City University London

About: City University London is a education organization based out in London, United Kingdom. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Context (language use). The organization has 5735 authors who have published 17285 publications receiving 453290 citations.

How Effective Are Incident-Reporting Systems for Improving Patient Safety? A Systematic Literature Review.

Abstract: Context: Incident reporting systems (IRSs) are used to gather information on patient safety incidents However, and despite the financial burden they imply, little is known about their effectiveness This paper reviews systematically the effectiveness of IRSs as a method of improving patient safety through organizational learning Method: This systematic literature review identified two groups of studies: a) studies comparing the effectiveness of IRSs relative to other methods of error reporting and b) studies examining the effectiveness of IRSs on settings, structures and outcomes in respect of improvements to patient safety We used thematic analysis to compare the effectiveness of IRSs with other methods and to synthesize what was effective, where and why Then, to assess the evidence concerning the ability of IRSs to facilitate organizational learning, we analyzed studies using the concepts of single loop and double loop learning Findings: In total, 43 studies were identified Eight studies compared IRSs with other methods, while 35 explored the effectiveness of IRSs on settings, structures and outcomes We did not find strong evidence that IRSs perform better than other methods We found some evidence of single loop learning, that is, changes to clinical settings or processes as a consequence of learning from IRSs, but little evidence either of improvements to outcomes or of changes to latent managerial factors involved in error production In addition, there was insubstantial evidence of IRSs enabling double loop learning that is, cultural change or change of mindset Conclusions: The results indicate IRSs could be more effective if there were explicit criteria for what counts as an incident; they are owned and led by clinical teams rather than centralized hospital departments; and embedded within organizations as part of wider safety programs

A framework for QoS-based Web service contracting

Abstract: The extensive adoption of Web service-based applications in dynamic business scenarios, such as on-demand computing or highly reconfigurable virtual enterprises, advocates for methods and tools for the management of Web service nonfunctional aspects, such as Quality of Service (QoS). Concerning contracts on Web service QoS, the literature has mostly focused on the contract definition and on mechanisms for contract enactment, such as the monitoring of the satisfaction of negotiated QoS guarantees. In this context, this article proposes a framework for the automation of the Web service contract specification and establishment. An extensible model for defining both domain-dependent and domain-independent Web service QoS dimensions and a method for the automation of the contract establishment phase are proposed. We describe a matchmaking algorithm for the ranking of functionally equivalent services, which orders services on the basis of their ability to fulfill the service requestor requirements, while maintaining the price below a specified budget. We also provide an algorithm for the configuration of the negotiable part of the QoS Service-Level Agreement (SLA), which is used to configure the agreement with the top-ranked service identified in the matchmaking phase. Experimental results show that, in a utility theory perspective, the contract establishment phase leads to efficient outcomes. We envision two advanced application scenarios for the Web service contracting framework proposed in this article. First, it can be used to enhance Web services self-healing properties in reaction to QoS-related service failures; second, it can be exploited in process optimization for the online reconfiguration of candidate Web services QoS SLAs.

Sex differences and individual differences in cognitive performance and their relationship to endogenous gonadal hormones and gonadotropins.

Abstract: Sexually dimorphic cognitive performance in men (n=42) and women (n=42) was related to testosterone, estradiol, progesterone, luteinizing hormone, follicle-stimulating hormone, and sex hormone binding globulin, measured in 10-ml blood samples collected between 0900 and 1030 and, among women, during the follicular phase of the menstrual cycle. Significant sex differences favored men on spatial tasks (Mental Rotation and Judgment of Line Orientation) and on an inhibition task and favored women on a verbal task (category fluency). However, there were no significant relationships between any of the hormones and cognitive performance, suggesting that there are few, if any, consistent, substantial relationships between endogenous, nonfluctuating levels of gonadal hormones or gonadotropins and these cognitive abilities in men or women.

Kernel Density Estimation for Heavy-tailed Distributions using the Champernowne Transformation

Abstract: When estimating loss distributions in insurance, large and small losses are usually split because it is difficult to find a simple parametric model that fits all claim sizes. This approach involves determining the threshold level between large and small losses. In this article a unified approach to the estimation of loss distributions is presented. We propose an estimator obtained by transforming the data set with a modification of the Champernowne cdf and then estimating the density of the transformed data by use of the classical kernel density estimator. We investigate the asymptotic bias and variance of the proposed estimator. In a simulation study, the proposed method shows a good. performance. We also present two applications dealing with claims costs in insurance.