Internal Readiness Research Articles

A Novel Critical Skills Curriculum for Surgical Interns Incorporating Simulation Training Improves Readiness for Acute Inpatient Care

Surgical interns encounter complex, acute care situations often managed with limited supervision. Furthermore, medical school training does not adequately prepare students for special surgical considerations. Using simulation training, we implemented a course aimed at improving surgical intern readiness for responding to unique, life-threatening issues encountered in daily surgical care. Twenty University of Minnesota surgical interns participated in the 3-week course. The first session consisted of interactive didactics and simulation covering hypoxia, shock, and metabolic disturbances; the second session addressed cardiopulmonary emergencies, including ventricular assist device and pacemaker use. Electronic simulation scenarios comprised the third session, allowing learners to demonstrate learned/practiced skills. The outcomes were assessed objectively (pretest and posttest) and subjectively (standardized feedback evaluations). Fifteen learners completed the pretest and posttest. The mean absolute score increase was 14% with average relative score improvement of 43%. Twenty learners completed feedback evaluations using a standard 5-point Likert scale. Respondents scored the first 2 sessions on topic importance (5 = very important), giving the first session 4.90 (+/- 0.31) and the second session 4.45 (+/- 0.89). Respondents ranked their confidence in executing practiced skills on actual patients (5 = very confident) as 4.24 (+/- 0.71). There was uniform support for the value of the electronic simulation scenarios as enhanced learning tools. We developed a course for surgical interns incorporating didactics and simulation. Learners demonstrated objective improvement in testing and reported that the course topics were highly important. After course completion, learners provided feedback indicating a high level of confidence in executing practiced skills, suggesting improved preparation for acute surgical care.

Drivers for the participation of small and medium‐sized suppliers in green supply chain initiatives

PurposeThis paper aims to describe what facilitates small and medium‐sized suppliers in participating in green supply chain initiatives. These initiatives are inter‐organizational initiatives attempting to improve environmental performance throughout the entire supply chain. This paper seeks to examine buyer green supply chain management practices, government involvement, and internal readiness of the suppliers themselves, as possible drivers.Design/methodology/approachThe research framework and hypotheses were examined by using a mail survey conducted in South Korea in 2005. The empirical analysis used data from 142 small and medium‐sized suppliers. Validity and reliability of the scales for the construct of interest were assessed through a factor analysis and Cronbach‐alpha test. To test the hypotheses for the drivers of suppliers' willingness to participate in green supply chain initiatives, hierarchical linear regression was adopted.FindingsThe study finds that buyer environmental requirements and support were positively linked to their suppliers' willingness to participate in green supply chain initiatives. The government can play an important role in motivating these suppliers. Finally, the paper reveals that the more slack resources and organizational capabilities suppliers had, the more willingly they were to participate in those initiatives.Originality/valueThis research is one of the few studies which explore the drivers of participation in green supply chain initiatives by considering small and medium‐sized suppliers and their most important stakeholders, including buyers and the government.

Putting e‐commerce adoption in a supply chain context

PurposeThe objective of this paper is to gain a better understanding of the impact of context on the adoption of e‐commerce in supply chains.Design/methodology/approachA literature review, 45 semi‐structured interviews in four different supply chains in the UK healthcare sector, involving 16 different organisations, and additional documentation is used in this study.FindingsThe adoption of e‐commerce in supply chains is simultaneously affected by two contextual meta‐variables: external pressure, which is influenced by supply chain structure, demand and industry characteristics; and internal readiness, which is influenced by IT, organisational and buying need characteristics. Different combinations of these two main variables lead to four different trade‐off situations affecting adoption or non‐adoption.Research limitations/implicationsThe empirical research has been undertaken in the specific context of the UK healthcare supply chains. It would be useful to test our findings in other sectors and countries.Practical implicationsThe paper helps to understand the contextual factors that affect e‐commerce adoption and concludes with a framework that differentiates four situations that can improve managers' and researchers' understanding of e‐commerce adoption in the future.Originality/valueThe contribution of this paper is the recognition that the adoption of e‐commerce is affected by factors in both an organisational and a supply chain context, which simultaneously lead to trade‐off decisions. Also, unlike most other studies which refer to supply chains and are limited to an organisational perspective or at most a dyadic perspective, this paper builds up a supply chain picture of context by including perspectives from multiple actors in a chain.

Exploring Little Hans

Freud followed and facilitated the gradual unfolding of Little Hans's developmental course. His concomitant recognition of the transformations of antecedent components into the Oedipal constellation lifted the developmental point of view into a fundamental orienting perspective. Among other things, this orientation emphasized the complex interaction between internal readiness and external events. The apparently narrow focus of the treatment may have provided the very conditions necessary to discover a new therapeutic approach for disorders in childhood along with a new concept of psychological growth.

Beyond Sponsorship: Re-Framing Corporate-Sport Relationships

The purpose of this paper is to draw from broader management and marketing literature to provide a framework for assessing interorganisational relationships between sport organisations and corporate sponsors. This proposed framework seeks to extend current perceptions of the reasons and objectives for linkages between corporate sponsors and sport properties. Relationship marketing is an integral element of this framework, given its importance to the internal readiness of firms to enter into and manage long-term relationships, and to assist potential partners as they seek to find the best fit to meet their immediate and strategic objectives through interorganisational linkages. The intended contribution of this paper lies in its identification of three broad elements for consideration by sport organisations and potential or existing corporate sponsors. These elements include: context (external, internal), mutually derived benefits, and varying strengths of relationships. The theoretical underpinnings for each of the three elements, and the justification for their inclusion in this framework are discussed.