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In the US, a growing number of organizations and industries are seeking to affirm their commitment to and efforts around diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) as recent events have increased attention to social inequities. As health care organizations are considering new ways to incorporate DEI initiatives within their workforce, the anticipated result of these efforts is a reduction in health inequities that have plagued our country for centuries. Unfortunately, there are few frameworks to guide these efforts because few successfully link organizational DEI initiatives with health equity outcomes. The purpose of this chapter is to review existing scholarship and evidence using an organizational lens to examine how health care organizations can advance DEI initiatives in the pursuit of reducing or eliminating health inequities. First, this chapter defines important terms of DEI and health equity in health care. Next, we describe the methods for our narrative review. We propose a model for understanding health care organizational activity and its impact on health inequities based in organizational learning that includes four interrelated parts: intention, action, outcomes, and learning. We summarize the existing scholarship in each of these areas and provide recommendations for enhancing future research. Across the body of knowledge in these areas, disciplinary and other silos may be the biggest barrier to knowledge creation and knowledge transfer. Moving forward, scholars and practitioners should seek to collaborate further in their respective efforts to achieve health equity by creating formalized initiatives with linkages between practice and research communities.

The purpose of this paper is to propose a new methodology to assess the economic and social impacts of policies to promote mass access to the internet in fixed broadband. The authors apply the methodology to the Brazilian broadband market.

For this purpose, municipal information concerning the provision of EILD is used, and then a stylized model of definition of service penetration based on information regarding the price, the distribution of income and the number of households served is proposed.

The results indicate that cost reduction policies are more effective than measures to promote competition through the introduction of state-owned enterprises in the telecommunication market for broadband service. On the other hand, the results also indicate that the federal and state governments face a dilemma between broadband policy and tax policy.

This is a new and original methodology to model the broadband market demand, which is useful to assess the impact of regulation policies in the sector as well as structural changes in that market.

Public hospitals have long been major players in the US health care delivery system. However, many public hospitals have privatized during the past few decades. The purpose of this chapter was to investigate the impact of public hospitals' privatization on community orientation (CO). This longitudinal study used a national sample of nonfederal acute-care public hospitals (1997–2010). Negative binomial regression models with hospital-level and year fixed effects were used to estimate the relationships. Our findings suggested that privatization was associated with a 14% increase in the number of CO activities, on average, compared with the number of CO activities prior to privatization. Public hospitals privatizing to for-profit status exhibited a 29% increase in the number of CO activities, relative to an insignificant 9% increase for public hospitals privatizing to not-for-profit status.

The purpose of this paper is to elucidate if there is a loss in bond strength between galvanized steel used as reinforcement, and concrete of water‐to‐cement (w/c) ratio of 0.4 and 0.5, after both types of sample were cured for seven, 21 and 28 days in saturated calcium hydroxide solution, and without curing. The air permeability of the concrete was investigated at the interfacial zone.

Structural low‐carbon steel and galvanized steel were embedded in concrete samples, prepared with Portland cement type I and limestone (calcite 94‐97 percent) aggregates. The bond strength between the concrete and the reinforcing bars was measured by means of pull‐out tests.

In concrete of w/c=0.4 the bond for galvanized steel was 5.4±0.5 MPa, while the bond for black steel was 5.8±0.5 MPa, which is 7 percent higher than bond strength measured for samples with galvanized steel rebars. The bond strength for galvanized steel in concrete with a w/c ratio 0.5 was 5.5±0.6 MPa, which was 9 percent higher than the values obtained for black steel, which was 5.0±1 MPa. The total average bond strength of galvanized steel in concrete of w/c ratio 0.4 (5.4±0.5 MPa) and w/c ratio 0.5 (5.5±0.6 MPa) was very similar. They differed by only 2 percent. No decrease in the air permeability at the interfacial zone concrete/galvanized steel was found due to curing.

This research gives quantitative data on the behavior of galvanized steel used as reinforcing bars in concrete, prepared with limestone aggregates. The results might help to increase the reliability of galvanized reinforcing steel used in infrastructure exposed to very aggressive tropical humid marine environments.

The paper concludes with showing that in the most optimistic scenario, end-of-life (EOL) batteries will account for 86% of energy storage for wind and 36% for solar PV in 2040.

With the growing demand for electric vehicles (EVs), the stock of discarded batteries will increase dramatically if no action is taken for their reuse or recycling. One potential avenue is to reuse them as energy storage systems (ESS) to mitigate the intermittent generation of renewable energy such as solar PV and wind. In a sense, the reliability for solar PV and wind energy can increase if energy storage systems become economically more attractive, making solar and wind systems more attractive through economies of scale.

The paper concludes with showing that in the most optimistic scenario, EOL batteries will account for 86% of energy storage for wind and 36% for solar PV in 2040.

The projection of scenarios can contribute to the information of policies, standards and identification of environmental promotion and promotion related to efficient management for EOL batteries.

Reinforcing steel bars in concrete structures exposed to tropical marine atmospheres experience very high corrosion rates due to several environmental factors. The aim of this research was mainly to elucidate if zinc‐coated rebars may delay the onset of corrosion and/or extend the service life of infrastructure in the tropics, as the approach is promising in other atmospheres.

Hot‐dip zinc‐coated and plain steel rebars were embedded in concrete cylinders made with local aggregates and having four different water‐to‐cement ratios. Samples were exposed during 24 months at the marine breeze in a coastal site in the Gulf of Mexico. The corrosion behaviour of zinc‐coated and uncoated rebars was monitored by means of corrosion potential and linear polarization resistance techniques. Also, carbonation penetration and the chloride ingress were measured and correlated with the corrosion behaviour.

Only under the worst case conditions (concrete with 0.7 w/c ratio) did galvanized steel experience corrosion initiation. It was shown to resist higher chloride levels than uncoated steel and extended the onset of corrosion.

The effectiveness of the zinc‐coated bar for corrosion control is controversial and its use mainly is supported by accelerated tests or application in cold or subtropical environments. This research showed the corrosion behaviour in an extremely corrosive tropical zone.

The study examines the relationship between diversity management (DM) and intellectual capital (IC) in healthcare organizations. It aims to understand how embracing diversity across various domains – including cultural, gender and physical ability – enhances strategic value and competitive edge among healthcare institutions. This study is among the first papers to link DM and IC in the healthcare setting.

The two-phased methodological framework began with a bibliometric analysis of previous literature to distil significant variables commonly associated with DM in healthcare. Subsequently, based on the identified variables, the policy and planning documents of 17 Italian healthcare organizations were mapped to assess how well European Commission policies promoting the integration of DM into IC have been adopted, identifying any key oversights.

A significant link exists between effective DM and enhanced IC, particularly in fostering an inclusive organizational culture that values diverse employee backgrounds. This enhancement is evident in the increased recognition of varied cultural perspectives, improved gender diversity in leadership positions and the implementation of comprehensive anti-discrimination policies. Despite these benefits being recognized theoretically, the extent of practical application in healthcare settings varies. Some organizations show robust integration of these principles, while others exhibit significant gaps, especially in the Italian sample analysed.

This research underscores DM’s critical role in strengthening IC, particularly within the healthcare sector, which demands a high level of interpersonal interaction and cultural competence. The study’s insights encourage healthcare organizations to adopt more strategic approaches to DM, ultimately contributing to a more equitable healthcare system.

The purpose of this work is to study the corrosion rate of X52 pipeline steel exposed to three types of soils collected in Campeche State in México. The electrochemical evaluation for X52 steel exposed to soils ranging from saturated soil until dry conditions was carried out for a period of 21 days. Owing to its versatility to study the steel corrosion process exposed to different types of soils, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), potentiodynamic polarization and cyclic voltammetry tests were performed. Additionally, optical and electronic microscopy observations of the steel surface were carried out.

Electrochemical cell arrangement was described elsewhere (Quej-Ake et al., 2014). Owing to soil being an electrolytic system with high resistivity and impedance, all electrodes were placed as close as possible, and iR-drop compensation was taken into account using two rods of graphite as an auxiliary electrode. In addition, the conductivity of the soil (R_s) obtained from EIS was used to correct the potential of the working electrode according to iR-drop, and an analysis of ohmic drop from the polarization curves was carried out.

Saturated conditions of the three soils were initially considered as the most corrosive conditions for X52 steel surface. Finally, 21 days of immersion time was taken into account as the more drastic condition. So, according to results, X52 steel exposed to beach sand was more susceptible to the corrosion process (0.092 mm/year). iR corrected was negligible at low over-potentials region in saturated soils, which is inside the linear region of Tafel or the activation region. In addition, high cathodic peak potential value obtained from cyclic voltammetry for X52 steel exposed to saturated soil may be attributed to hydrogen evolution reaction and neutral pH.

The paper has implications for research. It bridges the gap between theory and practice.

Cyclic voltammetry is a really important tool for the electrochemical analysis of the pipeline steel surface exposed to saturated soils, but is not adequate for analysis of steel exposed to dried soils. In addition, the physicochemical results show that fissures, voids and extra-oxygen presence could also affect the electrochemical responses obtained for X52 steel exposed to soils.

This paper aims to investigate the corrosion behaviour of carbon steel in the Mauritian atmosphere over a three-year period. Atmospheric corrosion is a serious problem in Mauritius.

Carbon steel samples were exposed outdoors at various sites. Mass loss analysis was performed to determine the corrosion behaviour of the metal over the exposure period. Scanning electron microscopy and Raman tests were performed to investigate the formation of the corrosion products on the carbon steel surface.

It was found that the corrosion loss at two of the sites considered did not vary clearly according to the bilogarithmic law. Time of wetness was found to be a main factor affecting atmospheric corrosion in Mauritius. The corrosivity of the atmosphere was found to lie between categories C3 and C4, according to ISO 9223.

The results can be of essential help to the construction industry, especially as steel buildings are becoming very common in Mauritius. Moreover, as Mauritius is a tropical island, the results obtained can be useful in other tropical islands.

The purpose of this paper is to identify how coordination has evolved in humanitarian logistics (HL), what were the triggers for change and how have they been facilitated.

This paper applies a systematic literature review of academic journals.

This is the first paper to discuss the concepts of network orchestration and choreography in a humanitarian context. The research revealed that network coordination has moved on in the commercial sector to include orchestration and now, choreography concepts which have not been tested in HL literature. This reveals a lag exists between HL research and practice.

This paper represents an exploratory study and provides the basis for further research on the concepts of orchestration and choreography in HL. The paper sets a research agenda for academics.

This paper is the first to discuss the concepts of network orchestration and choreography in a humanitarian context.

The areas of orchestration and choreography have received limited consideration within the humanitarian aid logistics literature to date. This paper is designed to redress this shortfall. As a result, it is hoped that it will act as a catalyst for further research and to widen and deepen the resultant debate with a view to improving the outcome for those affected by current and future disasters.