Quality Framework Research Articles

Social Work Research and Mixed Methods: Stronger With a Quality Framework

Mixed methods are a useful approach chosen by many social work researchers. This article showcases a quality framework using social work examples as practical guidance for social work researchers. Combining methodological literature with practical social work examples, elements of a high-quality approach to mixed methods are showcased in this article. Specific components of a quality framework are used to ground the discussion. This framework helps researchers attend to important aspects of a mixed methods project's design, particularly as related to integration. Additional resources are provided for those interested in further deepening their mixed methods capabilities. Attending to components within this quality framework will help the researcher or consumer of research to think carefully about how the design helps to maximize the benefits that can be achieved by taking a mixed methods approach.

ANALYSIS OF QUALITY STANDARDS FOR DIDACTIC DESIGN OF TEXTBOOKS USING THE EXAMPLE OF A FABLE IN THIRD GRADE PRIMARY SCHOOL READERS

This paper analyzes quality standards for didactic design of textbooks, using the example of readers for the third grade, published by Klett, before and after curriculum changes resulting from the alteration of legal frameworks defined by the Regulation on the Curriculum for the Third Grade of Primary Education: 5/2019-6, 1/2020-1, 6/2020-1. By means of content analysis, the reader published by Klett and used in teaching until the 2020/21 school year will be analyzed, as well as the reader approved for use in accordance with the new recommendations, serving as a Serbian Language textbook in the Republic of Serbia from the 2020/21 school year. The analysis of the quality standards for didactic design of textbooks has been carried out according to the general quality standards for textbooks (Ivić et al., 2009) and legislative regulations (Law on Textbooks, Official Gazette RS, Educational Gazette 68/2015, 27/2018–13, and the Regulation on Quality Standards for Textbooks and Guidelines for Their Use, Official Gazette RS, Educational Gazette: 42/2016-11, 45/2018–40), which define the quality framework for textbooks and textbook sets. This analysis is conducted using the example of the fable “The Tortoise and the Hare” by Aesop, which is part of the curriculum. A comparative analysis of the realization of standards within the domain of didactic design will provide insight into the alignment of curriculum requirements and textbooks, both the previous and newly approved ones, using the fable as an example. Additionally, it will examine the encountered qualitative didactic adequacy of the reader as a component of the textbook set. This paper will highlight possibilities for enhancing the existing didactic-methodological apparatus that accompanies the fable, aiming to expedite the process of educational interpretation of the work.

Student nurses as a future general practice nursing workforce. Implementing collaborative learning in practice: implications for placement learning and patient access. A mixed methods study

BackgroundThere is a global shortage of nurses, with particularly acute shortfall in General Practice Nursing in the United Kingdom estimated at as high as 50% vacancy rate by 2031 by some sources. There has previously been reluctance for General Practices to host student nurses on placement, but it has become imperative to increase placement capacity if practices are to be able to recruit a future workforce. Collaborative Learning in Practice is a means of organising placement learning for student nurses using a coaching model, that allows for leadership development, peer support and earlier engagement in patient care, and increases placement capacity.MethodsThis was a mixed methods study using qualitative data from focus groups to evaluate the implementation of Collaborative Learning in Practice, and routinely collected audit data on numbers of clinic appointments to investigate the potential impact an increased capacity of student nurses might have on patient access to services. The aims of this study were: to implement and evaluate Collaborative Learning in Practice in General Practice Nursing settings; to explore issues of interprofessional learning; to explore patient access to services related to increased student nurse capacity.ResultsOur qualitative data indicated the following themes as important to students and staff: Peer Support; Interprofessional Learning; and the Importance of ‘own clinics’ for students to see patients. The audit data indicated that having students leading their own clinics increased the clinic numbers available by approximately 20% compared to when students were not in placement.ConclusionsThis study shows that student nurses increased clinic capacity and improved access for patients. Students valued their placement, felt that they were more ‘part of the team’ than in other placements and consequently had a greater sense of belonging. This was multifaceted, coming in part from the welcoming practice staff, in part from the opportunities for peer support engendered by the collaborative learning in practice model, and in part from the interprofessional learning opportunities available. General Practice Nursing placements for students are important for future workforce recruitment and can help meet Quality and Outcomes Framework targets for General Practices.

The Kano Model Assessment Framework for Soil Environmental Quality under Good Governance Doctrine of Bank Independence and Accountability for Code of Conduct towards Corporate Ethics

Bank trading is basically observed in their traditional agreements of bargaining products and services. However, in terms of meeting and complying with global economic standards set by WTO to promote sustainable development, known as the doctrine of good governance, it is certain that corporate practices will be lacking explanatory tools for achieving corporate ethics as their culmination of bank independence and accountability to civil society. This paper aims to map the importance of bank independence and its accountability using the Kano model assessment in addressing issues of concern in trade-environmental problems under WTO economic standards. Soil environmental quality is a quantitative measurement of the Kano developmental framework using a positivistic paradigm towards legal scholarship defiance of corporate ethics for culmination reflection and plotting the behavior of corporate institutions to eradicate the poverty line and promote the economic prosperity of their territory or jurisdiction by answering issues on environmental problems such as soil quality for advocacy of environmental protection under trade-environment conflicts of WTO as accountability to human society for achieving sustainable development following good governance doctrine. Business law has a dynamic performance of both the behavior of the corporate and its environment through interactions of human society in their competition market. Innovation of products and corporate services must be integrated with good governance principles using the insufficiency of their code of conduct explanatory authority to enforce trade-environment agreements in achieving human rights of sustainable development in international and global economic standards. The realization of civil rights to sustainable development is reflected in the good governance principle. The legal scholarship defiance of doctrinal research using a positivistic paradigm of objective knowledge can be recommended to other corporate practices to advocate financial intelligence through active participation in environmental calls as political agendas as intended to lessen poverty towards integration to economic transparency and ecological protection. The plotting over time can be predicted towards a comparison of constitutional rights of public welfare and safety.

A scoping review of commissioning practices used in the evaluation of Indigenous health and wellbeing programs: Protocol article

Despite the billions of dollars invested in improving Indigenous health and wellbeing outcomes in Australia, there is little evidence of program effectiveness to inform policy and practice. The deficiency of evaluations is problematic. Critical to this process is the effective engagement of commissioners with Indigenous peoples, which is not well documented. Currently, there is scant evidence on modes of commissioning practices used. This scoping review will aim to identify the spectrum of commissioning practices used when evaluating Indigenous health and wellbeing programs in Australia, codifying them into a model set. Documents (between 2008 and 2020) will be retrieved from Scopus, Proquest, Informit, Google Scholar and via a web-based search that refers to the commissioning of Indigenous health and wellbeing program evaluations in Australia, New Zealand, Canada or the United States. Importantly, the research team is Indigenous-led and the project’s governance, quality and translation framework will be informed by a project advisory group, including Indigenous associates. This will be the first scoping review globally to identify practices used to commission Indigenous health and wellbeing program evaluations. Results will be utilised to strengthen the commissioning practices of Indigenous health and wellbeing programs in Australia and overseas.

Towards sustainable audit quality: framework based on the UK financial reporting council

PurposeOne of the most emerging areas of audit knowledge is sustainable quality, which can comprehensively cover the development of audit reports inclusiveness for stakeholders. The purpose of this study is to present the sustainable audit quality (SAQ) framework based on the UK Financial Reporting Council.Design/methodology/approachThe paper discusses the main concepts in both spreadsheets and process mining. Using a concrete data set as a running example, the different types of process mining are explained. Where spreadsheets work with numbers, process mining starts from event data with the aim to analyze processes.FindingsThe results of the study showed that the SAQ is more effective based on the two criteria of going concern and disclosure of key audit items. It was also determined that, based on total interpretive structural modeling, the two themes of debt covenants disclosure and assessment of firms’ leverage ratio have a higher priority for SAQ in the Tehran Stock Exchange.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to the discussion on the use of data mining for microarray databases and specifically for studying the present SAQ framework based on the UK Financial Reporting Council. An area that has not been paid attention to by prior research studies, and to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first research that attempts to provide the SAQ framework.

Slicing who slices: Anonymization quality evaluation on deployment, privacy, and utility in mix-zones

In the flowering of ubiquitous computing, technologies like the Internet of Things and the Internet of Vehicles have contributed to connecting objects and sharing location services in broad environments like smart cities bringing many benefits to citizens. However, these services yield massive and unrestricted mobility data of citizens that pose privacy concerns, among them recovering the identity of people with linking attacks. Although several privacy mechanisms have been proposed to solve anonymization problems, there are few studies about their behavior and analysis of the data quality anonymized by these techniques. This paper presents an anonymization quality framework for mix-zones enabling characterizing and evaluating the impacts of anonymization over time and space in mobility data. We conducted experiments with a cab mobility dataset and two positioning algorithms to explore one of the potentialities of the anonymization quality: elect mix-zones that do not consider the traffic but its operating requirements too. The results showed that the anonymization quality enabled the selection of mix-zones that yield data anonymization considering the quality, privacy, and utility analysis. This study is unique because it analyzes mix-zone coverage and quality metrics to observe the anonymization quality not found in the literature.

Rethinking the national quality framework: Improving the quality and safety of alcohol and other drug treatment in Australia

AbstractThe national quality framework (NQF) has been implemented to improve the safety and quality of alcohol and other drug (AOD) treatment and provide a nationally consistent approach to treatment quality in Australia. At the same time, concerns have been raised that, in the absence of appropriate regulatory structures to support the NQF, the quality and safety of AOD treatment services cannot be guaranteed in Australia. An effective enforcement strategy is critical to the ability of the NQF to provide a nationally consistent approach to the delivery of AOD treatment in Australia. The monitoring and enforcement strategy proposed by the NQF encompasses two different mechanisms. For specialist AOD treatment providers in receipt of government funding, monitoring and enforcement of the NQF will occur via contractual arrangements. For providers not in receipt of government funding, monitoring and enforcement will be managed by regulatory mechanisms as decided by each jurisdiction. This proposed enforcement strategy raises the question of whether contractual arrangements are the most effective mechanism for monitoring and enforcing the NQF in publicly funded specialist AOD treatment providers. This paper considers whether a licensing regime may address the shortcomings that arise from the proposed strategy. It argues that the pluralistic approach to the monitoring and enforcement of the NQF will result in substantive differences in how the NQF is enforced both within individual jurisdictions and on a broader national level. A licensing regime, therefore, would be a more appropriate monitoring and enforcement strategy.

A systematic review of smartphone applications for cancer survivors.

Mobile phone applications are positioned to support, educate, and empower cancer survivors during post-treatment care. We undertook a review to assess the utility of such smartphone applications; determine whether their use correlates with improved quality of life and other self-reported outcomes; and understand the feasibility of integrating mobile apps into routine follow-up care. MEDLINE, EMBASE, Emcare, and PsycINFO databases were searched for studies evaluating apps that addressed at least one of the five Cancer Survivorship Care Quality Framework (CSCQF) domains published up until December 2021. Studies were narratively synthesized. Implementation barriers and facilitators were mapped against the Technology Acceptance Model. Twenty-three primary studies were included in this review. Only three randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were identified. Studies generally found mobile apps to be feasible, acceptable, and well-placed to support survivorship care. Health promotion was the most predominant CSCQF domain with apps primarily aiming to support exercise and dietary changes. The domains of monitoring for cancer recurrence (n=5) and management of co-morbidities (n=1) were underrepresented. Barriers to app use included greater time since active treatment, lack of familiarity with technology, and content not tailored to the user. Mobile apps are both feasible and acceptable in supporting the transition between active treatment and follow-up care. However, understanding the utility of such apps is limited by the low number of RCTs. Mobile apps have the potential to be useful support tools for patients post-treatment. However, given the number of apps developed, targeted, and available to cancer survivors, practical guidance to help cancer survivors choose appropriate apps is needed.

Mixed-methods research in applied linguistics: Charting the progress through the second decade of the twenty-first century

AbstractThis review of recent scholarship (RRS) paper is a follow-up of the first, published in this journal in 2014. For this RRS paper, we identified and included 304 mixed-methods research (MMR) papers published in 20 top-tier applied linguistics (AL) journals. We used a six-pronged quality and transparency framework to review and analyze the MMR studies, drawing on six quality frameworks and transparency discussions in the MMR literature. Using the quality and transparency framework, we report on: (1) which sources AL MMR researchers use to frame their studies, (2) how explicitly they explain the purpose and design structure of the MMR studies, (3) how transparently they describe method features (sampling procedures, data sources, and data analysis), and (4) how they integrate quantitative and qualitative data and analyses and construct meta-inferences. The results of the analyses will be reported and will show how MMR has developed and is represented in the published articles in the second decade of the twenty-first century. The discussion of the results will also highlight the areas future AL MMR researchers need to consider to make their studies and reports more rigorous and transparent.

Sustainability as part of a quality framework for the organisation of oral healthcare.

This paper aims to highlight to the reader that the organisation of dentistry at a system level lags behind other healthcare professions in regulation, policy, education and research. It argues that seeing sustainability as being as important as safety in oral healthcare quality would begin to rectify this. For the practitioner, it also identifies existing guidance on practising sustainably and reinforces that it does not require radical change but evidence-based care.

The Kano Model Assessment Framework for Soil Environmental Quality under Good Governance Doctrine of Bank Independence and Accountability for Code of Conduct towards Corporate Ethics

Purpose: Bank trading is basically observed in their traditional agreements of bargaining products and services. However, in terms of meeting and complying with global economic standards set by WTO to promote sustainable development known as doctrine of good governance, it is certain that corporate practices will be lacking explanatory tools for achieving corporate ethics as their culmination of bank independence and accountability to civil society. This paper aims to map the importance of bank independence and its accountability using Kano model assessment in addressing issues of concerns in trade-environmental problems under WTO economic standards.
 Methodology: Soil environmental quality is a quantitative measurement of Kano developmental framework using positivistic paradigm towards legal scholarship defiance of corporate ethics for culmination reflection and plotting the behavior of corporate institutions to eradicate poverty line and promote the economic prosperity of their territory or jurisdiction by answering issues on environmental problems such as soil quality for advocacy of environmental protection under trade-environment conflicts of WTO as accountability to human society for achieving sustainable development following good governance doctrine.
 Findings: Business law has a dynamic performance of both the behavior of the corporate and its environment through interactions of human society in their competition market. Innovation of products and corporate services must be integrated with good governance principles using the insufficiency of their code of conduct explanatory authority to enforce trade-environment agreements in achieving human rights of sustainable development in international and global economic standards. The realization of civil rights to sustainable development is reflected with the good governance principle.
 Recommendations: The legal scholarship defiance of doctrinal research using positivistic paradigm of objective knowledge can be recommended to other corporate practices to advocate financial intelligence through active participation to environmental calls as political agendas as intended to lessen poverty towards integration to economic transparency and ecological protection. The plotting over time can be predicted towards comparison of constitutional rights of public welfare and safety.

Abstract 18 Leveraging the BMDI Cord Blood Bank to Create a GMP-Compliant Cord Blood (CB)–Derived Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell (iPSC) Master Cell Bank (MCB) for Potential Allogeneic Therapies

Abstract Introduction The BMDI Cord Blood Bank (CBB) in Melbourne is a public cord blood bank that operates under a Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) cell-manufacturing licence from the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) and is internationally accredited by the Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy (FACT). An iPSC MCB derived from cord blood (CB) could form the basis of future cell-based therapies. Banked CB is an ideal source of starting material for the creation of iPSCs, with a host of advantages not afforded by other cell sources. Objectives We have previously described the technical aspects of creating “GMP-like” iPSCs from banked CB (https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcell.2022.835321/full). Our objective is to leverage the CBB to transition our “GMP-like” protocols, developed in the research lab, into a fully GMP-compliant environment. Methods A small lab within the CBB was seconded for the purpose of establishing an Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC) – approved PC2 laboratory to create GMP-compliant iPSC lines from banked cord blood. CB donors have been re-consented to use a portion of their banked HLA homozygous CB to create iPSC lines (https://doi.org/10.1093/stcltm/szac060). The CBB Quality Framework was replicated as a side module, mimicking all key components. Results * Established an IBC-approved PC2 laboratory within the GMP-compliant CBB facility. * Developed a Quality Systems framework in-line with the FACT Common Standards for Cellular Therapy, leveraging off that in place for the CBB. * Tested and validated the process in its entirety, including robustness of the Quality Systems, by the creation of new CB-derived “GMP-mock” iPSC lines. * Established collaborations for pre-clinical studies to use our CB-derived iPSC lines for therapies directed towards retinal and neurological repair, NK and CAR-NK immunotherapies. Discussion A PC2 GMP-compliant laboratory has been established. Challenges, and solutions, will be discussed. Quality systems have been developed that mimic those in place for the CBB. The robustness of the Quality framework and GMP manufacturing have been confirmed by a full mock-run to create new CB-derived iPSC lines. Lower grade reagents used for the mock-run have now been swapped out for more expensive, fully GMP-certified (CTS) reagents and creation of our first fully GMP CB-derived iPSC line is underway.

Abstract animation, emergent audiovisual motion and micro-expression: A case study of analogue music tracking with Robert Schumann’s Forest Scenes in AudioVisualizer

Abstract animation inthe form of “visual music” facilitates both discovery and priming of musicalmotion that synthesises diverse acoustic parameters. In this article, twoscenes of AudioVisualizer, an open-source Chrome extension, are appliedto the nine musical poems of Robert Schumann’s Forest Scenes, with thegoal to establish a basic framework of expressive cross-modal qualities that inaudiovisual synchrony become apparent through visual abstraction and theemergence of defined dynamic Gestalts. The animations that build thisarticle’s core exemplify hands-on how particular ways of real-time analoguemusic tracking convert score structure and acoustic information into continuousdynamic images. The interplay between basic principles of information captureand concrete simulation in the processing of music provides one crucial entrypoint to fundamental questions as to how music generates meaning andnon-acoustic signification. Additionally, the considerations in this articlemay motivate the creation of new stimuli in empirical music research as well asstimulate new approaches to the teaching of music.

The European Green Deal: A Useful Framework for Anticipating Change in Companies?

Sergio CanaldaThe restructuring of companies to adapt to a more sustainable production context requires anticipatory measures. These measures must necessarily be articulated through the principle of just transition, offering assistance to workers affected by the restructuring. The European Green Deal aims to promote the transformation of the European Union towards a more sustainable economic model. However, the measures included in the European Union (EU) Fair Transition Recommendation are generic actions without concrete content. When it mentions the need to encourage employee participation in corporate restructuring through information and consultation, the Recommendation refers to the implementation of the Quality Framework on Anticipation of Change and Corporate Restructuring. This paper addresses the adequacy of the Quality Framework to ensure a fair transition in green restructuring processes. In the first section, the interconnection between the EU Fair Transition Recommendation and theQuality Framework is briefly analysed. In the second section, the suitability of the Quality Framework as a reference instrument to guide restructuring processes is examined in two respects: on the one hand, the involvement of workers’ representatives and, on the other hand, the active participation of public authorities through the implementation of other social policies. Green Restructuring, Anticipation of Change, Just Transition, European Green Deal, Quality Framework, Information and Consultation, Social Partners, Public Authorities

Clinicians' Perspectives on Equitable Health Care Delivery in Group Well-Child Care.

To explore clinicians' perspectives about the impact of group well-child care (GWCC) on equitable health care delivery. In this qualitative study, we conducted semistructured interviews with clinicians engaged in GWCC recruited via purposive and snowball sampling. We first conducted a deductive content analysis using constructs from Donabedian's framework for health care quality (structure, process, and outcomes) followed by inductive thematic analysis within these constructs. We completed 20 interviews with clinicians who deliver or research GWCC in 11 institutions across the United States. Four major themes around equitable health care delivery in GWCC emerged from clinicians' perspectives: 1) shifts in power dynamics (process); 2) enabling relational care, social support, and a sense of community (process, outcome); 3) centering multidisciplinary care delivery around patient and family needs (structure, process, and outcomes); and 4) unaddressed social and structural barriers limit patient and family participation. Clinicians perceived that GWCC enhances equity in health care delivery by shifting hierarchies in clinical visits and promoting relational, patient, and family-centered care. However, potential opportunities exist to further address provider implicit bias in group care delivery and structural inequities at the level of the health care institution. Clinicians underscored the need to address barriers to participation so that GWCC can more fully enhance equitable health care delivery.

Identifying potential biases in code sequences in primary care electronic healthcare records: a retrospective cohort study of the determinants of code frequency

ObjectivesTo determine whether the frequency of diagnostic codes for long-term conditions (LTCs) in primary care electronic healthcare records (EHRs) is associated with (1) disease coding incentives, (2) General Practice (GP),...

Towards measuring and quantifying the comprehensibility of process models: the process model comprehension framework

Process models constitute crucial artifacts in modern information systems, and their proper comprehension is of utmost importance in utilizing such systems. Generally, process models are considered from two different perspectives: process modelers and readers. Both perspectives share similarities and differences in the comprehension of process models (e.g., diverse experiences when working with process models). The literature proposed many rules and guidelines to ensure proper comprehension of process models for both perspectives. As a novel contribution in this context, this paper introduces the process model comprehension framework (PMCF), constituting a first approach towards the measurement and quantification of the perspectives of process modelers and readers, as well as the interaction of both regarding the comprehension of process models. Therefore, the PMCF describes an Evaluation theory tree based on the communication theory and the conceptual modeling quality framework and considers a total of 96 quality metrics to quantify process model comprehension. Furthermore, the PMCF was evaluated in a survey with 131 participants and has been implemented and applied successfully in a practical case study including 33 participants. To conclude, the PMCF allows for the identification of pitfalls and provides related information about how to assist process modelers and readers in fostering and enabling a proper comprehension of process models.

A program quality framework: a collaborative teaching team approach to quality assurance, quality enhancement and staff capacity building.

A global shortage of registered nurses provides a further impetus to retain nursing students and graduate safe nurses. While various frameworks support curriculum design and describe the need for ongoing curriculum evaluation and monitoring, there is little in the literature to support the enactment and ongoing quality enhancement of curricula. Translation of the curriculum plan into the delivered curriculum relies on academics who may or may not be adequately prepared for course writing and teaching in higher education settings, despite their discipline expertise. Additionally, there are well recognized issues of curriculum drift where curriculum innovations and changes are whittled away over time by incremental changes to courses that interfere with the integrity of the accredited curriculum. We propose an evidence-based Program Quality (ProQual) Framework that takes a holistic, collaborative, and systematic approach to monitoring and enhancing curriculum quality and program delivery over the life of the curriculum while developing staff capability and scholarship.

1121 Evaluating the Practice and Post-Procedural Outcomes of Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography in United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust in 2019

Abstract Aim To evaluate the performance of ERCPs within our trust through exploring the rates of post-procedural complications and outcomes. Method Data was collected from multiple databases including EndoWeb, which had all the reports of ERCPs performed, including indications, diagnosis and whether there were any complications during the procedure. We used WebV to look at post-procedural blood results and any tests from readmission that could be consistent with a complication. We also used CarePortal to look at clinic and discharge letters post-ERCP to identify whether readmission was necessary. The data collected was entered in an Excel Spreadsheet and analysis was performed in Microsoft Excel. Results We collected data for 248 ERCP procedures and there were 37 patients with repeat ERCPs in the same year. The most common indications were gallstones (34%) and jaundice with dilated ducts (36%). 81% ERCPs were successful, diagnostically and therapeutically and the complication rate was 6% with acute pancreatitis and bleeding being the most common complications. Finally, we noted a 30-day mortality rate of 2.8% but none of the deaths were related to ERCPs and were mostly due to co-morbidities. Conclusions The British Society of Gastroenterologists published a standards framework in 2014 concluding that the UK requires a national system to check ERCP practice similar to that of the US, the ERCP Quality Framework. Our post-ERCP pancreatitis rate is within the standards set by the BSG. This audit is a step in developing a national standardising system, however, there is a requirement of 100% engagement from all centres within the UK.