scholarly journals Calculation of the Risk of Lawsuits over Construction Flaws in Flat Roofs

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (18) ◽  
pp. 5099
Author(s):  
Manuel J. Carretero-Ayuso ◽  
Carlos E. Rodríguez-Jiménez
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factor ◽  
Human Resources ◽  
Urban Population ◽  
Economic Resources ◽  
Financial Sustainability ◽  
Purchasing Power ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Flat Roofs

In order to achieve sustainability objectives in the use of a building, its elements’ operating problems should be minimized. From this premise, a total of 497 cases related to construction flaws in flat roofs were analyzed in this research. A matrix was developed indicating the risk of lawsuits by owners according to the degree of nuisance resulting from the construction flaws studied, their technical importance, and the type of pathological origin. Based on these factors, it is possible to predict a greater or lesser probability of an owner filing a lawsuit—risk factor (F). A wide range was found for this probability, with the largest value being 865 times greater than the smallest value. The value of F was divided into 5 categories to classify the diverse results obtained and determine the number of cases and interrelations ascribed to each category. Additionally, the level of presence of said cases was calculated through the analysis of 3 different demographic aspects, it being noted that a greater purchasing power and a higher concentration of urban population lead to more stringent requirements and, subsequently, to a greater number of lawsuits. With all these results, building quality can be improved while resulting in greater constructive-financial sustainability and in a reduction of the economic resources required of society (fewer lawsuits and associated human resources).

scholarly journals Informing the public health response to COVID-19: a systematic review of risk factors for disease, severity, and mortality

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Flook ◽  
C. Jackson ◽  
E. Vasileiou ◽  
C. R. Simpson ◽  
M. D. Muckian ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Risk Factors ◽  
Systematic Review ◽  
At Risk ◽  
Risk Factor ◽  
Disease Severity ◽  
Severe Disease ◽  
Public Health Response ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Multivariable Analyses

Abstract Background Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) has challenged public health agencies globally. In order to effectively target government responses, it is critical to identify the individuals most at risk of coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19), developing severe clinical signs, and mortality. We undertook a systematic review of the literature to present the current status of scientific knowledge in these areas and describe the need for unified global approaches, moving forwards, as well as lessons learnt for future pandemics. Methods Medline, Embase and Global Health were searched to the end of April 2020, as well as the Web of Science. Search terms were specific to the SARS-CoV-2 virus and COVID-19. Comparative studies of risk factors from any setting, population group and in any language were included. Titles, abstracts and full texts were screened by two reviewers and extracted in duplicate into a standardised form. Data were extracted on risk factors for COVID-19 disease, severe disease, or death and were narratively and descriptively synthesised. Results One thousand two hundred and thirty-eight papers were identified post-deduplication. Thirty-three met our inclusion criteria, of which 26 were from China. Six assessed the risk of contracting the disease, 20 the risk of having severe disease and ten the risk of dying. Age, gender and co-morbidities were commonly assessed as risk factors. The weight of evidence showed increasing age to be associated with severe disease and mortality, and general comorbidities with mortality. Only seven studies presented multivariable analyses and power was generally limited. A wide range of definitions were used for disease severity. Conclusions The volume of literature generated in the short time since the appearance of SARS-CoV-2 has been considerable. Many studies have sought to document the risk factors for COVID-19 disease, disease severity and mortality; age was the only risk factor based on robust studies and with a consistent body of evidence. Mechanistic studies are required to understand why age is such an important risk factor. At the start of pandemics, large, standardised, studies that use multivariable analyses are urgently needed so that the populations most at risk can be rapidly protected. Registration This review was registered on PROSPERO as CRD42020177714.

The Political Economy of Infant Mortality in São Paulo, Brazil

1982 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 215-229 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles H. Wood
Keyword(s):  
Infant Mortality ◽  
Urban Poor ◽  
Death Rate ◽  
Vital Statistics ◽  
Sao Paulo ◽  
Purchasing Power ◽  
São Paulo ◽  
Mortality Trend ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Government

After the military took power in Brazil in 1964, the government adopted a wide range of policies designed to stimulate economic growth. A central aspect of the Brazilian model of development was the control of wages. From 1964 to 1975 this strategy caused the purchasing power of the minimum wage in the city of São Paulo to fall. The decline in the real wage index was associated with a rise in infant mortality during the period. When real wages rose after 1974, the death rate dropped off. The infant mortality trend cannot be explained by other factors that affect the actual or the reported death rate, such as changes in cityward migration, shifts in the distribution of income, and improvements in the quality of vital statistics. The findings of this study indicate a causal relationship between the infant mortality trend and changes in the purchasing power of the urban poor. Additional data on nutrition, changes in household behavior, and shifts in the cause structure of mortality support this conclusion.

scholarly journals Socio-economic impact in the late diagnosis of retinopathy of prematurity

2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-48
Author(s):  
Daniela POPESCU ◽  
◽  
Dumitru MATEI ◽  
◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factor ◽  
Human Resources ◽  
Retinopathy Of Prematurity ◽  
Social Impact ◽  
Treatment Programs ◽  
Additional Risk Factor ◽  
Fundus Examination ◽  
Additional Risk ◽  
Simple Process ◽  
Socio Economic Impact

Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) represents a determinate cause of blindness in children that could be avoided. Blindness due to ROP and the stage of it when its being diagnosed is mostly determined by: socioeconomic degree of country development; availability of the screening in neonatal care; gestational age and hospital screenings; treatment programs available at any given time in the country; screening and treatment costs (material and human resources). ROP is the number one cause of blindness in Romania at the time being. Early discovery decreases exponentially the chances of blindness onset. Low birth weight (LBW), fewer than 1,500 g, represents an additional risk factor together with the degree of prematurity. Mandatory screening both during hospitalization as well as in the first 4-6 weeks after birth may avoid a major social problem. It is a simple process – eye exam with fundus examination – and it depends entirely on the availability, consistency and seriouseness of the parents. Thus a major social impact with disastrous consequences could be avoided.

scholarly journals RAZVOJ LJUDSKIH RESURSA KAO PREDUSLOV ORGANIZACIONE USPJEŠNOSTI / HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT AS A CONDITION OF ORGANIZATIONAL SUCCESS

2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Željko M. Radosavac
Keyword(s):  
Staff Development ◽  
Human Resources ◽  
Human Resource Development ◽  
Human Resource ◽  
Development Strategy ◽  
Resource Development ◽  
Training And Development ◽  
Continuous Training ◽  
Use Of Resources ◽  
Wide Range

Contemporary business conditions do not impose only need for adjustment of the organization but also the need for adjustment of employees. Human resources, manifested through individual knowledge, skills, individual qualities and achievements, is the basis of competitive advantage of organizations and the main resource for the survival, the growth and development of modern organizations. Treating employees as a decisive factor for the success of organizations, it follows that their primary duty is to provide, maintain and develop the best people through the wide range of human resource activities. Thus, Human Resource Development, designated as a key activity for achieving the projected goals of the organization, can be defined as a set of systematic and planned activities appointed by an organization to provide its members with the opportunities to learn necessary skills to meet current and future job demands. Employees are increasingly accepting the reality that education becomes their responsibility in order to develop their full working potential and to ensure self employment opportunities. On the other hand, encouraging educational programs, organizations strive not only to meet the business needs for education of employees, but also their interests, creating and developing the climate of continuous learning and dissemination of knowledge in all areas. To what extent will the organization attach importance to certain practices that guide and encourage staff development depends on its current situation, activities, goals and adopted development strategy. Adequate choice, the assignment according to their abilities and affinities, continuous training and education, are generally accepted methods without which the development of employees is not possible. The American Society for Training and Development (ASTD) estimates that U.S. organizations spent $134.1 billion on employee learning and development in 2008, and $125.9 billion in 2009.Human resource managers in large organizations ranked training and development as the most important functional area they had to deal with because HRD programs must respond to job changes and integrate the long-term plans and strategies of the organization to ensure the efficient and effective use of resources. Combining different methods and approaches, and referring to all employees in the organization, training and human resources development become a tools for achieving change and the effects they produce are becoming a far-reaching and strategic.

scholarly journals Predicting COVID-19 Severity with a Specific Nucleocapsid Antibody plus Disease Risk Factor Score

mSphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sanjana R. Sen ◽  
Emily C. Sanders ◽  
Kristin N. Gabriel ◽  
Brian M. Miller ◽  
Hariny M. Isoda ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factor ◽  
Factor Score ◽  
Disease Risk ◽  
Severe Disease ◽  
Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay ◽  
Disease Risk Factor ◽  
Disease States ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Risk Factor Score ◽  
Prognostic Prediction

ABSTRACT Effective methods for predicting COVID-19 disease trajectories are urgently needed. Here, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and coronavirus antigen microarray (COVAM) analysis mapped antibody epitopes in the plasma of COVID-19 patients (n = 86) experiencing a wide range of disease states. The experiments identified antibodies to a 21-residue epitope from nucleocapsid (termed Ep9) associated with severe disease, including admission to the intensive care unit (ICU), requirement for ventilators, or death. Importantly, anti-Ep9 antibodies can be detected within 6 days post-symptom onset and sometimes within 1 day. Furthermore, anti-Ep9 antibodies correlate with various comorbidities and hallmarks of immune hyperactivity. We introduce a simple-to-calculate, disease risk factor score to quantitate each patient’s comorbidities and age. For patients with anti-Ep9 antibodies, scores above 3.0 predict more severe disease outcomes with a 13.42 likelihood ratio (96.7% specificity). The results lay the groundwork for a new type of COVID-19 prognostic to allow early identification and triage of high-risk patients. Such information could guide more effective therapeutic intervention. IMPORTANCE The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in over two million deaths worldwide. Despite efforts to fight the virus, the disease continues to overwhelm hospitals with severely ill patients. Diagnosis of COVID-19 is readily accomplished through a multitude of reliable testing platforms; however, prognostic prediction remains elusive. To this end, we identified a short epitope from the SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein and also a disease risk factor score based upon comorbidities and age. The presence of antibodies specifically binding to this epitope plus a score cutoff can predict severe COVID-19 outcomes with 96.7% specificity.

scholarly journals Artificial Intelligence as an Instrument of Discrimination in Workforce Recruitment

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 191-212
Author(s):  
Alessandra Miasato ◽  
Fabiana Reis Silva
Keyword(s):  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
Human Resources ◽  
Labour Market ◽  
Great Risk ◽  
Labour Relations ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Ethical Norms

The purpose of this article is to reflect on the use of artificial intelligence in the process of hiring and on how biased algorithms can pose a great risk of discrimination to particular groups if artificial intelligence is not used properly with an emphasis on labour relations. Based on current research, we present the wide range of uses how AI technology can be deployed in the search for employees who satisfy the needs of employers on the labour market. The various manifestations of bias in AI implementations utilized in the field of human resources as well as their causes are presented. We conclude that in order to avoid discrimination due to either wilful programmer behaviour or implicit in the data used to train AI agents, the observance of legal and ethical norms, as outlined in tentative projects underway worldwide, is necessary.

The Effect of Explicit Knowledge Sharing on Human Resource Performance Efficiency: Moderating Role of Human Capacity Development

2020 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Human Resources ◽  
Knowledge Sharing ◽  
Human Resource ◽  
Quantitative Study ◽  
Explicit Knowledge ◽  
Capacity Development ◽  
Moderating Effect ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Human Capacity ◽  
The Impact

There are numerous causes responsible for attaining performance efficiency of human resource within the organizations. In this pursuit, the current research has been aimed to further evaluate the relationship exists between Explicit Knowledge Sharing (EKS) within organizations and performance efficiency of the human resources. A quantitative study for the said purpose has been undertaken to ascertain the impact of EKS on performance of human resources while considering the moderating effect of Human Capacity Development (HCD). Quantitative study approach was adopted, and a structured questionnaire was developed based on the relevant studies already conducted in this field. The questionnaires were distributed among 500 respondents, out of which 345 responded, which provided the researcher with 69% response rate. Population of the study comprises wide range of organizations such as Government, Non-Government, International & Private Sector, which were consulted for the primary data collection across the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa & Capital Territory of Islamabad by adopting Simple Random Sampling technique. Analysis were drawn through the application of statistical software tools i.e. Amos for factor analysis & SPSS for statistical analysis.The analysis of the data revealed that organizations with EKS practices, subsequently accomplishes efficiency in the performance of their human resources through a positive moderating effect of Human Capacity Development. The usefulness of findings has been endorsed through numerous studies by the local and international scholars of the area. Keywords: Explicit Knowledge Sharing, Human Resource Performance Efficiency, Knowledge Management, Knowledge Sharing

scholarly journals Possibilities of Use Recycled Materials in Construction Details

2019 ◽  
Vol 279 ◽  
pp. 02011
Author(s):  
Radim Smolka ◽  
Jindřich Sobotka
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Properties ◽  
Economic Costs ◽  
Recycled Materials ◽  
Roof Structure ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Weather Resistance ◽  
User Friendly ◽  
Flat Roofs ◽  
Secondary Materials

This paper aims to explain the use of secondary materials in design details. Primarily, attention is paid to flat roofs, for which there is currently a wide range of technologies needed for user-friendly operation of a building. Recycled materials are still often looked down on and, therefore, it is important to show that even these elements may work very well in constructions. They must meet strict criteria for static and thermal properties. Furthermore, they must comply with fire and weather resistance requirements. They also have acoustic, secondary and aesthetic function. The roof structure is one of the basic segments that characterize the final properties of the building. Any malfunctions will lead to increased economic costs and degradation of users’ environment.

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