Personnel Issues Research Articles

Civil-Military Coordination in Natural Disasters: A Qualitative Study

Background: A large number of natural disasters, including floods and earthquakes, occur in Iran annually. Recognition of the factors influencing the civil-military coordination in natural disasters is amongst the prerequisites in disaster management. Experts’ perspectives towards coordination in these disasters can also be indicative of the importance of this subject. Given the fact that no studies have been carried out regarding the relationship between the civil and military forces in the aftermath of natural disasters in Iran, these factors can be recognized according to individuals’ and experts’ viewpoints. Objectives: The present study aimed at extracting the factors influencing the civil-military coordination in the course of natural disasters in Iran through interviewing experts in 2019. Methods: The present qualitative research was conducted through semi-structured and in-depth interviews with 20 key informants who were selected via snowball, convenience, and purposive sampling methods. A session was also held with the presence of the panel of experts. The data were analyzed using thematic analysis in order to extract the factors influencing the civil-military coordination in natural disasters in Iran. Results: The factors influencing the coordination between the military and civil organizations were categorized into personnel, stuff, and system issues (structure). In addition, 33 subcategories were also identified. The specialists emphasized that holding instructional courses and regular and periodic exercises could enhance coordination in response to disasters. Conclusions: The present study showed that coordination between civil and military organizations in the management of natural disasters in Iran is faced with many challenges that should be overcome and reduced through providing organizational, political, and structural supports. Recognition of the factors influencing coordination can be effective in line with the correct management of natural disasters. Furthermore, organizations can be made readier for taking better measures in disasters according to the extracted factors. In order to provide a proper response to natural disasters, all coordination components should be elevated simultaneously and coherently.

Mental health issues of fire personnel: an exploratory study

The primary goal of the current study was to add to the literature regarding mental health implications of fire service membership. In the present study, 100 fire personnel were selected working in Haryana state of India. The DSM V cross cutting Questionnaire was used to assess mental health issues of the fire personnel and the results suggested that firefighters self-reported greater posttraumatic symptomatology on anger and substance issue domain of the test. In addition, the firefighters reported more distress on several subscales of the DSM V cross cutting Questionnaire

Staying Safe in a Tornado: A Qualitative Inquiry into Public Knowledge, Access, and Response to Tornado Warnings

Abstract Tornadoes in the southeastern United States continue to cause substantial injury, death, and destruction. The present study seeks to 1) understand inadequate warning access, less understanding, and/or less likelihood of responding to tornado warnings; 2) examine public attitudes about NWS communications; and 3) explore the perceptions of NWS personnel regarding public response to tornado warnings, factors that might influence response, and how their perceptions impact their communication. Participants include a purposive sample of NWS forecasters in Tennessee (n = 11) and residents (n = 45) who were identified as having low access to, low knowledge of, or an unsafe response to tornado warnings in a previous study. A qualitative approach with semistructured interviews was used. Findings indicated that most participants had at least one warning source. Barriers to warning access included electricity outages, rurality, lack of storm radio, heavy sleeping, and hearing impairments. Most participants had knowledge of NWS guidelines for safe shelter seeking but still engaged in behaviors considered unsafe. Proximity, personal experience, and influence of family and friends emerged as influencers of response to warnings. NWS personnel perceived that proximity played a significant role in shelter-seeking behavior as well as the need for confirmation. Poor access to safe shelter arose as a major concern for NWS personnel, specifically mobile home residents. Messaging and specificity in warnings to evoke safe shelter-seeking behavior surfaced as critical issues for NWS personnel. Implications for education and policy changes to enhance public safety and improve public health are noted.

Making a case for 3D printing for housing delivery in South Africa

PurposeConsidering the need for standard and cost-effective housing delivery in South Africa, this study aims to make a case for three-dimensional (3D) printing in housing delivery through an assessment of the inherent benefits and the factors that could acts as barriers to its adoption.Design/methodology/approachThe study used a survey of construction professionals currently actively involved in a construction project in the country. Analysis of data gathered was done using a four-step analysis approach and relevant descriptive and inferential statistics were adopted.FindingsThe study revealed through factor analysis that 3D printing in housing delivery promises better cost delivery, increased productivity and stakeholder satisfaction, socio-economic benefits, improved quality and faster housing delivery. While these benefits exist, factors such as technical and operational issues of the 3D printing itself, organizational and personnel issues as well as lack of awareness of the inherent benefits and understanding of the technology among stakeholders can prove to be barriers to the adoption of the technology.Practical implicationsIn the quest to achieve standard and affordable housing which is part of its National Development Plan 2030, the government can adopt 3D printing which promises significant benefits in terms of cost, time, quality, productivity and stakeholders’ satisfaction. Property developers can also adopt the technology to improve their housing delivery, competitive advantage and the economic value of their properties.Originality/valueThe study contributes significantly to the body of knowledge as it reveals the benefits and barriers of adopting 3D printing in housing delivery in South Africa – an aspect that has not gained significant attention in the fourth industrial revolution and housing delivery discuss in the country.

Продовольственное снабжение населения Калининской области в 1943 году

The article studies the situation with food supply in the Kalinin region in 1943. It aims to reveal the reasons for a considerable decline in delivery and distribution of food products at the local level and to analyze the actions of the local authorities in their efforts to solve the problems of food shortage. The research rationale consists in touching upon a subject that hasn’t yet drawn the local historians’ attention and hasn’t been highlighted in regional historiography. The study is based on the analysis of archival sources and on the implementation of microhistorical approach. The data from various documents reveals a decline in local residents’ food consumption in the studied period. There were problems with food supply in Eastern and front line areas, but the situation was most severe in the areas freed from occupation. The mortality rate due to starvation was registered in a number of areas. Apart from objective necessity to send some part of food supplies to the front line, there were also subjective factors affecting the situation with food supply in the region. Among them were malfunctioning of regional procurement, inability of trade units to achieve proper planning, timely delivery of goods, and effective control over their distribution. Food shortage was aggravated by looting, self-supply that heads of organizations and authorities practiced. Personnel issues were an acute problem. The senior posts in the kolkhozes, village Soviets, and party bodies were held by citizens who lacked managerial skills, were prone to influence peddling and often callous to the people. Therefore, mismanagement and malconduct of some administrators resulted in a situation when the potential of centralized food supply system aimed at giving help to the most vulnerable and insuring their survival under the conditions of war was not fulfilled.

Author's Response

Author's Response Mark Massa SJ First, my sincere thanks to the three reviewers. It is always an honor to have one's scholarship taken seriously by scholars as smart as Rodger Van Allen, Christina Astorga, and John Grabowski. I'm delighted that the conversation about interpreting how (or whether) natural law "develops" continues in their responses to my book. My sense from the moment I started this project was that people would respond differently to it. So first: I'd like to offer a preliminary contextual observation before I get to the substance of the three reviews. The project that resulted in the writing of my book began during my final year as dean of the School of Theology and Ministry at Boston College. As anyone who has had the privilege of serving in an academic administrative position knows well, one has to build into one's day thirty or forty minutes of "non-decanal activity"—reading or writing that has nothing to do with budgets, bylaws, or personnel issues (if only to keep one's mental balance). Thus, during the 2015–16 academic year I disappeared from the dean's office every day for at least 30 minutes, without my cell phone (to the frustration of my superb administrative assistant) to bury myself in the stacks of the Theology and Ministry Library. The task I set for myself was to reread the books that, over the course of three decades, have shaped my life as a scholar. One of the most important of those works was Thomas Kuhn's landmark study in the history and philosophy of science, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, a book I had read as an undergraduate in a philosophy of science course. The Jesuit community I lived in at the time included three moral theologians, two of them "virtue ethicians," and one of them an expert in Thomas and virtue ethics. How, I had been wondering for some time after our lively dinner conversations, did one make sense of the "development" of Christian morality if one set end-to-end Aquinas, Suarez, John Ford, Richard McCormick, Charles Curran, Germain Grisez, and Lisa Sowle Cahill? If one accepted all of them as theologians whose basic project was to offer smart "natural law" interpretations of the Catholic moral tradition, how might one understand the "development" of that tradition? Or was the word [End Page 72] "development" (a word that Kuhn himself tended to use in scare quotes when referring to the course of scientific research) perhaps the wrong one? The conclusion I came to was that it was indeed the wrong word unless one understood that there simply was no linear progression linking natural law discourse from Thomas to Humanae Vitae to Jean Porter. My narrative, in other words, takes as axiomatically true that Catholic moral theology has been marked by the same degree of disjunction, rupture, and discontinuity as Kuhn had discovered in studying the history of biology and physics. Successive models of natural law simply do not build on each other, despite the fact that most of them claimed be in the "Thomistic tradition" of natural law. And thus my book. Rodger Van Allen, with his usual and much-respected acuity, lucidly adumbrates the larger theme of my book: I had not set out to write a book about either birth control or the 1968 encyclical Humanae Vitae itself (both of which already have a number of superb studies in print, to which I direct the reader in my Introduction). Thus, it is no surprise my book is neither of those things. Rather, as Van Allen correctly notes, Humanae Vitae provides the occasion for pursuing a much larger (and in my opinion, more basic and more interesting) historical and epistemological question: how does Catholic theology "develop"? Or does it "develop" in anything like a linear, progressive, or organic manner (as several recent pontiffs have asserted—largely without proof, in my opinion). Or, in fact, is that word misused when talking about the history of Catholic theology? Thus, my book is more focused on tracing the morphology of change in Catholic theology than on the history of natural law theory per se. As Van...

China-ASEAN SME Cooperation Under the Belt and Road Initiative Obstacles and Path Choices to Deepen Development

As a national strategy initiated by China and promoted by high-level officials, the “Belt and Road Initiative” has received great attention from the international community. As the fulcrum of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the main hub of the major power strategy, cooperation between China and ASEAN is crucial. The establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community has brought a lot of business opportunities to the ASEAN countries, The ASEAN economy is continuing to grow. The “Belt and Road” initiative proposed by China has promoted economic cooperation and development between China and ASEAN, The China-ASEAN Free Trade Area has been further upgraded, opening markets to each other provides more favorable conditions for cooperation between the two sides. As the main carrier of employment, small and medium-sized enterprises play an important role in activating the economy, absorbing employment, promoting innovation, increasing taxes, facilitating the people and benefiting the people. Strengthening cooperation between SMEs in China and ASEAN is conducive to promoting industrial restructuring and industrial upgrading on both sides, promoting sustained economic growth in China and ASEAN countries, further expanding the common open market between China and ASEAN, promoting regional economic integration, and promoting the growth of the world economy. However, at present, China and ASEAN countries still face many constraints in the cooperation of small and medium-sized enterprises. The overall competitiveness of SMEs is not strong, the ability to develop international markets is weak, financing difficulties, lack of professional personnel and other issues need to be resolved. This article analyzes the opportunities and dilemmas faced by China-ASEAN SMEs at this stage, and proposes countermeasures to promote China-ASEAN SMEs to deepen cooperation.

КОЛЛЕКТИВНАЯ ПРОФЕССИОНАЛЬНАЯ ОТВЕТСТВЕННОСТЬ КАК ФАКТОР ПОВЫШЕНИЯ ЭФФЕКТИВНОСТИ СИСТЕМЫ УПРАВЛЕНИЯ ОРГАНИЗАЦИЕЙ

The article analyzes the needs of the construction industry for qualified personnel, offers a number of recommendations for solving existing personnel issues. There are ten best universities in Russia, on the basis of which it is recommended to develop network forms of training, retraining and advanced training of personnel, distance learning, professional development of teaching staff of universities of architectural and construction orientation. The role of professional and public accreditation of educational programs is analyzed. The issues of attracting practitioners to teaching and the problems that hinder this process are raised.

IMPROVEMENT OF ASSESSMENT METHODS FOR THE VACANT POSITIONS OF PUBLIC OFFICERS

The article investigates the theoretical and methodological foundations and the organizational and legal aspect of the selection and recruitment for holding public service positions in Ukraine, taking into account modern trends. The basic concepts «selection of personnels», «recruitment of personnels», «personnel assessment» and its importance for the effective functioning of public services are considered. The key methods and principles of personnel assessment popular in Ukraine and abroad were analyzed. The last publications the decision of this problem is examined in which are considered. The current legal framework regulating personnel issues for civil service positions and the competition procedure are analyzed. Application of modern methods of selection and recruitment of personnels is offered on government service. It is well-proven that a selection and recruitment of personnels is a difficult multistage and multidimensional process. Quality of realization of this process depends on introduction of control the system by quality of personnel. A selection of personnels is the process of search, selection and recruitment of workers on vacant positions and workplaces. The basic methods of search of personnels are certain, modern approaches of their selection are rotined. The necessary condition of high-quality selection of civil servant is an analysis of process of search and selection of candidates. The process of selection must engulf all of the stages of estimation of personnel during holding a competition, beginning from a serve announcements on vacant position to the decision-making by a commission in relation to the choice of applicant on position of civil servant. Possibility of the use of modern methods of selection and selection of personnels, in-use in the conditions of inert economy is well-proven, in activity of organs of public power. At the use of different methods of estimation of personnel criteria must be taken into account which activity of civil servant is determined on. In obedience to criteria, estimations must be realistic and to assume the certain measure of estimation of competence.

ПРОБЛЕМА КАДРОВОГО ОБЕСПЕЧЕНИЯ СОВЕТСКОГО АТОМНОГО ПРОЕКТА

The article describes the personnel filling of the Soviet atomic project at various stages of its implementation. The focus is on the scientists, technologists, engineers, technicians and workers of the research and industrial «atomic» objects. The special contingent and military builders used in construction have been taken out of the framework of the analysis: their involvement was based on other principles and should be studied separately. The study is based on declassified archival materials, published documents and memoirs. For the first time in historiography, the author shows the dynamics of the project’s personnel recruitment – from unsuccessful efforts to catch some necessary specialists to the mass replenishment of highly qualified personnel. It is established that such a process (especially at the stages of the project formation) was difficult and ambiguous. The solution of the personnel issue depended on the degree of state interest in the project and its status. Systematic and largescale personnel filling of the project became feasible only in connection with its activation in 1945 and the emergence of special (non-governmental and inter-ministerial) administrative bodies. Contrary to the opinions prevailing in the literature about the illimitable possibilities of “atomic” mobilization, its limits are shown both in cases of personified and collective recruitment.

Evaluation of the activity results of the industrial enterprise marketing department

The content of the marketing department and its main divisions results evaluation as well as their necessity are discussed in the article. The organizational, methodical and stimulating aspects of this issue are highlighted. The essence of the organizational aspect of the performance results evaluation which consists of a certain hierarchy of its implementation is stated. It is emphasized that the evaluation of the lower-level units’ performance is carried out by a higher governing body. Attention is paid to the frequency of the marketing department performance evaluation. It is indicated that the methodological aspect is the most difficult among the others in the process of evaluation. Its constituents such as substantiation of the choice of evaluation indicators and their criteria for the marketing department as a whole and its sub-divisions are also emphasized. Indicators for evaluating the marketing department and its sub-divisions performance are proposed. It is concluded that they should include two groups. The need to use an evaluation criterion, without which it is impossible to objectively evaluate the marketing department performance, is emphasized. An original definition of its essence is proposed. The use of the generalizing coefficient in the final evaluation of the performance results is substantiated. The spheres of the evaluation of the marketing department performance results are specified. It is emphasized that they become the basis for finding marketing reserves, material benefits for employees and solving personnel issues. An important role in the increase of the marketing department performance efficiency belongs to material motivation. It is noted in the paper that only a properly constructed system of material motivation contributes to the opportunity to optimize the performance of the sales team, aligning it with the company’s goals.

Підвищення результативності організації управлінської діяльності в органах державної влади

Ефективна діяльність органів державної влади при правильній організації праці служить ключовим фактором міцності державної влади, її авторитету і високого динамізму. Саме тому сьогодні діяльність державних службовців опинилася в епіцентрі уваги українського суспільства.
 Метою статті є визначення напрямів та інструментів здійснення реформування структури, компетенції, відповідальності і процесів функціонування й розвитку інститутів державної служби, удосконалення умов здійснення повноважень посадових осіб, удосконалення системи відбору та розвитку кадрового потенціалу для системи державного управління.
 Наукова новизна дослідження пов’язана із подальшим розвитком розуміння того, які саме аспекти організації впливають на невисокий рівень результативності праці держслужбовців, а також із систематизацією основних напрямів її удосконалення.
 Так, запропоновано звернути увагу на формування оптимальної системи та структури державних органів; проведення оптимізації процесу підготовки, прийняття та виконання управлінських рішень; удосконалення організаційного процесу планування, роботи з інформацією, з кадрами, покращення соціально-психологічного клімату і культурно-етичних основ управління; раціоналізацію діловодства; впровадження нового механізму підвищення кваліфікації державних службовців; удосконалення системи нормування праці та вирішення інших кадрових питань.
 Висновки. Головним інструментом підвищення результативності організації управлінської діяльності в державних органах є раціональне та ефективне використання кадрів державної служби, залучення, розвиток та вдосконалення кадрового потенціалу державних службовців.

Psycho-akmeologikal peculiarities training for projects of the class of “mega science”

The article is devoted to psychological and akmeologickal characteristics of professional training for projects of a class “megascience”, which must be considered when implementing them. It proves the necessity of using achievements of psychology and akmeology in the training of leaders, experts, specialists involved in projects of a class “megascience”. A number of psychological and akmeologikal features are noted, in particular, a high level of requirements for them, professional uniqueness, a high degree of responsibility for future scientific and applied results, the exclusivity of their training programs. Emphasizes the need for psychological and akmeologikal support of the entire cycle of training for the implementation of scientific projects class “megascience”, a valid use of qualitative tools, psycho-ecological technologies personal and professional development of specialists of different profile. It proves the urgent need in mastering new techniques, methods and technologies of quality control personnel in research projects of a class “megascience”. It is proved that the use of personal qualimetry in research projects of a class “magicians” valid tools provided modern mathematical apparatus allows to reduce human risks, more effective use of mathematical models in solving personnel issues, aimed at improving the level of efficiency of implementation of scientific projects class “megascience”. The proposed model of measuring the competencies of a specialist through the use of expert estimation. The description of the computer model is given, which allows to obtain the necessary information regarding the process of training a specialist and to build a verified trajectory of his professional development.

1647P - Effectively using primary care givers in oncology care through capacity building, task sharing and techno-mentoring

BackgroundThe challenge faced by the cancer patient is access to care and for the health system, thenon-availability of qualified personnel. Besides financial issues, patients face challenges of finding a cancer center. Governments are keen to offer universal health coverage but are in need of sustainable systems. A novel healthcare delivery system was designed and has been operational in several states of India. MethodsGeneral duty medical officers and nurses from government district hospitals were trained in oncology for one month. Various administrative reforms, restructuring and techno-mentoring (constant, 24x7, mentorship using WhatsAppR, Telephonic communication, regular continuing medical education) were used to create a system of health care delivery in oncology. The drug distribution system was changed to include essential oncology drugs. ResultsA district cancer care programme has been initiated in six states of India, involving 157 hospitals constituting about 20 % of the nation. The hospital has a nodal cancer unit, with nodal cancer officer and nurse in charge to deliver cancer services, such as counselling at all stages of care, assistance in diagnostics, (which may vary from biopsy to scan to tumor markers), follow up care, palliative care, end of life care and, most importantly, chemotherapy. A patient from the district has a choice of conitnuum of care at local hospital to which he is used. He can visit more frequently with no cost involved. This system change and empowerment has allowed the government to bring care closer to the facility and help patients gain access. A satisfaction survey done amongst patients shows there is a strong willingness to follow in districts.This is saving thousand of families from impoverishment. The creation of a system of cancer care delivery has led to other states following this example. From one state it has gone to six states,(population coverage of around 300 million). ConclusionsPrimary care physicians can be effectively empowered to offer specialised cancer care in government-run facilities. This duplicable, sustainable model (Pendharkar model) using existing human resources can be used by many countries fighting with shortages of personnel and access issues. Legal entity responsible for the studyDinesh Pendharkar. FundingHas not received any funding. DisclosureThe author has declared no conflicts of interest.

MLP Based Islanding Detection Using Histogram Analysis for Wind Turbine Distributed Generation

Due to increase distributed generations, Islanding is an important concern for these resources. Personnel and equipment safety issues are main reasons to detection of islanding. Several techniques based on passive and active detection schemes have been proposed previously. Although passive schemes have a large non-detection zone (NDZ), concerns have been raised about active methods because of their degrading effect on power quality. Reliably detecting this condition is regarded by many as an ongoing challenge because existing methods are not entirely satisfactory. This paper proposes a histogram analysis method using a Multi Layer Perceptron (MLP) Neural Network approach for islanding detection in grid-connected wind turbines. The main objective of the proposed approach is to reduce the NDZ and to maintain the output power quality unchanged. In addition, this technique can also overcome the problem of setting detection thresholds which is inherent in existing techniques. The method proposed in this study has a small non-detection zone and is capable of detecting islanding accurately within the minimum standard time. Moreover, for those regions which require better visualization, the proposed approach can serve as an efficient aid for better detecting grid-power disconnection.

Production Projects under Public-Private Partnership in the Sphere of Economic Security of the Penitentiary System: Issues of Financial, Personnel and Operational Management

Purpose: The aim of this article is to present the processes of economic security of the Penitentiary system of the Russian Federation. Design/Methodology/Approach: Research methodology is based on the works of world known scientists (specialists in the sphere of penitentiary production, law and administration), systematic approach and dialectic method. Authors used a wide information base that consists of legislation and statistics of the Russian Federation. Findings: Authors justified separate spheres, within which the abstract isolated control functions of the prison industry are to be implemented (finance, personnel, technology). Authors analyzed the prerequisites of the Penitentiary system’s economic security provision. For this reason, several significant problems that have the character of contradictions were determined. Practical Implications: The research results may be implemented into Russian legal and socioeconomic framework to improve and increase the penitentiary systems’s economic security. Originality/Value: The main contribution of this study is the highlighted interconnections between Russia’s economic security and the development of the Russian Penitentiary system’s production sector.

An update on stress, fatigue and wellbeing: implications for naval personnel.

The aim of the present article is to provide an update on recent research on stress, fatigue and wellbeing and discuss the implications for naval personnel. There is now considerable information on these topics in onshore civilian populations and some research on seafarers and other military personnel. This generic information can now be used to address these issues in naval personnel. In order to do this there is a need to consider specific naval contexts and to collect data to confirm the applicability of established methods and models to the navy.

Marlow Construction (a): Dan Marlow, Founder and President

This case represents an amalgam of commonly reported experiences people have when interacting with others from different social class backgrounds and positions of power. The A case takes the perspective of Dan Marlow, who grew up with access to financial and cultural resources and has built his own construction company. He has just fired Robby Gomez, an otherwise great worker, for chronic lateness, and he wonders why he is having trouble motivating and keeping employees. The B case takes the viewpoint of Gomez, who works hard but has trouble getting to work on time because of practical difficulties like car trouble and obligations to family and others in his community. By comparing the perspectives and experiences of these two protagonists, students learn to see how our own experiences and cultural knowledge can inform our decisions and the employee programs that we design. Because we are not aware of cultural norms that we have not personally experienced, we need to include a diversity of viewpoints in the decision-making and design processes in order to design effective systems and have effective interactions across differences. Excerpt UVA-OB-1282 Rev. Aug. 5, 2020 Marlow Construction (A): Dan Marlow, Founder and President Dan Marlow was the founder and president of Marlow Construction, a midsized construction company in New England. He had started his company right out of college, while working part-time for his father's law office. He had borrowed some money from his family and had taken a small bank loan to buy a truck and some equipment, and soon began doing small projects. His first clients were friends and family who lived in nice neighborhoods, other lawyers his father knew, and some of his more well-to-do family friends. As his business grew, Marlow hired more people and took on bigger projects. Now, his company employed about 35 full-time workers. However, recurring personnel issues were driving him crazy, and at the moment, he was feeling bad about a recent conversation. Earlier that day, Marlow had fired Robby Gomez, an employee who had worked for Marlow Construction for several months. Marlow liked Gomez. From what he could tell, Gomez was a very capable worker and spent a lot of time helping other people on his work crew. Marlow thought Gomez had a lot of potential, if he buckled down and committed himself to his work. He could probably even learn to run his own crew of workers. Instead, Gomez had a history of showing up late, if at all, and demonstrated very little desire to go above and beyond for clients. Marlow thought about his relationship with Gomez over the past couple of months. He had made several attempts to connect, explaining that it was important to the company, to Gomez's future employment, and to the clients of Marlow Construction that workers showed up on time and did excellent work. But it seemed that no matter how many times Marlow brought it up, Gomez continued to have problems showing up and often seemed distracted. Marlow had tried to motivate Gomez once by recognizing some good work he had done: he'd even given him a gift card to a nice restaurant in town as a way of saying thanks. The issues with Gomez bothered Marlow because the situation wasn't unique. A number of employees had problems with timeliness, effort, and turnover. Sometimes an employee would just disappear one day and never come back! . . .

Variations in VA and Medicare Use Among Veterans With Diabetes: Impacts on Ambulatory Care Sensitive Conditions Hospitalizations for 2008, 2009, and 2010.

VA and Medicare use among older Veterans has been considered fragmented care, however, it may represent access to needed care. The population studied were Veterans with diabetes, age 66 years and older, dually enrolled in VA and Medicare. We conducted a dynamic retrospective cohort study with 2008, 2009, and 2010 as the outcome years (Ambulatory Care Sensitive Conditions Hospitalization (ACSC-H) or not). We analyzed administrative data to identify comorbidities; ambulatory care utilization to identify variations in use before hospitalization. We linked 2007 primary care (PC) survey data to assess if organizational factors were associated with ACSC-H. We identified ACSC-Hs using a validated definition. We categorized VA/Medicare use as: single system; dual system: supplemental specialty care use; or primary care use. Using hierarchical logistic regression models, we tested for associations between VA/Medicare use, organizational characteristics, and ACSC-H controlling for patient-level, organizational-level, and area-level characteristics. Our analytic population was comprised of 210,726 Medicare-eligible Veterans; more than one quarter had an ACSC-H. We found that single system users had higher odds of ACSC-H compared with dual system specialty supplemental care use (odds ratio, 1.14; 95% confidence interval, 1.09-1.20), and no significant difference between dual-system users. Veterans obtaining care at sites where PC leaders reported greater autonomy (eg, authority over personnel issues) had lower odds of ACSC-H (odds ratio, 0.74; 95% confidence interval, 0.59-0.92). Our findings suggest that earlier assumptions about VA/Medicare use should be weighed against the possibility that neither VA nor Medicare may address complex Veterans' health needs. Greater PC leader autonomy may allow for tailoring of care to match local clinical contexts.

Restructuring Local Education Agencies for School Innovation Initiatives

본 논문은 학교개혁의 모형으로 확산되고 있는 학교 혁신을 지원할 수 있는 방안 가운데 하나인 교육 행정기관, 특히 교육지원청의 학교 지원능력 강화를 위한 조직개편의 방향을 탐색하기 위함을 목적으로 한다. 단위학교 내에서 이루어지고 있는 민주적인 학교운영, 교육과정 및 수업방법의 혁신, 교사들의 전문적 학습공동체 확산, 그리고 학교 구성원의 자율 및 자치역량 함양을 특성으로 하고 있는 학교 혁신을 지원하기 위해, 17개 시도 교육청 가운데 5개의 시도교육청 차원에서 진행되고 있는 교육지원청 조직개편 사례를 분석하여 효과적인 학교지원이 이루어질 수 있는 시사점을 도출하였다. 조직개편의 방향은 다음과 같다. 첫째, 학교혁신의 핵심이라 할 수 있는 학교문화의 개선 시도는 개별학교의 특수성을 고려해야 한다는 점에서 교육지원청의 개편은 담당 학교를 구분하는 방식으로 이루어질 필요가 있다. 둘째, 교육지원청 수준에서 학교를 지원하는 조직은 기능상의 정체성-학교혁신의 과제 확산 중심 vs. 수요가 확대되고 있는 일반행정 지원 요구 중심-을 확립할 필요가 있다. 셋째, 교육행정기관이 지니는 관료적 규율과 전문적 지식 간의 딜레마를 고려한 조직개편이 필요하다.The purpose of this study was to explore potential organizational restructuring of local education agencies for support of school innovation initiatives. School Innovation movements heavily focus on implementing democratic school operation procedures, re-culturing professional communities in schools, improving curriculum and instruction methods, and establishing various autonomous governing bodies within each group of school members. Most central offices in Korea’s 17 metropolitan cities and provinces are giving to top priority to complete reorganization of wide-area education offices and local education service offices in order to expand school innovation initiatives. This study analyzed the efforts of restructuring within the city of Seoul, Kyung-ki Province, Kyung-nam Province, Sejong City, and Jeju Island education service offices. There are two types of reorganization of local education office implemented for supporting each schools in the governing areas. One is a campus-level education service center for providing resources relating to teaching and learning activities, professional learning communities, and schools governing bodies (Sejong City case). The other type is a school administrative service center under control of the public office in general services (Kyung-nam Province case). This center is supposed to alleviate burdens of school personnel issues, serious violence problems, and urgent legal issues among schools members. In conclusion, three implications were suggested in accordance to the restructuring education service centers. First, changing efforts should consider the uniqueness of each school’s level of innovation initiatives influencing effective school improvement. Second, the function of a new school service center is strategically pre-determined whether to support teaching and learning issues or to relieve administrative burdens in schools. Lastly dilemmas between bureaucratic regulations and professional knowledge emerging in renovation efforts should be reduced to better integrate educational policies that promote school innovation.