Recent Articles
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Why is customer service so difficult in the hospital?
Joan Spitrey Healthcare AdministrationOn April 20, popular consumer reporter John Stossel wrote an opinion piece on the lack of customer service he received while in the hospital. Stossel was recently diagnosed with lung cancer, for which he was admitted to prestigious New York-Presbyterian Hospital.
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Builders ‘cautiously optimistic’ despite slow growth
Michael J. Berens Construction & Building MaterialsHopes that momentum from last fall's burst of building activity would carry forward into 2016 have faded following a lackluster first quarter. Figures from March reveal an industry holding steady in the face of economic uncertainty and weak consumer confidence, neither advancing nor receding substantially.
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The global oil industry: Shell’s post-merger future
Lucy Wallwork Natural ResourcesAnglo-Dutch Shell, now the world's third-largest private oil and gas company by output, was left out of the series of mergers in the early 2000s that created the supermajors of today. But prior to the industry restructuring, Royal Dutch Shell was the largest oil company in the world. The recently completed merger with BG Group, against a tough oil price backdrop, aims to keep the company among the list of the biggest global players.
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Benzodiazepine linked to higher risk of overdose death
Dr. Denise A. Valenti PharmaceuticalIn William Shakespeare's "Hamlet," the tragic character states, "To die, to sleep. To sleep, perchance to dream — ay, there's the rub, For in that sleep of death what dreams may come." However, the sleep of death is what close to 15 million adults risked as they filled their sleep, sedative, anxiolytic or anticonvulsant prescriptions containing benzodiazepine. A new study published in the April issue of the American Public Health Association Journal reported an increase in overdose mortality related to benzodiazepine prescriptions between the years 1996 and 2013.
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Cleaning up our act on indoor air quality
Andrew Gaved ManufacturingAlmost overnight, air quality has become a big issue in the U.K. Whether it is the government being "sued" by environmental law group Client Earth for again missing its air-quality targets, or the prime minister being forced to defend his government's record on pollution in Parliament, or even Greenpeace activists scaling the landmark Nelson's Column to dramatically draw attention to the issues — air quality seems to be everywhere.
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During your morning checkout, don’t overlook the small details
Frank R. Myers Law Enforcement, Defense & SecurityWhen it comes to routines, it's easy to miss the small details. I mean the little things you don't feel are important or are just easily overlooked — such as lights, mirrors, windshields, side glass, fire-hose, equipment on the exterior of the truck and compartment doors.
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The end of ER diversions
Mark Huber Healthcare AdministrationThe problem of emergency room overcrowding is not new. It creates a chain of failure, particularly when ambulances with critically ill patients aboard — on the ground or in the air — must divert to a secondary hospital, and therefore delay the onset of care.
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Safety Week 2016: Think outside the box
Danielle Manley Construction & Building MaterialsMay is a big month for construction safety with both Safety Week 2016 and the National Safety Stand-Down occurring in the first week of the month. With jobsite injuries and fatalities occurring at such a high rate — nearly three times that of other industries, according to the CDC — it is no wonder safety has become a top concern for the industry.
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Long-term memories may be the result of ‘replay’
Dorothy L. Tengler Medical & Allied HealthcareWhen my dad was in his 80s, he was able to remember everything from decades earlier, but little about events of previous weeks. For some of us, it is the opposite — we have good short-term memory but remember little of long ago.
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A look at the disruptive marketing trends for beverage sales
Bambi Majumdar Food & BeveragePepsiCo recently hired veteran CIO Jody Davids to steer the brand's IT strategy going forward. What is particularly interesting is how this strategy will also lay the foundation for the marketing plan ahead. Davids will be taking her 35-year-career leadership skills to enhance IT for all beverages under the Pepsi brand and digitize their growth.