A Mixed-Integer Linear Program to create the shifts in a supermarket

The shift design and the personnel scheduling problem is known to be a difficult problem. It is a real-world problem which has lots of applications in the organization of companies. Solutions are usually found by dividing the problem in two steps: first the shifts are created, then the employees are assigned to them by respecting a bunch of constraints. The assignment of different tasks increases the complexity, since we have to consider the skills of the single employee necessary to perform any activity. In this paper we present a mixed-integer linear programming formulation which models together the shift creation and the construction of rosters for employees, with the objective of minimizing the amount of uncovered demand. Finally we provide the results for three real-world instances, confirming that this approach is promising

Medication reconciliation and discharge communication from hospital to general practice: A quantitative analysis

Background: The aim of this study was to assess the quality of effective discharge communication to primary practice from a hospital that uses ieMR (integrated electronic Medical Record), a complete electronic prescribing/medical record platform. Methods: A retrospective quantitative analysis of 232 discharge encounters from a major tertiary hospital assessed the discharge summary quality; timeliness, completeness and medication information. Results: Median time to discharge summary was 1 day. 22.0% of discharge summaries were incomplete at 30 days post discharge and 44.5% of discharge summaries were incomplete at 30 days post discharge if discharged on a weekend compared to weekday (P-value = 0.001). Rates of medication reconciliation were completed at approximately 35% at each point of the patient stay and 56.9% of patients had a GP discharge summary listing discharge medications. However, if certain progressive steps were completed (i.e. Home Medications recorded in ieMR, Discharge Reconciliation in ieMR, and Patient Discharge Medication Record in eLMs (Enterprise-wide Liaison Medication System)), then, the 'Medications on Discharge' was significantly more likely to be present in the discharge summary, at rates of 70.1%, 85.9%, and 98.6% respectively (P-value = 0.007, <0.001, <0.001). Conversely not doing these steps dropped rates of having medications listed in the discharge summary to 50.0%, 40.3% and 34.1% respectively. Conclusions: This study assessed current discharge summary quality since the introduction of electronic medical records. It demonstrated the significant value of correct use of electronic programs, including performing all crucial steps of reconciliation. Targeted interventions in future studies that rectify the shortfalls in discharge communication are warranted

Australian general practitioners' views on qualities that make effective discharge communication: a scoping review

Transitions of patient care between hospital discharge and primary care are known to be an area of high-risk where communication is imperative for patient safety. Discharge summaries are known to often be incomplete, delayed and unhelpful for community healthcare providers. The aim of this review was to identify and map the literature which discusses Australian general practitioners' (GPs) views on the qualities that make up effective discharge communication. Medline, Scopus and the Cochrane register of controlled drug trails and systematic reviews were searched for publications until October 2021 that discussed Australian GPs' views on discharge communication from hospital to general practice. Of 1696 articles identified, 18 met inclusion and critical appraisal criteria. Five studies identified that GPs view timeliness of discharge summary receipt to be a problem. Communication of medication information in the discharge summary was discussed in six studies, with two reporting that GPs view reasons for medication changes to be essential. Five studies noted GPs would prefer to receive clinical discipline or diagnosis specific information. Four studies identified that GPs viewed the format and readability of discharge summaries to be problematic, with difficulties finding salient information. The findings of this scoping review indicate that GPs view timeliness, completeness, readability, medication related information and diagnosis/clinical discipline specific information to be qualities that make up effective discharge communication from hospital to the community. There are opportunities for further research in perspectives of effective discharge communication, and future studies on interventions to improve discharge communication, patient safety and policy in transfers of care

Polythermal glacier dynamics at Storglaciaren, Arctic Sweden, inferred using in situ geophysical techniques.

Polythermal glacier dynamics at Storglaciaren, Arctic Sweden, inferred using in situ geophysical techniques. Alessio Gusmeroli Submitted in June, 2010, in accordance with the requirements for the degree of PhD Swansea University, School of the Environment and Society Abstract: Geophysical experiments were carried out to investigate spatial and temporal changes in the thermal regime and water-content of Storglaciaren, a polythermal glacier located in Arctic Sweden. Thermal changes were observed by mapping the englacial transition between permanently frozen (cold) and temperate ice with a ground-penetrating radar in April 2009. The 2009 map was compared with surveys acquired in 1989 and 2001. The comparison shows that the thinning of the cold layer observed between 1989 and 2001 is still ongoing. The thinning rate in the two time windows analyzed is approximately similar (~0.75 m/a). A volume calculation shows that the cold surface layer has lost one third of its volume in 20 years. Cross borehole zero offset radar profiles were employed to profile at high resolution, radar wave speed and power to ~100 m depth at three sites on the glacier. Radio wave speeds, interpreted in terms of ice water-content, show that water-content in the temperate ice of Storglaciaren is low (70 m) was observed. Spatial variability due to complex interactions between water-content generated at the close-off and water-content produced by strain heating was observed at the three sites. Seismic refraction surveys were used to estimate seismic-wave attenuation using the spectral ratio method for energy travelling in the uppermost ice with an average temperature of approximately -1&deg;C. Attenuation values were derived between 100 and 300 Hz using the P-wave quality factor, Qp, the inverse of the internal friction. By assuming constant attenuation along the seismic line, mean Qp was 6+/-1. Qp varied from 8+/-1 to 5+/-1 from the near-offset to the far-offset region of the line, respectively. Since the wave progagates deeper at, far-offsets, this variation is interpreted by considering the temperature profile of the study area; far-offset arrivals sampled warmer and thus more-attenuative ice

Di padre in figlia, le eredi del vino a Nordest. La riproduzione sociale delle aziende familiari vinicole in un'ottica di genere

Family businesses are the prevailing economic organizations in Veneto region, where the research took place. They are especially representative of made in Italy recognized productions as wine. The intergenerational handover is the focus of many studies committed to avoid the "decline of social capital" (Putnam, 1995) of the area, whereas entrepreneurial families (and their ethos, practical knowledge, capital) are considered one of its cornerstones. My study aims to observe this process from a gender perspective, undertaking a Pierre Bourdieu approach. The empirical research is based on the collection and analysis of 32 in-depth interviews with members of family businesses (fathers and daughters) representative of 15 case studies (12 intergenerational handovers and 3 âfirst generationâ female entrepreneurs). We involved also expert qualified witnesses (working in wine business but with a de-centred view on wine family businesses) for further three interviews. The analysis is therefore based on 35 in-depth interviews: they are in between of "life stories" (Bertaux, 1999) and "focused interviews" (Merton, 1987). The cases were chosen with a theoretical sampling (Glaser & Strauss, 1967), referring to the main dimensions of 'transmission' identified. It has been possible to observe different trajectories of the same "class situation" (Bertaux, 1999) constituted by the transmission from father to daughter. The four main dimensions are: a) business or corporation material legacy; b) embodiment of different types of entrepreneurial practice; c) positioning processes in family and firms; d) work-life balance and gendered work division observed in the process of family reproduction. The territory where the research took place sees a progressive growth of women entrepreneurship in terms of ownership: in Veneto about 24% of farms are registered in women's name (ISTAT Census, 2011), compared to 21,5% of overall entrepreneurship (Angelini, Girardi, Marzella, Olive, Toschi, 2012). This work aims to how daughters incorporate the substantial position of leadership in the family business: a position that has historically been associated with fathers / husbands or other male figures. The theoretical approach adopted considers entrepreneurial motivations, stakes and incorporations of practices and professional positions as expressions of gender habitus (Bourdieu, 1983 & 1998) situated both in family and firm. We are situated in a field of ambivalences. In an historically masculine order we find the representation of equal "gender contracts" (Pateman, 1988) that tend to place women in the structural position of "outsider within" (Collins, 1986). Gender relations are organized by the ambivalence of "domination" and "freedom" (Bimbi, 2013) and family businesses are particularly interesting to analyze: located on the border of public and private spheres they seems to favor a easier work-life balance for some figures of women entrepreneurs (Jones, 2005) even if those organizations have to organize an intensive cycle of production and reproduction (Mingione, 1997) exposed to market forces. In some studies the organizational autonomy related to the ownership of the company is recognized as one of the specific reasons for women to choose to engage in entrepreneurship (De Vita, 2009). Reading the conciliation of work and family across the generational handover, related to the arrangements of the intensive production/reproduction cycle (Mingione, 1997), it's possible to observe the matter of recognition (Fraser, 2008; Pizzorno, 1988) of women-heirs as entrepreneurs and their exposure to habitus tensions. The problem of the daughter's double presence (Balbo, 1978; Bimbi, 1985; Mingione, 2010) is one (not the only one) of the dissonances between the gender of the entrepreneur and the gender of the organization (Bruni, Gherardi and Poggio, 2000). Tensions are often solved pragmatically with compromises and organizational creativity in the practices of everyday life, thanks to the resources social actors can rely on (economic, but also social, as family support). The separation between living spaces and spaces for the production is another structural element to consider with respect to ease of pragmatic arrangements. This work aim is to understand how gender and class intersect to define some typical or socially viable path for women-heirs in search of recognition, considering entitlements (Mayor, 1993) and capabilities (Nussbaum, 2000) recognized on the basis of gender stereotypes and observed in family discourse. We adopt a diachronic perspective, both in the choice of the object of study (the intergenerational handover), and considering gender as embodied habitus, in line with the historical sociology of Bourdieu (Bennett, 2005). The concept of "symbolic violence" (Bourdieu, 1998) is thus a very important analytical tool to understand the processes of reproduction of the âorder of thingsâ (Bourdieu, 1979). This approach, in our opinion, makes it possible to hold together different aspects, often separated in gender research on entrepreneurship. They refer to material processes, symbolic and ideological foundations of the family as a "body" with its reproductive tendency, and the family seen as "field", with its conflicts and positions (Bourdieu, 1995). The 'public family' of the firm is kept together by property and inheritance (the vertical family, represented by those working in the business). In this way we can observe how the incorporation of gender and, at the same time, professional habitus is arranged in everyday practices in masculine dominated social institutions. The family we speak of, considering the often long times of cohabitation in the business, it is an intersection between different households. To read family and economic life as interrelated fields can enrich the use of the concept of social capital reading the reproduction of gender inequalities. We can observe how the institution of gender structures the possibilities to acquire social goods and recognition in a circular process where positions and competences, or capabilities, go hand by hand (Sennett, 2006). We try to go beyond an abstract idea of equal opportunities. Focusing on the reproduction of the two fields considered (business and family) held together by property and inheritance, transgressions and boundaries of empowered gender identities is observed by situating them in the intertwining of family discourse and the strategies of the social actors involve

Las estrategias discursivas del grupo Clarín y el gobierno nacional frente al debate en torno al impulso del proyecto de ley de servicios de comunicación audiovisual

El debate que rodeó el Proyecto de Ley de Servicios de Comunicación Audiovisual, impulsado por el Gobierno de Cristina Fernández de Kirchner el 18 de marzo de 2009, generó una fuerte polémica entre diversos sectores del poder político y también empresarial de los medios. Si bien ello trajo aparejado un enfrentamiento de intereses, resultó primordial abordar las estrategias discursivas a partir de las cuales tanto el Grupo Clarín por medio de su matutino gráfico como el Gobierno Nacional a través de la página web del Comité Federal de Radiodifusión, tomaron posiciones antagónicas en beneficios de cada sector. Asimismo, en esta puja de intereses se vio comprometido indirectamente un tema afín a la ley como la importancia de la elección de una norma de televisión digital para la Argentina, un sistema con fuerte injerencias en la nueva confección del mapa de medios. De esta manera, desde dos períodos claramente definidos, marzo-abril y agosto-septiembre de 2009, se intentó esbozar una respuesta al interrogante de ¿Cómo incidió el planteamiento de una nueva Ley de Servicios de Comunicación Audiovisual en las relaciones de poder entre el Gobierno Nacional y el Grupo Clarín desde el plano político- empresarial y político-comunicacional?Facultad de Periodismo y Comunicación Socia

Digital Innovation Hubs Proposing Digital Platforms to Lead the SMEs Digital Transition

DIHs could offer a marketplace and play the role of a broker facilitating cooperation and networking among important stakeholders, harmonizing companies with customers and providing European connections as well. In this framework, DIHs express an increasing need for having platforms bolstering users-producers transactions, fostering to detect what is needed, by grouping a large variety of services and goods together. This paper presents the main platforms grounded on the D-BEST reference model developed by different networks of DIHs. The main characteristics of each of them have been detected and the differences among them unveiled

Raccontare l'omofobia in Italia. Genesi e sviluppi di una parola chiave

Il concetto di omofobia emerge all’inizio degli anni Settanta del secolo scorso e rapidamente si impone come strumento scientifico per interrogare ciò che prima della sua invenzione era ritenuto normale, ovvero l’avversione sociale verso le persone gay e lesbiche. Altrettanto rapidamente, esso oltrepassa i confini della comunità scientifica per entrare nei linguaggi del confronto politico e della vita quotidiana, diventando una «parola chiave» utilizzabile per diversi scopi e al servizio di molti interessi. Il libro analizza l’entrata e la diffusione di questo termine in alcuni contesti discorsivi relativi all’Italia o che hanno ricadute sull’Italia: l’ambito della socio-logia e della psicologia sociale, quello della vita quotidiana di persone gay, lesbiche ed eterosessuali che vivono in Italia, quello della politica raccontata dai mass-media nazionali e dagli attivisti LGBT di alcune regioni italiane. Lo scopo consiste nel gettare luce sugli usi pratici del concetto di omofobia e sui significati che esso assume per chi lo utilizza. A cosa ci si riferisce quando si discute di omofobia? In quali dibattiti questo termine risulta efficace? I risultati mostrano che, tanto nella ricerca scientifica quanto nel linguaggio comune, l’omofobia configura un modo per raccontare l’ostilità anti-omosessuale che la lega ai processi di modernizzazione – invocati o criticati – di diversi settori della società italiana

The Focus-activity Framework for Evaluating PSS Cooperation Readiness of Manufacturing Firms

For manufacturing companies venturing the first steps on the Servitization roadmap, it may be difficult to imagine how an integrated approach of Product and Service elements could support the strategic goals efficiently. If Service tasks, roles, units and organizational structure are still developing and emerging from the Product business activities, the design of Product-Service cooperation as well is promising, as the way is unclear. For these companies, it seems to be important to understand their current status of Product-Service cooperation at first, before starting to design integration activities. Therefore, this paper presents a framework which is designed to help companies identify their current status – and strategic objectives later on – at two dimensions: a) the Structural Focus of Product and Service business within the company, and b) the Cooperation Activities which are undertaken by Product and Service representatives. By the means of a case study in the Italian luxury textile sector, a first validation of the model is conducted, assessing the static and dynamic characteristics of Product and Service business with involvement of an Italian textile company