Status Of Personnel Research Articles

Creating health-promoting schools in China with a focus on nutrition

This pilot project in Zhejiang Province, China, aimed at improving the nutrition and health status of students, school personnel and parents, and developing a model project for nutrition interventions for the development of health-promoting schools (HPS) in China. Three primary and three secondary schools participated. Interventions included establishing school-based working groups, nutrition training for school staff, distribution of materials on nutrition, nutrition education for students, student competitions, school-wide health promotion efforts and outreach to families and communities. Results of a pre- and post-intervention survey one and a half years apart showed improvements in nutrition knowledge, attitudes and behavior among all target groups. Primary school students at the pilot schools made the greatest knowledge gains in the areas of Chinese dietary guidelines (increased from 49.2 to 78.0%, p < 0.01) and adequate dietary principles (increased from 42.9 to 68.0%, p < 0.01). Scores of secondary school students who reported liking school lunches rose at pilot schools from 17.9 to 45.2% (p < 0.01). School staff at control schools who reported taking breakfast declined from 81.4 to 66.6% (p < 0.01), while staff who reported taking lunch at school increased in pilot schools from 87.5% at baseline to 93.9% (p < 0.01). The largest increases in nutrition knowledge among all target groups occurred among parents and guardians. At the pilot schools parents increased their knowledge in the areas of nutritional deficiencies (from 35.0 to 66.2%, p < 0.01) and nutrient-rich foods (from 38.8 to 66.8%, p < 0.01). Talks with target groups confirmed changes in attitudes and behavior, and school visits revealed improvements to school facilities and school health services, establishing of school policies and a positive school climate. This study suggests that nutrition can effectively serve as an entry point to establish HPS in China and that the HPS concept is feasible to improve the dietary knowledge, attitudes and behavior of students, parents and school personnel.

Anonymous cooks and waiters. Labour market and professional status of restaurant, café and hotel personnel in Brussels, 1840s – 1900s

Anonymous cooks and waiters. Labour market and professional status of restaurant, café and hotel personnel in Brussels, 1840s – 1900s

‘The Redemption of the Rascals’: The Xinzheng Reforms and the Transformation of the Status of Lower-Level Central Administration Personnel

Two of the main practical problems which confronted the Xinzheng reforms (1901–1911) were, on the one hand, financial issues, and on the other, personnel issues. In this paper, I will concentrate on the latter. When one thinks of the reforms in relation to administrative personnel, the main aspects generally brought up are centered upon innovations introduced at that time. Among other things, we could mention the new schools or, to be more general, the new educational system that was built up around the empire—mostly after 1900—to prepare a new generation of officials trained in specific fields of ‘modern’ knowledge. They, in turn, were expected to fill in the positions in the newly set up administrative institutions at the central and local levels. Their new training was to allow them to be in charge of the new responsibilities the reformed Qing bureaucratic apparatus had set out to perform in such fields as justice, fiscality and finances, the military and police, education or public health, to name but a few. To summarize, the search for talented men, a Chinese age-old principle for sound government, was trusted to that for new talents. The 1905 disbanding of the traditional examination system did much to reinforce this trend. During the first decade of the 20th century, the steady increase in the number of Chinese young men going abroad to study—especially to Japan—can serve as a testimony to this `new knowledge and new talent fever' of the late Qing. The fights against one another to which some of the central and provincial administrative offices resorted in order to secure for themselves the services of those deemed of talent are but another exemplary illustration of this aspect.

Mental Distress and Sociodemographic Variables: A Study of Greek Warship Personnel

Mental disorders have been found to be the main cause of maladjustment and early discharge of the personnel in the Hellenic Navy and the armed forces in general. This study investigates the mental health status of a warship's military personnel by use of a widely used self-administered scale. The 28-item Greek version of the General Health Questionnaire was administered to 281 men aboard a Greek warship to determine their mental health status and to examine possible associations with sociodemographic variables (rank, educational level, marital status). A high prevalence of General Health questionnaire cases (48.8%) was found which indicated conscripts as the group with the greater tendency for problems of adjustment and performance among the personnel of the warship. A negative association was found between educational level and psychological distress, whereas married subjects were found to have better levels of psychological well-being as defined by lower General Health questionnaire scores, compared with unmarried subjects. Although a further methodological and more sophisticated inquiry is necessary, the findings of the present study could be useful for the design of mental health interventions in the naval and the military setting.

What’s Wrong and What should Be Done

The key problems with the formulation and carrying out of an environmental policy in Biodiversia are (a) an inadequate organizational mandate on the part of the National Environmental Office (NEO), (b) lack of clarity of the scope of authority and jurisdiction of the NEO (and of the interagency National Environmental Commission [NEC]), (c) inadequate lines of interorganizational communication and insufficient effort to coordinate nongovernmental organization (NGO) activities, (d) inadequate field monitoring, (e) weak leadership skills on the part of the NEO director, and (f) low-quality public image. First, the organizational mandate of the NEO is too broad and needs to be narrowed into creating particular forestry-protection criteria and overseeing the implementation of a protectionist agenda. The president of Biodiversia should call a cabinet meeting so that the NEO's mandate is changed to developing and implementing criteria specific to forestry protection. Once this mandate is narrowed, the NEO should then proceed to establish a clear set of environmental and forestry preservation policy priorities and then establish an agreed-on implementation agenda. Once that occurs, the 26 positions available on the NEO should be redefined to involve not only organizational and accounting skills but also forestry-specific field experience. The fact that only 18 of 26 posts have been filled should not be a problem if the technical quality of the staff is reasonably high, despite their relative youth, and if their collective mandate is clarified and narrowed. Second, despite the junior status of NEO staff, the office of the president ought to have made it clear to the line ministers that NEO has authoritative policy and personnel status regarding environmental policy decisions. To resolve coordination problems, the authority of the NEO in general and the NEO director in particular needs to be strengthened-not simply in the form of directives issued to relevant line ministries but in creating a more direct linkage between the NEO and the office of the president so that the NEO can consistently rely on executive authority to issue and enforce its decrees. There ought to have been less room for resistance on the part of line ministry bureaucrats. Peter Mwangi should have been able to count on a close rapport with the office of the president to ensure that the NEO and NEC are able to enforce decisions that involve new activities on the part of relevant ministries.

What’s Wrong and What Should Be Done?

The key problems with the formulation and carrying out of an environmental policy in Biodiversia are (a) an inadequate organizational mandate on the part of the National Environmental Office (NEO), (b) lack of clarity of the scope of authority and jurisdiction of the NEO (and of the interagency National Environmental Commission [NEC]), (c) inadequate lines of interorganizational communication and insufficient effort to coordinate nongovernmental organization (NGO) activities, (d) inadequate field monitoring, (e) weak leadership skills on the part of the NEO director, and (f) low-quality public image. First, the organizational mandate of the NEO is too broad and needs to be narrowed into creating particular forestry-protection criteria and overseeing the implementation of a protectionist agenda. The president of Biodiversia should call a cabinet meeting so that the NEO's mandate is changed to developing and implementing criteria specific to forestry protection. Once this mandate is narrowed, the NEO should then proceed to establish a clear set of environmental and forestry preservation policy priorities and then establish an agreed-on implementation agenda. Once that occurs, the 26 positions available on the NEO should be redefined to involve not only organizational and accounting skills but also forestry-specific field experience. The fact that only 18 of 26 posts have been filled should not be a problem if the technical quality of the staff is reasonably high, despite their relative youth, and if their collective mandate is clarified and narrowed. Second, despite the junior status of NEO staff, the office of the president ought to have made it clear to the line ministers that NEO has authoritative policy and personnel status regarding environmental policy decisions. To resolve coordination problems, the authority of the NEO in general and the NEO director in particular needs to be strengthened-not simply in the form of directives issued to relevant line ministries but in creating a more direct linkage between the NEO and the office of the president so that the NEO can consistently rely on executive authority to issue and enforce its decrees. There ought to have been less room for resistance on the part of line ministry bureaucrats. Peter Mwangi should have been able to count on a close rapport with the office of the president to ensure that the NEO and NEC are able to enforce decisions that involve new activities on the part of relevant ministries.

Preassignment Examination for Personnel on Iwo Jima

The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) requires all personnel assigned to Iwo Jima to undergo a preassignment medical examination. The efficacy and benefit of this mandatory examination has not been evaluated objectively in depth. Our purpose was to review the health status of JMSDF personnel assigned to Iwo Jima and to evaluate the correlation of the preassignment medical examination to their current health status for the study period. We divided the participants into two groups. Group Y was composed of JMSDF personnel receiving a preassignment medical examination, and group N was composed of those personnel who did not receive the examination. After the annual health examination, health status was evaluated using objective criteria. We found little statistically significant difference among group Y and group N participants. However, proportionally more patients currently receiving care for or diagnosed with hypertension, hyperuricemia, or severe obesity were identified as being members of group N than group Y. We have demonstrated that the preassignment medical examination may contribute to predicting the health status of potential Iwo Jima personnel and may contribute to controlling the cost of care associated with these specific diagnoses by limiting the assignment of at-risk personnel.

Bone architecture assessment with measures of complexity

Architectural changes in trabecular bone by osteoporosis were utilized as a model for the changes which probably occur in human bone while exposed to microgravity conditions. Although there are many concerns about microgravity-induced bone loss, little is known about the impact of microgravity on the three-dimensional architecture of the skeleton [1]. 50 (level L3) and 57 (level L4) vertebral bones harvested from human cadavers were investigated by computed tomography (CT) and quantified in terms of bone mineral density (BMD). Based on the symbol-encoded transformed CT-images, five measures of complexity were developed which quantify the structural composition of the trabecular bone. This quantification determines the bone architecture as a whole. Depending on the specific measure of complexity and its relation to BMD, a 5–10% change of BMD is related to a 5–90% change in structural composition. The method requires a non-invasive CT-procedure of the lumbar spine resulting in a radiation exposure of about 30 μSv effective dose [2]. The technique is useful for the evaluation of the bone status of space-flying personnel as well as for patients on ground.

Status Karies Gigi Para Anggota di Lingkungan Mabes TNI-AL, Cilangkap Jakarta

National survey of dental health in 1995 indicated a moderate incidence of the disease among all age groups. In order to increase the dental health status, a comparison of interest both military and civilian prevalence dengal caries was undueted. In 1996, a random sample of 258 officer, active duty, TNI-naval personnel were undertaken for monitoring the prevalence dental decay and severity of dental caries. Results show that the average DMF-T rate was 2.44 and 3.12 for both military and civilian personnel. The prevalence dental decay was 51.94% and had a significant at p < 0.001. The results show that dental health status of military personnel was better than civilian, besides the moderate incidence of dental caries.

Épuration, dégagements, exclusions. Les réductions d'effectifs dans l'armée française (1940-1947)

Purges, Disengagements, Exclusions. Downsizing in the French Army (1940-1947), Claude d'Ahzac-Epezy. Whereas the status of military personnel guarantees them from arbitraiy exclusion, the 1940-1947 period was marked by a greater precarity in officers' careers, hit first by Vichy measures of exclusion and then by the purges of 1944-1945 and the disengagement of the officers of 1946-1947. The analysis of the different phases of the reduction of the force details the numeric scope of these reductions and shows the criteria of the dominant choices. There were more reductions in the professional elites than the political ones, but the arbitrariness of the procedures contributed to breaking the moral engagement that bound the officers to the State. The consequences were felt until the early 1960s.

Factors Influencing Job Satisfaction of Technical Personnel in the U.S., Singapore, and India

ABSTRACTThe projected job growth rate for technical personnel such as computer programmers, drafters, engineering technicians, and science technicians is expected to grow at an average of 25% per year. Improving the job satisfaction of employees becomes critical as these technical personnel begin to be considered the elite workers who provide the competitive edge. This research investigates the factors that affect job satisfaction of technical employees in three countries. The results show that only two factors, job characteristics and organizational progressiveness, influenced job satisfaction in all the three countries. Thus multi-national corporations need to enrich the employees' jobs and position their organizations progressively if they want their employees to be satisfied. Also U.S. technical personnel perceived that they needed to become managers to attain better job status and pay; this perception was not supported by counterparts in Singapore and India. This result indicates that it is important for U.S. top-level executives and human resource managers to develop practices to increase the perceived status of technical personnel.

An evaluation of cold chain system for vaccines in Bangalore.

The cold chain plays a major role in the universal immunization programme which helps in preventing against six major killer diseases in children. We collected 144 study samples randomly from different parts of Bangalore to know the training status of personnel, refrigeration facilities, storage, monitoring and potency of vaccines. It was observed that 6.6% of general practitioners were trained under Universal Immunization Programme, monitoring was not satisfactory, and two of the OPV samples from medical practitioners had an unsatisfactory titre dose. Comprehensive orientation/training on cold chain is essential for medical practitioners and other professionals.

Quantitative indices for medical &amp; personnel facilities

The status of medical facilities and personnel in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, at the end of the fourth five-year plan (1985–1990) was reviewed and analyzed regarding the standards of services and workload of health personnel for the different regions and urban/rural areas in the Kingdom. Innovative indices for the quantitative analysis of medical facilities were developed. The analysis of health facilities in Saudi Arabia shows that the Kingdom enjoys a high standard of medical facilities. However, there are maldistribution of clinical resources and personnel between regions and between urban/rural areas. Utilization of these indices for the reallocation of medical facilities and personnel to ensure even distribution of services for all inhabitants of the Kingdom was illustrated. In addition, indices give a guideline for the future planning and the rate of increase of these facilities that keeps the standard of medical services in the proper class desired with minimum resources wastage.

The Soviet country profile: Health of the U.S.S.R. population in the 70s and 80s—An approach to a comprehensive analysis

This paper reviews data from 1970 onwards on the distribution of health resources and health status for urban and rural areas and for the 15 Soviet republics. Major disparities exist between republics and especially between the European republics in the North and West and those of Central Asia and Transcaucasia. The former show relatively low infant death rates but high adult mortality, particularly for middle-aged males; rates of death due to circulatory diseases and malignant neoplasms have increased in these republics and special studies reveal a high incidence of alcohol-related diseases. In contrast, the Central Asian and Transcaucasian republics have extremely high infant mortality but high levels of life-expectancy thereafter. An index of medical inequality shows a much lower level of resources in these republics. Recent long-term strategies are described which aim to raise the income and status of health personnel from their relatively low levels and to equalize the distribution of health care across the country.

Round Table on the status of personnel and volunteers of international and national organizations in humanitarian actions

Round Table on the status of personnel and volunteers of international and national organizations in humanitarian actions

Evaluating the implementation of health policy: Pre-hospital care in Pennsylvania

A statewide study of ambulance services was conducted to inform executive and legislative decision making regarding Emergency Medical Services in Pennsylvania. The study focused on the training status of ambulance personnel, turnover, and coordination between state and local levels. The study found indications that adequate numbers of trained personnel were often not making ambulance trips. A variety of issues that might cause and solve this problem are discussed, as are the dissemination and utilization of the study's results.

Mid-Career MPA Students

I thoroughly enjoyed Mid-Career Students in MPA Programs: Implications for Pre-Service Student Education, by Robert F. Durant and William A. Taggart, which appeared in Public Administration Review, 45 (1985), 2. Although the authors raised some very informative and provocative points to ponder, I wonder if their methodology might have undermined the validity of the statistical data. Specifically, why did the authors opt to ignore military service as full-time public employment for classification purposes? In order to make a valid determination concerning the mid-career status of service personnel, it would seem that one would have to consider the individual's rank and years of service. The variables normally combine to determine the level of responsibility and the tasks performed. It would also seem that the level of responsibility and the tasks performed, not the organization by which employed, would be the valid factors for determining mid-career status. Was the baby thrown out with the bath water?

Administrators' Views of Library Personnel Status

A questionnaire survey elicited the opinions of forty-seven university administrators (nonlibrarians) on the issue of faculty status for academic librarians. An analysis of the survey results led the author to conclude that academic institutions may lack a clear rationale for granting librarians faculty status. This conclusion was based primarily on the fact that the opinions expressed by administrators tended to confirm the validity of two key suppositions: (1) that, presently at least, there are no substantive advantages to an institution for granting librarians faculty status and (2) that the terms and conditions of faculty appointments are largely unsuited to the day-to-day activities and responsibilities of librarians.

Legal Status of Supportive Personnel Unchanged

Legal Status of Supportive Personnel Unchanged

Legal status and organizational attitudes toward use of supportive personnel in pharmacy

The status of supportive personnel in state pharmacy statutes and regulations and the attitudes toward supportive personnel of state pharmacy organizational representatives were studied. The board of pharmacy, pharmacy association, and hospital pharmacists' society of each state and the District of Columbia were surveyed by mail to determine legislative or regulatory control of supportive personnel and the attitudes towards the use of supportive personnel. Overall, 84% of the questionnaires were completed. In 21 states and the District of Columbia, nonpharmacist personnel were not mentioned in pharmacy laws or regulations. In the other 29 states, nonpharmacist personnel were allowed. Laws in 20 of these states specified ratios of technicians-to-pharmacists, usually 1:1. The term "supportive personnel" was most frequently used in these regulations. However, "pharmacy technician" was the term most frequently suggested as most appropriate by the respondents. Requirements for education and certification of supportive personnel are not common at this time. Hospital pharmacists' societies unanimously supported the use of technicians; slightly over half the boards of pharmacy and pharmacy associations did so. There is little uniformity currently in statutes or regulations concerning pharmacy supportive personnel.