Why do Belgian public agencies use the Common Assessment Framework (CAF)?

Public sector organisations throughout Europe are increasingly applying quality models such as the EFQM Business Excellence Model, the ISO 9000 or 14000 series, Balanced Scorecard approaches, Six Sigma, etc. Recently, the Common Assessment Framework (CAF) was added to this ‘hit parade’ of quality tools. It has been introduced as a self-assessment tool which will be widely used by European public agencies – and this shared nature means that it can give rise to interesting comparative analysis. It aspires to bridge the different quality models and to serve as a useful ‘starter model’ before moving on to more sophisticated quality management models

Zelf-evaluatie vs zelf-promotie? Een onderzoek naar de motieven voor het gebruik van het Common Assessment Framework (CAF) bij Belgische overheidsdiensten

Organisaties in de publieke sector in Europa gebruiken meer en meer kwaliteitsmodellen zoals het EFQM model, het ISO model, Balanced Scorecards, Six Sigma, enzovoort. Recentelijk werd het Common Assessment Framework (CAF) aan het rijtje toegevoegd. Op Europees vlak wordt het CAF gepromoot als instrument voor zelfevaluatie. Het Europese karakter van het instrument houdt een sterke potentie tot internationaal vergelijkende analyse in zich. Het CAF wordt daarenboven opgevat als een instapmodel voor kwaliteitsanalyse dat de kloof met meer gesofisticeerde managementmodellen (in het bijzonder het EFQM model) kan helpen overbruggen. Ook in België wordt het CAF gepromoot. In 2001 werd een eerste conferentie over de kwaliteit van de overheidsdiensten georganiseerd waar geselecteerde organisaties hun CAF-evaluatie en goede praktijken konden voorstellen

Performance information in the public sector: How it is used

Performance information has long permeated the public sector. The actual use of performance information however has long been taken for granted. This book is one of the first to bring together an international team of acclaimed academics focusing on how and whether politicians, public officials, and citizens use public sector performance information. Combining practical experience with academic analysis this book explores the social and organizational dynamics of performance indicators. It moves beyond the technicalities of measurement and indicators and looks at how performance information is changing the public sector

How is information used to improve performance in the public sector? Exploring the dynamics of performance informations

In this chapter, we challenge the assumption of a direct relationship between the existence and availability of information, and its use in decisions. We will do so by integrating three different sets of literature. Other chapters in this book stress organisations’ capacities and capabilities to produce a turnaround, or refer to contextual factors that make a turnaround difficult. Our basic argument is that the fact that information exists does not mean it will also be used by those in charge. A first set of arguments comes from a somewhat more recent field of study looking at the actual use of performance information by decision makers in the public sector (Van Dooren & Van de Walle, 2008). The second part will focus on structural and organisational factors that may facilitate or complicate the diffusion of information through an organisation. The third part will briefly introduce psychological factors that make that certain pieces of information are excluded from consideration in decision making. We will subsequently integrate this information and distil the major trends. We end by discussing the implication of our findings on public organisations’ ability to connect knowledge to performance

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Connie Myers v. Albertsons, Inc. : Brief of Appellee

Appeal of the Judgment of Michael Glasmann Based upon a Jury Verdict Second Judicial District Court Weber County, State of Uta

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Ribosomal Protein Mutations Induce Autophagy through S6 Kinase Inhibition of the Insulin Pathway

Mutations affecting the ribosome lead to several diseases known as ribosomopathies, with phenotypes that include growth defects, cytopenia, and bone marrow failure. Diamond-Blackfan anemia (DBA), for example, is a pure red cell aplasia linked to the mutation of ribosomal protein (RP) genes. Here we show the knock-down of the DBA-linked RPS19 gene induces the cellular self-digestion process of autophagy, a pathway critical for proper hematopoiesis. We also observe an increase of autophagy in cells derived from DBA patients, in CD34+ erythrocyte progenitor cells with RPS19 knock down, in the red blood cells of zebrafish embryos with RP-deficiency, and in cells from patients with Shwachman-Diamond syndrome (SDS). The loss of RPs in all these models results in a marked increase in S6 kinase phosphorylation that we find is triggered by an increase in reactive oxygen species (ROS). We show that this increase in S6 kinase phosphorylation inhibits the insulin pathway and AKT phosphorylation activity through a mechanism reminiscent of insulin resistance. While stimulating RP-deficient cells with insulin reduces autophagy, antioxidant treatment reduces S6 kinase phosphorylation, autophagy, and stabilization of the p53 tumor suppressor. Our data suggest that RP loss promotes the aberrant activation of both S6 kinase and p53 by increasing intracellular ROS levels. The deregulation of these signaling pathways is likely playing a major role in the pathophysiology of ribosomopathies