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The objective of this work is to demonstrate how the use of a business process management (BPM) methodology reinforced with the use of lean manufacturing (LM) tools and practices enhances information and documentation flows.

For this purpose, a case study on a large wind blade manufacturing company is described, in which BPM and LM were combined to improve information and documentation flows associated to the process of quality inspections and quality controls.

The joint use of BPM and LM strongly contributed to the improvement of information and documentation flows. The BPM lifecycle can be used to guide the entire improvement process, while LM tools can be used to act at specific points with an emphasis in the process analysis and implementation phases. Thus, LM complements a BPM approach leading to significant process improvements.

The results show that LM can be used to support some phases of the BPM lifecycle. Furthermore, LM can contribute to identify lean waste in information and documentation flows associated to quality management processes and help in the selection of methods and tools to support process improvements.

This study is one of the first reporting the use of LM tools and practices as complementary to the BPM methodology to support the improvement of information and documentation flows associated to quality management in a large manufacturing company. This research enriches the literature by presenting empirical evidence that these two continuous improvement approaches are not incompatible in their objectives and visions and can complement each other.

Despite the growing prison population in South America and the high prevalence of infectious diseases, there is limited evidence on the factors associated with self-reported tuberculosis (TB) in this population. This study aims to identify the factors associated with self-reported TB among inmates in all prisons across Ecuador.

The 2022 Prison Census was used. The presence of TB was self-reported based on the question: Has any doctor diagnosed you with any of the following diseases: Tuberculosis? Prevalence ratios (PR) were obtained using crude and multivariable models along with their 95% confidence intervals (CI) using a generalized linear model with random effect at the prison level to assess the association among the study variables.

The prevalence of self-reported TB was 4.7%. Socio-demographic factors (prisoners aged between 18 and 29 years and indigenous), clinical factors (human immunodeficiency virus [HIV] infection, diabetes and attempted suicide) and imprisonment characteristics (re-offender, having a medical check-up on admission and being incarcerated for 6 months or more) increased the prevalence of self-reported TB compared with their counterparts.

This study provides a detailed understanding of the factors contributing to the prevalence of self-reported TB in the prison population of Ecuador. The findings highlight the need for strategies focused on TB control through diagnosis and treatment, management of HIV, diabetes and malnutrition, as well as the restructuring of prison facilities. Implementing these measures is crucial for addressing the identified factors and improving inmate health conditions.

This paper aims to examine the consequences of board diversity (BD) in Kuwait. In particular, it examines the impact of BD (gender, age and nationality) on earnings management (EM).

The research uses data from 103 non-financial Kuwaiti-listed companies from 2010 to 2017. The data is collected from the companies’ data from secondary sources such as their annual reports. The data analysis methods are correlation, multi-regression and robust regression. EM is measured using the modified Jones model (1995) and Kothari et al. (2005).

The findings show a negative association between gender diversity (GD) and EM. It also found a positive relationship between age diversity (AD) and EM and no relationship between national diversity (ND) and EM.

This study’s results have significant implications for investors. The practical empirical findings indicate that GD on the board did not impact on EM. Also, it is more important to have senior directors on the board than AD to reduce EM. There is no need to employ any foreigners because they do not affect EM.

It contributes to the growing body of literature on BD by investigating its effect on EM. Furthermore, building on the broader literature on gender, age and ND by highlighting the critical role that women, young people and foreign directors play in improving boards' monitoring role on EM. More specifically, it contributes to existing knowledge, provides a theoretical contribution and makes a methodological contribution.