Full-time Service Research Articles

FEMINISM AND THE CHANGING STATE

FEMINISM AND THE CHANGING STATE

The Scope of Anthropological Contributions to Human Rights Investigations

This paper examines the participation of anthropologists in international human rights investigations between 1990 and 1999 by surveying four of the most active organizations, including the Argentine Forensic Anthropology Team, the Guatemalan Forensic Anthropology Foundation, Physicians for Human Rights and the U.N.-sponsored International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. The education level, sex, nationality and primary role of the anthropological members of each team are quantified, as are the types of projects in which they contributed. The results show that 134 anthropologists from 22 nations investigated nearly 1300 sites in 33 countries during the study period. While involvement is not limited to those with advanced degrees and few obstacles are placed before anthropologists who wish to participate, full-time service within these organizations is rare and those interested in a career in forensic anthropology and human rights should understand the employment limitations.

The Contribution by the Royal Australian Navy to the Development of Underwater Medicine in Australia

In 1939, Cousteau and Gagnon developed the first widely accepted self-contained underwater breathing apparatus. By the end of World War II, sufficient developments in carbon dioxide absorbents had led to the viable use of closed circuit breathing systems allowing divers to work underwater without links to the surface. The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) formed a clearance diving branch in 1951 following the lead of Britain's Royal Navy. However, with the adoption of British equipment and procedures the RAN found that it had also inherited many of the problems already experienced in the United Kingdom.1 At that time, such underwater medical experience as existed in Australia was very limited. The Navy considered other areas to be of higher priority although it had considerable concern about the high failure rates of diver candidates in their initial training. At various stages, the failure rate was as high as 65 per cent and rarely less than 30 per cent. Furthermore, at least one diver every fortnight lost consciousness while diving. There was virtually no understanding of the causes of this unconsciousness, although the term 'shallow water blackout' was generally applied when an incident of this nature occurred.2 The early 1960s saw the Navy plan the reintroduction of a submarine squadron. This in turn required some in-house proficiency in underwater medicine in the selection, training and treatment of submariners and the support and rescue of disabled submariners. Rear Admiral Lionel Lockwood, the then Medical Director General of the RAN, convinced Lieutenant Commander Rex Gray, a Reserve specialist anaesthetist, to transfer to full-time service in the capacity of consultant in underwater medicine. On the first day of Gray's post-

Organizational Citizenship: A Comparison Between Part-Time and Full-Time Service Employees

Organizational Citizenship: A Comparison Between Part-Time and Full-Time Service Employees

Organizational citizenship: A comparison between part-time and full-time service employees

A study of 257 employees and their managers in six diverse restaurants found that employees' work status influences their level of organizational citizenship behavior. In particular, the study found that part-time employees are less likely than full-time workers to exhibit helping behavior. Helping involves going beyond specific job duties to assist when and as necessary. On the other hand, the two groups were not substantially different in their use of voice, which is defined as making suggestions for improvement or innovation in policies and procedures. Organizational culture made a difference to citizenship behavior, in that the employees of highly bureaucratic operations were less likely to go beyond their job descriptions than were the employees of informal operations.

Organizational citizenship: A comparison between part-time and full-time service employees

Organizational citizenship: A comparison between part-time and full-time service employees

Calling on Compensation in Australian Call Centres

ABSTRACTWhile there is a growing body of research on telephone call centre management in the U.K. and the U.S.A., empirical studies in Australia are at an embryonic stage. To date, most of the studies have focussed on the management of employee performance. The principal aim of this study was to provide data on current compensation practices in Australian call centres and to determine the extent of their strategic and best-practice orientation. A second aim was to explore whether the strategic management of compensation can help to balance the tension between commitment to customer service and commitment to employee motivation.Using data collected through a mail questionnaire survey of telephone call centres operating in a range of industries in Australia, the paper explores the effect of compensation practices on employee performance, absenteeism and turnover. Following a review of the literature on call centre management and the literature on compensation strategies, the findings are presented. Key findings include: a) a significant negative correlation between annual salary and the number of calls handled by full-time customer service representatives (CSRs); b) a significant positive correlation between casual CSRs' pay rates and turnover; c) a significant negative correlation between full-time CSRs' pay and absenteeism; d) a highly significant difference between the compensation strategies currently practiced in Australian call centres and the strategies call centre managers think should be practiced and e) Australian call centre managers report their compensation strategies are not very effective in increasing performance or employee satisfaction.

Policy and Practice in Childcare and Nursery Education

Historically there have been three strands of policy concerning provision for young children. Nursery education has traditionally been provided for three and four-year-olds as a free, part-time, school based service provided by qualified teachers, and is regulated by education legislation. Childcare for working parents is a full-time care service for children 0–5 to cover working hours, provided by nursery nurses or unqualified care staff in a variety of private settings including domestic settings; finding and paying for this service has until now been the responsibility of parents. Childcare is subject to the 1989 Children Act and the regulation is carried out by social services departments. Welfare care for vulnerable children or children in need is provided for young children aged 0–5 referred by social workers to local authority social services or voluntary run day nurseries or family centres, and also regulated under the terms of the Children Act. All these policy strands are now under review by the government.There are a number of local authorities, voluntary organisations and private firms who have attempted to provide nurseries which combine all three strands of nursery education, childcare and welfare for vulnerable children. This article draws on case study research carried out in 1995–97 on five such innovative integrated nurseries. The findings suggest that there are very different kinds of practices with children which go on in nursery education, childcare and welfare settings, and that these practices tend to persist even when the functions of the institution are broadened. The article concludes that a more fundamental analysis of daily practice in nurseries is necessary to underpin any policy changes.

Crushing the commercial spirit in academic medicine: a crusade that failed.

The struggle between academic values and the practice opportunities in clinical medicine has continued throughout the present century. The reformers who prevailed in bringing clinical teaching into the university as a full-time occupation were persuaded that only university ideals--academic rigor, high professionalism, and full-time service in teaching and research--could create the kind of environment in which clinical science and effective clinical teaching could flourish. Their victory was never complete, and much of America's clinical establishment resisted the change, arguing that it was not commercial gain but concerns over teaching medicine in a narrowly academic enclave that motivated them. For the first two thirds of the century, the commercial spirit in academic medicine, while never completely crushed, gave way to an academic ethos that honored academic recognition and research honors over making money. Events of the past 30 years have reawakened the commercial spirit with a vengeance. In the years since Medicare, managed care, and HMOs have become prominent, faculty practice has become a principal means of maintaining teaching hospitals, high professional salaries, and medical teaching. In the present crisis, the author believes, only an unprecedented, all-out effort on the part of medical faculties and their allies to separate out medical education from other health care concerns and secure strong support from government offers any long-range hope for success.

Wie was Andrew Murray (1828-1917) in werklikheid?

Murray (1828-1917) was an emissary of God. In the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa, where he served as a full time minister for fifty eight years, he was elected Moderator six times. His influence, however, was not limited to the Dutch Reformed Church. Of the two hundred and fifty books (more than 20 000 pages) he wrote, some were translated into more than twenty languages. In spite of his intention not to write theological works, Murray was granted a doctorate degree in Theology by the University of Aberdeen in 1898. He was a man of prayer who published approximately thirty books about prayer. Murray, a mystic and peifectionist, was reared in an extremely legalistic home. As a student he joined the Secor Dabar association which was an offspring of the legalistic Reveil movement in the first half of the nineteenth century. At the age of roundabout 65, Murray was impressed by the writings of William Law (1686-1761), which fitted his mindset like a glove. But who was Andrew Murray actually? Other similar questions concerning his influence in the Dutch Reformed Church are equally important. First and foremost however: Who was this man? Was he possibly a "tossed salad" theologian? Still today we find traces of Murrayism in the Dutch Reformed Church. Fortunately his full-time service of fifty eight years has left behind a positive heritage of Scottish Calvinism.

Inside a Swiss Army Knife: An Assessment of AmeriCorps

Inside a Swiss Army Knife: An Assessment of AmeriCorps

A Study of Lymphoedema Patients Over Their First Six Months of Treatment

Summary This paper describes a prospective multi-professional study of patients referred to two lymphoedema clinics over a six-month period in 1996. Information was obtained during clinical examination and the use of patient questionnaires at the point of assessment and after six months treatment. Each treatment session was recorded and data were collected regarding the length and nature of each intervention, and who provided it. The cost of providing treatment over the six-month period was calculated. This included the cost of: ▪ Service provision. ▪ Use of premises and non-clinical support. ▪ Garments and equipment. ▪ Travel for patients attending clinic. ▪ Professionals treating patients away from the treatment base. Wide inclusion criteria were use in order to ascertain the nature and extent of problems which were being referred. Both the clinics involved in the study provide a full-time out-patient service with in-patient facilities. The same treatment standards, procedures and protocols were used in both centres. The study was designed to provide comprehensive data on the nature and degree of problems experienced by patients over their first six months of treatment. Condition-specific measurement tools for assessing and monitoring lymphoedema-related problems are scarce, which has led to a lack of evidence relating to a number of relevant treatment outcomes. For this reason, some experimental tools were piloted within this study in order to obtain measurements relating to aspects of care. The study has demonstrated that for a relatively modest cost, effective treatment may be offered which can improve patients' physical and psychosocial well-being.

Have african american men become less committed to marriage? Explaining the twentieth century racial cross-over in men’s marriage timing

Prior to World War II, the median age at marriage for white men was later than that for African American men. Since World War II, African American men have, on average, married later than white men. A discrete-time hazard model using data from the National Survey of Families and Households was analyzed to explain this racial cross-over in men's timing of marriage. Dramatic increases in the educational attainment of African American parents and the large movement of African Americans out of the South brought about the racial cross-over in the timing of marriage. Increased enrollment in higher education among African American men also contributed to the racial cross-over in the timing of marriage. Although lack of full-time employment and military service delayed marriage, these factors did not contribute to the racial cross-over.

Management of Undergraduate Projects with Specific Reference to Redesign of a Jacquard Loom Card-punch System

SUMMARY This paper examines the management challenges encountered in running undergraduate projects in collaboration with industrial partners. A cooperative project between the University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand and Feltex Woven Carpets Ltd to design an automated machine to punch coding cards for Jacquard looms is used as an example. The design work described includes the mechanical system, control electronics, and communications hardware and software. The new machine is now in full-time service and performing very reliably.

Overtime schedules for full-time service workers

Part-time employees help service organizations extend their operating hours and provide extra capacity for peak demand periods. While this strategy tends to increase the number of employees needed to staff the system, part-timers usually earn less per week than full-timers because they don't work as many hours. However, escalating per capita labor expenses have increased the effective hourly wages for part-timers, threatening one of their key advantages. According to government statistics, service sector employees now obtain more labor from overtime work than they do from part-timers. Although the benefits of part-time scheduling policies are well understood, comparatively little research has focused on overtime scheduling policies. Typically, we think of overtime as a means of buffering service systems against supply and demand uncertainty. In this study, however, we demonstrate that scheduled overtime provides many of the same operational advantages of part-time scheduling policies. We evaluate the effects of alternative overtime staffing and scheduling policies on important performance measures such as total labor expense, labor utilization, and workforce size. Compared with standard (40 hours per week) employee schedules, we find that even small amounts of premium-pay overtime work provide significant savings. We also find that the ideal workforce size and proportion of overtime work for a given scheduling policy seem to be relatively insensitive to changes in per capita labor expenses. This means that employers may need much more aggressive overtime scheduling policies to mitigate the effects of rising per capita labor expenses.

Surgery in Israel.

The evolution and development of surgery in Israel reflects the influence of its dramatic historical events. The immigration of surgeons, particularly since the fourth decade of the 20th century, highly contributed to the framework of modern surgery. Medical education occurs at 4 medical schools, in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa, and Beer Sheva, and postgraduate surgical training takes place in all public hospitals, most of which are university hospitals or have university-affiliated departments, and is controlled by the Scientific Council of the Israel Medical Association (Tel Aviv). Health care is provided by 4 health insurance funds and has been recently influenced by the National Health Insurance Bill and the Bill of Patient's Rights. Surgical standards are high and similar to the very best of Western countries. The geographical location of Israel in the Middle East, surrounded by hostile Arab countries, has dramatically influenced the development of Israeli surgery. The practice of surgery ranges from full-time service in state and insurance-funded mostly academic hospitals, to private part-time clinics for wealthy and insured patients. Surgical training occurs only in departments accredited by the Scientific Council, which are mostly affiliated with the 4 medical schools. A surgical residency in Israel usually requires 6 years, and its guidelines and regulations are elaborated and recommended by the Israel Surgical Society and controlled by the Scientific Council. Most Israeli surgeons were trained in Israeli hospitals, but a substantial number of surgeons immigrated to the country, especially from eastern Europe.

Reasons for rejection: why people fail to qualify as firefighters.

In the decade beginning 1 January 1985, 916 individuals (including five females) were medically examined with a view to joining the full-time service of Strathclyde Fire Brigade (SFB). One hundred and nine (11.9%), including two females, were rejected. The five main causes of failure were: ocular (n = 46, 42.2%); lack of stamina (n = 21, 19.2%); 'others' (n = 12, 11.0%); cardiovascular (n = 9, 8.3%) and orthopaedic (n = 6, 5.5%). Thirty-two had chest X-rays. One abnormality was found -an azygous lobe-but it played no part in the decision to decline the applicant. There was little life- or health-threatening pathology found. The most serious cases were murmurs consistent with mitral stenosis and regurgitation (one each), one case of ocular melanoma, four cases of hypertension and two cases of haematuria/ proteinuria (++). This study shows that potentially serious findings can occasionally be detected in a population of 18-30 year olds who might be expected to be of better than average fitness, and that routine chest X-rays are not helpful in the selection process.

The RHSET service as a regional resource: what price support?

The Rural Health Support, Education and Training (RHSET) advisory service has been a valuable tool for rural and remote organisations wishing to submit applications for health and human service grants. It has enhanced the concept of access and equity for groups in rural and remote areas. Support and networking have been strong factors in the service, which has overcome the limitations of inadequate travel and time resources for part-time project officers providing assistance to organisations seeking grants. Intending grant applicants need to be motivated and enthused to keep working on applications, particularly as there is no guarantee of an affirmative outcome. It needs to be recognised that the positive results likely to arise from a full-time regional service should not be thwarted by the lack of a small Commonwealth funding investment. There is considerable potential for the development of support services in terms of the breadth and depth of services offered to rural and remote health workers.

Teaching Technical Writing with Only Academic Experience

Can technical writing still be taught credibly by teachers with only academic experience? This article draws a distinction between courses designed for students expecting to be full-time technical communicators and general-purpose service courses designed for students in a variety of fields. The article then argues that teachers of service courses can teach credibly without having worked as writers in nonacademic workplaces if they fulfill these conditions: they should have a critical command of research into nonacademic writing, rhetorical theory, and reading theory; they should define technical writing broadly enough to see themselves as technical writers; they should seek and take advantage of everyday opportunities to practice technical writing and reading; and they should carefully consider the sense in which their courses reflect reality.

Surgery in South Africa

The practice of surgery in South Africa ranges from full-time service in state-funded and academic hospitals serving a largely indigent population to a private sector for medically insured patients. Surgical training occurs at eight medical schools, and specialist registration is obtained after 4 to 5 years with either a university-conferred degree or a fellowship from the College of Surgeons of South Africa. The wide spectrum of First- to Third-World diseases and the high incidence of trauma provide comprehensive experience for practical training. Surgical standards are uniformly high, matching and sometimes pioneering the very best of Western medicine. The health care system is undergoing radical change to correct the imbalances of the apartheid era. Academic institutions are under pressure, and with incipient major financial cutbacks, there is concern that the proud record of service, teaching, and research excellence may be compromised. To facilitate the mission of broadening health care services, diploma training in surgery for rural practitioners is being developed. Outreach programs and closer liaisons with surgical societies in sub-Saharan African countries have also been initiated.