Assurance Management Research Articles

QUALITY ASSURANCE ORGANISATIONAL AND MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE IN THE EUROPEAN UNION

The article presents the features of the quality assurance management system of higher education in the EU. Besides, the analysis of the quality assurance system in Europe, namely its external and internal organs is in th the center of attention. External mechanisms include education quality assurance regulators at the EU and the EHEA level and national regulators of education quality assurance at the level of Member States. Internal mechanisms are made up of quality control departments within HEIs. It was concluded that the organizational and administrative structure adjustment of standards and quality assurance of education in the EU subject to their own hierarchy, where each mechanisms interact to ensure the quality of the various higher education systems. This system of organizational and management structures regulation of standards and quality assurance of education in the EU allows to implement universe standards of quality assurance in higher education in all EU Member States and countries in the EHEA. However, despite the establishment of relatively universe shape of quality assurance system, there are significant differences in approaches to the system at the national level.

English

Production and injection in long reach horizontal wells pose several challenges in production optimization, flow assurance and reservoir management. Horizontal wells are known to be superior to vertical wells in terms of productivity, however, they are also susceptible to early water and/or gas cut production due to the heel-toe effect and/or permeability contrasts. Uniform distribution of water injection into all zones can also be a challenge in case of high-permeability streaks and fractures. To negate some of the adverse reservoir properties and to control the flow profile of production and injection fluids, downhole flow control devices are increasingly in use and beneficial in regulating flow, improved overall reservoir sweep, improved productivity from the tail section of the well and reduced water coning or gas cusping. Wellbore hydraulics for a long reach well completed with downhole valves have great influence on the reservoir performance and recovery in the long run. This paper presents a discussion aimed at better understanding of the critical challenges that long reach horizontal wells are prone to in terms of completion, as well as the developments so-far that have been applied to capture the physics across the long horizontal section. Three case studies are also discussed with some details emphasizing practical experiences of such wells.   Key words: Downhole flow controllers, horizontal wells, inflow control devices (ICD), internal control valves (ICV), production enhancement.

Ein Instrument zur Erstellung von Leitlinienberichten: das RIGHT-Statement

The quality of reporting practice guidelines is often poor, and there is no widely accepted guidance or standards for such reporting in health care. The international RIGHT (Reporting Items for practice Guidelines in HealThcare) Working Group was established to address this gap. The group followed an existing framework for developing guidelines for health research reporting and the EQUATOR (Enhancing the QUAlity and Transparency Of health Research) Network approach. A checklist and an explanation and elaboration statement were developed. The RIGHT checklist includes 22 items that are considered essential for good reporting of practice guidelines: basic information (items 1 to 4), background (items 5 to 9), evidence (items 10 to 12), recommendations (items 13 to 15), review and quality assurance (items 16 and 17), funding and declaration and management of interests (items 18 and 19), and other information (items 20 to 22). The RIGHT checklist can assist developers in reporting guidelines, support journal editors and peer reviewers when considering guideline reports, and help health care practitioners understand and implement a guideline.

Hydrogeochemical processes identification and groundwater pollution causes analysis in the northern Ordos Cretaceous Basin, China.

It is necessary to identify the hydrogeochemical processes and analyze the causes of groundwater pollution due to the lack of knowledge about the groundwater chemical characteristics and the endemic diseases caused by groundwater pollution in the northern Ordos Cretaceous Basin. In this paper, groundwater chemical facies were obtained using the piper trilinear diagram based on the analysis of 190 samples. The hydrogeochemical processes were identified using ionic ratio coefficient, such as leaching, evaporation and condensation. The causes and sources of groundwater pollution were analyzed by correspondence analysis, and the spatial distribution and enrichment reasons of fluoride ion were analyzed considering the endemic fluorosis emphatically. The results show that leaching, evaporation and condensation, mixing, and anthropogenic activities all had significant impact on hydrogeochemical processes in the study area. However, cation exchange and adsorption effects were strong in the S2 and S3 groundwater flow systems, but weak in S1. Groundwater is mainly polluted by Mn and CODMn in the study area. The landfill leachate, domestic sewage, and other organic pollutants, excessive use of pesticides and fertilizers in agriculture, and pyrite oxidation from long-term and large-scale exploitation of coal are the sources of groundwater pollution. The S1 has the highest degree of groundwater pollution, followed by S2 and S3. High concentration of fluoride ion is mainly distributed in the north and west of study area. Evaporation and condensation and groundwater chemistry component are the most important causes of fluoride ion enrichment. The results obtained in this study will be useful for understanding the groundwater quality for effective management and utilization of groundwater resources and assurance of drinking water safety.

Managing Street-Level Arbitrariness: The Evidence Base for Public Sector Quality Improvement

Decentralized decisions among government officials can cause dramatic inconsistencies in bureaucratic decision making. This article provides a synthetic review of the evidence base for improving the quality of bureaucratic decisions and reducing such street-level arbitrariness. First, we offer a typology to unify quality assurance management techniques often treated in distinct scholarly literatures. This synthesis reveals common challenges but also points to novel hybrid solutions that borrow across management techniques. Second, although empirical evidence is limited, our review suggests that ongoing management techniques, such as monitoring, peer review, and pay-for-performance, are more successful than ex post techniques, such as audits and appeals. Third, performance measurement and pay exacerbate the quantity–quality trade-off long opined about in public administration. We offer suggestions for future directions—most importantly, the vital role of academic-agency research collaborations in crafting quality improvement efforts—to address this endemic challenge to bureaucracy and rule of law.

Management System Internal Quality Assurance Higher Education (Multi Case At Higher Education Universitas Gajah Mada "UGM"Yogyakarta, State Islamic Institute of IAIN Tulungagung, Balitar Islamic University "UNISBA" Blitar)

Quality assurance is the process of establishing and fulfilling quality standards with consistent, systematic and sustainable management, to meet the needs of stakeholders. Universities are qualified if they are able to realize their vision through the implementation of their mission, and able to meet the needs of stakeholders.The research was conducted in 3 (three) universities including Gadjah Mada University Yogyakarta, Tulungagung State Islamic Institute and Balitar Blitar Islamic University. The purpose of this study is to describe in detail the internal quality assurance management system of Gajah Mada University Yogyakarta, Tulungagung State Islamic Institute and Univertas Islam Balitar Blitar, specific of internal quality assurance of universities described through a cycle of internal quality assurance system management activities which includes Standard Setting, Standard Implementation, Standard Evaluation, Standard Control and Standard Enhancement.This type of research is qualitative with multi case study design and descriptive study method. Source data using person or respondent as informant. Data collection, with Interview / Interview technique, Observation, and Documentation. Data analysis using interactive model analysis of idea of Miles and Huberman consists of three activities, namely; data reduction, data presentation, and conclusion / verification.Conclusion The results of research at 3 (three) colleges of Gadjah Mada University Yogyakarta, Tulungagung State Islamic Institute and Balit Islam Univertas Balitar Islamic University of Balitar Blitar has run internal assurance of internal quality that is regulated integrally through the realization of Tri Darma Perguruan Tinggi. The implementation of the quality of education is run on an ongoing basis with the stipulation of quality standards of education refers to the Vision & n Missions, and legislation of education regulation enforced nationally and internationally. Implementation of Quality Standard runs academic and non academic field. Evaluation of Education Quality Standards in the process of realization of Tri Darma Higher Education through monitoring with its activities Internal Quality Audit, Control of Quality Standards of education through self-evaluation activities, Improving the quality standard of education conducted on the basis of the results of internal audits and self-evaluation.

Multi-level model of process management

Researched are the issues, related to the higher education system’s educational services quality assurance and quality management. Determined are the process’ attributes, its implementation procedure, with a detailed exposition of specific actions and responsible staff, that purposed to obtain the information necessary for the subsequent process evaluation and relevant opportunities determining. Defined is the approach to the development of the process-based activity model representation that takes into account the different management levels in the university structure. A multi-level process management model is proposed that embraces all implementation levels: top management level, associated with strategic management, results and management system effectiveness analysis based on process indicators, and tasks formulation based on management system analysis; process owner level, associated with the resources and process-related data management, work sequence established, data collection and analysis; process implementing link level, associated with the management compliant to the process rules and the relevant reports preparation.Considered is the example of such management scheme model application when process regulation establishing in respect of educational programs elaborated and developed in the Odessa National Polytechnic University using the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle, implemented separately at each management level. Thus various activities’ implementation within the process using the PDCA cycle allows elaborating and assigning plans for each area of activity at different levels, as well as to analyze, evaluate, correct and improve actions for works performed

Development of the DGQ role bundle model of the Q occupations

PurposeToday’s generations face the effect that knowledge is no more usable for decades or even centuries. The pace of change as well as its profoundness has reached levels that cause massive changes in companies, but also whole societies. Some call this phenomenon the 4th industrial revolution or Industry 4.0. Others use the term “digital transformation”. Does this mean that quality managers are becoming obsolete soon? How do the Quality occupations adopt? Which changes need to be accomplished in the field of Quality occupations to provide sustainable competencies for future employees? What tasks and functions need to be carried out? And how can these tasks be defined on a universal basis that fits for different kind of branches as well as small and big companies?Design/methodology/approachBased on Abbotts “System of Professions”, the development of a transformation concept for Quality occupations is carried out. The purpose of this paper is to define basic professional positions in the field of Quality Engineering regarding quality assurance (QA) and quality management (QM) as well as from an operative to a strategic level. Tasks and responsibilities of todays and future businesses models are clustered and enhanced or specified. In a survey, which included 389 executive managers in Germany, the German Association of Quality elevated those jurisdictions and their competences of QA and QM professionals. The results are used to define the new role bundle model for Quality occupations in Germany.FindingsThe innovative and sustainable role bundle model offers defined Quality occupations for future business models needed for the 4th digital revolution. Thereby, not every role has to be taken by a separate employee in a business organisation. By offering different kind of clusters, the role bundle model helps to create agile role profiles regarding the actual business situation and its size. This way, tasks and jurisdictions within the business organisation can be adapted fast to the changes of the business organisation.Originality/valueThe innovative concept is based on two success criteria: the creation of Quality occupations according to the changes of digital transformation and a survey involving more than 350 German executive managers in the field of Quality. Based on the results, a role bundle model for Quality occupations is designed that helps to coordinate education programmes at universities and professional trainings in Germany.

Evaluation study for administrative work of Saudi Universities Sport Federation based on Total Quality Elements

This research aims to examine the current administrative system of Saudi Universities Sport Federation (SUSF) based on quality assurance. Researchers used descriptive method - case study - due to its appropriateness for the nature of the present research. Researchers collected data through The Current Administrative System Questionnaire (CASQ) for SUSF employees. The Survey of Total Quality Assurance for SUSF top management (STQA-Management) and The Survey of Total Quality Assurance for SUSF beneficiaries (STQA-Beneficiaries). Results show that SUSF's goals are clearly set, also SUSFs' plans are consistent with the general goals of the Sports Welfare Movement at Saudi Arabia. However, beneficiaries reported some limitation in implementing the principles of total quality assurance management. Therefore, researchers suggested an administrative system for SUSF based on total quality assurance.

Barriers and challenges private higher education institutions face in the management of quality assurance in South Africa

With globalisation and the rise of the knowledge economy, there has been a worldwide increase in demand for higher education (HE) which has resulted in the proliferation of private higher education institutions (PHEIs). Subsequently, quality assurance (QA) and the management of the QA processes of these institutions have become increasingly important. QA of PHEIs in South Africa is a contested area. On the one hand, it aims at protecting the public from unscrupulous providers, on the other, the complexity of the QA legislative framework has become a major concern to private providers. This qualitative study focused on the experiences of PHEIs in South Africa in the management of QA, while at the same time complying with QA and accreditation processes. Based on the Octet of Quality in Higher Education, a model adapted from Zaki and Zaki Rashidi (2013); the findings identified three major categories related to the barriers and challenges particular to PHEIs as they engage in the management of QA; namely, resources, such as physical and financial resources; capacity development, such as staff roles and responsibilities, academic leadership and development, and research; and programme design, including curriculum design.

Natural Language Process: A New Kind of Nuclear Quality Assurance Management Tool

Quality Assurance Management is imperative in nuclear engineering. And quality assurance language is a rigorous and highly logical language in workplaces. We build machine-learning models of natural language process about quality assurance management activities to extract valuable information from texts for management intelligently. As technological means, the primary purpose of NLP tools here is that converting massive unstructured data (text) to structured data (data attribute relationship).The tasks include event classification, named entity recognition (NER) of engineering, event domain judgment, automatic summarization and event similarity computing. We focus on Labeled-LDA and SVMs algorithms to perform short text classification. And using them as primary content, we can perform more advanced nuclear quality assurance management in future.

Distributed Real-time Control Architecture for ROS-based Modular Robots

Nowadays ROS (Robot Operating System) based platforms have been widely used in state of art robot researches because of providing reliable mechanisms for fast robot development and algorithm reuse. Among them, modular robots are presented as a Distributed Control System (DCS), in which the data supply and the flow rates must be ensured to guarantee a proper execution. Although ROS network architecture provides a solution for distributed communication, it entails some disadvantages. Real-time constraints assurance and large networks management are some of the main problems. Therefore, this works introduces a ROS-compatible solution for Smart Resource services decoupling on modular robots. Smart Resources are defined as cyber-physical systems that provide high-level operation services. The design and analysis of a new distributed communication architecture for accessing Smart Resource services is addressed along this document. This architecture is called ROS Multi-Peer Architecture (RMPA) and features real-time communication, fully decoupled ROS device execution, and device discovery. So, the integration of RMPA in ROS based developments provides realtime access to the high-level supplied by the Smart Resources. This integration promotes the development of ROS-compatible robot modules based on the Smart Resource design. Next, a set of tests is presented to compare RMPA and ROS communication performance. Moreover, a detailed study of the RMPA performance is also addressed. Finally, as a result of these experiments main advantages and withdrawals of this solution are discussed leading to the establishment of future work and enhancements.

Effects of insurgency on traditional cattle feedlot management in maiduguri, nigeria

The outbreak of insurgency in Maiduguri in 2009 and the subsequent targeted attacks on the lives and property of innocent civilians including livestock farmers has had a severe disruptive effect on Agriculture in northeast Nigeria. Efforts aimed at economic recovery and rehabilitation of the conflict ravaged regions requires information and an understanding of how the insurgency affected the communities so that aid aimed at financial inclusion could be appropriately directed. Thus, this study was designed to highlight the traditional feedlot cattle management in Maiduguri. The price of the cattle and feed materialsas well as profit in 2008 and 2015 were compared. It was found that the preferred choice of feedlot cattle is the non- indigenous Ambala cattle breed. Compared with 2008, the cost of the bulls and feed materials had significantly increased in 2014 and 2015 but the average profit remained unchanged. The farmers earned up to ₦40,000 profit per head of cattle. It is recommended that financial inclusion strategies intended for post-insurgency socio-economic recovery in Maiduguri and other affected areas of north-eastern Nigeria should include building of secure feedlot cattle enclosures with proper facilities for tethering, feed storage,and waste disposal. Quality assurance and hygienic management of such places should be according to global best practices. In addition, establishment of a meat processing plant as well as provision refrigerated transportation trucks can help the farmers to maintain their profit margin and avoid stress associated with road transport of live animals. The government should design and implement a program to breed Ambala cattle using Assisted Reproductive Technology for the development Nigeria’s beef industry.

Protocol for a mixed-methods realist evaluation of a health service user feedback system in Bangladesh

IntroductionResponsiveness to service users’ views is a widely recognised objective of health systems. A key component of responsive health systems is effective interaction between users and service providers. Despite a...

Quality Assurance with Dosimetric Consistency of a Co-60 Teletherapy Unit

<p class="Default">It is essential to know the standard dose rate, output of Co-60 source in the radiation treatment periodically. It is because the over dosage may cause radiation hazards where as under dosage may lead to unsatisfactory treatment of cancer. Present study focused on the radiation standards and dosimetry for the assurance of the quality and verify that the output of the ionizing radiation emitting medical instruments such as Teletherapy Unit (TTU) which should be within ±2% of the stated one. Present study was done as a part of the regularity of quality assurance (QA) of telecobalt radiotherapy unit that includes the dosimetric measurements of Co-60 TTU at Bhaktapur Cancer Hospital (BCH), Bhaktapur per each month from 29 March 2012 to 29 December 2014. The radionuclide source is Co-60 which has been incorporated in TTU, BCH for the purpose of therapeutic treatment of cancer. The Co-60 source decays continuously to Ni-60 (half-life of 5.27 years) with the decrease in its activity and hence the output dose rate. The calculations of actual dose rate of Co-60 TTU were done by the source to surface distance (SSD) technique. It has been concluded that there is a quality assurance management in Co-60 TTU, BCH with the consistency in the average output dose rate obtained by the actual dosimetry values and the expected output values obtained by decay method. The values obtained by actual dosimetry are within ±2% of the expected values so that the deviation of the actual output dose rate from the expected output data lies within the permissible limit as prescribed by International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and International Commission on Radiation Units and Measurement (ICRUM). In conclusion, our study shows a trend towards uniform and better dose delivery from Co-60 TTU, BCH, Nepal</p><p><strong>Journal of Nepal Physical Society</strong><em><br /></em>Volume 4, Issue 1, February 2017, Page: 88-92</p>

The Total Quality of Colleges and Universities Education

This article from the perspective of quality, discussed the of college education. When the total management application in the field of education, To view all the work at the college from the Angle of the service, Formation of service students, the teaching first line service chain, emphasize the school to establish a quality system, To continuous improvement to enhance education quality. For talent cultivation in colleges and universities to conduct market research, market research is designed to adapt to market demand, the talents training goal of accurate positioning. For school teaching we should have the new idea of comprehensive, standard (theory teaching standards, the of practice teaching standards), control, TQM and responsibility of the school, That is the school teaching management. In this paper, the student personal should be managed, For the value of the project-----the teachers team, should be managed in the whole teaching processes, Teaching is a dynamic, the whole teaching processes must control and need assurance management. Satisfaction level five points available method to teaching evaluation, evaluation should introduce a third party. In order to improve the teaching of colleges and universities, we must implement and six sigma management.

중국여성들의 복합적 구매성향에 따른 화장품 구매행태

본 연구는 중국여성들의 복합적 구매성향에 따른 한국 화장품의 구매 행태와 만족도를 알아보고자 중국 대도시 3곳에 거주하는 20~50대 여성 319명을 대상으로 설문조사를 진행하였다. 설문은 선행연구를 바탕으로 재구성하여 총45문항으로 구성하였다. 연구 결과 합리적 구매성향은 40대 이상의 연령과 기혼일수록 높은 경향을 보였고, 충동적 구매성향은 30대에서 가장 높게 나타냈다. 지역별로는 두 성향에 따른 큰 차이를 보이지 않았고, 구매 성향에 따른 화장품 구매 시 구매기간, 구매횟수, 구매비용에서 통계적으로 유의미한 차이를 나타냈다. 또 화장품 구매 만족도는 구매성향과 정의 상관이 있었고, 합리적 성향이 높을수록 편이추구 구매행태를, 충동적 성향이 높을수록 유행지향 구매행태를 나타내었다. 이상의 결과에 따라 국내 화장품 회사가 제품에 대한 신뢰와 고객관리서비스를 뒷받침한다면 중국 여성 소비자들의 구매 형태에 따른 만족도를 극대화 시킬 수 있으며, 충동적 소비성향을 보이는 연령의 고객을 대상으로 차별적 마케팅 전략을 수행한다면 중국뿐 아니라 동남아를 향한 뷰티 시장의 활성화에도 큰 도움이 될 것으로 생각된다. This study conducted a survey on 319 Chinese women in their 20s to 50s living in three large cities in China, with an aim to analyze the influence on the purchasing behavior and satisfaction for Korean cosmetics depending on their complex purchasing tendencies. According to the research, the rational tendency was higher when the subjects were over 40 years old and married, and the impulsive tendency was the highest in those in their 30s. There was no huge difference in regions depending on the two tendencies, while there were statistically significant differences in purchasing period, times and costs when buying cosmetics. In addition, purchasing satisfaction for cosmetics had a positive correlation with purchasing tendencies. The subjects pursued convenience in purchasing as their rational tendency was higher, while they sought the trends as their impulsive tendency was higher. Based on the results, it is expected to maximize purchasing satisfaction of Chinese female consumers depending on their purchasing tendencies, if the Korean cosmetics makers provide reliable quality assurance, product exchange and customer management services. It is also expected to help revitalize the beauty market for China as well as Southeast Asia, if the Korean cosmetics companies implement differentiated marketing strategies targeting the customers in the age group with the impulsive consumption tendency.

Analysis of reporting specification about sepsis practice guideline based on RIGHT standard

At present, the study of clinical practice guide focuses on the quality of the guide, but not enough attention to the reporting standards of the practice guide, so how to standardize the report is an urgent problem in the field of evidence-based medicine. This paper uses the latest practice guidance reporting tool RIGHT standard, analyzes the latest two sepsis practice guidelines at home and abroad, and found that there are few problems in the basic information, recommendations and other information in 7 major areas, and many deficiencies in background, evidence, review and quality assurance, funding and declaration and management of interests, in particular, domestic guidance. We hope that the researchers will use the RIGHT standard to develop new guidelines for sepsis or other areas, standardize the report of the guide, especially the writing of traditional Chinese medicine guide, should reflect the characteristics of traditional Chinese medicine.

How Do Franchisees Assess Franchisor Trustworthiness?

This study investigates the antecedents of franchisees’ assessments of franchisor trustworthiness. It combines multiple theoretical perspectives to develop a framework that is empirically tested with survey data from 128 franchisees of a Dutch franchise system. The results show that franchisees’ perceptions of a franchisor's fulfillment of its functional duties on proactive and reactive quality assurance and strategic management positively influence franchisees’ assessments of franchisor trustworthiness. Moreover, the results show that the impact of the antecedents on franchisees’ trustworthiness assessments varies across franchisees: market competition attenuates the influence of strategic management and reactive quality assurance. Unit performance does not moderate the importance of the antecedents.

Multilayer Network Analytics With SDN-Based Monitoring Framework

Optical transport networks with an expanding variety and volume of network data services challenge network providers' ability to provide high-quality service assurance and network management. Software-defined networks (SDNs) decouple the data plane and control plane and enable network programmability in optical networks with a centralized network controller. The optical network then becomes more dynamic in network architecture and reconfigures frequently. Dynamic optical networks require all kinds of visibility into application data types, traffic flows, and end-to-end connections. Thus, we propose an SDN-based monitoring framework that expands network analytics to a converged packet and optical network. With a designated monitoring hub, monitoring information from multiple layers are collected and processed in a centralized server. Several monitoring technologies are provided as network services with the architecture-on-demand optical node architecture. The developed network applications on top of the SDN controller process all the collected monitoring information and enable multilayer network analytics based on the SDN-based monitoring framework. Several use cases demonstrated successfully that the developed multilayer network analytics provides powerful tools for network replanning and optimization. The multilayer network analytics enables quality of service recovery to avoid network disruption, optical power equalization at any combining device, and network debugging and restoration in optical networks.