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Background Tumor boards constitute the main consensus and clinical decision–making body of multidisciplinary teams (MDTs) in cancer care. With the increasing clinical complexity of treatment options (eg, targeted therapies, multimodal treatments) and the progressive incorporation of new areas of intervention (eg, survivorship care), tumor boards are now required to play a central role in all cancer processes. However, although frameworks are in place to evaluate MDT quality, only few web-based tools are available for this purpose; indeed, no web-based MDT evaluation tools have been developed for or adapted to the Spanish National Health System. Objective The first aim of this study was to develop a web-based self-assessment model (Autoevaluación de Equipos Multidisciplinares de Atención al Cáncer [AEMAC]) for evaluating multidisciplinary cancer teams in Spain and the second aim was to validate this tool by testing its metric properties, acceptability, and usability. Methods We designed and validated the AEMAC program in 3 stages. In the first stage (research), we reviewed the available scientific evidence and performed a qualitative case study of good practice in multidisciplinary care within the Spanish National Health System (n=4 centers and 28 health care professionals). The results were used to define the thematic areas and quality criteria for the self-evaluation model, which were then discussed and validated by a group of experts. The second stage (development) involved the technological development of a web app that would be accessible from any mobile device. In the third stage (piloting and validation), we conducted 4 pilot tests (n=15 tumor boards, 243 professionals) and used the results to analyze the acceptability and usefulness of the tool. Results We designed a self-assessment model based on 5 thematic areas encompassing a total of 25 quality components, which users rated on a 3-option development scale. The evaluation process, which was managed entirely from the web app, consisted of individual self-assessment, group prioritization, and creation of an improvement plan. Cronbach alpha (.86), McDonald’s omega (0.88), and various fit indices (comparative fit index between 0.95 and 1 and goodness-of-fit index between 0.97 and 0.99 for all 5 aspects) confirmed internal consistency. The mean rating for overall satisfaction with the tool and for consistency between the content of the tool and the reality of tumor boards was 7.6 out of 10. Conclusions The results obtained during the period of research and piloting of the AEMAC program showed that it has an appropriate structure and metric properties and could therefore be implemented in a real context and generalized to other hospitals. As a virtual tool, it helps to measure the key aspects of MDT quality, such as effectiveness of collaboration and communication, leadership, and the organizational environment.

AbstractOur goal was to analyze the positive effect of job crafting activities involving nursing home employees on their perceived quality of care, and the moderating effect of organizational identification. A two-wave non-experimental design (with an interval of 12 months) was used. The Job Crafting Questionnaire, the Identification-Commitment Inventory, and the Quality of Care Questionnaire (QoC) were administered to 226 nursing home employees in two waves. The results of the hierarchical regression analyses found significant association between job crafting subdimensions and quality of care twelve months later. Organizational identification was shown to play a moderating role in these relationships when analyzing the effect of cognitive crafting. In this sense, the effect of cognitive crafting on quality of care is only found with high levels of identification. The findings highlight the importance of the job crafting dimensions (task, relational and cognitive) when it comes to enhancing quality of care in residential homes for the elderly. This is especially relevant for cognitive crafting among employees with high levels of organizational identification. This research provides managers with guidance when allocating job crafting opportunities aimed at making improvements in quality of care. In this respect, organizations must offer job crafting training to stimulate and support their employees and, on the other hand, managers should encourage employees to craft their jobs, gearing their needs, abilities, and goals to corporate values and competencies.

Professionalization of safety is gaining some interest in international safety literature, including (post)graduate training and education of safety experts. Different from research, there are hardly any publications and discussions on the quality of (post) graduate safety education in the academic safety literature. This article starts with a short historical picture of safety education. After this picture, a description of the ten (post) graduate safety courses involved is presented with a special reference to the assessment of the quality of these courses. It shows that an internal evaluation of quality, like reactions from trainees, and results from examinations, and tests are presently the main quality indicators. Discussions on how quality assessment can be performed has led to an overview of literature on educational objectives and educational models, and possible options for this assessment. The article concludes that the transfer of safety knowledge and skills to companies and organizations is a highly desirable elaboration of the quality concept. But it is also clear that traditional safety indicators can provide no, or only unreliable, information about the degree of this transfer. An overview of possible minor and major accident scenarios of the company or organisation concerned might be a better option, combined with the activities of the trainee to influence and prevent activation of these scenarios., (undefined)

Aim: To examine the association between organizational change, turnover intentions, overcommitment, and perceptions of quality of care among nurses and nursing assistants employed in older people care organizations. Design: A longitudinal survey (baseline, 12 month follow-up) was used. Methods: A panel sample of 226 older people care employees in Spain and Sweden responded to survey questions concerning organizational change, turnover intentions, overcommitment, and perceptions of quality of care. The data was analysed using structural equational modelling. Results: We found a statistically significant positive relationship between organizational change, employees' turnover intention, and overcommitment. We also found a statistically significant negative relationship between organizational change and perceived quality of care.

Objetivo: Estimar el impacto del brote pandémico de COVID-19 en diversos aspectos organizativos de los servicios de urgencias hospitalarios (SUH) españoles e investigar si difirió en función de la comunidad autónoma, tamaño del hospital e incidencia local de la pandemia. Método: Encuesta a los responsables de los 283 SUH españoles de uso público, quienes valoraron el impacto de la pandemia en aspectos organizativos, disponibilidad de recursos, y bajas del personal durante marzo-abril de 2020, diferenciando dicho impacto por quincenas. Los resultados se analizaron en conjunto, por comunidad autónoma, según tamaño del hospital y según incidencia local de la pandemia. Resultados: Se recibieron 246 encuestas (87% de los SUH españoles). La mayoría de SUH reorganizaron el triaje, primera asistencia y observación y habilitó nuevos espacios específicos para pacientes con sospecha de COVID-19. Un 83% aumentó dotación enfermera (sin diferencias entre grupos) y un 59% la dotación de médicos (más frecuente en hospitales grandes y zonas de alta incidencia). El recurso que más escaseó fue el test diagnóstico de SARS-CoV-2 (55% del tiempo insuficiente con cierta o mucha frecuencia), seguido de mascarillas FPP2-FPP3 38%), batas impermeables (34%) y espacio asistencial (32%). Hubo más del 5% de médicos/enfermería/otro personal de baja el 20%/19%/16% del tiempo. Estos déficits fueron máximos la segunda quincena de marzo, excepto para los test diagnósticos (primera quincena de marzo). Los SUH de grandes centros tuvieron menos escasez de tests diagnósticos, y los de zonas de alta incidencia pandémica más profesionales de baja. Existieron marcadas diferencias en todas estos déficits entre comunidades autónomas, no siempre concordantes con el grado de afectación pandémica en cada comunidad. Conclusiones: La pandemia COVID-19 generó cambios estructurales en los SUH, que sufrieron una escasez considerable en ciertos recursos, con diferencias marcadas entre comunidades autónomas.

Objetivo. Investigar la calidad asistencial en los episodios de exposición a monóxido de carbono (CO) asistidos por unidades prehospitalarias mediante indicadores de calidad (IC) y las variables relacionadas con el uso del pulsicooxímetro para medir de forma incruenta el porcentaje de saturación de la hemoglobina con CO (SpCO). Método. Estudio de cohorte de los episodios de exposición a CO atendidos por las unidades de soporte vital avanzado (SVA) del Sistema de Emergencias Médicas de Cataluña. Se seleccionaron 11 IC y se diseñó un análisis multivariante para investigar las variables relacionadas con el uso del pulsicooxímetro. Resultados. Se recogieron 1.676 episodios de exposición a CO. En 1.108 (66,1%) se registró la SpCO con pulsicooxímetro, siendo SpCO > 10% en 358 (32,3%). De los 11 IC, cinco no alcanzaron el estándar recomendado. El análisis multivariante mostró un menor uso del pulsicooxímetro cuando había asociación con otro tóxico, OR 0,34 (IC 95% 0,11-1,00) y cuando la primera asistencia era realizada por SVA médico, OR 0,43 (IC 95% 0,31-0,59). Hubo mayor uso del pulsicooxímetro ante la presencia de antecedentes psiquiátricos OR 3,01 (IC 95% 1,27-7,17), la cefalea OR 2,13 (IC 95% 1,22-3,72) y el uso de oxigenoterapia OR 10,33 (5,46-19,53). Conclusión. En la asistencia prehospitalaria de los episodios de exposición al CO existe una falta de cumplimiento de algunos IC. Hay variables relacionadas con la infrautilización del pulsicooxímetro, con puntos de mejora.

Disclosures in notes have been criticized by practitioners for being unwieldy and contributing little to the quality of the financial information. This study presents evidence on the association between disclosure quality, analyst following and liquidity in the real estate sector. More spe- cifically, we study the disclosure of the methods and significant assumptions applied in de- termining fair values of investment properties under IAS 40 and IFRS 13. We find that disclosure quality is significantly higher under IFRS 13. Furthermore, we show that the quality is associated with analyst following and bid-ask spreads. However, the improved disclosures following the adoption of IFRS 13 are not associated with any significant positive economic consequences. This result indicates that the revised disclosure requirements in IFRS 13 did not solve any market imperfections.

Purpose: The main purpose of this paper is to explore and to propose a comprehensive definition and conceptualization of an Internal Quality Assurance System (IQAS) for Higher Education Institution (HEI) by using Work Systems Theory (WST) as a theoretical lens. Design/methodology/approach: The paper follows a multiple method research approach by grounding on a literature review and validating against a published study case. Findings: After analysing a number of IQAS definitions, the paper shows how these systems can be defined as a specific case of a “work system”, the main unit of analysis and conceptualization provided by WST. To further demonstrate the academic relevance and practical applicability of the proposed conceptualization, we provide a concrete instantiation as a “work system” of the IQAS implemented in a real HEI case. Research limitations: Additional instantiations of IQAS implemented in other different real contexts should be conducted to foster the generalizability of the proposed framework. Practical implications: Using the same theoretical lens as a reference point, the paper provides insights and directions for further research as well as potential future uses and practical applications of the derived conceptualization. Originality/value: To our best knowledge, this is the first comprehensive formal IQAS definition and first WST-based conceptualizing an IQAS for HEIs.

Purpose: Remanufactured products, in addition to being environment friendly, are popular with consumers because they can offer the latest technology with lower prices in comparison to brand new products. However, some consumers are hesitant to buy remanufactured products because they are skeptical about the quality of the remanufactured product and thus are unsure of the extent to which the product will render services when compared to a new product. A strategy that remanufacturers may employ to entice customers is to offer warranties on remanufactured products. To that end, this paper studies and scrutinizes the impact of offering renewing warranties on remanufactured products. Specifically, the paper suggests a methodology which simultaneously minimizes the cost incurred by the remanufacturers and maximizes the confidence of the consumers towards buying remanufacturing products. Design/methodology/approach: This study uses discrete-event simulation to optimize the implementation of a two-dimensional renewing warranty policy for remanufactured products. The implementation is illustrated using a specific product recovery system called the Advanced Remanufacturing-To-Order (ARTO) system. The experiments used in the study were designed using Taguchi’s Orthogonal Arrays to represent the entire domain of the recovery system so as to observe the system behavior under various experimental conditions. In order to determine the optimum strategy offered by the remanufacturer, various warranty and preventive maintenance scenarios were analyzed using pairwise t-tests along with one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Tukey pairwise comparisons tests for every scenario. Findings: The proposed methodology is able to simultaneously minimize the cost incurred by the remanufacturer, optimize the warranty price and period, and optimize the preventive maintenance strategy resulting in increased consumer confidence. Originality/value: This is the first study that evaluates in a quantitative and comprehensive manner the potential benefits of offering warranties with preventive maintenance on remanufactured products.

In this thesis we propose a framework for designing, developing, a clinical decision support systems (CDSS) offering a suite of services for the early detection and assessment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and then demonstrate how these services can be integrated into the work-flow of healthcare providers. Furthermore, we focus on supporting spirometry, one of the main diagnostic tools in respiratory disease assessment. We present two methods to offer decision support in assuring the quality of a spirometry test that can be easily embedded into the CDSS framework. The first method is a novel algorithm that relies on a set of rules operating on 23 new parameters to define a high quality test. The second is a machine-learning approach, where we optimise the distinction between a good quality spirometry test and a poor one using a set of supervised-learning classifiers and hyper-parameters, En esta tesis proponemos un marco para el diseño y desarrollo de un Sistema de Soporte de Decisión Clínica (SSDC) que ofrezca un conjunto de herramientas para el diagnóstico y la evaluación de las enfermedades pulmonares. Al mismo tiempo demostramos como estos servicios se pueden integrar en el flujo de trabajo del personal sanitario. Además, nos centramos en la ayuda en espirometría, una de las herramientas de diagnóstico principales en la evaluación de enfermedades pulmonares. Presentamos dos métodos de SSDC que tienen como objetivo asegurar la calidad de las pruebas de espirometría, y que se pueden integrar en el marco del SSDC. El primero es un nuevo algoritmo basado en un conjunto de reglas que definen lo que es considerado como una prueba de alta calidad. El segundo es un enfoque de aprendizaje supervisado donde se optimiza la distinción entre una prueba correcta de espirometría y una de mala calidad

Competent authorities, healthcare payers and hospitals devote increasing resources to quality management systems but scientific analyses searching for an impact of these systems on clinical outcome remain scarce. Earlier data indicated a stepwise improvement in outcome after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation with each phase of the accreditation process for the quality management system “JACIE”. We therefore tested the hypothesis that working towards and achieving “JACIE” accreditation would accelerate improvement in outcome over calendar time. Overall mortality of the entire cohort of 107,904 patients who had a transplant (41,623 allogeneic, 39%; 66,281 autologous, 61%) between 1999 and 2006 decreased over the 14-year observation period by a factor of 0.63 per 10 years (hazard ratio: 0.63; 0.58–0.69). Considering “JACIE“-accredited centers as those with programs having achieved accreditation by November 2012, at the latest, this improvement was significantly faster in “JACIE”-accredited centers than in non-accredited centers (approximately 5.3% per year for 49,459 patients versus approximately 3.5% per year for 58,445 patients, respectively; hazard ratio: 0.83; 0.71–0.97). As a result, relapse-free survival (hazard ratio 0.85; 0.75–0.95) and overall survival (hazard ratio 0.86; 0.76–0.98) were significantly higher at 72 months for those patients transplanted in the 162 “JACIE“-accredited centers. No significant effects were observed after autologous transplants (hazard ratio 1.06; 0.99–1.13). Hence, working towards implementation of a quality management system triggers a dynamic process associated with a steeper reduction in mortality over the years and a significantly improved survival after allogeneic stem cell transplantation. Our data support the use of a quality management system for complex medical procedures.

Màster de Direcció d'Entitats Asseguradores i Financeres, Universitat de Barcelona, Facultat d'Economia i Empresa, Curs: 2011-2012, Tutor: Carlos Grau Algueró, With a clear outlook towards today’s fierce price competition and rapidly changing customer expectations, this thesis seeks to summarize how companies who turn to embracing the philosophy of providing a superior customer experience to differentiate themselves can achieve a sustainable competitive advantage over its competitors. To this end, the thesis will provide an overview of key elements in designing and innovating the customer experience in light of current social trends and crossindustry insight from customer service established leaders. To easily undertake this reflection process, the thesis is divided the following way: basic concepts of services, external market outlook, internal considerations for companies, a highlevel approach to rethinking the customer experience, and finally conclusions.

Els programes de grau conjunt, doble i consecutiu han experimentat un extraordinari creixement en els últims cinc anys, tant pel que fa al nombre com a la tipologia, la qual cosa demostra clarament que tenen un paper en l'actual panorama de l'ensenyament superior. Una gran part del món acadèmic i els responsables del disseny de polítiques acullen amb satisfacció els programes de grau doble i de grau conjunt com a ampliacions naturals dels programes d'intercanvi i mobilitat. Uns altres els consideren un desenvolupament problemàtic que pot portar a un doble còmput del treball universitari i ser un primer pas en el frau acadèmic. La diversitat de models de programes, la participació de proveïdors nous (reconeguts i fraudulents) i tradicionals, la incertesa entorn de l'assegurament de la qualitat i el reconeixement de títols, i, finalment, els aspectes ètics implicats en la decisió de quines càrregues de treball universitari o quines noves competències són necessàries per a concedir els graus conjunts, dobles, múltiples o consecutius donen lloc a una gran diversitat de reaccions. L'objectiu d'aquest article és aclarir la confusió sobre les diferències entre els programes de grau conjunt, doble i consecutiu, per a la qual cosa aportem un marc conceptual de definicions. Presentem informacions destacades procedents d'estudis i sondejos recents, i examinem nous desenvolupaments i innovacions en l'establiment d'aquest tipus de programes en col·laboració. Finalment, revisem els factors que dificulten l'operativitat dels programes i explorem els aspectes que plantegen dubtes i conflictes i que requereixen un debat i una anàlisi més profunds. The number and types of international joint, double and consecutive degree programs have sky-rocketed in the last five years, demonstrating that they clearly have a role in the current landscape of higher education. For many academics and policy makers, double and joint degree programs are welcomed as a natural extension of exchange and mobility programs. For others, they are perceived as a troublesome development leading to double counting of academic work and the thin edge of academic fraud. A broad range of reactions exist due to the diversity of program models; the involvement of new (bona fide and rogue) and traditional providers; the uncertainty related to quality assurance and qualifications recognition; and finally, the ethics involved in deciding what academic workload or new competencies are required for the granting of joint, double, multiple or consecutive degrees. This article aims to clarify the confusion about the differences between a joint, a double and a consecutive degree program by providing a conceptual framework of definitions. It provides highlights from recent research surveys and studies, and looks at new developments and innovations in establishing these types of collaborative programs. Finally, it examines the factors that challenge the operationalization of the programs and explores those issues that raise doubts and dilemmas and require further debate and analysis. Los programas de grado conjunto, doble y consecutivo han experimentado un extraordinario crecimiento en los últimos cinco años, tanto en su número como en su tipología, lo cual demuestra sin lugar a dudas que tienen un papel en el actual panorama de la educación superior. Una gran parte del mundo académico y los responsables del diseño de políticas acogen con satisfacción los programas de grado doble y de grado conjunto en tanto que ampliaciones naturales de los programas de intercambio y movilidad. Otros los consideran un desarrollo problemático que puede llevar a un doble cómputo del trabajo universitario y ser un primer paso en el fraude académico. La diversidad de modelos de programas, la participación de proveedores nuevos (reconocidos y fraudulentos) y tradicionales, la incertidumbre en torno al aseguramiento de la calidad y el reconocimiento de títulos, y, por último, los aspectos éticos implicados en la decisión de qué cargas de trabajo universitario o qué nuevas competencias son necesarias para conceder los grados conjuntos, dobles, múltiples o consecutivos dan lugar a una gran diversidad de reacciones. El objetivo de este artículo es aclarar la confusión sobre las diferencias entre los programas de grado conjunto, doble y consecutivo, para lo que aportamos un marco conceptual de definiciones. Presentaremos informaciones destacadas procedentes de estudios y sondeos recientes, y examinaremos nuevos desarrollos e innovaciones en el establecimiento de este tipo de programas colaborativos. Finalmente, revisaremos los factores que dificultan la operatividad de los programas y exploraremos los aspectos que plantean dudas y conflictos y que requieren un debate y un análisis más profundos.

Els programes de grau conjunt, doble i consecutiu han experimentat un extraordinari creixement en els últims cinc anys, tant pel que fa al nombre com a la tipologia, la qual cosa demostra clarament que tenen un paper en l'actual panorama de l'ensenyament superior. Una gran part del món acadèmic i els responsables del disseny de polítiques acullen amb satisfacció els programes de grau doble i de grau conjunt com a ampliacions naturals dels programes d'intercanvi i mobilitat. Uns altres els consideren un desenvolupament problemàtic que pot portar a un doble còmput del treball universitari i ser un primer pas en el frau acadèmic. La diversitat de models de programes, la participació de proveïdors nous (reconeguts i fraudulents) i tradicionals, la incertesa entorn de l'assegurament de la qualitat i el reconeixement de títols, i, finalment, els aspectes ètics implicats en la decisió de quines càrregues de treball universitari o quines noves competències són necessàries per a concedir els graus conjunts, dobles, múltiples o consecutius donen lloc a una gran diversitat de reaccions. L'objectiu d'aquest article és aclarir la confusió sobre les diferències entre els programes de grau conjunt, doble i consecutiu, per a la qual cosa aportem un marc conceptual de definicions. Presentem informacions destacades procedents d'estudis i sondejos recents, i examinem nous desenvolupaments i innovacions en l'establiment d'aquest tipus de programes en col·laboració. Finalment, revisem els factors que dificulten l'operativitat dels programes i explorem els aspectes que plantegen dubtes i conflictes i que requereixen un debat i una anàlisi més profunds. The number and types of international joint, double and consecutive degree programs have sky-rocketed in the last five years, demonstrating that they clearly have a role in the current landscape of higher education. For many academics and policy makers, double and joint degree programs are welcomed as a natural extension of exchange and mobility programs. For others, they are perceived as a troublesome development leading to double counting of academic work and the thin edge of academic fraud. A broad range of reactions exist due to the diversity of program models; the involvement of new (bona fide and rogue) and traditional providers; the uncertainty related to quality assurance and qualifications recognition; and finally, the ethics involved in deciding what academic workload or new competencies are required for the granting of joint, double, multiple or consecutive degrees. This article aims to clarify the confusion about the differences between a joint, a double and a consecutive degree program by providing a conceptual framework of definitions. It provides highlights from recent research surveys and studies, and looks at new developments and innovations in establishing these types of collaborative programs. Finally, it examines the factors that challenge the operationalization of the programs and explores those issues that raise doubts and dilemmas and require further debate and analysis. Los programas de grado conjunto, doble y consecutivo han experimentado un extraordinario crecimiento en los últimos cinco años, tanto en su número como en su tipología, lo cual demuestra sin lugar a dudas que tienen un papel en el actual panorama de la educación superior. Una gran parte del mundo académico y los responsables del diseño de políticas acogen con satisfacción los programas de grado doble y de grado conjunto en tanto que ampliaciones naturales de los programas de intercambio y movilidad. Otros los consideran un desarrollo problemático que puede llevar a un doble cómputo del trabajo universitario y ser un primer paso en el fraude académico. La diversidad de modelos de programas, la participación de proveedores nuevos (reconocidos y fraudulentos) y tradicionales, la incertidumbre en torno al aseguramiento de la calidad y el reconocimiento de títulos, y, por último, los aspectos éticos implicados en la decisión de qué cargas de trabajo universitario o qué nuevas competencias son necesarias para conceder los grados conjuntos, dobles, múltiples o consecutivos dan lugar a una gran diversidad de reacciones. El objetivo de este artículo es aclarar la confusión sobre las diferencias entre los programas de grado conjunto, doble y consecutivo, para lo que aportamos un marco conceptual de definiciones. Presentaremos informaciones destacadas procedentes de estudios y sondeos recientes, y examinaremos nuevos desarrollos e innovaciones en el establecimiento de este tipo de programas colaborativos. Finalmente, revisaremos los factores que dificultan la operatividad de los programas y exploraremos los aspectos que plantean dudas y conflictos y que requieren un debate y un análisis más profundos.

Els programes de grau conjunt, doble i consecutiu han experimentat un extraordinari creixement en els últims cinc anys, tant pel que fa al nombre com a la tipologia, la qual cosa demostra clarament que tenen un paper en l'actual panorama de l'ensenyament superior. Una gran part del món acadèmic i els responsables del disseny de polítiques acullen amb satisfacció els programes de grau doble i de grau conjunt com a ampliacions naturals dels programes d'intercanvi i mobilitat. Uns altres els consideren un desenvolupament problemàtic que pot portar a un doble còmput del treball universitari i ser un primer pas en el frau acadèmic. La diversitat de models de programes, la participació de proveïdors nous (reconeguts i fraudulents) i tradicionals, la incertesa entorn de l'assegurament de la qualitat i el reconeixement de títols, i, finalment, els aspectes ètics implicats en la decisió de quines càrregues de treball universitari o quines noves competències són necessàries per a concedir els graus conjunts, dobles, múltiples o consecutius donen lloc a una gran diversitat de reaccions. L'objectiu d'aquest article és aclarir la confusió sobre les diferències entre els programes de grau conjunt, doble i consecutiu, per a la qual cosa aportem un marc conceptual de definicions. Presentem informacions destacades procedents d'estudis i sondejos recents, i examinem nous desenvolupaments i innovacions en l'establiment d'aquest tipus de programes en col·laboració. Finalment, revisem els factors que dificulten l'operativitat dels programes i explorem els aspectes que plantegen dubtes i conflictes i que requereixen un debat i una anàlisi més profunds., The number and types of international joint, double and consecutive degree programs have sky-rocketed in the last five years, demonstrating that they clearly have a role in the current landscape of higher education. For many academics and policy makers, double and joint degree programs are welcomed as a natural extension of exchange and mobility programs. For others, they are perceived as a troublesome development leading to double counting of academic work and the thin edge of academic fraud. A broad range of reactions exist due to the diversity of program models; the involvement of new (bona fide and rogue) and traditional providers; the uncertainty related to quality assurance and qualifications recognition; and finally, the ethics involved in deciding what academic workload or new competencies are required for the granting of joint, double, multiple or consecutive degrees. This article aims to clarify the confusion about the differences between a joint, a double and a consecutive degree program by providing a conceptual framework of definitions. It provides highlights from recent research surveys and studies, and looks at new developments and innovations in establishing these types of collaborative programs. Finally, it examines the factors that challenge the operationalization of the programs and explores those issues that raise doubts and dilemmas and require further debate and analysis., Los programas de grado conjunto, doble y consecutivo han experimentado un extraordinario crecimiento en los últimos cinco años, tanto en su número como en su tipología, lo cual demuestra sin lugar a dudas que tienen un papel en el actual panorama de la educación superior. Una gran parte del mundo académico y los responsables del diseño de políticas acogen con satisfacción los programas de grado doble y de grado conjunto en tanto que ampliaciones naturales de los programas de intercambio y movilidad. Otros los consideran un desarrollo problemático que puede llevar a un doble cómputo del trabajo universitario y ser un primer paso en el fraude académico. La diversidad de modelos de programas, la participación de proveedores nuevos (reconocidos y fraudulentos) y tradicionales, la incertidumbre en torno al aseguramiento de la calidad y el reconocimiento de títulos, y, por último, los aspectos éticos implicados en la decisión de qué cargas de trabajo universitario o qué nuevas competencias son necesarias para conceder los grados conjuntos, dobles, múltiples o consecutivos dan lugar a una gran diversidad de reacciones. El objetivo de este artículo es aclarar la confusión sobre las diferencias entre los programas de grado conjunto, doble y consecutivo, para lo que aportamos un marco conceptual de definiciones. Presentaremos informaciones destacadas procedentes de estudios y sondeos recientes, y examinaremos nuevos desarrollos e innovaciones en el establecimiento de este tipo de programas colaborativos. Finalmente, revisaremos los factores que dificultan la operatividad de los programas y exploraremos los aspectos que plantean dudas y conflictos y que requieren un debate y un análisis más profundos.

Aquest article fa prediccions sobre el futur de la traducció automàtica i els sistemes de memòries de traducció i el paper dels traductors com a garantia de qualitat. Els ordinadors adquiriran un paper cada cop més important en el processament mecanitzat de corpus de bitextuals existents, mentre que als traductors se’ls demanarà funcions de més nivell., This paper makes predictions about the future of machine translation and translation memory systems and the role of human translators in quality assurance. Computers will take a bigger role in mechanically processing existing bitext corpora, while human translators will be called on to perform higher level functions., Este artículo hace predicciones sobre el futuro de la traducción automática y los sistemas de gestión de memorias de traducción por un lado, y de los traductores como garantes de la calidad, por el otro. Los ordenadores adquirirán un papel cada vez más importantes en el proceso mecanizado de corpus bitextuales existentes, mientras que a los traductores se les pedirá funciones de mayor nivel.

En la industria farmacéutica un pequeño error puede tener grandes consecuencias, por ello se deben cumplir cuidadosamente las normas de calidad. En este estudio se ha querido plasmar una situación real que se da en la industria y su gestión correspondiente: la aparición de un problema de calidad, el estudio de la situación pertinente y la búsqueda de una solución. El enfoque implementado ha implicado la modificación de algunos procedimientos de control de proceso y el más importante, la formación e implicación del personal del departamento.

The purposes of this study are twofold: (i) to propose and apply a scale to measure service recovery in the electronic banking (e-banking) sector; and (ii) to examine the relationship between service recovery and customer loyalty in the setting of e-banking services. An online questionnaire is used to survey 123 Spanish customers of e-banking services using a modified version of the E-RecS-QUAL scale. The data are analysed by exploratory factor analysis to: (i) test the applicability of the scale to the setting of online bank services: and (ii) generate a model including constructs for e-recovery and e-loyalty. The study reassures online banks that a modified version of the E-RecS-QUAL scale is an appropriate instrument for measuring service recovery. The study also provides empirical evidence that responsiveness to requests and complaints has a positive influence on e-loyalty. The study is the first to provide definitive empirical evidence of the presumed link between the recovery dimensions proposed in the E-RecS-QUAL scale and the construct of e-loyalty info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersion