Decline In Workforce Research Articles

Exploring rural futures through spatial‐temporal migration balance changes in a North‐Caucasian rural basin

AbstractA better understanding of spatial‐temporal demographic changes in rural regions can contribute to envision potential rural futures and improve regional planning. This research aimed to analyse the migration balance and its spatial‐temporal changes in a rural basin in the Russian Federation's North Caucasus District. The basin was divided into water functional zones to examine the environmental conditions and relate them to possible future anthropogenic pressures and threats to population well‐being. Two migration balance indicators (on total population and working‐age sector) were calculated in settlements to classify them as attractors, expellers or stable population entities in two census data (2014 and 2020). The spatial‐temporal changes were assessed by testing two hypotheses: one related to population concentration and rural depopulation trends; the other focused on working‐age migration and workforce availability. Moreover, a foresight tool employed migration balance indicators in 2020 to explore population trends and possible trajectories. Findings revealed that in this rural basin, a small number of settlements served as attractors in the upper functional zone where two urban centres are found, potentially intensifying soil erosion and pollution. In the middle and lower functional zones, most rural and small urban settlements showed unfavored migration balances, leading to population and workforce decline. Negative environmental factors like declining water quality and increased wind erosion could worsen this trend. The migration challenges by functional zones highlight the growing regional disparities. The combination of spatial demography with the basin approach provided improved information to foster collaboration in a shared basin and effectively address undesirable rural outcomes at regional level.

Barriers to Choosing Pediatrics as a Specialty: Insights From a Cross-Sectional Analysis.

The pediatric field in South Korea is experiencing a significant workforce crisis due to a sharp decline in pediatricians, exacerbated by a decrease in pediatric residents and a series of distressing incidents in pediatric healthcare institutions. No prior studies have explored the waning interest in pediatrics among South Korea's medical students and interns, which our research seeks to address during a pediatric workforce decline. This study aimed to investigate the declining interest in pediatrics among medical students and interns in South Korea amidst decreasing birth rates. We conducted a comprehensive survey to identify the factors deterring young medical professionals from pursuing a career in pediatrics. In this cross-sectional study, in December 2023 we surveyed medical students and interns at Jeonbuk National University and Hospital using a 40-item electronically distributed questionnaire tailored to assess the factors influencing specialty choice, focusing on pediatrics. The participants were divided into the pre-clinical and clinical groups, allowing for analysis across educational stages. The survey covered demographics, perceptions of pediatrics, attitudes toward medical errors, and awareness of critical issues; it included a range of question types to ensure detailed and nuanced data collection. Our findings revealed a clear decrease in interest in pediatrics as medical students progressed through their education, with 86.69% displaying negative views. Although a sense of mission and emotional satisfaction from patient interactions were highlighted as positive influences, they were significantly countered by worries related to declining pediatric populations, legal challenges, and interactions with patient guardians. Additionally, 95.84% of the participants recognized the critical role of vital pediatric departments; however, litigation risks and psychological burdens substantially affected their willingness to specialize in these areas. The analysis also showed an increasing awareness of pediatric incidents as students advanced through their education; however, this did not directly correlate with their choice of specialty (P = 0.090). The results emphasize the necessity for targeted interventions to alleviate concerns and improve the attractiveness of pediatrics. These efforts are essential to counteract the declining interest and ensure a sustainable pediatric workforce for the future.

5G on the Farm: Evaluating Wireless Network Capabilities and Needs for Agricultural Robotics

Global food security is a critical issue today, strained by a wide range of factors including global warming, carbon emissions, sociopolitical and economic challenges, traditional workforce decline and population growth. Technical innovations that address food security, like agricultural robotics, are gaining traction in industry settings, moving from controlled labs and experimental test facilities to real-world environments. Such technologies require sufficient network infrastructure to support in-field operations; thus, there is increased urgency to establish reliable, high-speed wireless communication networking solutions that enable deployment of autonomous agri-robots. The work presented here includes two contributions at the intersection of network infrastructure and in-field agricultural robotics. First, the physical performance of a private 5G-SA system in an agri-robotics application is evaluated and in-field experimental results are presented. These results are compared (using the same experimental setup) against public 4G and private WiFi6 (a newly emerging wireless communication standard). Second, a simulated experiment was performed to assess the “real-time” operational delay in critical tasks that may require quick turnaround between in-field robot and off-board processing. The results demonstrate that public 4G cannot be used in the agricultural domain for applications that require high throughput and reliable communication; that private 5G-SA greatly outperforms public 4G in all performance metrics (as expected); and that private WiFi6, though limited in range, is a fast and very reliable alternative in specific settings. While a single wireless solution does not currently exist for the agricultural domain, multiple technologies can be combined in a hybrid solution that meets the communications requirements.

Spillover effects from inland waterway transport development: Spatial assessment of the Rhine-Alpine Corridor

Inland waterways have the potential to enhance port-hinterland connectivity and foster sustainable freight transport. Their development as transport corridors is highly dependent on geography, yet spatial spillovers of port throughput are often overlooked. In Europe, the configuration of inland container terminals can lead to cross-border spillovers. This paper analyzes inland container throughput between 2007 and 2021 in the Rhine-Alpine Corridor to quantify its spatial dependence and economic spillover effects. The assessment involves 43 regions from Belgium, France, Germany, Netherlands, Luxemburg, and Switzerland. A Spatial Durbin Model is developed accounting for economic conditions, fixed effects, and time trends. The results suggest that throughput exhibited spatial concentration patterns, which intensified after water levels dropped in 2018. Second, the spatial dependence is heterogeneous between transport performance in tonne-km vs. TEU-km. Third, technological resources and population density were positively associated with throughput, while the opposite was found for employment and motorways. Notably, the spillovers of technological resources and employment were considerably higher than the local impact. Based on these findings, the paper advises on spatially oriented policies to address low water levels, workforce decline, and the need for new business models.

Priorities for family physician and general practitioner recruitment and retention in Singapore: a PRIORITIZE study

BackgroundA shortage of primary care physicians has been reported in many countries. Primary care systems are diverse and the challenges leading to a decline in workforce are at times context-specific and require tailored solutions. Inviting frontline clinicians to share their insights can help identify optimal strategies for a particular setting. To determine priorities for family physicians’ and general practitioners’ recruitment and retention in Singapore, we invited primary care physicians to rank pertinent strategies using PRIORITIZE, a transparent, systematic priority-setting approach.MethodsThe study advisory board, consisting of representatives of Singapore’s key primary care stakeholders, determined the criteria for prioritising of general practitioners (GPs) and family physicians (FPs) recruitment and retention strategies in Singapore. A comprehensive list of GPs and FPs recruitment and retention strategies was extracted from a recent systematic review of the relevant literature. A questionnaire listing the strategies and the scoring criteria was administered online to doctors practicing in public and private sector in Singapore. Respondents’ scores were combined to create a ranked list of locally most relevant strategies for improving GPs and FPs recruitment and retention.ResultsWe recruited a diverse sample of 50 GPs and FPs practicing in a variety of primary care settings, many with a range of additional professional responsibilities. Around 60 and 66% of respondents thought that there was a problem with recruitment and retention of GPs and FPs in Singapore, respectively. Strategies focusing on promoting primary care by emphasizing the advantages and enhancing the status of the profession as well as training-related strategies, such as sub-specialisation and high-quality rotations were considered priorities for improving recruitment. For retention of GPs and FPs, improving working conditions by increasing GPs’ and FPs’ salary and recognition, as well as varying or reducing time commitment, were seen as the most important strategies. The ranking between physicians working in public and private sector was mostly similar, with nine out of the top ten recruitment and retention strategies being the same.ConclusionPrimary care physicians’ ranking of recruitment and retention strategies for GPs and FPs in Singapore provide important insight into the challenges and the solutions as seen by the members of the profession themselves. This information can guide future policy and decision making in this area.

Wages of Skilled Migrant and Native Employees in Germany: New Light on an Old Issue

The German Council of Economic Experts (GCEE) argues for a labor market-driven immigration of skilled migrants into Germany to overcome a decline in workforce due to demographic ageing. We pick up this current debate on skilled immigration by analyzing the migrant-native wage differential for skilled workers in Germany and consider various information on firms. Our results indicate that the wage gap is mainly explained by observable characteristics, especially labor market experience and firm characteristics. However, we find lower rewards for migrants’ labor market experience than for natives (flatter experience curves). Our results show that these differences in experience curves become negligible in the long run. Moreover, we reveal firms’ wage-setting policies: Firms evaluate a worker's education independent of migration backgrounds, as migrants possess the same productivity levels as their German counterparts in the same occupations and task levels. Due to Germany's heterogeneous immigration structure, we are able to compare the results for different migrant subgroups and, thus, derive valuable insights into the migrant-native wage structure with a wide reach beyond Germany. This article adds to current debates in various industrialized countries with demographic ageing patterns, as it focuses on an important group for domestic labor markets: skilled immigrants.

Elevated police turnover following the summer of George Floyd protests: A synthetic control study

AbstractResearch summarySeveral of the largest U.S. police departments reported a sharp increase in officer resignations following massive public protests directed at policing in the summer of 2020. Yet, to date, no study has rigorously assessed the impact of the George Floyd protests on police resignations. We fill this void using 60 months of employment data from a large police department in the western United States. Bayesian structural time‐series modeling shows that voluntary resignations increased by 279% relative to the synthetic control, and the model predicts that resignations will continue at an elevated level. However, retirements and involuntary separations were not significantly affected during the study period.Policy implicationsA retention crisis may diminish police departments’ operational capacity to carry out their expected responsibilities. Criminal justice stakeholders must be prepared to confront workforce decline and increased voluntary turnover. Proactive efforts to improve organizational justice for sworn personnel can moderate officer perceptions of public hostility.

Identification of workplace-related turnover predictors in production

Demographic change is leading to a strong decline of workforce and thus an increase in job vacancies on the labor market. This favors employee turnover, which is particularly a challenge for manufacturing companies, where already today the demand for skilled workers can no longer be met. In order to define suitable countermeasures to ensure that employees stay with the company, it is important to identify workplace-related factors which can cause turnover. This paper presents the results of a quantitative and qualitative literature review of workplace-specific turnover predictors. Almost 300 publications were examined with regard to their relevance to workplace-related turnover factors.

The Impacts of the Coronavirus on the Economy of the United States.

We present a formal analysis of the macroeconomic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S., China and the rest of the world. Given the uncertainty regarding the severity and time-path of the infections and related conditions, we examine three scenarios, ranging from a relatively moderate event to a disaster. The study considers a comprehensive list of causal factors affecting the impacts, including: mandatory closures and the gradual re-opening process; decline in workforce due to morbidity, mortality and avoidance behavior; increased demand for health care; decreased demand for public transportation and leisure activities; potential resilience through telework; increased demand for communication services; and increased pent-up demand. We apply a computable general equilibrium (CGE) model, a state-of-the-art economy-wide modeling technique. It traces the broader economic ramifications of individual responses of producers and consumers through supply chains both within and across countries. We project that the net U.S. GDP losses from COVID-19 would range from $3.2 trillion (14.8%) to $4.8 trillion (23.0%) in a 2-year period for the three scenarios. U.S. impacts are estimated to be higher than those for China and the ROW in percentage terms. The major factor affecting the results in all three scenarios is the combination of Mandatory Closures and Partial Reopenings of businesses. These alone would have resulted in a 22.3% to 60.6% decrease in U.S. GDP across the scenarios. Pent-up Demand, generated from the inability to spend during the Closures/Reopenings, is the second most influential factor, significantly offsetting the overall negative impacts.

The Impacts of the Coronavirus on the Economy of the United States

We present a formal analysis of the macroeconomic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S., China and the rest of the world. Given the uncertainty regarding the severity and time-path of the infections and related conditions, we examine three scenarios, ranging from a relatively moderate event to a disaster. The study considers a comprehensive list of causal factors affecting the impacts, including: mandatory closures and the gradual re-opening process; decline in workforce due to morbidity, mortality and avoidance behavior; increased demand for health care; decreased demand for public transportation and other leisure activities; potential resilience through telework; increased demand for communication services; and increased pent-up demand. We apply a computable general equilibrium (CGE) model, a state-of-the-art economy-wide modeling technique. It traces the broader economic ramifications of individual responses of producers and consumers through supply chains both within and across countries. We project that the net U.S. GDP losses from COVID-19 would range from $3.2 trillion (14.8%) to $4.8 trillion (23.0%) in a 2-year period for the three scenarios. U.S. impacts are estimated to be higher than those for China and the ROW in percentage terms. The major factor affecting the results in all three scenarios is Mandatory Closures and the Partial Reopenings of businesses. These alone would have resulted in a 22.3% to 60.6% decrease in U.S. GDP across the scenarios. Pent-up Demand, generated from the inability to spend during the Closures/Reopenings, is the second most influential factor, significantly offsetting the negative impacts stemming from other causal factors.

District nurse workforce decline

The UK's district nurse workforce is in decline, due to long-term under-investment in training, education and skills, posing a direct threat to patient safety

The Causes of Workforce Decline

In 2019, the rate of decline in the workforce soared: in Q1, it shrank by nearly 0.8m on the corresponding quarter of the previous year, while over the entire year 2018, that index had declined by only 0.1m. As a result, the number of individuals involved in economic activities (without taking into account the Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol) returned to its 2005 level.

NHS financial boost alone is not enough

The £20 billion anniversary pledge by the government has failed to address workforce decline in the health service

How reducing differentials in education and labor force participation could lessen workforce decline in the EU-28

Population ageing is unavoidable in Europe, but perhaps its impact on labor force is not. In the context of a new demographic regime of high immigration and low fertility, differentials in labor force participation and educational attainment can be more co

STRATEGI PERANCANGAN SEKOLAH ALAM SMK PERTANIAN DENGAN PENDEKATAN SISTEM PERMAKULTUR DI PURBALINGGA

<p class="AbstractTitle"><em><span lang="EN-GB">Abstract<span>: </span></span></em><em><span lang="EN-GB">Despite its potentials to be developed as a farming district, Purbalingga faces numerous land reforms and decline of workforce in agriculture field. It also lacks proper agricultural education institution. This design proposal aims to solve the problems. Agriculture Vocational High School, applying Permaculture System in Purbalingga offers four focus programs: agriculture, livestock farming, fishery, and food technology. The school is not only providing education for the students, but also for the local farmers and entrepreneurs of the fiels. The applied permaculture approach asks for five principles (deduced from the fourteen original principles) to be fulfilled: integrated location, biological source, humanly scale, energy cycle, and power-source planning.</span></em><em></em></p><p class="Abstract"><em><span lang="EN-GB"> </span></em></p><p class="Keywords"><strong><em><span lang="EN-GB">Keywords</span></em></strong><em><span lang="EN-GB">: vocational high school, agriculture, permaculture, purbalingga.</span></em><em></em></p>

SAT0269 Self esteem in patients with ankylosing spondylitis and its relationships with disease-specific variables and psychological status

BackgroundAnkylosing spondylitis (AS) is a chronic disease, which causes deformities and workforce decline. This, in turn, might lead to psychological distress and less self esteem.ObjectivesOur objective was to determine the...

Psychological Status and Patient-Assessed Health Instruments in Ankylosing Spondylitis

Determination of the relationships between disease and psychological status in ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is needed for clinical assessment and management, as well as selection and monitoring of AS patients for biological therapy. The study aimed to describe associations between self-reported health status and psychological factors in AS patients and to compare the Symptom Checklist 90-Revised (SCL-90-R) profiles of the AS patients and the control subjects. Disease status was determined through the Bath AS Disease Activity Index (BASDAI), Bath AS Functional Index (BASFI), and the Bath AS Metrology Index (BASMI). Psychological status was measured using the SCL-90-R. BASDAI and BASFI scores correlated with somatization, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive, depression, and hostility subscales of SCL-90-R (P ≤ 0.05). BASFI scores were significantly correlated with interpersonal sensitivity and phobic anxiety subscales of SCL-90-R (P < 0.05), whereas no correlation was observed between BASDAI and interpersonal sensitivity and phobic anxiety subscales. BASMI scores were significantly correlated with somatization and interpersonal sensitivity subscales (P < 0.05). After age and sex adjustments, a statistically significant difference was determined between the somatization scores of the AS patients and control subjects (P = 0.005). AS is a chronic disease, which causes deformities and workforce decline. This, in turn, might lead to psychological distress. There is a need to assess the mood of patients with AS. Completion of self-report assessment tools are potentially confounded by reporting biases that result from psychological factors. Some patients may overreport symptoms or disability because of a tendency to somatize. Thus, during interpretation of these tools, psychological status should be taken into account especially deciding the treatment regimen including biologic therapies.

Challenges for Europe, Economic Well-Being, Development and Social Cohesion

International migration in Europe is characterised by a growing number of short-term, long-term and permanent migrants. On the one hand, this is the consequence of higher international labour mobility in the epoque of globalisation resulting from changing needs and structures of national labour markets and increasingly internationalised labour demand and supply. Europe needs migrants today, and many countries in the region will need even more in future in order to meet changing labour-market requirements, counter work force decline and population ageing, and help social security systems stay in balance. Immigration is clearly a palliative at times of labour shortages in host countries. Evidence shows that immigration has generally positive effects on economic growth and employment. However, it is only one element of solving the challenges of demographic, labour market and economic changes in Europe.

Technology, complexity and change in agricultural production systems

AbstractTechnological advances have contributed to impressive yield gains and have greatly altered US agriculture. Selective breeding and directed molecular techniques address biological shortcomings of plants and animals and overcome environmental limitations. Improvements in mechanization, particularly of power sources and harvest equipment, reduce labor requirements and increase productivity and worker safety. Conservation systems, often designed to overcome problems introduced from other technologies, reduce negative impacts on soil and water and improve the environmental sustainability of production systems. Advances in information systems, largely developed in other disciplines and adapted to agriculture, are only beginning to impact US production practices. This paper is the fourth in the series of manuscripts exploring drivers of US agricultural systems. While development of technology is still largely driven by a need to address a problem, adoption is closely linked with other drivers of agricultural systems, most notably social, political and economic. Here, we explore the processes of innovation and adoption of technologies and how they have shaped agriculture. Technologies have increased yield and net output, and have also resulted in decreased control by producers, increased intensification, specialization and complexity of production, greater dependence on non-renewable resources, increased production inputs and hence decreased return, and an enhanced reliance on future technology. Future technologies will need to address emerging issues in land use, decline in work force and societal support of farming, global competition, changing social values in both taste and convenience of food, and increasing concerns for food safety and the environment. The challenge for farmers and researchers is to address these issues and develop technologies that balance the needs of producers with the expectations of society and create economically and environmentally sustainable production systems.

State-sector shrinkage and workforce reduction in China

Restructuring of the state sector in China in the late 1990s reduced the workforce by an estimated 30 to 40 million. This paper uses firm-level data from a survey of 800 enterprises in China to test various explanations for job loss and firm exit among state-owned enterprises (SOEs). The results, based on OLS and binary logistic regression models, suggest that small firms (by output and tax remissions) in labor-intensive sectors, and those in coastal Jiangsu province, had greater likelihoods of firm exit and of workforce decline during the late 1990s. Surviving SOEs continued to report only small reductions in payroll size in comparison to firms under other forms of ownership.