Implementing a Cancer Fast-track programme between primary and specialised care in Catalonia(Spain): amixed methods study

BACKGROUND: The Cancer Fast-track Programme's aim was to reduce the time that elapsed between well-founded suspicion of breast, colorectal and lung cancer and the start of initial treatment in Catalonia (Spain). We sought to analyse its implementation and overall effectiveness. METHODS: A quantitative analysis of the programme was performed using data generated by the hospitals on the basis of seven fast-track monitoring indicators for the period 2006-2009. In addition, we conducted a qualitative study, based on 83 semistructured interviews with primary and specialised health professionals and health administrators, to obtain their perception of the programme's implementation. RESULTS: About half of all new patients with breast, lung or colorectal cancer were diagnosed via the fast track, though the cancer detection rate declined across the period. Mean time from detection of suspected cancer in primary care to start of initial treatment was 32 days for breast, 30 for colorectal and 37 for lung cancer (2009). Professionals associated with the implementation of the programme showed that general practitioners faced with suspicion of cancer had changed their conduct with the aim of preventing lags. Furthermore, hospitals were found to have pursued three specific implementation strategies (top-down, consensus-based and participatory), which made for the cohesion and sustainability of the circuits. CONCLUSION: The programme has contributed to speeding up diagnostic assessment and treatment of patients with suspicion of cancer, and to clarifying the patient pathway between primary and specialised care.

Implementation of the ordinal shapley value for a three-agent economy

We propose a simple mechanism that implements the Ordinal Shapley Value (Pérez-Castrillo and Wettstein [2005]) for economies with three or less agents.

Double implementation in a market for indivisible goods with a price constraint

I consider the problem of assigning agents to objects where each agent must pay the price of the object he gets and prices must sum to a given number. The objective is to select an assignment-price pair that is envy-free with respect to the true preferences. I prove that the proposed mechanism will implement both in Nash and strong Nash the set of envy-free allocations. The distinguishing feature of the mechanism is that it treats the announced preferences as the true ones and selects an envy-free allocation with respect to the announced preferences.

Implementation of the Walrasian correspondence by market games

In this paper we present a set of axioms guaranteeing that, in exchange economies with or without indivisible goods, the set of Nash, Strong and active Walrasian Equilibria all coincide in the framework of market games.

Programa vellesa, activitat física i dependència (Vafid): justificació i bases per a la sistematització

El present estudi es centra en els programes d’activitat física adreçats a persones grans en situació de dependència, que es esenvolupen en grup i que utilitzen el moviment actiu com a principal eina de treball. Es tracta d’una recerca que, per una banda, estudia i analitza les bases teòriques que avalen la importància i la necessitat de l’aplicació d’aquest tipus de programes. Per l’altra, justifica i defineix, amb detall, les línies directrius que han de guiar el seu desenvolupament i la seva aplicació en l’àmbit d’institucions d’atenció a les persones grans (residències, centres de dia i centres sòciosanitaris). El marc conceptual (capítol II) es construeix a partir d’una àmplia recerca bibliogràfica sobre les quatre dimensions d’anàlisi clau (l’envelliment, la dependència, l’atenció a les persones grans i l’activitat física) que fonamenta i justifica la proposta de programa que es fa en la segona part (capítol III). En aquesta es defineixen els referents, les finalitats, els objectius, els recursos que es poden utilitzar, les indicacions bàsiques per a organitzar el treball, els aspectes metodològics essencials per a l’aplicació del programa i les condicions necessàries per a poder-lo implementar. El resultat de tot el procés de recerca i estudi permet dir que, a nivell teòric, l’activitat física és una eina útil, eficaç i amb moltes possibilitats cara a l’atenció a les persones grans en situació de dependència. Que els esmentats programes han de ser fruit d’un procés de planificació, han de considerar les diferents dimensions de l’ésser en interacció constant, han de ser aplicats donant més importància al procés que al producte i que els recursos disponibles s’han d’utilitzar d’acord amb aquests plantejaments. En les línies de futur per a aquesta recerca, es planteja la seva continuació a partir de l’aplicació del programa VAFiD en diferents grups i la seva avaluació (seguint el model d’avaluació responent de Robert Stake) per determinar-ne la coherència i la qualitat.

Policy legitimation in sport: pivotal role of implementation

Paper presented at the 2000 seminar of the International Chair in Olympism. The main topic includes references to how the demand of public investment must be legitimized in terms of public benefits that can be vindicated. The author tries to review the values of this legitimation individually and closely.

The Cultural Olympiad: objectives, programme and development

Working paper analysing the Cultural Olympiad of Barcelona in 1992. This was published as a chapter of the book entitled "Olympic Games, media and cultural exchanges: the experience of the last four summer Olympic Games" and edited by M. Ladrón de Guevara and M. Bardají.

Analysing the innovation process in the EU Integrated Programme, ISAFRUIT

ISAFRUIT is an integrated European Union Project focussed on increasing fruit consumption as a means to improve human health, through evaluating the fruit chain and addressing bottlenecks therein.The innovations which are being developed throughout the ISAFRUIT Project have been analysed to determine both the success factors and the obstacles in reaching the commercialisation stage. Only 9.58% of the deliverables planned within the Project were focussed on developing technological innovations.There is evidence, however, of successes in the development of new innovations arising from the ISAFRUIT Project, with several other potential innovations in the pipeline. Of the technologies identified, 67% are still at the “invention stage”; that is, the stage prior to bridging the so-called “valley of death”, the stage between an invention and an innovation. Those which are considered to have moved over the “valley of death” either had industry partners included in the Project, or had consulted with industry to ensure that the technology was relevant, or met a recognised industry need. Many of the technologies which made less progress did not have the same interactions with industry. A number of other issues were identified which prevented further progress towards innovation. The need for scientists to publish scientific papers, both for their career pathways and to increase their chances of future funding, was identified as one issue, although the filing of patents is now becoming more accepted and recognised. The patenting system is considered complex by many scientists and is not well-understood. Finally, agreements between partners on the sharing of intellectual property rights can cause a delay in the innovation process.

Implementation of IPM programs on European greenhouse tomato production areas: Tools and constraints

Whiteflies and whitefly-transmitted viruses are some of the major constraints on European tomato production. The main objectives of this study were to: identify where and why whiteflies are a major limitation on tomato crops; collect information about whiteflies and associated viruses; determine the available management tools; and identify key knowledge gaps and research priorities. This study was conducted within the framework of ENDURE (European Network for Durable Exploitation of Crop Protection Strategies). Two whitefly species are the main pests of tomato in Europe: Bemisia tabaci and Trialeurodes vaporariorum. Trialeurodes vaporariorum is widespread to all areas where greenhouse industry is present, and B. tabaci has invaded, since the early 1990’s, all the subtropical and tropical areas. Biotypes B and Q of B. tabaci are widespread and especially problematic. Other key tomato pests are Aculops lycopersici, Helicoverpa armigera, Frankliniella occidentalis, and leaf miners. Tomato crops are particularly susceptible to viruses causingTomato yellow leaf curl disease (TYLCD). High incidences of this disease are associated to high pressure of its vector, B. tabaci. The ranked importance of B. tabaci established in this study correlates with the levels of insecticide use, showing B. tabaci as one of the principal drivers behind chemical control. Confirmed cases of resistance to almost all insecticides have been reported. Integrated Pest Management based on biological control (IPM-BC) is applied in all the surveyed regions and identified as the strategy using fewer insecticides. Other IPM components include greenhouse netting and TYLCD-tolerant tomato cultivars. Sampling techniques differ between regions, where decisions are generally based upon whitefly densities and do not relate to control strategies or growing cycles. For population monitoring and control, whitefly species are always identified. In Europe IPM-BC is the recommended strategy for a sustainable tomato production. The IPM-BC approach is mainly based on inoculative releases of the parasitoids Eretmocerus mundus and Encarsia formosa and/or the polyphagous predators Macrolophus caliginosus and Nesidiocoris tenuis. However, some limitations for a wider implementation have been identified: lack of biological solutions for some pests, costs of beneficials, low farmer confidence, costs of technical advice, and low pest injury thresholds. Research priorities to promote and improve IPM-BC are proposed on the following domains: (i) emergence and invasion of new whitefly-transmitted viruses; (ii) relevance of B. tabaci biotypes regarding insecticide resistance; (iii) biochemistry and genetics of plant resistance; (iv) economic thresholds and sampling techniques of whiteflies for decision making; and (v) conservation and management of native whitefly natural enemies and improvement of biological control of other tomato pests.

Descripció del programa d’intervenció amb interns per delictes contra la seguretat viària

Com a conseqüència dels canvis legislatius introduïts en el Codi penal i l’augment de la població penitenciària per delictes contra la seguretat de trànsit, s’ha elaborat i implementat el programa CONTE (Conducció Temerària) en el Centre Penitenciari d’Homes de Barcelona. Des de la seva implementació a l’abril del 2008, 93 interns han participat en el programa en onze edicions. El programa té una durada d’un mes, amb 16 sessions, quatre setmanals d’una hora i mitja cadascuna. Es descriu el contingut i objectiu de les sessions. Els interns que han participat han manifestat la seva satisfacció amb el programa. En un futur caldria establir mesures per avaluar l’eficàcia d’aquest tipus de programes.

Descripción del programa de intervención con encarcelados por delitos contra la seguridad vial

Como consecuencia de los cambios introducidos en el Código Penal y el aumento de población penitenciaria por delitos contra la seguridad del tráfico, se ha elaborado e implementado el programa CONTE (conducción temeraria) en el Centro penitenciario de Hombres de Barcelona. Desde su implementación en abril de 2008, 93 internos han participado en el programa en 11 ediciones. El programa tiene una duración de un mes, con 16 sesiones, cuatro semanales de una hora y media cada una. Se describe el contenido y objetivo de las sesiones. Los internos que han participado han manifestado su satisfacción con el programa. En un futuro convendría establecer indicadores de evaluación para medir la eficacia de este tipo de programas.

Implementing CLIL in a primary school in Spain : the effects of CLIL on L2 English learners' oral production skills

This study presents the results of implementing a CLIL programme in a Catalan primary school three years after the onset of the implementation. The main objective of this investigation was to determine the effects of CLIL on students’ L2 English oral performance in terms of Complexity, Accuracy and Fluency (CAF). The results obtained suggest that CLIL learners outperform non-CLIL learners not only in fluency, but also in syntactic complexity. However, despite the encouraging results, the study concludes that further research which transcends the methodological limitations observed in the study is needed in order to confirm the results

Catalonia’s participation in calls of the EU 7th Framework Programme for RTD. Period 2007-2009

English translation of the Executive summary of the report “Catalonia’s participation in calls of the EU 7th Framework Programme for RTD. Period 2007-2009” drawn up by researchers of the AQR Research Group – Research Institute of Applied Economics (IREA) of the University of Barcelona. It aims to find out the reality of the Catalonia’s participation in the EU 7th Framework Programme, the main European financial instrument for research during the period 2007-2009.

Anàlisi de l'etapa d'introducció del programa CA/AC a centres del Berritzegune de Guipúscoa

Aquest estudi presenta els diferents àmbits d’actuació que composen el Programa CA/AC així com l’explicació de les etapes d’implementació d’aquest programa en la seva modalitat B. Aquesta modalitat ha estat aplicada en diversos centres escolars pertanyents als Berritzegunes (Serveis Educatius) de la província de Guipúscoa durant el curs 2010/11. A partir d’aquesta pràctica, s’ha realitzat l’anàlisi quantitativa de les diferents actuacions dels àmbits A i B de manera que se’n poden analitzar a partir de gràfics, quines han estat les freqüències i el grau d’aplicació de les dinàmiques i de les estructures cooperatives que conformen el programa aplicat.

NetEye - Network Monitoring, Zabbix implementation

Trabajo de presentación en formato PowerPoint del TFC NetEye- Zabbix, network monitoring implementation.