Integrating Six Sigma into a Quality Management System in the Medical Device Industry

Six Sigma is a valuable management strategy to improve business processes, reduce development and production costs, increase profit margin and improve customer satisfaction. The purpose of this paper is to describe how applicable Six Sigma concepts may complement and support formal quality management systems (QMS) in the medical device industry. A significant number of issues, which increase the development costs and times, is often found during different phases of a medical device life cycle. Some defects with high patient safety risk may result in dangerous and very costly product recalls. The basic idea of this paper is to explore the possibilities of integrating Six Sigma techniques with an existing QMS throughout the entire life cycle of a medical device. This paper addresses how Six Sigma techniques, when appropriately integrated into the QMS at medical device companies, can eliminate defects earlier in the medical device life cycle, identify major opportunities for cost savings, focus on customer needs and expectations, and improve the overall business processes

Becoming 'damaged goods': A qualitative study on sex education and its effects on sexuality

This study examines how sex education performed at a Christian private school in Oregon (USA) affects female students’ sexuality. The study collected data through the use of qualitative semi-structured interviews which were then analysed using a thematic data analysis. The results show a handful of detrimental effects on sexuality caused by abstinence-based sex education including sex guilt, shame and fear. Additionally, findings demonstrate evidence of homophobic feelings perpetuated by abstinence-based sex education. Although abstinence-based sex education propagated many of the aforementioned harmful effects, it was not the only instigator. Institutionalised religion and religious pressure play a large role in one’s perception of abstinence as well. For further research, it is suggested to continue research on one’s development of sexuality in a hyper-religious context

Exploring what leads high school students to enroll in Hispanic-Serving Institutions: A multilevel analysis

This study examined the student and high school contextual factors associated with high school students’ enrollment in Hispanic-Serving Institutions. We drew on a conceptual framework of college choice involving the concepts of multiple capitals, and individual and organizational habitus, to examine the postsecondary trajectories of high school graduates using the Educational Longitudinal Study 2002/06. Using Hierarchical Linear Modeling, we analyzed two separate models. One model predicted enrollment in an HSI within the 2-year sector and one within the 4-year sector. Distinct predictors of HSI versus non-HSI enrollment were found, particularly for the 4-year sector. This study suggests that, in both sectors, high school contexts had a significant effect of channeling students toward HSIs. Keywords: Hispanic-Serving Institutions, College choice, Hierarchical Linear Modeling, Habitus, Capita

An investigation of the relationships among racial fractionalization, school district resources, and special education identification, practices, and outcomes

Despite the manner in which special education services have evolved in the United States, research suggests that special education services disproportionately label and segregate minority students, often rely upon practices that have weak relationships to outcomes, and only increase the achievement gap between students with and without disabilities. As school districts represent increasingly diverse populations, leaders must be prepared to serve all of the students in an equitable manner. By considering the relationships among diversity, resources, and special education practices, school leaders may be better prepared to serve the multiple needs present within their communities in an equitable manner. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship among racial fractionalization, school district resources, and special education identification, proportionality, and outcomes in Illinois school districts. The fractionalization index (Alsesina & Glaeser, 2009) provides researchers with one way to quantify diversity and examine the relationship between a population’s heterogeneity and the provision of public resources. This study investigated the relationship between school district diversity, as measured through the fractionalization index, and special education patterns in Illinois school districts, along with district wealth and funding effort. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics in order to explore the study variables in depth as well as consider which variables related to one another. Findings demonstrated that in some aspects of special education identification, placement, and outcomes, there is a relationship with racial fractionalization. The fractionalization index also related to districts’ wealth and resources, and negatively correlated to district effort. The percent of low income students was seen as a predictive variable when considering many of the dependent variables, including special education identification, placement, and outcomes. The findings of this study suggest that the vast variability which is present in the resources and student demographics of Illinois school districts can also be seen in the special education experiences of students with disabilities, including the risk of disability identification, placement in general education, and student outcomes

The Creation and Performance of Classification Schemes: Rating Systems in United States Broker-Dealers 1993-2000.

In the past few years, organizational researchers have found a renewed interest in categorization and its consequences. Most research focuses on the consequences of categorization for the categorized objects, arguing that a clear identity is important for users to understand (and thus value) an object. In my dissertation, I shift the perspective from the users and the categorized objects to focus on the creator of the classification scheme. I question the commonly held assumption that categories are created to reduce ambiguity and structure the world for users. In the first part of my dissertation, I suggest conditions under which a categorizer might create an ambiguous classification scheme rather than an unambiguous one. I argue that the ambiguity of the classification scheme depends on the categorizer’s relationship with the objects it rates, its relationship with many different types of users, and its status relative to other categorizers within the industry. By doing so, I move the focus away from the results of categorization to the antecedent of it. Users frequently question whether an object has been correctly placed in a classification scheme, but they must also question whether the scheme itself has been created strategically by the categorizer. In the second part of my dissertation, I examine the performance of the categorizer as a result of its classification scheme. While strategic behavior may help an organization achieve its objectives, in the long run, there may be negative consequences for a categorizer when the meaning of a classification scheme cannot be understood. I argue that overly ambiguous classification schemes lead to decreases in customer accounts. In addition, I measure the linguistic network position of individual schemes to illuminate how the usage of different schemes within an organizational field affects all firms in the industry. I use equity rating systems (for example, “buy, sell, hold”) in the United States during the years 1993-1999 as a setting in which to test my hypotheses.Ph.D.Business Administration and SociologyUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/64607/1/ahbowers_1.pd

The Processing of Experience and the Evaluation of the Self in Depressed and Nondepressed Females.

The hypotheses derived from Beck\u27s theory that depressed individuals minimize the positive and maximize the negative were investigated using a series of positive and negative imaginary interpersonal situations. Fifty-two depressed and nondepressed college females responded to the imagined situations by rating their self-esteem and mood at three time intervals. Results showed that depressed subjects maintained lower levels of self-esteem and mood across all three measurements yet were less adversely affected with exposure to the negative situations than were nondepressed subjects. Additionally, depressed subjects showed a greater enhancement effect from the positive imagined experience even while maintaining lower levels of self-esteem and mood across all measurements. These unexpected findings are discussed in light of the immediate versus prolonged effects of stress, the needed specificity in the measurement of cognitive reactions, and a limiting effect in the processing of positive experience by depressed subjects. Clinical and research implications are discussed

The Perennial Penstemon: Variation in Defensive Chemistry Across Years, Populations, and Tissues.

Plants produce a variety of secondary metabolites that function as a defense against their natural enemies. Production of these secondary metabolites is genetically controlled, but is also phenotypically plastic and varies in response to both biotic and abiotic factors. Therefore, plant species may vary widely in their chemical defenses and such variation can be evident at temporal, spatial and tissue levels. Focusing on the chemical defenses of a native Colorado wildflower, Penstemon virgatus, we assessed the variation in iridoid glycoside (IG) content across two non-consecutive growing seasons, six natural populations and three tissue types: leaves, stems and flowers. Our results indicate that P. virgatus plants contain high concentrations of IGs (mean = 23.36% dry weight of leaves) and that IGs were differentially allocated among tissue types. Leaves contained the highest concentration of IGs, which varied quantitatively between sampling years, among plant populations, and plant parts. We also quantified leaf herbivore damage at all six populations but we found very little herbivore damage. Our study indicates that the IG concentrations of P. virgatus plants are both spatially and temporally variable. Furthermore, the high concentrations of secondary metabolites combined with the low levels of damage suggest that these plants are well defended against generalist herbivores

Right to Information During Migration: A Call for Transparency and Internet Access

People migrating need access to job listings, housing information, and information about asylum, other legal processes, and safe migration routes and methods. Based on universal human rights, the Principles and Guidelines on the Human Rights Protections of Migrants in Vulnerable Situations (Principles and Guidelines) include the right to information. The 2022 transportation schemes in which Governor DeSantis had two planes fly migrants to Martha’s Vineyard is explored as an example of a violation of the right to information. The governors of Arizona, Texas, and Florida have each engaged in misrepresentations about job opportunities, expenses, and the purpose of transportation to various cities. This paper contextualizes what was essentially a political stunt in an important human right, touching on other countries’ violations as well

Surface topography of hydroxyapatite affects ROS17/2.8 cells response

Hydroxyapatite (HA) has been used in orthopedic, dental, and maxillofacial surgery as a bone substitute. The aim of this investigation was to study the effect of surface topography produced by the presence of microporosity on cell response, evaluating: cell attachment, cell morphology, cell proliferation, total protein content, and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity. HA discs with different percentages of microporosity (< 5%, 15%, and 30%) were confected by means of the combination of uniaxial powder pressing and different sintering conditions. ROS17/2.8 cells were cultured on HA discs. For the evaluation of attachment, cells were cultured for two hours. Cell morphology was evaluated after seven days. After seven and fourteen days, cell proliferation, total protein content, and ALP activity were measured. Data were compared by means of ANOVA and Duncan’s multiple range test, when appropriate. Cell attachment (p = 0.11) and total protein content (p = 0.31) were not affected by surface topography. Proliferation after 7 and 14 days (p = 0.0007 and p = 0.003, respectively), and ALP activity (p = 0.0007) were both significantly decreased by the most irregular surface (HA30). These results suggest that initial cell events were not affected by surface topography, while surfaces with more regular topography, as those present in HA with 15% or less of microporosity, favored intermediary and final events such as cell proliferation and ALP activity