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The application of the Signalling Theory to the case of the tourism standards of quality are established. An empirical research study on the performance of a wide range of hotels that have evolved from not possessing certification to being accredited by some form of quality standard (regional, national or international) during a period of seven years. The results provide evidence on the usefulness of quality certifications as signals to the market to achieve increases in sales, gains in market share, increased occupancy and average room price, and therefore an improvement in profitability per room and overall profit for the hotels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the increased emphasis on accountability at the federal and state levels, efforts to identify and address issues impacting the quality and effectiveness of residential care programs are needed. Establishing quality practice standards with measurable performance indicators is a useful means for promoting and evaluating the quality of care in residential programs and informing a process of continuous quality improvement. In this article, we describe a state-wide initiative to enhance the quality of residential group care in Florida. Specifically, we describe efforts to establish a set of quality standards for residential programs and to operationalize the standards by developing and piloting an assessment designed to measure the extent to which group home practices align with the standards. In addition to describing steps taken, we highlight important conceptual and practical considerations for translating standards generated from extant research, best practices, and field experts into clearly defined domains and measurable standards that can be meaningfully transported into a complex practice setting. Finally, we discuss lessons learned and recommendations that may guide similar efforts beyond the state of Florida. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this work is to show the benefits of the internalization of quality standards. Based on interviews in the tourism industry and a quantitative study, the results show that internalization of quality standards has positive effects on performance. The commitment to implement quality standard requirements may lead tourism organizations to improve management systems because they apply the quality requirement in a more advanced way. This means that companies that believe in quality philosophy and apply it in their daily practices can improve their results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wine markets have supported regional cultures and international alliances for centuries. Renaissance diplomatic and dramatic language refers to French markets, not economies, extending globally from Bordeaux to the Far East. Yet Shakespeare invents our representation of the global economy's ill-gotten gains and predatory speculation in wine (and other) markets. Prince Hal leverages the very wine market that he derides obsessively into a narrative of sin and redemption. Hal consummates his narrative by rejecting Falstaff, whom he identifies as an earthly Bacchus. But Burgundy's pragmatic representation of the excellence of viniculture in Henry V fits the paradigm of sustainable marketplaces in part because the symbolism of fine wine is universally esteemed. Today's economic crisis proves that the quasi-Hegelian idea of an ethical economy cannot be attained through financial interdependence alone. Moreover, it validates the Renaissance narrative that responsible wine markets improve with age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modular curtain walls are frequently used in the facades of tall buildings. While these logically have to meet the performance standards required of all facade systems, they are subject to a series of additional requirements that place far higher demands on these systems than the facades of conventional buildings, this being particularly so with respect to certain structural or thermal requirements. Sustainability is a further factor that is particularly necessary and convenient to consider during the design of facades in these types of buildings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This theoretical essay proposes to present the conceptual and methodological elements that compose a scientific work to clarify the steps to build the research that can present methodological limiting, evidenced by authors that approach about scientific practices. The ideas are confronted and there are discussed methodological vices on academic works. To understand the essence of the elaboration of a scientific research is needed to attempt that the process of building knowledge, on methodological terms or idea analyses, is directly linked to the work of the researcher, each time less arrested to the moorings of patterns previously established. The craft of the researcher is handmade and should be built daily, because just the practice can avoid the methodological vices on the construction of scientific research. Is considered that the epistemological debate on administration sciences should not be closed because one way of develop the scientific thought is to questioning the precepts, basis, and even the excellence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Students were divided into four groups based on their qualification goals. [•] Students with low/moderate goals performed no better than students with no goals. [•] Students with high goals performed significantly better than the other three groups. [•] Goals tied in with students’ motives and their attributions for their achievements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: There is growing interest internationally in linking reimbursement decisions with recommendations for further research. In the UK, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) can issue guidance to approve the routine use of a health intervention, reject routine use or recommend use within a research programme. These latter recommendations have restricted use to 'only in research' (OIR) or have recommended further research alongside routine use ('approval with research' or AWR). However, it is not currently clear when such recommendations are likely to be made. Objectives: This study aims to identify NICE technology appraisals where OIR or AWR recommendations were made and to examine the key considerations that led to those decisions. Methods: Draft and final guidance including OIR/AWR recommendations were identified. The documents were reviewed to establish the characteristics of the technology appraisal, the cost effectiveness of the technologies, the key considerations that led to the recommendations and the types of research required. Results: In total, 29 final and 31 draft guidance documents included OIR/AWR recommendations up to January 2010. Overall, 86 % of final guidance included OIR recommendations. Of these, the majority were for technologies considered to be cost ineffective (83 %) and the majority of final guidance (66 %) specified the need for further evidence on relative effectiveness. The use of OIR/AWR recommendations is decreasing over time and they have rarely been used in appraisals conducted through the single technology appraisal process. Conclusion: NICE has used its ability to recommend technologies within research programmes, although predominantly within the multiple technology appraisal process. OIR recommendations have been most frequently issued for technologies considered cost ineffective and the most frequently cited consideration is uncertainty related to relative effectiveness. Key considerations cited for most AWR recommendations and some OIR recommendations included a need for further evidence on long-term outcomes and adverse effects of treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quality descriptions are parts of the key tasks of geodetic data processing. Systematic errors should be detected and avoided in order to insure the high quality standards required by structural monitoring. In this study, the iterative closest point (ICP) method was invested to detect systematic errors in two overlapping data sets. There are three steps to process the systematic errors: firstly, one of the data sets was transformed to a reference system by the introduction of the Gauss-Helmert (GH) model. Secondly, quadratic form estimation and segmentation methods are proposed to guarantee the overlapping data sets. Thirdly, the ICP method was employed for a finer registration and detecting the systematic errors. A case study was casted in which a dam surface in Germany was scanned by terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) technology. The results indicated that with the conjugation of ICP algorithm the accuracy of the data sets was improved approximately by 1.6 mm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Objective: To explore the role of a four-item Global Rating Scale (GRS) that could be used in place of the Appraisal of Guidelines, Research and Evaluation II (AGREE II). Study Design and Setting: A mixed four-factor design was used (User Type, Evaluation Type, Clinical Topic, Guideline). Participants were asked to read and evaluate a guideline using both the AGREE II draft and GRS or GRS only and to complete a series of questions regarding overall guideline quality, adoption, utility, and acceptability. Results: One GRS item varied as a function of User Type. Each item was a significant predictor of participants'' outcome measures. All items were rated as useful by stakeholders. The GRS rating scores, outcome measures, and usefulness scores did not vary between the two Evaluation Type conditions. Correlations between the GRS and the outcome measures were stronger compared with those between the AGREE II draft and these measures. Conclusion: Although the GRS is less sensitive than the AGREE II in detecting differences in guideline quality as a function of User Type, its items did predict important outcome measures related to guideline adoption. The GRS may play a role in guideline evaluation, although further study is warranted. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This research investigates the effects of ISO 9001 certification and King Abdullah II Award for Excellence (KAAE) on Jordanian firm's performance. Four scale measures of firm's performance were condidered, including quality outcomes, customer satisfaction, business performance, and innovation. ISO 9001 certification effect on performance measures was investigated in 130 Jordanian firms from both service (52 %) and industrial (48%) sectors. While, KAAE effect on performance measures was surveyed in twenty four firms. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was used to analyze the measurement and structural models for ISO 9001 certification, whereas t-test was used to test the hypotheses related to KAAE. The results showed that the ISO 9001 certification has significant effects on quality outcomes, customer satisfaction and business performance; however, it has no significant effect on innovation. In addition, the KAAE positively affects quality outcomes customer satisfaction, business performance, and innovation. In conclusion, ISO 9001 requirements and guidelines improve the efficiency and effectiveness of quality management systems in Jordanian firms, but they fail to motivate innovation. In order to achieve performance excellence, this research encourages Jordanian firms to participate in KAAE or include its guidelines in their quality management systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Excellence is decided inside the grant selection process, in what some applicants call the "black box". This discussion examines the process from the perspective of peer reviewers as selection panel members and external assessors. It includes discussion of the ways that these peers review and rank applications for research funding. In particular, it seeks to reveal how peers define excellence and whether the ways that grant peer review is operationalised affects the ways that excellence is defined. Data from 23 semi-structured interviews with panel members and council staff are augmented by responses from 18 panel members and 70 external assessors collected in a survey of applicants. These responses form the basis of a discussion and reflection on how comparative selection decisions are made and the ways that external reviewers see the process of determining excellence. These data open to scrutiny the invisible hand of scientific opinion, the judgements scientists make within research council processes (Rip, 1993). Excellence emerged as a multi-faceted or polymorphic (Lamont, 2009) construction but clarity and writing dominated opinions about what was the best. Every panel member interviewed held that the difference between the best (5-10%) and the rest is the way that the Text component is written. Applications resonate, are compelling, convincing and shine off the page. They are like really good literature. Panel members believe that communicating the work of research is an integral part of the activity and that all researchers have an obligation to deliver clear stories about their work to the world at large, that in fact, as one influential Panel member said; get over it, it's the job. In summary, the best applications are well articulated, professionally prepared and exciting to read. Panel members believe that people who can tell the story also do the best science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, the robust optimization methodology is applied to deal with uncertainties in the prices of saleable products, operating costs, product demand, and product yield in the context of refinery operational planning. A numerical study demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed robust approach. The benefits of incorporating uncertainty in the different model parameters were evaluated in terms of the cost of ignoring uncertainty in the problem. The calculations suggest that this benefit is equivalent to 7.47% of the deterministic solution value, which indicates that the robust model may offer advantages to those involved with refinery operational planning. In addition, the probability bounds of constraint violation are calculated to help the decision-maker adopt a more appropriate parameter to control robustness and judge the tradeoff between conservatism and total profit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Objective: A rule-based prototype decision support tool; Braden-scale based Automated Risk-assessment Tool (BART) was developed to test whether pressure ulcer risk scores can be determined automatically based on the documented patient data. Methods: The data items required for assessing pressure ulcer risk were identified by analyzing the parameter definitions of the Braden scale and by consulting the nurses specialized in pressure ulcer prevention and care. Documentation coverage and formats of the required data was evaluated. The decision rules were developed based on the inputs from the expert nurses, and were implemented as a web-based prototype tool, BART. The agreement rates between nurses and BART on assigning scores to the six Braden-scale parameters were calculated with 39 convenience samples of patient data. Results: Although several items required for the automated decision were not found from the documentation, the majority of the required data items were documented with feasible formats (i.e., coded lists or free text with nominal or numeric values) for algorithmic processing. When evaluated with 39 test cases, BART and the nurses showed varying levels of agreement (from “slight” to “substantial”) on assigning scores for the six parameters of the Braden scale. They showed “fair” level of agreement with an “at risk” decision. Conclusion: BART has limitations that need to be addressed through future enhancements. However, it demonstrates potential for reuse of documented patient data to automatically populate pressure ulcer risk using the Braden scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Issues. Many policy review articles have concluded that alcohol screening and brief intervention (SBI) is both cost-effective and cost-beneficial. Yet a recent cost-effectiveness review for the United Kingdom's National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence suggests that these conclusions may be premature. Approach. This article offers a brief synopsis of the various types of economic analyses that may be applied to SBI, including cost analysis, cost-effectiveness analysis, cost-utility analysis, cost-benefit analysis and other types of economic evaluation. A brief overview of methodological issues is provided, and examples from the SBI evaluation literature are provided. Key Findings, Implications and Conclusions. The current evidence base is insufficient to draw firm conclusions about the cost, cost-effectiveness or cost-benefit of SBI and about the impact of SBI on health-care utilisation.[Cowell AJ, Bray JW, Mills MJ, Hinde JM. Conducting economic evaluations of screening and brief intervention for hazardous drinking: Methods and evidence to date for informing policy. Drug Alcohol Rev 2010;29;623-630] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tourism is one of the activities that has an economic impact in the development of Cuban nation. Travel agencies constitute an essential element in that tourism development. However, there is not any model to measure enterprise excellence with the application of tools related to Management of Technology and Innovation (GTI), which avoids an adequate coordination and search of innovation actions that contribute to a better management for achieving enterprise excellence. This is a scientific problem to be solved. Therefore, the general objective of this research is to develop a model which allows to measure enterprise excellence in travel agencies (EAV). This is pointed as a scientific novelty, because so far, any other previous paper about the topic has been presented. To fulfil the objectives already proposed, methods and tools were used such as the method of Kendall's coefficient, Fuller Triangle, Onate Ramos' methodology for the selection of experts, as well as the owns of the topic that is being developed. As a main result, a system of indicators were obtained to determine the excellence in travel agencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides an introduction to the concept and importance of journal impact factor (JIF), citation indexes. The paper takes the form of a short history of JIF, the importance of journal performance indicators, about calculating and determining JIF and the significance of using Citation Indexes. Elements of the factors affecting impact factor namely scientometrics and journalology were also highlighted. A guide to locating the best impact factor journals in various research fields was demonstrated. Despite that JIF is still a dilemma for some fields of research, academic members are still subjected to the Key Performance Index (KPI) criteria compliance for further promotion and excellence service awards on top of the need to generate high impact research publications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The success of any organization depends on effective management, but health systems face a lack of competent management at all levels. During the past decade, there has been a growing interest in competency-based performance systems for enhancing both individual and organizational performance in health professions. This article reviews the processes and outcomes associated with the training and development of health managers. The study attempted to draw up guidelines for basic modeling of key management skills necessary to optimize the training of health managers. To achieve this, the following methods of research were used: critical analysis and synthesis of scientific literature on the research problem; documentary method - national and European documents were examined, inquiry method - direct inquiry. Results: A noticeable deficiency in knowledge and application of appropriate motivational approaches to communicating with staff. The most desired areas of excellence to which it is necessary to focus future training topics relate to: motivation skills, conflict resolution and team cohesion, communication skills, persuasion and influencing / leadership skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is widely thought that focusing on highly skilled movements while performing them hinders their execution. Once you have developed the ability to tee off in golf, play an arpeggio on the piano, or perform a pirouette in ballet, attention to what your body is doing is thought to lead to inaccuracies, blunders, and sometimes even utter paralysis. Here I re-examine this view and argue that it lacks support when taken as a general thesis. Although bodily awareness may often interfere with well-developed rote skills, like climbing stairs, I suggest that it is typically not detrimental to the skills of expert athletes, performing artists, and other individuals who endeavor to achieve excellence. Along the way, I present a critical analysis of some philosophical theories and behavioral studies on the relationship between attention and bodily movement, an explanation of why attention may be beneficial at the highest level of performance and an error theory that explains why many have thought the contrary. Though tentative, I present my view as a challenge to the widespread starting assumption in research on highly skilled movement that at the pinnacle of skill attention to one's movement is detrimental. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the increasing use of mixed methods designs in applied research, particularly work commissioned by government. The roots of this trend are discussed in the UK and US context, drawing out particularly the implications for qualitative methods, the role of benchmarks and quality standards, and the implications for critical research. Examples from socio-legal research and research on social aspects of health and illness illustrate the argument. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In their research the authors studied the lean management's effect has on competitiveness with a corporate level. To do this, a framework has been developing, which combines the organizational abilities establishing routines and practices resulting from their performance and competitiveness. Corporate case studies to show that a) the impact of the introduction of lean production, how to change the organization's capabilities, and b) what factors are improving the competitiveness of the companies behind the slim. Their results point out that the lean management companies primarily in the functionality and variable ability positive effects on business performance is not necessarily. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The accountability movement in public policy hails a new programme for US foreign assistance – the Millennium Challenge Account established in 2004 with the aim of ‘picking winners’ for grants among developing countries based on their demonstrated quality of governance. This article uses the MCA's own rating system to dispute its claim to know in advance which countries are best positioned to meet major development goals. High governance scores alone bear little or no relationship to growth in national income or decline in poverty. Attempting to measure public-policy performance limits the range of choice available to policy-makers, and may inadvertently limit true performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Education is a project by excellence. Education is first and foremost a project embodying the human being, the human becoming, a project of institutional-educational building-up of the future mature citizen, of the future agent of professional action. The project and the action are intrinsic parts of education. The present study gives an overall image of the learner-centred education, one of the main requirements specific to the reform of the European higher education system. In what follows we will synthetically introduce the main requirements of the "learner-centred education" and the activity of the main actors engaged in this process: the teaching staff, students as well as the entire institution in order to achieve a learner-centred education of high quality, which focuses on the acquisition of competences relevant to the post-degree activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Automated image quality assessment is highly desirable to evaluate the performance of various image fusion algorithms for night vision applications. In this paper we propose a perceptual quality evaluation method for image fusion which is based on human visual system (HVS) models. Our method assesses the image quality of a fused image using the following steps. First, the source and fused images are filtered by a contrast sensitivity function (CSF) after which a local contrast map is computed for each image. Second, a contrast preservation map is generated to describe the relationship between the fused image and each source image. Finally, the preservation maps are weighted by a saliency map to obtain an overall quality map. The mean of the quality map indicates the quality of the fused image. Experimental results compare the predictions made by our algorithm with human perceptual evaluations for several different parameter settings in our algorithm. The most popular existing algorithms are also evaluated. For some specific parameter settings, we find our algorithm provides better predictions, which are more closely matched to human perceptual evaluations, than the existing algorithms. The evaluations focus on the night vision application, but the algorithm we propose is applicable to other applications also. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article discusses the significance of human performance improvement (HPI) in achieving a sustainable safety excellence in the U.S. According to the article, promoting HPI covers an injury process that is deep and broad. It also ensure that true root causes of human error are exposed and solutions are suitable and permanent. It cites the cross-disciplinary focus of HPI which offers a unique toolbox of infinite options which link identified gaps. Furthermore, it notes that the ability to creatively solve industrial problems is through management asset.

The study of "scientific excellence" is taking on increasing importance in the development of research policies in many nations. However, scientific excellence is difficult to define because of its multidimensional and highly complex character. This work contributes to the state of the art by exploring an effective, simple, and inexpensive bibliometric methodology that further identifies "excellent" centers of research by beginning with the individual researchers affiliated with such centers. The study concentrates on public research organizations in Italy, analyzing 109 scientific categories of research in the "hard" sciences and 157 centers of excellence operating in 60 of these categories. Findings from this first application of the methodology should be considered exploratory and indicative. With a longer period of observation and the addition of further measurements, this methodology could be extended and adapted to a variety of national and supranational contexts, aiding policy decisions at various levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Foundation degrees (FDs) involve the fusion of academic and vocational paths in higher education (HE) qualifications; the challenge for academics and employers is the credible assessment of the student's workplace learning. Focusing to the workplace enables participants to learn from their daily routines encountered at work. The challenge is to help them demonstrate learning from experience within the workplace, by developing their ability to think at a higher level. A vital aspect of using workplace learning in partnership with employers/sector skills councils is that the learning is valid to the role. In response, the programme development group, which was composed of academics and employers, felt that workplace tasks (WPTs) would allow students to demonstrate role development through experiential learning at work. Therefore, this article uses a pilot case study (n = 16), using a focus group methodology, to discuss the assessment of the WPTs within a FD and the students' perception towards this form of assessment. Findings show that participants value WPTs, they motivate participants to learn and improve their self-esteem, however, some groups need specialist skills training where workplace competence is required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the development and implementation of a new decision-aid tool to be used in the pavement management system of Oliveira do Hospital in Portugal. This system includes the following components: a road network database; a quality evaluation tool; a costs model; a pavement performance model; and a decision-aid tool. The current decision-aid tool uses a deterministic section-linked optimisation model with the objective of minimising the total expected discounted costs over the planning time-span while keeping the road pavements within given quality standards. The new decision-aid tool uses a deterministic section-linked optimisation model with the goal of maximising quality, performance or user benefits over the planning time-span for given annual budget levels. This new approach is suitable for road administrations that strictly adhere to known annual budgets for maintenance and rehabilitation. The current pavement quality and the constraints defined by the annual budgets determine the future quality and level of performance of the road pavements. The new decision-aid tool also uses the deterministic pavement performance model used in the flexible pavement design method of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, which allows the gap between project and network management to be resolved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Organizations wishing to remain competitive often want to comply with all possible contractor evaluation criteria, process models, and quality standards, but the field is evolving rapidly. This paper describes the categories of compliance and characteristics of seven important models: the CMM, SE-CMM, IPD-CMM, ISO 9000, SDCE, MIL-STD-498, and Trillium. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Most contributions in the fields of strategic management, operations strategy, organisation and innovation theory, do not provide knowledge on how to pursue the combination of exploration and exploitation excellence. This paper investigates the impact of change initiatives in high performance companies, and the effects of organisational formalisation and centralisation on the time and timeliness performance of new product development projects. We analyse data collected through two multinational surveys of manufacturing companies and case studies of two manufacturing companies. The findings indicate that companies with a high degree of improvement in exploitation and exploration performance differ from low performers in terms of the width and depth of the implementation of improvement activities. Furthermore, high performers are actively aware of configurational effects. Formalisation does not only lead to a longer lead-time of radical innovation but also, contrary to what theory suggests, of incremental innovations. Centralisation only affects the timeliness of NPD projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Total quality management (TQM) is a management philosophy that is widespread among many organizations all over the world. Accordingly, the practical implications of TQM on firms' performance are receiving an increasing attention from both practitioners and researchers. This paper presents an empirical study which examines the relationships between the implementation of TQM and both the firms' cultural predisposition to innovate and the actual innovation effort undertaken from an administrative and technical perspective. The innovation effort is measured in terms of the intensity and newness of the innovations adopted; and the innovative culture, together with the quality practices, is also considered as an antecedent of the former. The research resorts to the European Foundation for Quality Management Excellence Model to conceptualise TQM in an attempt to provide empirical evidences referred to the main European standard. The findings indicate that TQM shows a strong predictive power against the innovative culture as well as a determinant role in the stimuli of both administrative and technical innovation. Therefore, the major implication of this study is that TQM is an appropriate resource to enhance organizational performance, particularly innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel mode control device is described, comprising a point-load mode scrambler in tandem with a mode filter. The device may be tuned to ensure compliance of fibre test equipment with new link performance standards. Improvement in the reproducibility of insertion loss measurements on concatenated fibres is demonstrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The EU Water Framework and Groundwater directives stipulate that EU member states have to assess groundwater chemical status by the use of groundwater threshold values derived for the protection of dependent ecosystems and human health. This paper presents a synthesis of main results of 14 European case studies evaluating a methodology for derivation of natural background levels (NBLs) and groundwater threshold values (TVs) proposed by the EU research project “BRIDGE”. The 14 investigated groundwater bodies were selected to represent as many aquifer types, climate settings and European ecoregions as possible within the project group that included partners from 17 EU countries. The selected case study sites include transboundary groundwater bodies, EU Pilot River Basins and other important groundwater systems. Some are known to interact with associated ecosystems, while others do not. The proposed method derives groundwater threshold values based on environmental objectives for dependent ecosystems or groundwater ”itself” using relevant reference criteria such as natural background levels, environmental quality standards and drinking water standards. Derived groundwater threshold values for dissolved Cl and As applying drinking water standards as examples of reference values, are compared for all 14 case studies. Additionally, more detailed analyses are conducted for the Odense Pilot River Basin and the Vouga River Basin, where groundwater threshold values for N and P and Cl, As, Cd, Ni, Pb, and Zn, respectively, are derived based on environmental objectives and quality standards for groundwater dependent ecosystems. Results demonstrate that the proposed methodology is operational and may be used to protect human health and the environment. Further they show that groundwater threshold values derived from environmental objectives and environmental quality standards for dependent ecosystems in some cases may be significantly lower than drinking water standards, e.g. for nitrate. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The object here was to elaborate on the development, implementation, and evaluation of a sexuality course entitled Principles of Healthy Sexuality. The goal of the educational process was for future medical professionals to be sensitized to sexuality issues and become comfortable with them both in their professional and personal lives. This elective 1 credit course contained 20 hours of meeting time and 18 hours of personal study for 10-12 medical students in discussion format. The implementation took place during the spring semester. The sessions were grouped together so that the course length was about 4-5 weeks. The designed course was also one of three electives from the author and included in the Centre of Excellence in Education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

If the outcomes of the recent COAG meeting are implemented, Australia will have a new set of benchmarks for its health system within a few months. This is a non-trivial task. Choice of benchmarks will, explicitly or implicitly, reflect a framework about how the health system works, what is important or to be valued and how the benchmarks are to be used. In this article we argue that the health system is dynamic and so benchmarks need to measure flows and interfaces rather than simply cross-sectional or static performance. We also argue that benchmarks need to be developed taking into account three perspectives: patient, clinician and funder. Each of these perspectives is critical and good performance from one perspective or on one dimension doesn't imply good performance on either (or both) of the others. The three perspectives (we term the dimensions patient assessed value, performance on clinical interventions and efficiency) can each be decomposed into a number of elements. For example, patient assessed value is influenced by timeliness, cost to the patient, the extent to which their expectations are met, the way they are treated and the extent to which there is continuity of care. We also argue that the way information is presented is important: cross sectional, dated measures provide much less information and are much less useful than approaches based on statistical process control. The latter also focuses attention on improvement and trends, encouraging action rather than simply blame of poorer performers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article analyses the present position of History and Scottish History in the school curriculum and discusses the possible impact of initiatives while offering some suggestions for future trends. The transformation of History teaching since the 1980s tells a different story of a profession embracing change regarded as being in the best interests of pupils and the subject. Some expressed their skepticism about A Curriculum for Excellence program because they believe that it may prove not to be in the best interests of pupils if it means that Scottish History is either pushed further into the sidelines or disappears from the curriculum.

The article examines the effectiveness of pair programming (PP) with the help of empirical evidence. Fifteen studies were conducted, out of which eleven compared the effectiveness of isolated pairs. Duration was reported either as the total time a subject took to complete all the assigned programming tasks or as the total time taken to produce code that was assessed as having reached a certain quality standard. For comparisons between pairs and solo programmers, pair effort was reported as twice the duration of each individual in the pair. Quality typically was reported as the number of test cases passed or number of correct solutions of programming tasks. The study reveals that PP leads to increased quality.

We look at some of the theoretical and methodological issues underlying international university ranking systems and, in particular, their conceptual connection with the idea of excellence. We then turn to a critical examination of the two best-known international university ranking systems - the Times Higher Education Supplement (THES) World University Rankings and the Shanghai Jiao Tong Academic Ranking of World Universities. We assess the various criteria used by the two systems and argue that the Jiao Tong system, although far from perfect, is a better indicator of university excellence. Based on our assessments of these two systems, we suggest how an ideal international university ranking system might look, concluding with some comments on the uses of ranking systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This document is the first official American College of Gastroenterology policy statement on Pay for Performance (P4P) and was approved by the ACG Board of Trustees in June 2007. This policy statement is not intended to promote or condone P4P but rather to inform members of the College as to the recommended approach to development and critical analysis of these measures. The objectives of this report are 2-fold: 1. To offer guidance to the “stakeholder” community as to the ACG leadership's rationale and evaluation process of these proposed health care policy decisions. 2. To provide to those parties involved in the development of P4P programs for gastroenterology, a template outline of key areas and principles that the ACG endorses as important parameters to define an appropriate process for a valid P4P program. The work group from the ACG Task Force included representatives from the ACG Board of Trustees as well as the following ACG committees: National Affairs, Patient Care, Practice Management, Practice Parameters, and Research. In the preparation of this document every effort was made to avoid any potential, actual, or perceived conflict of interest that might result from role as consultant/advisory board/steering committee/stock ownership in health care industry related businesses. There were no declared conflicts by the work group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the minimum quality standards in professional baseball in relation to disappearance of the .400 hitter. Stephen Jay Gould based the disappearance of the .400 hitter on an analogy to biological evolution and claimed that their disappearance proves the improving team play. Meanwhile, the standards in baseball had improved by developing an extensive system of scouting, training, and screening the players.

The article presents information about improved evaluation systems in competitive sports. In the improved evaluation system that involves awarding bonus points, a sportsman is rewarded for his consistent performance. Rewarding consistency in sports performance is stated to result in recognition of the defining excellences of the sport. Under improved evaluation systems, contestants are compensated for the excellence they demonstrate in competition rather than rewarding them on the basis of the result. An example is cited to demonstrate how revising evaluation systems can help sports teachers and league directors to compensate contestants for their performances.

In 2005, the new quality standard for learning, education, and training, ISO/IEC 19796-1, was published. Its purpose is to help educational organizations to develop quality systems and to improve the quality of their processes, products, and services. In this article, the standard is presented and compared to existing approaches, showing the methodology and its advantages for educational organizations. However, since the standard is a reference model, it has to be adapted to the needs and requirements of an organization. Hence, the main aspect is the adoption and implementation process: How can ISO/IEC 19796-1 successfully be implemented in educational organizations and support the variety of involved actors? To answer this question, the quality adaptation model identifies steps and instruments to bring the abstract standard into practice. The article closes with a case study evaluating the use and adequacy of the model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the clinical concerns of clinical performance measurement as one of the foundations to improve health care quality. It is stated that eventhough performance measurement achieved success in clinical applications, many physicians remain apprehensive of its use since it gets in the way of delivering good care. It is also suggested that performance measurement is better suited to improve measured care.

Increased competition has led to organisations facing the challenge of implementing quality management to achieve best practice, while at the same time having to address the need for innovation management to develop new products, services and processes. The aim of this paper is to explore the relationship between quality management and innovation management from a perspective that recognises the full contribution of quality management to academia and praxis. The research question in the paper is, how can organisations use their existing quality models to achieve their innovation management objectives? A multiple- and segmented-case analysis is used to show, first, how organisations have applied quality models based on quality objectives and, second, how the same organisations have used these quality models to achieve innovation objectives. The findings show that the concepts of a quality-innovation continuum and that of quality as a preceding foundation for innovation can help organisations reconceptualise and reapply their quality models to achieve innovation objectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Six Sigma has proven to be one of the most emerging business strategies in the 21st Century for accelerating innovation and continuous improvement activities in both manufacturing and service environments for achieving both operational and business excellence. Although we have witnessed various quality management initiatives in organisations, none of them placed an unprecedented importance on the integration of tools and techniques into a systematic and organised problem solving framework. The purpose of this paper is to illustrate how Six Sigma is different from the previous quality management and improvement initiatives. The paper also addresses the future directions of Six Sigma and the role of academic community for enhancement of existing Six Sigma methodology and for the development of theory underpinning the principles of Six Sigma. The author firmly believes that Six Sigma will continue to grow and evolve to match the needs of the modern business in the 21st Century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study tested the applicability of the Excellence Study (L. A. Grunig, J. E. Grunig, & Dozier, 2002) to developing the study of public diplomacy to respond to Signitzer and Coombs's (1992) call for empirical research to "delineate and test" (p. 145) transferable public relations theories and to rigorously examine conceptual convergence between both spheres. This study delineated underdeveloped conceptions of public diplomacy practices and excellence in public diplomacy as a gap preventing theory building for both practices and excellence. It proposed the conceptual frameworks for public relations behavior and excellence in public relations in the Excellence Study to be applicable to developing the underdeveloped conceptions. In testing the applicability, this study examined the fits of 2 measurement models of public relations behavior and excellence in public relations developed from the conceptual frameworks of the Excellence Study. It tested the models with survey data on public diplomacy practices and management collected from 113 embassies in Washington, D.C. The findings showed that the conceptual and measurement frameworks of the Excellence Study are applicable: The 2 measurement models fit the public diplomacy data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The central argument of this article is that many of the tools developed to strengthen for-profit businesses can be applied to NGOs to make them more effective and accountable. The authors address a gap in the development literature by defining and describing how business tools can be effectively transferred to NGOs. They examine the implementation of ISO 9000 Quality Standard by one NGO, the Cambodia Trust. The experiences of the Cambodia Trust demonstrate that business tools have a place in NGO management. The article also questions the extent to which the Cambodian experience can be seen as best practice for NGOs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Routine quality evaluation is providing evidence of significant variations in key indicators of quality between services, and also between individual practitioners. This paper offers reflections, primarily from a service management perspective, on the process and implications of introducing a standardized system for quality and outcome measurement (CORE) into psychological therapy services. In the context of a predominant framework of external, non-managerial supervision of clinical work, the role of the service manager in ensuring competent, safe and accountable practice is discussed and potential tensions identified. The stages of implementation, together with attendant challenges and pitfalls, are outlined as part of a process of organizational change. The critical importance of winning practitioners’ ‘hearts and minds’ and also ensuring data completeness and quality are highlighted as essential pre-requisites for ensuring practitioner commitment and subsequent utility of outcome measurement data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]