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Article
Publication date: 23 March 2010

Ana Belén Jiménez Muñoz, Antonio Muiño Miguez, María Paz Rodriguez Pérez, María Dolores Vigil Escribano, María Esther Durán Garcia and María Sanjurjo Saez

Healthcare risk epidemiology identifies medication error as the commonest cause of adverse effects on patients. Medication error can occur at any phase of the complex medication…

3197

Abstract

Purpose

Healthcare risk epidemiology identifies medication error as the commonest cause of adverse effects on patients. Medication error can occur at any phase of the complex medication process so prevalence rates need to be estimated at each drug treatment phase: prescription, transcription and administration along with their clinical repercussions. This paper aims to investigate this issue.

Design/methodology/approach

Medication errors were recorded on an ad hoc sheet and staff were observed handling medications. Recorded errors were later classified and their clinical repercussions determined by experts.

Findings

In total 757 inpatients and 5,466 drug prescriptions were studied. The prescription error rate was 4.79 percent (95 percent CI 4.21‐5.36). The most frequent error in this phase was failing to observe international prescribing standards. The highest error rate was found in transcription (14.61 percent, 95 percent CI 13.67‐15.54). Almost 1,900 dose administrations were observed. There was a 9.32 percent error rate (95 percent CI 7.98‐10.67). The commonest error in this phase was omission. Most were transcription errors, which were detected before harm was done.

Research limitations/implications

The dispensation phase is absent.

Practical implications

Errors can be reduced if they are understood. Education and training based on the study's findings can reduce medication errors.

Originality/value

The paper highlights ways to reduce errors in the medication process.

Details

International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance, vol. 23 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0952-6862

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 22 March 2011

Ana Belén Jiménez Muñoz, Antonio Muiño Miguez, María Paz Rodriguez Pérez, María Esther Durán Garcia and María Sanjurjo Saez

Medication errors (MEs) are important in terms of their magnitude and severity, and there are numerous systems in place to reduce their occurrence. However, the ideal system has…

1075

Abstract

Purpose

Medication errors (MEs) are important in terms of their magnitude and severity, and there are numerous systems in place to reduce their occurrence. However, the ideal system has not yet been identified. The authors' institution uses three different medication prescription‐dispensation systems which operate simultaneously. ME rates were compared, overall and by phase (prescription, transcription and administration) and their overall and specific clinical impact.

Design/methodology/approach

The administration of medicinal products was observed directly and compared with medical and nursing prescriptions. Errors and adverse events were classified by a consensus of experts.

Findings

In the traditional system the error prevalence rate was 13.59 per cent, (99 per cent CI, 12.15‐14.61 per cent), in the single dose system it was 6.43 per cent (99 per cent CI, 5.53‐7.32) and in the electronic prescription system it was 8.86 per cent (99 per cent CI, 7.33‐10.17). The highest error rates in all phases were found in the traditional system. The phase affected by most errors in all three models was transcription, and the least affected was administration, except for the single dose system, in which prescription was the worst. The effects of errors in the administration phase are greater, although less so than with the automated system.

Research limitations/implications

The dispensation phase was not analyzed.

Practical implications

A study of errors will enable us to reduce their occurrence if we know the most frequent types and in which phase they are produced, we will be able to prioritise the areas in which to work and select the necessary preventive measures.

Originality/value

It is possible that automated medication dispensation systems reduce error rates and the severity of their effects.

Details

International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance, vol. 24 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0952-6862

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 22 October 2019

Chuan Cao, Aitor Cazón-Martín, María Isabel Rodriguez-Ferradas, Paz Morer-Camo, Luis Matey-Muñoz, Unai Etxaniz-Sein, Hector Morcillo-Fuentes and Daniel Aguinaga-Azpiazu

The purpose of this study is to explore a methodology for connecting microelectromechanical system sensors – i.e. inertial measurement unit (IMU) – to an Arduino-based…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to explore a methodology for connecting microelectromechanical system sensors – i.e. inertial measurement unit (IMU) – to an Arduino-based microcontroller, using graphene-based conductive filament and flexible thermoplastic polyurethane (FTPU) filament and low-cost dual material extrusion technology.

Design/methodology/approach

A series of electrical tests were carried out to determine the maximum resistance the conductive paths may take to connect printed circuit boards (PCB). To select the most suitable printing material, three types of conductive filaments were examined. Then an experiment was carried out to find the best printing parameters in terms of printing speed, printing temperature and layer height to minimise resistivity. The size of the conductive path was also analysed. A final prototype was designed and printed according to optimised printing settings and maximum allowable resistances for each line and considering different geometries and printing strategies to reduce cross-contamination among paths.

Findings

For the Black Magic 3D conductive filament, the printing speed and layer height played a significant role regarding resistivity, while the printing temperature was not very important. The infill pattern of the conductive paths had to be aligned with the expected current path, while using air gaps between two adjacent paths resulted in the best approach to reducing cross-contamination. Moreover, the cross-section size of the conductive path did not affect the volume resistivity. When combined with FTPU filament constraints, the prototype yielded suitable electrical performance and printing quality when printed at a temperature of 220°C, speed of 20 mm/s and layer height of 0.2 mm.

Originality/value

This paper explores a systematic methodology for the additive manufacturing of commercial conductive material using low-cost extrusion technology to connect complex electronics when data transmission is a key feature.

Details

Rapid Prototyping Journal, vol. 26 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1355-2546

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 January 2006

Bernabé Escobar Pérez and José María González González

There is a traditional discrepancy in the specialized literature on how the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) should be understood. Additionally, there is a further…

Abstract

There is a traditional discrepancy in the specialized literature on how the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) should be understood. Additionally, there is a further situation, which in our opinion is also contradictory; many organisations are developing CSR projects; on the other hand, there is a proliferation of news on these organizations that lead us to question what the true extent of their commitment to CSR is. To that purpose, we have developed a case study that has allowed us to verify that one of the most active organisations in Spain in terms of the CSR adopted is using it basically as a marketing instrument, since it is using its at least formal compliance with institutional rules in order to increase its legitimacy in front of its main stakeholders.

Details

Social Responsibility Journal, vol. 2 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1747-1117

Article
Publication date: 1 April 2019

Susana Rodríguez

This paper aims to broadly address a PhD research stream that the author has been conducting to date, whose historical objective is press photography, specifically the published…

374

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to broadly address a PhD research stream that the author has been conducting to date, whose historical objective is press photography, specifically the published images in La Jornada newspaper. A visual speech of the various contexts lived in Mexico at the end of the twentieth century. In the following lines, the author will present her methodology proposal with the aim of learning and analyzing the speech created by press photography and its relation to historical reality. A journalistic speech generating a language describing events, but at the same time a language manipulated by the subjectivity of the author – the press photographer. A historical timeline of which the photojournalist was part and which influenced the manner historical reality was perceived by the receiving social group.

Design/methodology/approach

It is important to clarify that this database does not intend to replace the estimations which could be obtained by directly and individually analyzing each photograph. However, this instrument has allowed the author to collect a great quantity of readable graphic and textual information, as well as to describe the characteristic attributes of each image as a documentary unit. In other words, the author intends to address the visual events as a part of the historical events, as claimed by the Mexican historian Ricardo Pérez Montfort. This to provide an in-depth study on how historical, social, cultural and political phenomena were registered by press photography; not omitting history, this specific moment, punctually requires photography and written journalism as a vestige. The latter not only with the purpose of going further on the functions of photography but also on the significance of the photographic phenomenon and the visual speech within social and cultural history of a country.

Findings

Furthermore, the author will present, to the extent possible, some elements which have allowed the identification of the manner in which the editor(s) of the newspaper impacted the presentation of visual speech, as well as the interests and visions of the social group they represent. This is a way to go further on different assumptions, such as the person taking the picture, the person editing it – after reaching the editorial and ideological line of the newspaper – as well as the person publishing the picture; a new manner to address editorial work and photojournalism on written media. To achieve the aforementioned aim, this essay comprehends the intertextuality and visual production, as well as the contexts lived throughout the six-year Presidential terms of office of Miguel de la Madrid Hurtado, Carlos Salinas de Gortari and Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de León, through diverse published images in La Jornada newspaper from 1984 to 2000.

Originality/value

This research not only addresses the generated material by the photojournalists of La Jornada newspaper during this period but also includes, as a part of the oral history methodology, the testimonies of some assistant directors, people in charge of the photography department, the editor, the designer and photographers who stood out in the newspaper. In addition, the author has a database which has allowed to collect, store and connect information present in each of the photographs published on different covers and back covers of the newspaper. It comprises 15 categories which have been nurturing the database (reviewed dates, journalistic and photographic genders, reporters, pages, published photographs, photograph format, themes of the photographs, places, characters, titles of the photographs, photograph caption, credit, photograph composition, angle and time). It is important to clarify that this database does not intend to replace the estimations which could be obtained from directly and individually analyzing each photograph. However, this instrument has allowed the author to collect a great quantity of readable graphic and textual information, as well as to describe the characteristic attributes of each image as a documentary unit.

Details

Collection and Curation, vol. 38 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2514-9326

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 28 February 2023

Francisco del Olmo García, Fernando Crecente Romero, Maria Sarabia and Maria Teresa del Val

Over the last decades, the development of entrepreneurial activity has allowed greater growth and economic development in Spain. However, within the analysis of Spanish…

Abstract

Purpose

Over the last decades, the development of entrepreneurial activity has allowed greater growth and economic development in Spain. However, within the analysis of Spanish entrepreneurial dynamics, insufficient attention has been paid to a key group: senior entrepreneurs. The fact that the first two decades of the 21st century have been accompanied by the two worst economic crises in remembrance since the Great Depression of the 1930s has had a great impact on the professional careers of the group of senior workers, whose careers have been cut short due to the closure of companies. In this way, the present work delves into the reality of senior entrepreneurs in Spain, analyzing the main characteristics of this group, which is becoming increasingly important in society.

Design/methodology/approach

Using microdata from the Spanish National Statistics Institute's Labour Force Survey, the study focuses on reference persons who, being 50 years of age or over and actively working, work as an entrepreneur and have started their activity in the last 12 months. The study covers, in turn, the analysis period of the fourth quarters from 2005 to 2020. In relation to the methodology, the work focuses on the use of binary logistic regression techniques, given that the phenomenon to be studied is binary in nature: entrepreneurship or not.

Findings

The main conclusions drawn are the importance of sociodemographic factors such as educational level, age, the profession of the couple as well as the fact of having or not having children. The sector of activity and region are also significant. It is also concluded that senior entrepreneurship in Spain is of a necessary nature, considering the evolution of unemployment and decisions based on pension reform.

Research limitations/implications

The main limitations of the study refer to the lack of socioeconomic information. Thus, it would be interesting to know the link among the sociodemographic characteristics and the economic situation of the professionals, as well as the fact of whether they have started from a previous situation of unemployment or employment.

Practical implications

The obtained conclusions allow progress to be made in the generation of economic policies aimed at the professional reorientation of a group of workers who, due to labor market circumstances, are obliged to end long professional careers and to seek alternatives. In fact, entrepreneurship is a viable professional alternative for these professionals.

Originality/value

Despite the importance of senior professionals in the Spanish economy, more research is needed on their characteristics and needs. Despite important studies such as Socci et al. (2020) or Perez-Encinas et al. (2021), there are not many studies for the Spanish reality. This paper seeks to deepen the understanding of the sociodemographic characteristics of Spanish senior entrepreneurs, based on current public information and considering different stages of the economic cycle.

Details

International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, vol. 29 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1355-2554

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 18 September 2007

Nieves Carrera, Nieves Gómez‐Aguilar, Christopher Humphrey and Emiliano Ruiz‐Barbadillo

In recent international debates on auditing regulation, Spain has assumed a real prominence as a claimed practical example of where a policy of mandatory audit firm rotation did…

5243

Abstract

Purpose

In recent international debates on auditing regulation, Spain has assumed a real prominence as a claimed practical example of where a policy of mandatory audit firm rotation did not work and was duly abolished. This study aims to provide an analysis of the implementation and subsequent removal of mandatory audit firm rotation in Spain in the 1990s.

Design/methodology/approach

This takes the form of historical analysis; the evidence in the paper derives from congressional hearings, financial newspapers and documents produced by the professional associations of auditors in Spain.

Findings

This paper demonstrates that at no stage was mandatory rotation of audit firms ever enforced on Spanish auditors. Further, the revision and subsequent removal of the Spanish law on mandatory audit firm rotation emerge as a rather politicized process, with no evident reference being made in the process of legislative reform to Spanish auditing experiences. The analysis also reveals that at the very time that Spain was being cited internationally for rejecting mandatory audit firm rotation, Spanish political parties and regulators were debating whether to “re‐introduce” such a regulation.

Originality/value

The clear implication of the paper is that considerable caution needs to be taken in today's international‐auditing arena, when analyzing the standpoints and claims made by professional associations and the evidence they provide to support their arguments for and against regulatory reform.

Details

Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, vol. 20 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-3574

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 10 August 2020

Renata D. Paz, Andrea C. Landázuri and María Gabriela Vernaza

The purpose of this paper was to promote the use of residual moringa seed powder (RMSP) for the enhancement of cereal-based products. RMSP is usually discarded after seed-oil…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper was to promote the use of residual moringa seed powder (RMSP) for the enhancement of cereal-based products. RMSP is usually discarded after seed-oil extraction. This work also promotes zero-waste and rheological approaches.

Design/methodology/approach

In search of novel and sustainable food products with high nutritional value, cold-pressed Moringa oleifera Lam. seeds residue (RMSP) was used for incorporation in muffin formulations. Wheat flour was partially substituted (0%, 1%, 3%, 5%, 7% and 9%) by RMSP. Sodium (Na), calcium (Ca) and iron (Fe) contents were quantified through atomic absorption spectrometry; protein, through the Kjeldahl method followed by AACC Method 46–13.01; and, fat content, by a modified version of AACC Method 30–25.01a. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Tukey tests were performed to determine significant differences between formulations at 95% reliability using Minitab® software. Furthermore, simple viscosity studies of the dough mixture were carried in a Brookfield DV-III Ultra Rheometer; Matlab® curve-fitting tool was used for obtaining the best non-Newtonian equation that modeled experimental data. Subsequently, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations of non-Newtonian fluids along a segmented pipe were carried out in Comsol Multiphysics® software to depict the importance of modeling non-Newtoning fluids for downstream processes.

Findings

RMSP significantly (p < 0.0001) increased protein and Fe content for the 7% and 9% formulations; it dramatically changed Na and Ca content in all formulations, while fat remained constant.

Social implications

The development of this type of product is an opportunity for communities that grow and harvest moringa as well as for food industries which can take advantage of moringa by-products for several subsequent processing.

Originality/value

For the first time, it was found that dough formulations with RMSP presented a pseudo-plastic and thixotropic behavior. In addition, the use of lignocellulosic by-products such as RMSP incorporates an added value to food products. In this case, it was demonstrated that moringa seed residue enhanced nutritional value to muffins and provided coagulant/flocculant action, which is essential during dough preparation.

Details

Nutrition & Food Science , vol. 51 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0034-6659

Keywords

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the chemical and functional composition of acerola, guava and cashew freeze-dried pomaces.

Design/methodology/approach

Fruit pomaces were obtained from the pulp juice industrial sector and submitted to freeze-drying. Samples were analysed for composition (macronutrients, micronutrients, moisture and ash), technological attributes (morphological, hygroscopicity, retention of oil and water and solubility), bioactive compounds (total phenolics, flavonoids, proanthocyanins, anthocyanins, carotenoids and ascorbic acid), antioxidant and antimicrobial properties. Total phenolics, brown pigments and antioxidant activity of thermally treated samples were evaluated. Results were presented as mean and standard deviation, and submitted to Shapiro–Wilk normality test, and ANOVA statistical significance follows by Tukey’s post hoc test (p<0.05). Also, Pearson correlation coefficients were used to test the relationship between selected parameters.

Findings

Guava pomace had the highest insoluble fibre (40.6 per cent), protein (13.8 per cent) and lipid (9.3 per cent) contents and acerola higher soluble fibre (14.2 per cent) and water and oil holding capacity (12 and 5.4 g/g, respectively). Cashew pomace had higher solubility (45.3 per cent) and hygroscopicity (11.2 per cent). Acerola pomace had the highest phenolic content (5,331.7 mg AGE/100 g), DPPH and oxygen radical absorbance capacity antioxidant activity (63.3 and 756.6 µmol TE/g). Despite of that none of extracts showed antibacterial activity. All pomaces presented good antioxidant activity retention after thermal treatments (> 70 per cent), which might be correlated to thermally induced brown pigments.

Originality/value

This investigation was motivated by the large amounts of pomaces produced by the fruit pulp and juice processing industries, which represents a waste of residual phytochemicals and cause potential environmental problems. Overall, it was demonstrated that freeze-dried acerola, guava and cashew pomaces are promising ingredients for multiple food applications.

Details

British Food Journal, vol. 122 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0007-070X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 April 1999

Jo Carby‐Hall

Discusses the transfer of undertakings in the UK, referring to the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations of 1981, the Employment Rights Act 1996, and the…

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Abstract

Discusses the transfer of undertakings in the UK, referring to the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations of 1981, the Employment Rights Act 1996, and the Acquired Rights Directive 1977. Provides the raison d’etre of the Acquired Rights Directive and outlines how it was implemented in the UK. Talks about the confusing jurisprudence of the European and British courts, mentioning the European Court of Justice’s challenges to the directive, the 1994 proposals, amended 1997 proposals, the Commission’s memorandum of 1997 and the UK government’s consultation papers. Describes how the European Directive is applied and interpreted in relation to the Acquired Rights Directive and transfer of undertakings. Outlines the regulations controlling compulsory competitive tendering. Points out the obligation to inform and consult on the transfer of an undertaking and how the directive is enforced if this fails to occur. Notes the effect a relevant transfer has on existing collective agreements and the legal implications of dismissing employees by reason of the relevant transfer. Looks at the European Commission’s proposal for a directive on safeguarding employees’ rights in the event of transfer and the implications that would have on UK business. Concludes that a new directive is needed, building on the 1977 Directive but ironing out its inconsistencies.

Details

Managerial Law, vol. 41 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0309-0558

Keywords

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