Laboratory accreditation based on ISO 15189, landed in Latin America in 2003. Spanish translations of this standard became national but voluntary standards. Later on, accreditation bodies created ...working groups in laboratory accreditation, which are now committees. Professionals with expertise in different fields of laboratory sciences became technical assessors for the accreditation bodies in Latin America. The Inter-American Accreditation Committee (IAAC) has full and associated members from several countries in the region, and it has been in charge to develop memorandum of understanding (MOU) to recognize the work done in laboratory accreditation regionwise. In 2014, the Chilean Society of Clinical Chemistry initiated a collaboration among professional societies in clinical biochemistry and laboratory sciences, accreditation bodies and metrology institutes in the region, with the aim to let everyone know the specifics of the ISO 15189 standard, and its interpretation. A group of peer review experts were invited to participate, to explain some of the requirements of the standard, including topics such as management, quality assurance, pre and post analytical phase, trazability, certified reference materials, among others. The success of this collaboration allowed all three organizations first of all to meet, to learn from each other, to question the standard, to suggest changes to the standard, and to motivate all those involved to coordinate efforts for the implementation of ISO 1589 in the region. Surveys were sent, questions were reviewed, a better understanding of the state-of-the-art standard was achieved by 2018. This effort has become an initiative of the Latin American Confederation of Clinical Biochemistry (COLABLIOCLI) with the auspices of the International Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine (IFCC) and for the benefit of the patient.
Peer review evaluates the originality and quality of a scientific work, through the judgment of a peer group, in order to preserve scientific authority and prevent the publication of poor quality ...manuscripts. Fulvio Guatelli, director of the Firenze University Press (FUP), one of the most innovative realities in the scientific field and one of the first publishing houses to have brought the peer review process to Italy, answers eight questions. FUP pays considerable attention to editorial practices; the FUP Scientific Cloud for Books project allows the systematic description, through a "cloud" of metadata, of all aspects of the scientific book (authorship, evaluation process, dissemination tools and access methods), in order to contribute to its enhancement and place it in the wake of scientific journals. FUP also aims at the dissemination of a qualitatively valid science, supporting the reviewers through collaborations, such as ReviewerCredits, which certify and reward their work. Initiatives that testify to the continuous evolution and gradual refinement process of peer review in the context of today's scientific community. KEYWORDS Peer review; Metadata; Referee; Firenze University Press. La peer review valuta l'originalita e la qualita di un lavoro scientifico, attraverso il giudizio di un gruppo di pari, allo scopo di preservare l'autorevolezza scientifica e scongiurare la pubblicazione di manoscritti di scarsa qualita. Fulvio Guatelli, direttore della Firenze University Press (FUP), una delle realta piu innovative in campo scientifico e tra le prime case editrici ad aver portato in Italia il processo di peer review, risponde a otto domande. FUP pone una considerevole attenzione nei confronti delle pratiche editoriali; il progetto FUP Scientific Cloud for Books permette la descrizione sistematica, tramite una "nuvola" di metadati, di tutti gli aspetti del libro scientifico (autorialita, processo di valutazione, strumenti di disseminazione e modalita di accesso), al fine di contribuire alla sua valorizzazione e porlo sulla scia delle riviste scientifiche. FUP mira, inoltre, alla diffusione di una scienza qualitativamente valida, sostenendo i revisori tramite collaborazioni, come ReviewerCredits, che certificano e premiano il loro operato. Iniziative che testimoniano la continua evoluzione e il graduale processo di affinamento della peer review nel contesto della comunita scientifica odierna. PAROLE CHIAVE Peer review; Metadata; Referee; Firenze University Press.
The present work is motivated by the need for robust, large-scale coherent states that can play possible roles as quantum resources. A challenge is that large, complex systems tend to be fragile. ...However, emergent phenomena in classical systems tend to become more robust with scale. Do these classical systems inspire ways to think about robust quantum networks? This question is studied by characterizing the complex quantum states produced by mapping interactions between a set of qubits from structure in graphs. We focus on maps based on k-regular random graphs where many edges were randomly deleted. We ask how many edge deletions can be tolerated. Surprisingly, it was found that the emergent coherent state characteristic of these graphs was robust to a substantial number of edge deletions. The analysis considers the possible role of the expander property of k-regular random graphs.
Los fraudes financieros afectan la profesión contable deteriorando la confianza de la sociedad en la misma y la fe pública. Esta investigación busca identificar componentes que influyen en el ...desarrollo de fraudes financieros por parte de los contadores públicos y determinar qué estrategias contribuyen a su mitigación. La metodología es cualitativa con alcance descriptivo y método deductivo, se usó la investigación documental y la entrevista para obtener opiniones de profesionales relacionadas con la problemática. Los resultados permitieron identificar que los componentes más comunes son la oportunidad, la presión y la racionalidad; lo cual reafirma la teoría del triángulo del fraude. En términos de nuevos componentes se refleja la ausencia de conciencia social, el poder y la baja motivación laboral. Finalmente, se concluye que las estrategias que ayudan a mitigar los fraudes en las organizaciones se ubican en el entorno académico, profesional e investigativo. Por lo tanto, se debe fortalecer desde la academia, la ética profesional, la vigilancia activa de los organismos de control y la ejecución de proyectos frente al tema. As fraudes financeiras afetam a profissão contábil deteriorando a confiança da sociedade na mesma e na fé pública. Este trabalho investigativo busca identificar elementos que influem no desenvolvimento de fraudes financeiras de parte dos contadores públicos e determinar quais estratégias contribuem a sua redução. A metodologia é do tipo qualitativa com alcance descritivo e o método utilizado fui o dedutivo, usou-se a investigação documental e entrevista para obter opiniões de profissionais relacionados com o problema. Os resultados permitiram identificar que os elementos mais comuns são a oportunidade, a pressão e a racionalidade; que reafirma a teoria do triângulo da fraude. Em términos de novos elementos reflete-se a ausência de consciência social, o poder e pouca motivação para o trabalho. Finalmente, conclui-se que as estratégias que ajudam a reduzir as fraudes nas organizações localizam-se no entorno acadêmico, professional e investigativo. Por conseguinte, deve-se fortalecer a formação acadêmica, a ética profissional, a vigilância ativa dos organismos de controle e a execução de projetos sobre o tema.
We examine the factors influencing the extent to which finance employees of an accounting and transactions unit utilize Robotic Process Automation (RPA) in a large industrial firm. We identify the ...challenges in motivating employees to request RPA support and to use robots. Employees are reluctant to seek RPA support from a dedicated support team when they see no benefits, doubt the quality, lack time, are not incentivized, or fear an impact on their jobs. On the other hand, users of RPA experience direct benefits in their daily work and are positive about the interaction with the RPA developers. Improving the use of RPA involves demonstrating how robots enhance employees’ job effectiveness, alleviating concerns about job loss.
Production and consumption of CFC-11 (trichlorofluoromethane, CCl.sub.3 F), CFC-12 (dichlorodifluoromethane, CCl.sub.2 F.sub.2) and CCl.sub.4 (carbon tetrachloride) are controlled under the ...regulations of the Montreal Protocol and have been phased out globally since 2010. Only CCl.sub.4 is still widely produced as a chemical feedstock. After 2010, emissions of CFC-11 and CFC-12 should therefore mostly originate from existing banks (e.g. from foams, mobile air conditioning units and refrigerators); however evidence has emerged of an increase in global emissions of CFC-11 in the last decade, some of which has not been fully accounted for. The motivation for this work was to assess the emissions of CFC-11, CFC-12 and CCl.sub.4 from western Europe. All countries in this region have been subject to the controls of the Montreal Protocol since the late 1980s and, as non-Article 5 Parties, have been prohibited from producing CFCs and CCl.sub.4 for dispersive use since 1996. Four different inverse modelling systems are used to estimate emissions of these gases from 2008 to 2021 using data from four atmospheric measurement stations: Mace Head (Ireland), Jungfraujoch (Switzerland), Monte Cimone (Italy) and Tacolneston (UK). The average of the four model studies found that western European emissions of CFC-11, CFC-12 and CCl.sub.4 between 2008 and 2021 were declining at 3.5 % yr.sup.-1 (2.7 % yr.sup.-1 -4.8 % yr.sup.-1 ), 7.7 % yr.sup.-1 (6.3 % yr.sup.-1 -8.0 % yr.sup.-1) and 4.4 % yr.sup.-1 (2.6 % yr.sup.-1 -6.4 % yr.sup.-1 ), respectively. Even though the emissions were declining throughout the period, the area including northern France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg showed consistently elevated emissions of CFC-11 compared with the surrounding regions. Emissions of CFC-12 were slightly elevated in the same region. CCl.sub.4 emissions were the highest in the south of France. France had the highest emissions of all three gases over the period 2008-2021. Emissions from western Europe (2008-2021) were on average 2.4 ± 0.4 Gg (CFC-11), 1.3 ± 0.3 Gg (CFC-12) and 0.9 ± 0.2 Gg (CCl.sub.4). Our estimated decline in emissions of CFC-11 is consistent with a western European bank release rate of 3.4 % (2.6 %-4.5 %). This study concludes that emissions of CFC-11, CFC-12 and CCl.sub.4 have all declined from 2008 to 2021 in western Europe. Therefore, no evidence is found that western European emissions contributed to the unexplained part of the global increase in atmospheric concentrations of CFC-11 observed in the last decade.
After reviewing nearly 70 years of research, this manuscript seeks to compile study results to better understand leader influence by employing French and Raven's (1959) power dynamics. Divided into ...two categories (i.e. formal and informal), these five power dynamics include referent, expert, legitimate, coercive, and reward power. Each power dynamic is categorized accordingly and dissected between scholarly research and applicable workplace settings between supervisors (i.e. leaders) and employees. Behavioral outcomes from a subordinate standpoint are discussed, and this manuscript concludes that the power dynamic that characterizes different workplace relationships between supervisors and employees has significant effects on work productivity and employee motivation.
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