s Global Quality Assurance System of Higher Education in United States, Vietnam and Japan Possible?

Higher education has jumped into the quality movement with expectations of enhancing the excellence of education being received by students. The total quality management philosophy that dominated the manufacturing industry has found its way into the education industry. W. Edwards Deming developed a set of 14 quality management principles, which can be applied to the education sector (Hughey, 2000; Prasad, 2017). Accreditation is a mechanism to inform the employers, the public and students that a university or program has met the minimum standards for quality. The injection of accountability and accreditation into the educational system has raised the expectations of an institution. External accreditation has been growing worldwide in importance. This paper looks at the development of accreditation within the United States, Vietnam, and Japan. An educational curriculum was seen to be a pillar needed for growth for each country. It became apparent that all three countries realize the importance of quality and are heavily involved in the assessment process. There are some differences in who controls the curriculum and the assessment process. However, continuous improvement is universally shared among the three countries. Developing an understanding of the accreditation process will contribute to the literature surrounding accreditation and quality assurance.

Applying quality concepts to achieve environmental sustainability in the freight transport sector – reviewing process management and lean

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to revisit lean manufacturing and process management to review how these have targeted environmental sustainability and determine whether these have the potential to achieve environmental sustainability in small- and medium-sized companies within the freight transport sector. Design/methodology/approach The methodology for this paper was divided into three steps. The first step involved a narrative literature review, including previously designed search strings. The second step involved a snowball approach, where the identification of new sources departed from previously selected articles. The third step included a completing narrative review to search for the most recent articles published related to the purpose. The analysis was based on the identification of benefits, challenges and the potential of lean and process management to deal with environmental demands among transport companies. Findings The findings suggest a potential of lean and process management for achieving environmental sustainability, if adapted appropriately. The potential is on the operative and strategic levels, respectively. Research limitations/implications This study included two of the concepts from the quality movement from a literature perspective. Hence, there is a need for research to evaluate these results empirically. Additionally, other aspects should be studied within the quality movement for achieving environmental sustainability. Originality/value This paper aims to be a basis and a path for further theoretical and empirical research for the quality movement to support environmental sustainability. This paper particularly aims to fill part of the gap in the literature on how the freight transport sector can enhance environmental sustainability in its operations.

Prediction and injury risk based on movement patterns and flexibility in a 6-month prospective study among physically active adults

Background Physical activity has many health benefits but also carries a risk of injury. Some universal factors are connected with an increased risk regardless of the type of sport. Identifying these factors may help predict injuries and aid in their prevention. Aim The aim of this study is to determine the level of injury risk and the accuracy of injury prediction during a prospective 6-month period based on the quality of movement patterns and level of flexibility among average physically active young adults. Material and Methods A group of 123 young, physically active adults were recruited for this study. The International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) was used to determine their level of physical activity. The author’s own Injury History Questionnaire (IHQ) was used to retrospectively collect injury data from the 12 months before the study and prospectively collect data during the six month observation period. The Functional Movement Screen (FMS) test was conducted to assess the movement patterns quality and a sit-and-reach test was conducted to measure lower back and hamstrings flexibility. Results Low-quaility movement patterns (14≥ FMS) increased the injury risk level sevenfold. A level of flexibility reduced by one cm increased the risk of injury by 6%. Previous injuries also increased the risk of injury reccurence 6.4 times. Predicting injury occurrence based on the quality of movement patterns allows for an accuracy of 73%, whereas flexibility allows for a 41% accuracy. The simultaneous use of these two factors did not improve injury prediction accuracy. Conclusion The risk of an injury increases with low-quality movement patterns, a low level of flexibility, and previous injuries. Preventative strategies should include shaping high-quality movement patterns, the right level of flexibility, and the full healing of injuries before resuming activities. The quality of movement patterns is an accurate predictor of injury risk, but lower back and hamstrings flexibility is not a reliable predictor of injury.

Employing Industrial Quality Management Systems for Quality Assurance in Outcome-Based Engineering Education: A Review

With the world becoming flat with fluid boundaries, engineers have to be global in their outlook and their pedigree. Due to the need for international acceptance of engineering qualification, the incorporation of Outcome-Based Education (OBE) has become common and global accreditation treaties such as the Washington Accord have been ratified. Further, it becomes important, especially for an engineering university with a global outlook preparing its students for global markets, to ensure that its graduates attain the planned outcomes. Additionally, the higher education institutions need to make sure that all the stakeholders, including students, parents, employers, and community at large, are getting a quality educational service, where quality is categorized as (1) product-based ensuring that the graduate attained the planned outcomes and skills, and (2) process-based keeping an eye on whether the process is simple, integrated, and efficient. The development of quality movements, such as Total Quality Movement (TQM), Six Sigma, etc., along with quality standards such as ISO 9001 has been instrumental in improving the quality and efficiency in the fields of management and services. Critical to the successful deployment of a quality culture is the institutionalization of an integrated Quality Management System (QMS) in which formally documented processes work according to the Vision and Mission of an institute. At the same time, commitment to Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) to close the loop through effective feedback, would ensure that the planned outcomes are attained to the satisfaction of all the stakeholders, and that the process overall is improving consistently and continuously. The successful adoption of quality culture requires buy-in from all the stakeholders (and in particular, the senior leadership) and a rigorous training program. In this paper, we provide a review of how a QMS may work for the provision of quality higher education in a 21st-century university.

A multidimensional quality model: an opportunity for patients, their kin, healthcare providers and professionals to coproduce health

Background: It is twenty years since the US Institute of Medicine (IOM) defined quality in healthcare, as comprising six domains: person-centredness, timeliness, efficiency, effectiveness, safety and equity. Since then, a new quality movement has emerged, with the development of numerous interventions aimed at improving quality, with a focus on accessibility, safety and effectiveness of care. Further gains in equity and timeliness have proven even more challenging. The challenge: With the emergence of “service-oriented” systems, complexity science, the challenges of climate change, the growth of social media and the internet and the new reality of COVID-19, the original domains proposed by the IOM invite reflection on their relevance and possibility for improvement. The possible solution: In this paper we propose a revised model of quality that is built on never-ending learning and includes new domains, such as Ecology and Transparency, which reflect the changing worldview of healthcare. We also introduce the concept of person- or “kin-centred care” to emphasise the shared humanity of people involved in the interdependent work. This is a more expansive view of what “person-centredness” began. The delivery of health and healthcare requires people working in differing roles, with explicit attention to the lived realities of the people in the roles of professional and patient. The new model will provide a construct that may make the attainment of equity in healthcare more possible with a focus on kindness for all.

Cryo-EM with sub–1 Å specimen movement

Most information loss in cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM) stems from particle movement during imaging, which remains poorly understood. We show that this movement is caused by buckling and subsequent deformation of the suspended ice, with a threshold that depends directly on the shape of the frozen water layer set by the support foil. We describe a specimen support design that eliminates buckling and reduces electron beam–induced particle movement to less than 1 angstrom. The design allows precise foil tracking during imaging with high-speed detectors, thereby lessening demands on cryostage precision and stability. It includes a maximal density of holes, which increases throughput in automated cryo-EM without degrading data quality. Movement-free imaging allows extrapolation to a three-dimensional map of the specimen at zero electron exposure, before the onset of radiation damage.

A multidimensional quality model: an opportunity for patients, their kin, healthcare providers and professionals in the new COVID-19 period

Background: It is twenty years since the Institute of Medicine (IOM) defined quality in healthcare, as comprising six domains: person-centredness, timeliness, efficiency, effectiveness, safety and equity. Since then, a new quality movement has emerged, with the development of numerous interventions aimed at improving quality, with a focus on accessibility, safety and effectiveness of care. Further gains in equity and timeliness have proven even more challenging. The challenge: With the emergence of “service-oriented” systems, complexity science, the challenges of climate change, the growth of social media and the internet and the new reality of COVID-19, the original domains proposed by the IOM invite reflection on their relevance and possibility for improvement. The possible solution: In this paper we propose a revised model of quality that is built on never-ending learning and includes new domains, such as Ecology and Transparency, which reflect the changing worldview of healthcare. We also introduce the concept of person- or “kin-centred care” to emphasise the shared humanity of people involved in the interdependent work. This is a more expansive view of what “person-centredness” began. The delivery of health and healthcare requires people working in differing roles, with explicit attention to the lived realities of the people in the roles of professional and patient. The new model will provide a construct that may make the attainment of equity in healthcare more possible with a focus on kindness for all.