higher than in schoolchildren. It has been shown that self-supporting style of humor is positively correlated and self-deprecating style of humor is negatively correlated with almost all components of resource-based thinking. Besides, the self-supporting style of humor and the general level of resource-based thinking are positively interrelated, while aggressive and self-deprecating styles of humor are negatively related to the general level of resource-based thinking. Conclusions. For the first time, the relationship between humor and resourcefulness of thinking is shown as the ground for autocreative processes, i.e. processes of self-formation of new states. There exists a significant relationship between the prevailing style of humor and the level of resource-based thinking. A high level of resource-based thinking corresponds to the self-supporting style of humor, while its low level corresponds to the self-deprecating style of humor.

Pesticide was considered complex substances intended for preventing, destroying, or controlling any pest including vectors of human or animal diseases. They are specific chemicals, which contain both “active” or energetic and “inactive” or inert ingredients. The term pesticide includes herbicide, insecticide, nematicide, sanitizer, bactericide, insect repellent, animal repellent, antimicrobial, fungicide, disinfectant, molluiscide, and avicide among others. They are classified based on the mode of entry, mode of function and action, and their chemical composition. These pesticides played a key role in controlling and mitigating variety of agricultural pest and diseases in farm, garden. They contrary, affect soil functional service and great biological biodiversity including human and his environment. Many factors and processes are involved in the transfer, transport and degradation or biochemical conversation of pesticides in soil. The soil factors are the soil organic matter, soil pH, temperature, nutrients, moisture, infiltration rate, aerobic and anaerobic, soil texture and structure. The combined processes are physical, biological, and chemical with great conversion on weathering, hydrolysis, oxidation-reduction, photolysis humification, cheluviation, organic sorting, translocation, eluviations, illuviation, calcification, podsolisation, gleying, and leaching. Seven important subjects have been treated in a synopsis manner – major groups of pesticides, pesticide toxicity (acute and chronic effects), processes affecting pesticides in soil, pesticides and its ecological effects (soil, crop, biota and human), step by step procedure and soil sampling, techniques involving analysis of pesticides residues in soil, and bioremediation and biodegradation approaches.

Open Innovation (OI) literature related to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) has often been fragmented, hindering the effective generalisation of findings. We conducted a systematic multidisciplinary literature review to explore OI in the context of SMEs across various regions. OI research in SMEs was most common in Europe, followed by China, Korea, South East Asia, Africa, South America and the Middle East. Surprisingly, very little research has been done in the USA, Canada, and the Indian subcontinent. We aimed to identify the commonalities and regional specifics in the antecedents and processes leading to OI. The review included one hundred research articles from the Web of Science database. Our findings revealed four common antecedents of OI across the firms: Human Factors, Technology, Policy, and Heterogeneity.Additionally, we identified three standard processes that lead to the OI phenomenon: firm-level partnerships, collaboration with academia, and intermediation. Though the antecedents and processes hold across firms of different sizes, human factors, policy and heterogeneity among the antecedents and intermediation as the process holds more significance to the SMEs as a sector. This research has important implications for academia and the industry. Firstly, we have responded to the research gap by increasing the generalisation of results across the regions. Secondly, different stakeholders may look for literature that is directly relevant to them. Thirdly, SME managers need to know the specific attitudes to facilitate OI effectively. Fourthly, the importance of intermediation has been identified as an effective process leading to OI. Finally, we have categorised future research directions under different clusters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Clinical data are usually analyzed with the assumption that knowledge gathered from group averages applies to the individual. Doing so potentially obscures patients with meaningfully different trajectories of therapeutic change. Needed are "idionomic" methods that first examine idiographic patterns before nomothetic generalizations are made. The objective of this paper is to test whether such an idionomic method leads to different clinical conclusions. Methods: 51 patients completed weekly process measures and symptom severity over a period of eight weeks. Change trajectories were analyzed using a nomothetic approach and an idiographic approach with bottom-up clustering of similar individuals. The outcome was patients' well-being at post-treatment. Results: Individuals differed in the extent that underlying processes were linked to symptoms. Average trend lines did not represent the intraindividual changes well. The idionomic approach readily identified subgroups of patients that differentially predicted distal outcomes (well-being). Conclusions: Relying exclusively on average results may lead to an oversight of intraindividual pathways. Characterizing data first using idiographic approaches led to more refined conclusions, which is clinically useful, scientifically rigorous, and may help advance individualized psychotherapy approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The IFIH1 gene, encoding melanoma differentiation‐associated protein 5 (MDA5), is an indispensable innate immune regulator involved in the early detection of viral infections. Previous studies described MDA5 dysregulation in weakened immunological responses, and increased susceptibility to microbial infections and autoimmune disorders. Monoallelic gain‐of‐function of the IFIH1 gene has been associated with multisystem disorders, namely Aicardi–Goutieres and Singleton–Merten syndromes, while biallelic loss causes immunodeficiency. In this study, nine patients suffering from recurrent infections, inflammatory diseases, severe COVID‐19 or multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS‐C) were identified with putative loss‐of‐function IFIH1 variants by whole‐exome sequencing. All patients revealed signs of lymphopaenia and an increase in inflammatory markers, including CRP, amyloid A, ferritin and IL‐6. One patient with a pathogenic homozygous variant c.2807+1G>A was the most severe case showing immunodeficiency and glomerulonephritis. The c.1641+1G>C variant was identified in the heterozygous state in patients suffering from periodic fever, COVID‐19 or MIS‐C, while the c.2016delA variant was identified in two patients with inflammatory bowel disease or MIS‐C. There was a significant association between IFIH1 monoallelic loss of function and susceptibility to infections in males. Expression analysis showed that PBMCs of one patient with a c.2016delA variant had a significant decrease in ISG15, IFNA and IFNG transcript levels, compared to normal PBMCs, upon stimulation with Poly(I:C), suggesting that MDA5 receptor truncation disrupts the immune response. Our findings accentuate the implication of rare monogenic IFIH1 loss‐of‐function variants in altering the immune response, and severely predisposing patients to inflammatory and infectious diseases, including SARS‐CoV‐2‐related disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Convection-permitting modeling allows us to understand mechanisms that influence rainfall in specific regions. However, microphysics parameterization (MP) and planetary boundary layer (PBL) schemes remain an important source of uncertainty, affecting rainfall intensity, occurrence, duration, and propagation. Here, we study the sensitivity of rainfall to three MP [Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Single-Moment 6-class (WSM6), Thompson, and Morrison] and two PBL [the Yonsei University (YSU) and Mellor–Yamada Nakanishi Niino (MYNN)] schemes with a convection-permitting resolution (4 km) over northwestern South America (NWSA). Simulations were performed by using the WRF model and the results were evaluated against soundings, rain gauges, and satellite data, considering the spatio-temporal variability of rainfall over diverse regions prone to deep convection in NWSA. MP and PBL schemes largely influenced simulated rainfall, with better results for the less computationally expensive WSM6 MP and YSU PBL schemes. Regarding rain gauges and satellite estimates, simulations with Morrison MP overestimated rainfall, especially westward of the Andes, whereas the MYNN PBL underestimated precipitation in the Amazon–Savannas flatlands. We found that the uncertainty in the rainfall representation is highly dependent on the region, with a higher influence of MP in the Colombian Pacific and PBL in the Amazon–Savannas flatlands. When analyzing rainfall-related processes, the selection of both MP and PBL parameterizations exerted a large influence on the simulated lower tropospheric moisture flux and moisture convergence. PBL schemes significantly influenced the downward shortwave radiation, with MYNN simulating a greater amount of low clouds, which decreased the radiation income. Furthermore, latent heat fluxes were greater for YSU, favoring moist convection and rainfall. MP schemes had a marked impact on vertical velocity. Specifically, Morrison MP showed stronger convection and higher precipitation rates, which is associated with a greater latent heat release due to solid-phase hydrometeor formation. This study provides insights into assessing physical parameterizations in numerical models and suggests key processes for rainfall representation in NWSA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The statistics on work-related accidents published by the responsible organizations reveal that the average rate of work accidents within the construction sector is more than double that in other industrial sectors. This serious problem has been analyzed by numerous international organizations and institutes dedicated to occupational safety, health and welfare. Therefore, in this article, some results of a research project that aims to reduce workplace accidents through the standardization of safe work processes and procedures in construction sites are summarized. The proposed methodology consisted of the analysis of national and international bibliographies to analyze the different annual variations in the accident rate, allowing a common pattern to be located, as well as its association with the work processes carried out in construction projects to standardize each of the processes which are present in the execution and life phases of the building. It is possible to conclude that the accident rates can be reduced and/or eliminated with the application of each of the processes thanks to the obtained results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Contraceptive use is known to have a positive impact on maternal and child health outcomes; however, its use is still low in low-income countries, especially among people in humanitarian situations. This study explored decision-making processes towards the use of contraceptives by people in humanitarian situations to inform program design and uptake. Methods: A qualitative exploratory study was conducted among women of reproductive age (15–49 years) and men (15–60 years) living in three refugee settlements of Pagirinya, Nyumanzi, and Mirieyi and the surrounding host communities in Adjumani district, Uganda. Data were collected using 49 in-depth interviews (IDIs), 11 Key Informant Interviews (KIIs,) and 20 Focus Group Discussions (FGDs). Inductive thematic analysis was done with the aid of Atlas ti. Version 14. Results: We found that the decision-making processes entailed linear and nonlinear internalized cognitive and contextual processes involving four dynamic pathways. In the linear pathway, participants reported starting with 1) idea inception, 2) followed by cognitive processing, 3) consultation, and 4) decision-making for contraceptive use. The complex linear pathway happened when participants did not go through consultation but went straight to decision-making. However, participants who followed the non-linear pathway repeatedly went back to cognitive processing. Some women after consultation, or those already using and those not using contraceptives, decided to go back to cognitive processing to reconsider their current positions. This study found that some women who were not using contraceptives ended up using, while some who were using contraception ended up dropping out. Conclusions: This study showed dynamic decision-making processes involving both internal and external environments as triggers to decision-making for contraceptive use. Interventions to increase contraceptive use should target both users and significant others who influence the decision to use particularly among refugees. Trial registration: This study was registered by Makerere University School of Public Health Higher Degrees Research and Ethic Committee (HDREC) #188 and approved by Uganda National Council of Science and Technology on 15th/7/2021, Registration number—SS809ES. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The motivation behind this paper and the underlying research is to shed light on how companies deal with interdisciplinary innovation activities, especially looking at the development of radical and potentially disruptive innovations. This includes the analysis of methods, processes, and organizational structures applied to support interdisciplinary innovation activities as well as challenges faced. Whereas this thematic field has been widely investigated for academic institutions and, in companies on a team level, there is only a little information on industrial companies' current state. This understanding is especially important as shortening development cycles, and technological convergence combined with intersectoral innovations might lead to increases in radical and potentially disruptive innovations and thereby create the need for improved methods and structures throughout the innovation process. To gain insights into challenges and current practices of interdisciplinary collaboration in innovation activities, semi-structured exploratory interviews were carried out with representatives from seven industrial companies. Among others, the results of the study revealed that whereas many methodologies are said to support interdisciplinary innovation activities, a wide majority of these methodologies are applied for other reasons which make supporting interdisciplinarity seem like a kind of byproduct. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study assessed how an academic library implemented lean principles to enhance its electronic resource workflows and processes. Twelve librarians who managed access to electronic resources at the library participated in the study. Data were collected through interviews and observation. Reflexive thematic data analysis revealed that knowledge and skills were necessary for librarians to function effectively. The systems for facilitating access to electronic resources were ineffective, and there was a need for procedures to be documented and streamlined to reduce waste through adopting lean concepts. This case study contributes to the literature on improving access to e-resources and professional practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study set out to assess how the Office of the Comptroller General of the State's internal control standards affected the way information and communication technologies (ICT) were managed at the 13D03 Jipijapa-Puerto López Health Center. The head of the ICT department was subjected to an interview and a checklist using a quantitative descriptive technique. The results showed that, although there are established internal control standards, their application and monitoring are not complete in the health center. This situation leads to poor ICT management and widespread ignorance among employees about regulatory requirements. The research concludes that compliance with internal control standards is essential to ensure effective and secure management of ICT in the public sector. It is recommended to strengthen control mechanisms, implement training and awareness programs for staff, and promote a culture of regulatory compliance in the health center. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are now widely exploited for multiple applications, from portable electronics to electric vehicles and storage of renewable energy. Along with improving battery performance, current research efforts are focused on diminishing the levelized cost of energy storage (LCOS), which has become increasingly important in light of the development of LIBs for large transport vehicles and power grid energy storage applications. Since LCOS depends on the battery's lifetime, understanding the mechanisms responsible for battery degradation and developing strategies to increase the lifetime of LIBs is very important. In this review, the latest developments related to the performance and degradation of the most common LIBs on the market are reviewed. The numerous processes underlying LIB degradation are described in terms of three degradation loss modes: loss of lithium inventory (LLI), active positive electrode material loss and degradation, and active negative electrode material loss and degradation. A strong emphasis is placed on the most recent strategies and tactics for LIB degradation mitigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The measurement of process variables derived from cognitive behavioural theory can aid treatment development and support the clinician in following treatment progress. Self-report process measures are ideally brief, which reduces the burden on patients and facilitates the implementation of repeated measurements. Aims: To develop 13 brief versions (3–6 items) of existing cognitive behavioural process scales for three common mental disorders: major depression, panic disorder, and social anxiety disorder. Method: Using data from a real-world teaching clinic offering internet-delivered cognitive behavior therapy (n =370), we drafted brief process scales and then validated these scales in later cohorts (n =293). Results: In the validation data, change in the brief process scales significantly mediated change in the corresponding domain outcomes, with standardized coefficient point estimates in the range of –0.53 to –0.21. Correlations with the original process scales were substantial (r =.83–.96), internal consistency was mostly adequate (α=0.65–0.86), and change scores were moderate to large (| d| =0.51–1.18). For depression, the brief Behavioral Activation for Depression Scale-Activation subscale was especially promising. For panic disorder, the brief Agoraphobic Cognitions Questionnaire-Physical Consequences subscale was especially promising. For social anxiety disorder, the Social Cognitions Questionnaire, the Social Probability and Cost Questionnaire, and the Social Behavior Questionnaire-Avoidance and Impression Management subscales were all promising. Conclusions: Several brief process scales showed promise as measures of treatment processes in cognitive behaviour therapy. There is a need for replication and further evaluation using experimental designs, in other clinical settings, and preferably in larger samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Global challenges arise from infectious diseases which represent significant challenges to the provision of healthcare, requiring efficient management procedures to limit transmission. Evaluating current outbreak management processes within UK healthcare services is essential for identifying strengths, weaknesses, and potential improvements. Objectives: This study aimed to assess infection prevention and control (IPC) practitioners' access to outbreak management (OM) data. Secondary objectives involved determining IPC practitioners' perceptions of outbreak management processes and the state of digitalisation of OM in the UK. Methods: National cross-sectional survey data were collected to evaluate current outbreak management approaches. To supplement this, information requests were sent to the 10 largest teaching and research NHS hospital trusts in England. Findings: The survey received 55 responses with 53 considered for analysis. Out of 10 NHS trusts, nine provided completed FOI responses, while one was unable to provide data. Discussion: The study offers unique insights into prevailing outbreak management practices within UK health services. Although positive perceptions surround key outbreak management stages, concerns arise, including varying confidence levels in surveillance processes' robustness, efficacy of management interventions, and communication effectiveness. Conclusions: The study highlights challenges with OM processes in the UK, including issues like poor surveillance and delayed outbreak detection. Positive practitioner perceptions contrast with concerns over data collection, follow-up, and limited digitalisation, relying on basic tools like Excel and Word, hindering retrospective learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: Describe the times associated with the evaluation and ruling process of the research protocols submitted to the Committees on research for the health of Instituto Nacional de Pediatría. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A comparative, longitudinal, observational, retrospective study was carried out where the information from the protocols submitted for evaluation in the period from January to December 2022 was analyzed. The following information was collected: titles of the protocols, dates of receipt by committees, evaluation dates, types of opinions, dates of sending the opinion and dates of the researcher's response. RESULTS: 88 protocols were evaluated, of which 67 (76.1%) were approved; of these, the majority were approved on their second or third review (55.2% and 34.3% respectively, total 89.5%). The median number of days between the submission of the protocols and their approval was 47 days (RI: 30-87), of which 21 days (RI: 16-32) correspond to Committees and 25 days (RI: 8-56) to the researchers. CONCLUSIONS: The approval time of a research protocol at the institution analyzed was a shared responsibility between the committees and the principal investigator. Important consideration when establishing institutional support programs for research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Restoring biodiversity‐based resilience and ecosystem multi‐functionality needs to be informed by more accurate predictions of animal biodiversity responses to environmental change. Ecological models make a substantial contribution to this understanding, especially when they encode the biological mechanisms and processes that give rise to emergent patterns (population, community, ecosystem properties and dynamics). Here, a distinction between 'mechanistic' and 'process‐based' ecological models is established to review existing approaches. Mechanistic and process‐based ecological models have made key advances to understanding the structure, function and dynamics of animal biodiversity, but are typically designed to account for specific levels of biological organisation and spatiotemporal scales. Cross‐scale ecological models, which predict emergent co‐occurring biodiversity patterns at interacting scales of space, time and biological organisation, is a critical next step in predictive ecology. A way forward is to first capitalise on existing models to systematically evaluate the ability of scale‐explicit mechanisms and processes to predict emergent patterns at alternative scales. Such model intercomparisons will reveal mechanism to process transitions across fine to broad scales, overcome approach‐specific barriers to model realism or tractability and identify gaps which necessitate the development of new fundamental principles. Key challenges surrounding model complexity and uncertainty would need to be addressed, and while opportunities from big data can streamline the integration of multiple scale‐explicit biodiversity patterns, ambitious cross‐scale field studies are also needed. Crucially, overcoming cross‐scale ecological modelling challenges would unite disparate fields of ecology with the common goal of improving the evidence‐base to safeguard biodiversity and ecosystems under novel environmental change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Asparkía. Investigació Feminista is the property of Instituto Universitario de Estudios Feministas y de Genero Purificacion Escribano and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Actas de Diseño is the property of Facultad de Diseno y Comunicacion, Fundacion Universidad de Palermo and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Cuadernos del Centro de Estudios de Diseño y Comunicación is the property of Cuadernos del Centro de Estudios de Diseno y Comunicacion and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper proposes an innovative problem/system decomposition approach. Unlike the conventional method, where stakeholder requirements are transformed into system requirements for the system‐of‐interest (SOI), the new approach involves decomposing stakeholder requirements into specifications for modified context subsystems. These subsystems comprise elements from both the SOI and its surrounding context. The new approach offers two key strengths. Firstly, an enhanced contextual relationship. The approach naturally establishes a relationship between the SOI and its context across various abstraction levels. This contextual linkage fosters modularity and agility within the system. Secondly the new approach enables precise functionality definition. Unlike mere declarations, the new approach allows for explicit functionality definition at all levels. Consequently, we can formulate executable requirements, enabling system simulation across all system levels. Very early integration, verification, and validation become possible as a result. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Foco (Interdisciplinary Studies Journal) is the property of Revista Foco and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Signos is the property of Universidad Santo Tomas and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Signos is the property of Universidad Santo Tomas and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of GeSec: Revista de Gestao e Secretariado is the property of Sindicato das Secretarias e Secretarios do Estado de Sao Paulo (SINSESP) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article highlights the value in taking a multi‐temporal perspective to the literature on underdogs and favorites in competitive contexts. We contend that an inherent feature of the psychological experience of being an underdog or favorite is the coexistence of thoughts related to the past and future. Building upon this key insight, we adopt a multi‐temporal lens to compare current research on underdogs and favorites to the broader literature studying competition and motivation in intergroup contexts, with the goal of identifying possible areas of coherence and contradiction in relation to other relevant theoretical frameworks. Through this analysis, we put forth a set of what we hope are thought‐provoking research questions that are intended to guide and inspire future work in this domain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, I discuss the inspiration, development, and further refinement of the Knowledge Revision Components framework (KReC; Kendeou & O’Brien, 2014). In KReC, we theorize about the conditions that facilitate knowledge revision during reading, and thus successful learning in the presence of prior, often incorrect knowledge. I discuss how the inspiration and need for the framework arose, and how a systematic set of experimental studies and a shift in paradigm led to its initial development and further refinement. I also outline several virtues and contributions of this framework to the extant literature. I conclude with future directions for further development and applications of the framework in the current information ecosystem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In their anthology Everything Flows: Towards a Processual Philosophy of Biology, Daniel J. Nicholson and John Dupré argue that modern theories of biology imply that the fundamental structure of reality is processual at its core. In the present work, I first examine the implicit and explicit metaphysical presuppositions the editors make in order to allow for such an inference from scientific theory to ontology. After showing the difficulties of a naïve transfer of theoretical entities to fundamental ontology, I argue that the editors can nevertheless extend their claims beyond the mere articulation of different domain ontologies. This leads to the idea of a scientifically informed induction base for an ontology of processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to explore decision making in non-profit sport organization Boards. Data were gathered from 36 non-participant overt observations of nonprofit sport organization Board meetings, 18 semi-structured interviews, and over 6,000 document pages. Sixty-six decisions were identified from the observations, on which a hierarchical cluster analysis was conducted. Results indicated two clusters, Concise and Expanded decision making, whereby the former had a shorter duration and fewer information sources, interactions, and delays than the latter. A contemporary taxonomy is developed with characteristics to describe decision making related to decision length, delays, interactions, and information sources for Boards at different systemic levels. Knowing how they make decisions allows non-profit (sport) organization Boards to better navigate their decision-making endeavours. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a formalism for Petri nets based on polynomial-style finite-set configurations and etale maps. The formalism supports both a geometric semantics in the style of Goltz and Reisig (processes are etale maps from graphs) and an algebraic semantics in the style of Meseguer and Montanari, in terms of free coloured props, and allows the following unification: for P a Petri net, the Segal space of P-processes is shown to be the free coloured prop-in-groupoids on P. There is also an unfolding semantics à la Winskel, which bypasses the classical symmetry problems: with the new formalism, every Petri net admits a universal unfolding, which in turn has associated an event structure and a Scott domain. Since everything is encoded with explicit sets, Petri nets and their processes have elements. In particular, individual-token semantics is native. (Collectivetoken semantics emerges from rather drastic quotient constructions à la Best–Devillers, involving taking π0 of the groupoids of states [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Malaria is one of the most devastating tropical diseases, resulting in loss of lives each year, especially in children under the age of 5 years. Malaria burden, related deaths and stall in the progress against malaria transmission is evident, particularly in countries that have moderate or high malaria transmission. Hence, mitigating malaria spread requires information on the distribution of vectors and the drivers of insecticide resistance (IR). However, owing to the impracticality in establishing the critical need for real-world information at every location, modelling provides an informed best guess for such information. Therefore, this review examines the various methodologies used to model spatial, temporal and spatio-temporal patterns of IR within populations of malaria vectors, incorporating pest-biology parameters, adopted ecological principles, and the associated modelling challenges. Methods The review focused on the period ending March 2023 without imposing restrictions on the initial year of publication, and included articles sourced from PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus. It was also limited to publications that deal with modelling of IR distribution across spatial and temporal dimensions and excluded articles solely focusing on insecticide susceptibility tests or articles not published in English. After rigorous selection, 33 articles met the review's elibility criteria and were subjected to full-text screening. Results Results show the popularity of Bayesian geostatistical approaches, and logistic and static models, with limited adoption of dynamic modelling approaches for spatial and temporal IR modelling. Furthermore, our review identifies the availability of surveillance data and scarcity of comprehensive information on the potential drivers of IR as major impediments to developing holistic models of IR evolution. Conclusions The review notes that incorporating pest-biology parameters, and ecological principles into IR models, in tandem with fundamental ecological concepts, potentially offers crucial insights into the evolution of IR. The results extend our knowledge of IR models that provide potentially accurate results, which can be translated into policy recommendations to combat the challenge of IR in malaria control. Graphical Abstract

In the process of studying the conceptual bases of managing the transparency of enterprise development in the context of convergence of investment processes, methods of analysis and synthesis, empirical methods, procedures of induction and deduction, graphical and logical method, method of financial and economic, cluster and statistical analysis are used. The methodological ground of the study is parametric and integral methods of evaluation, the results of which allow to improve the conceptual bases for managing the transparency of enterprise development in the context of convergence of investment processes. The article improves the conceptual bases for managing the transparency of enterprise development in the context of convergence of investment processes, which provide for an empirical study of the convergent features of the functioning of industrial enterprises and the identification of problems of transparency in the development of their individual divisions, allowing for making sound managerial decisions and creating conditions for the implementation of potential investment reserves, focusing on the formation of intellectual, informational, analytical and material resources, as well as on the interaction between the links of the organizational structure and the regulatory framework. This determines an increase in the interest of the administrative apparatus in ensuring continuous and stable development, as well as a strategic orientation, which necessitates an analysis of the impact of management and investment target programs on the level of transparency in the development of industrial enterprises, defining the role of the mechanism of radical changes in the development management system; establishing renovation requirements for strategically relevant parameters of change; creating the basis for the implementation of radical changes at the level of strategic management which requires a systematic reformatting of interaction with the external environment and the internal organization of processes, technologies, and structure.