Purpose: This study was carried out to create a research model investigating the impact of supply chain quality management (SCQM) practices on firm performance. Design/methodology/approach: Based on a comprehensive literature review, the practices were suggested. These SCQM practices will be analyzed and categorized into 4 dimensions: upstream (supplier assessment, supplier quality management), downstream sides of a supply chain (customer focus), internal process (product/service design, process management and logistics) and support practices (top management support, human resource management, information and supply chain integration). The measurement instrument of firm performance was developed including three aspects: operational performance, customer satisfaction and financial performance. Findings: A conceptual framework and a structural model were proposed as well as the development of hypotheses on the paths. Research limitations/implications: It is necessary to test the rationality of this model by empirical studies in different contexts. Originality/value: The research considers integration of quality and supply chain management still remains limited in the literature. Therefore, it is necessary to have a more focused approach in assessing quality management issues within the internal and external supply chain contexts. This study concentrates on the practices which improve quality aspects of supply chain, known as SCQM practices. Proposed structural model in this paper not only fills the voids in the literature but contributes a parsimonious conceptual framework for theory building in SCQM and firm performance. It also expects to offer a useful guidance for measuring and implementing SCQM practices as well as facilitate further studies in this field.

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to provide an empirical evidence about the relationship between practices of supply chain management (SCM) and operational performance (OP). Design/methodology/approach -Based on a comprehensive literature review, a set of SCM practices has been identified and selected to develop a conceptual model as well as to establish their relationship to companies' OP. The measurement scales of the practices were developed in four steps: identification and development of initial instrument; personal interviews and Q-sort; large-scale data collection; and large-scale analysis in order to ensure unidimensionality, reliability and validity. Structural equation modeling was used to validate the model with the data were collected in Vietnamese garment enterprises. Findings -The study consolidated relationships between the SCM practices and OP. According to the research results, these practices have a "resonant" influence on OP that can explain 52.6 percent variance of this output concept. In particular, customer focus and supplier management both direct and indirect impact on OP while top management support and process control/improvement only have indirect and direct influences on OP, respectively. Research limitations/implications -There are some limitations that can guide academics to new lines of future research: to extend the scope of the survey to include different countries and new situations, so results can be generalized; to consider the impacts of the SCM practices on the entire supply chain performance; and to explore additional factors that can further explain OP, such as operational environment, capital, technology, human resource, etc. Practical implications -The authors suggest that the SCM practices should be implemented as an integrated system rather than independent practices, in which they interact with each other and improve OP. Originality/value -The empirical results of this study provide an evidence to consider the SCM practices as reliable predictors for OP. According to the research, these practices interact with each other and have both direct and indirect effects on OP. In other words, through the mutual interaction among the SCM practices, they have the "resonant" influence on improving OP. Moreover, the proposed research model analyzing the relationship among SCM practices and OP and its validation using the Vietnam garment industry provided valuable insights both from theoretical and practical perspectives.

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PurposeMultiple sclerosis (MS) is a long-lasting disabling disease with psychological implications. Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) is a questionnaire developed to screen anxiety and depression among patients in hospital settings. The objective of this report was to study the metric properties of the Portuguese version of HADS regarding MS.Materials and methodsThis was a cross-sectional study. Three hundred and eighty individuals with a diagnosis of MS, according to the revised McDonald criteria, were recruited from an outpatient Neuroimmunology Clinic of the city of Porto. Participants had a mean age of 40.04 years (SD =10.86), 63.9% of them were female. HADS consists of two subscales – anxiety and depression – scored separately, with seven items each.ResultsThe results of our study show the appropriateness of HADS for the identification of mood changes in people with MS and show good metric properties.ConclusionIt seems to be a useful tool for the scrutiny of mood disorders in Portuguese patients with MS. The questionnaire is also sensitive to disease when compared to people with other severe illnesses, and with people without the disease.