Personnel Reductions Research Articles

Система образования в российской Арктике: результаты оптимизации и приоритеты развития

Education forms the foundation of social development, improves quality of life, and supports the creation of sustainable communities. It does so by delivering essential services, fostering territorial cohesion and social integration, developing human and social capital, stimulating economic growth, and laying the groundwork for higher income and better employment opportunities. Additionally, it boosts competitiveness and productivity. Ensuring access to quality primary education at the place of residence, along with equitable opportunities for vocational training and higher education, is critical for the sustainable development of the Arctic territories. This study contributes to the scientific discourse on the development of human resources and educational infrastructure in the Russian Arctic, continuing the author’s publication series on the social infrastructure of the Arctic. The article aims to examine changes in human resources and infrastructure within the education system of the Russian Arctic over the past two decades and to propose directions for its further development. The research employs methods such as content analysis, logical reasoning, and comparative analysis. Findings indicate that, in recent years, the education sector in the Russian Arctic has undergone optimization through mergers and closures of institutions and reductions in personnel, leading to increased polarization in the sector. Addressing these challenges requires policy improvements to ensure access to quality primary education not only in urban centers but also in sparsely populated Arctic areas. There is also a need to expand vocational training opportunities directly within Arctic regions, codify existing initiatives, and integrate them with new educational projects and programs. The practical significance of this research lies in its potential application in public administration for advancing the education system in the Russian Arctic. Future research in this area should focus on in-depth analyses of international practices, studies of wages and the private education sector, and evaluations of the quality of educational programs.

Reproduction of Competitive Human Capital as a Factor of Ensuring Russia's Economic Security in the Global Economy

The growing interest in the study of the reproduction of competitive human capital is caused by the destabilization of the political, social and economic situation in the world in the conditions of pandemics and the sanctions policy of the countries of the «golden billion». The implementing of artificial intelligence leads to the reduction of even the elite layer in the labor market, such as IT specialists. Enterprises of basic industries and related industries face a decrease in demand and reduce staff. The digitization of processes results in personnel reductions in sectors that provide financial, informational, and other services. Job cuts — reduction in disposable income — reduction in demand — reduction in economic growth — reduction in investment resources and opportunities: all this requires the search for new levers to improve efficiency and life security. The analysis of modern economic scientific literature shows an underestimation of the reproduction characteristics of a specific factor and investment resource — a person, his creative component in the process of its productive use. The reproductive perspective allows for the alignment of interests among all parties involved in the production process within a company, the creation of value-added chains at regional and national levels, and serves as a key factor in increasing their competitiveness in global markets. This approach fits well with the search for mechanisms to ensure economic security at all three levels: micro, meso and macro in the global economy of a multipolar world.

Transformation of the Academy of Sciences: From Science in Society to the Responsible Science for Society

The radical changes in the 1990s, including the more or less steep decrease in its financing, initiated major reforms of the Czech Academy of Sciences (CAS). The differences between the CAS and the other RD sectors consisted in the extent of financial threats posed to them and in coping strategies, personnel reductions, forms of institutional transformation, support of basic and applied research, engagement of business and enterprise sector in research activities, and new patterns of international collaboration in research. The transition process involves more stages; its developments up to now have resulted not only in institutional changes, plurality of financial sources, new methodology and procedures of science assessment, but also in the contemporary goal-directed programme “Strategy CAS21 - Top Research in the Public Interest”. This new concept addresses ideas of what are called “Responsible Research and Innovation” and “Science for Society”.

The Modernization of the Bulgarian Army - A Factor for its Readiness

Abstract Bulgaria’s accession to Euro-Atlantic structures put the modernization of the Bulgarian Army and Armed Forces on the agenda. After years of reforms prior to the pre-accession period, they have been reduced as a matter of priority to reductions in structures and personnel and the release of obsolete property, weapons and equipment. Thus, under the pretext that modernization and supply of new equipment, systems and armaments compatible with those of NATO member states is forthcoming, the Bulgarian Army and its armed forces are deprived of key armaments and equipment for protection of national security and satisfactory. declared abilities. Over the years, modernization has been at the center of a number of regulations and documents, plans and programs with long-term and medium-term scope, according to the role, missions, goals and objectives of the Bulgarian Army and Armed Forces, whose implementation remains a good wish. And now, when the challenges of the security environment, whose dynamics and uncertainty are becoming increasingly difficult to predict, our country and its security are facing serious challenges. These circumstances unequivocally provoke our scientific research to study the reasons for the failed modernization of the Bulgarian Army and its armed forces.

Wages and labor market flows in times of the corona crisis

The paper discusses two major dimensions of labor market adjustment to crisis conditions in Russia in 2020. Price adjustment manifests itself through changes in wages, and quantitative adjustment — in hiring and separations. Most general conclusion is that, in 2020, the former dominated, while the latter also took place. Our analysis shows deep but very selective and short run fall in wages. Exposure to downward wage flexibility was a function of type of economic activity and type of residence, not of demographic characteristics or education. Freezing new hires became the main instrument for quantitative adjustment, though the intensity of separations decreased as well. Reduction in both components of labor turnover means slower workers’ reallocation and preservation of the old economic structure. If during the previous crises legislative and administrative measures slowed down reductions in personnel, which could be beneficial for employers, in the covid case employers seek to preserve the matching capital needed for fast and efficient recovery and growth.

Effects of COVID-19 on the admissions of aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage: the West Greece experience.

BackgroundAcute subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) due to aneurysmal rupture is a devastating vascular disease accounting for 5% of strokes. COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a decrease in elective and emergency admissions in the majority of neurosurgical centers. The main hypothesis was that fear of COVID-19 may have prevented patients with critical medical or surgical emergencies from actively presenting in emergency departments and outpatient clinics.MethodsWe conducted a single-center, retrospective, observational study searching our institutional data regarding the incidence of spontaneous subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) and compare the admissions in two different periods: the pre COVID-19 with the COVID-19 period.ResultsThe study cohort was comprised of a total of 99 patients. The mean (SD) weekly case rate of patients with SAH was 1.1 (1.1) during the pre-COVID-19 period, compared to 1.7 (1.4) during the COVID-19 period. Analysis revealed that the volume of admitted patients with SAH was 1.5-fold higher during the COVID period compared to the pre-COVID period and this was statistically significant (ExpB = 1.5, CI 95% 1–2.3, p = 0.044). Difference in mortality did not reach any statistical significance between the two periods (p = 0.097), as well as patients’ length of stay (p = 0.193).ConclusionsThe presented data cover a more extended time period than so far published reports; it is reasonable that our recent experience may well be demonstrating a general realistic trend of overall increase in aneurysmal rupture rates during lockdown. Hospitalization of patients with SAH cannot afford any reductions in facilities, equipment, or personnel if optimum outcomes are desirable.

Survive, Revive, Thrive: Chapter 5: Shakedown Cruise

I am very resourceful, as any woman would be. - Valentina Tereshkova, Russian cosmonaut, born 1937 (first woman in space, Vostok 6, 16 June 1963) What is a Shakedown Cruise? Learning is not compulsory ... neither is survival. - W. Edwards Deming, American engineer, 1900-1993 (His management practices revived Japan.) For those unfamiliar, a “shakedown cruise,” also known as a sea trial, is performed to test a ship’s operational systems, both mechanical and human. I became painfully aware of the term “shakedown” when I went on my first trip to the Charles L. Sommers Canoe Base operated by the Boy Scouts in northern Minnesota in 1974. The guides had us (literally) dump everything out of our travel bags and then selected only the essential items we could take. Weight was at a premium, and, if I may confess, I did lie a little about my age. The minimum age was 12, and I turned 12 during the trip, but it was a brutal physical experience for us. We were left with a compass, a few utensils for eating, a sleeping bag, and one change of clothes. I actually recall drinking, eating, and cooking out of a single stainless steel cup. Bluntly, I don’t think I have ever been colder, hungrier, or more tired in my life. But, of course, the guides were correct. You only need the essentials to survive. Many of you are probably thinking, “I’ll bet I know where he is going with this …,” and you are right. As individuals and as an industry, we need to focus on the essentials. Our industry is on a shakedown cruise like no other in our history. We must jettison the nonessentials and test the machinery (i.e., our technical knowledge and capabilities) as we restart and re-engage. Most importantly, we must focus on those actions/paths that ensure our effectiveness, efficiency, and long-term survival. At SPE, we, too, are in shakedown mode, which has been painful for all and excruciating for some. We have had to redirect resources, and, perhaps most importantly, we have had to focus on the reality that our business model must undergo substantial changes. The essentials will remain, such as technical conferences, workshops, and our primary intellectual asset, technical publications. However, assistance to sections and student chapters has been reduced, as well as support for academic and public service programs. The reality is that SPE is financially sound, but, like any ship in a storm, it has to batten its hatches and, if the pandemic prevails, make further program reductions. On a positive note, SPE has been able to avoid reducing its workforce, as we have created a financial path that avoids personnel reductions. As the 2021 SPE President, I congratulate the SPE’s senior management for their efforts to achieve this outcome.

Upgrading Downsizing: Ethics and Personnel Reductions in Declining Organizations

<p style="text-align:justify">Decline and downsizing often create organizational conditions that are tension-filled, problematic, disruptive, and prone to unethical behaviour. It is common for educational organizations to face discontinuity of services and reduction of personnel; therefore, it is important to understand the relationship between declining organizations and the ethical behaviour of educational leaders under these circumstances. In this article, we provide a general description of organizational decline, typical responses to such decline, and highlight the phenomenon of personnel downsizing, with particular attention to the Canadian education context. We offer descriptions of various in situ strategies from several Canadian educational superintendents to illustrate implications for how we might better understand personnel reductions in relation to ethics. We conclude with suggestions concerning ways we might upgrade downsizing with wise judgment and ethical decision-making.</p>

Implementation of the Swedish Guideline for Prevention of Mental ill-health at the Workplace: study protocol of a cluster randomized controlled trial, using multifaceted implementation strategies in schools

BackgroundGiven today’s high prevalence of common mental disorders and related sick leave among teachers, an urgent need exists for a more systematic approach to the management of social and organizational risk factors within schools. In 2015, we launched the first Swedish occupational health guideline to support a structured prevention of these risks at the workplace. The existence of guidelines does however not guarantee their usage, as studies show that guidelines are often underused. Knowledge is therefore needed on effective implementation strategies that can facilitate the translation of guidelines into practice. The primary aim of the randomized waiting list-controlled trial described in this study protocol is to compare the effectiveness of a multifaceted implementation strategy versus a single implementation strategy for implementing the Guideline for the prevention of mental ill-health at the workplace within schools. The effectiveness will be compared regarding the extent to which the recommendations are implemented (implementation effectiveness) and with regard to social and organisational risk factors for mental ill-health, absenteeism and presenteeism (intervention effectiveness).MethodsThe trial is conducted among primary schools of two municipalities in Sweden. The single implementation strategy is an educational strategy (an educational meeting). The multifaceted strategy consists of the educational meeting, an implementation team and a series of workshops. The outcome measure of implementation effectiveness is guideline adherence. The primary outcome of intervention effectiveness is exhaustion. Secondary outcomes include demands at work, work organization and job contents, interpersonal relations and leadership, presenteeism, work performance, recovery, work-life balance, work-engagement, self-reported stress, self-perceived health, sickness absence and psychosocial safety climate. Process outcomes as well as barriers and facilitators influencing the implementation process are assessed. Data will be collected at baseline, 6, 12, 18 and 24 months by mixed methods (i.e. survey, focus-group interviews, observation).DiscussionThe study described in this protocol will provide valuable knowledge on the effectiveness of implementation strategies for implementing a guideline for the prevention of common mental disorders within schools. We hypothesize that successful implementation will result in reductions in school personnel’s perceived social and organizational risk factors, mental ill-health and sick-leave.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT03322839 (trial registration: 09/19/2017).

Resident Vehicles: A New Directive for Subsea Operations

AbstractThe extended downturn experienced by the oil and gas industry has forced operators and service companies to look at new ways to operate more efficiently. Reductions in personnel and assets have led to a rethink of how operations are conducted to support operations offshore. A newer concept of resident vehicle operations is changing the way the industry approaches the inspection, maintenance, and repair market. The resulting technology advances to support the enablement of resident vehicle programs are expected to change the planning, staging, and deployment of personnel and equipment to support offshore operations. How companies interact with these advanced remote systems is migrating field planning back toward a centralized command and control feature set. This allows for shared resources to be used for multiple activities, thereby reducing costs and enabling more efficient operations.

Russian physician’s labor conditions: Risks to health and inflectional safety

Since 2011 the reform of health care system in Russia has been realizing. It is accompanied by law changes, modernization and optimization of treatment and prophylactic centers. Political and economic changes have transformed labor conditions that could influent on health care workers’ physical and psychological health and caused the risks of tuberculosis infecting. The aim of this paper is to examine occupational risks to health and tuberculosis infection among healthcare workers (HCW) in Russia. The main issue is probability to produce the risks of tuberculosis infection among HCW associated with labor conditions in the treatment and prophylactic centers situated on Russian territory. To research materials that were published from 2011 till 2016 at the Internet portal for the healthcare workers content analysis was used.News events and HCW’ comments that reflected labor conditions’ problems in the treatment and prophylactic centers situated on Russian territory were analyzed. According to criteria the most significant risk factors, produced by labor conditions are professional burnout and stress; physical safety; physical and psychological overloads that are unequal to salaries, massive reductions in personnel and chronic understaffing, lack of material, technical and pharmaceuticals resources.

The Impact of the Great Recession on Student Achievement: Evidence from Population Data

The Great Recession was the most severe economic downturn in the United States since the Great Depression. Using newly available population-level achievement data from the Stanford Education Data Archive (SEDA), we estimate the impact of the Great Recession on the math and English language arts (ELA) achievement of all grade 3-8 students in the United States. Employing a difference-in-differences strategy that leverages both cross-district variation in the economic shock of the recession and within-district, cross-cohort variation in school-age years of exposure to the recession, we find that the onset of the Great Recession significantly reduced student math and ELA achievement. Moreover, the recessionary effect on student achievement was concentrated among school districts serving more economically disadvantaged and minority students, indicating that the adverse effects of the recession were not distributed equally among the population of U.S. students. We also find that the academic impact of the recession was more severe for students who were older at the time of first exposure to the recession, compared to their younger counterparts. Finally, the recession’s effects on student achievement were concentrated in districts with the largest reductions in teacher personnel, providing evidence that the effects we observe are driven, in part, by the recession’s negative effects on school resources. We discuss the implications of and potential policy responses to economic shocks that adversely affect student achievement and widen educational inequality.

The San Diego City Schools: Enterprise Resource Planning Return on Investment

This case focuses on the challenge of quantifying the return on investment (ROI) of a large technology project, enterprise resource planning (ERP), in the nonprofit environment of the San Diego City Schools. The school district does not generate a profit, so traditional revenue enhancement arguments do not work. Instead, the case discusses the internal processes re-design and system consolidation enabled by the new ERP system. The system ROI is composed of two major components: cost savings from removal of legacy applications and productivity improvements. The cost containment benefits are relatively straightforward to quantify, but do not justify the system. The productivity improvements are harder to quantify, and many can be categorized as soft benefits. Furthermore, many of the productivity and cost-saving benefits will not be realized without personnel reductions, which are especially difficult in school districts and government agencies. The case debrief therefore discusses the tradeoffs quantifying soft benefits and productivity improvements, best practices for management decision making, and the organizational change necessary to realize the ROI.The case teaches students how to analyze ROI for a large enterprise IT system in nonprofit or government organizations. Financial ROI is applicable for the hard cost benefits but some benefits are more difficult to quantify, and students learn how to factor these into the decision making as well. In addition, organizational change can be particularly challenging in the government or nonprofit context; the case enables a discussion of strategies for workforce re-deployment in these settings.

Outsourcing at Office Supply Inc.

This case is designed to teach how to structure information technology (IT) infrastructure outsourcing deals from both the outsourcer and the client perspective. Office Supply Incorporated (OSI) is a company in crisis, with challenges in its cost structure and poor IT performance. Outsourcing to Technology Infrastructure Solutions is an opportunity to both reduce costs and complexity for the firm, but students first must consider whether outsourcing is a good strategic fit for OSI. Detailed spreadsheet templates are given that are based on a real outsourcing client engagement for a major infrastructure outsourcing company. The spreadsheets are complex but have been simplified so that they automatically calculate when populated, allowing the students to quickly move to answering the management challenge: how should TIS price and structure the outsourcing deal? Answering this question provides deep insights into the business case for IT outsourcing and how outsourcers financially engineer a deal structure to ensure a win-win outcome for both the client and outsource service provider.Students will: Understand the strategic context of IT outsourcing and when it will benefit a firm; Understand IT infrastructure outsourcing and management issues such as personnel reductions and organizational change; Learn which outsourcing pricing model is the best fit for a project; Create a rigorous cost-benefit financial analysis and ROI model for IT infrastructure outsourcing; Analyze the model and learn how to financially engineer the deal to be a win-win for the outsourcer and client.

Knowledge, practices and attitudes toward volunteer work in an influenza pandemic: cross-sectional study with Peruvian medical students

Reductions in health personnel during disasters or epidemics such as an influenza pandemic may need to include volunteer students. The aim of this article is to determine knowledge and practices about pandemic influenza and the attitudes towards volunteer work in Peruvian medical students. We performed a cross-sectional analytic study by simple sampling using a survey regarding “"knowledge and practices"” about pandemic influenza and the attitudes to volunteer work. From the group of 865 students who were surveyed, 848 accepted to participate in the investigation (54% were male and their mean age was 22.1 ± 3.0). Ninety-seven percent correctly identified the spread routes of influenza and 81% knew its treatment. Regarding preventive measures, covering the mouth when coughing/sneezing and hand-washing were the most commonly recognized options (95% y 92%, respectively), and vaccination was the less recognized one (54%). The most common practice, readily acknowledged as preventive, was covering when coughing/sneezing (86%). Regarding volunteer works, students answered that it is a moral/ethical/professional obligation (77%); that a contingency university service needs to be established (88%), that it does not have to substitute for the lack of workers (49%), and that its role should be related to hospital work (83%). Coming from a public university was more associated to the concept that volunteer work was a moral obligation and that the student should be punished if he/she refuses to be a volunteer, whereas being from a private university was more related to a history of been involved in volunteering programs. In general, medical students have good knowledge and practices toward influenza. There is a good disposition to volunteer their work and skills, recognizing it as a moral/ethical/professional obligation.

Některé aspekty použití prvku bojové podpory praporního úkolového uskupení

In this article the author thinks over one of many variants the mortar units could be deployed into battalion combat task forces to support developing operations. It is a process of gradual compatibility with the units of North Atlantic Alliance and modernizing mortar weapons system with regard to prospective personnel reductions. It is important for joint commanders to be familiar with this kind of combat support, so that they could use it effectively in land operations.

The Impacts of Budget Reductions on Indiana’s Public Schools

In recent years, economic downturn and changes to Indiana’s school funding have resulted in significant financial reductions in General Fund allocations for many of Indiana’s public school corporations. The purposes of this three-year statewide study are to explore the possible impacts of these budget changes on class sizes, teaching position reductions, and student achievement indicators. Methods of data collection include a superintendent’s survey, a compilation of student standardized test scores, and an evaluation of financial records for participating school districts. Currently, year two is complete with 87 school corporations participating in both years of the study. Descriptive statistics reveal sizeable budget cuts across the state, significant reductions in instructional personnel, a rise in average class sizes, and an increase in standardized test scores. This inquiry provides needed information regarding the depth and breadth of school budget cuts, instructional position reductions, and current data regarding average class sizes for Indiana’s public schools.

Middle managers on the slide

PurposeThis article aims to examine middle managers in health care and how their role has changed in times of fiscal constraints. It seeks to focus particularly on how cost savings influence the position of middle managers in the organisation between governance and advocacy pressure.Design/methodology/approachA total of 25 Swedish middle managers from public health care organisations during fiscal constraints were interviewed about what contributes to their positioning in the organisation.FindingsThe loyalty of middle managers is tested in the “in between” role. Excessive loyalty, in any direction, can distance a middle manager from their expected position. In times of a weakening economy, middle managers are expected to be a tool that is used by the management to communicate savings, personnel reductions, redundancies and closures. This contributes to middle managers sliding out of their role in between.Practical implicationsMiddle managers’ skills are within care itself. In times of cost savings, demands are placed on their ability to handle advanced management tasks. They need to gain a clearer insight into management control, understanding conflict management and leadership.Originality/valueThe article explains not only why middle managers slide up (take on governance roles) and down (take on advocacy roles) in the organisation, which has been described previously. It also explains why middle managers slide out (abdicate responsibility) of the role between governance and advocacy during times of fiscal limitations.

An Examination of the Local Economic Impacts of Military Base Closures

The 1988 Base Closure and Realignment Act empowered the Commission on Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) to undertake five rounds of significant military base closure and realignment. Investigating the economic impacts associated with base closures provides the first step in not only determining whether the BRAC Commission has effectively minimized negative impacts on affected communities but also provides guidance to policy makers in targeting future base closures, and helps affected communities prepare for the economic shocks associated with these events. This article examines (a) the local economic impacts associated with general changes in military base employment; (b) if the first four, completed rounds of BRAC closures have a significant differential impact on county-level employment; (c) whether these BRAC closures exhibit economic spillover effects on the employment of neighboring counties; and (d) if the economic impact associated with BRAC losses differs for enlisted and civilian personnel reductions.

Long-Term Management of an Invasive Plant: Lessons from Seven Years ofPhragmites australisControl

Abstract We treated the invasive wetland grass, Phragmites australis (Common Reed), with herbicide in 99 (total of 14 ha) interdunal wetland swales of Sandy Neck barrier beach on Cape Cod, MA from 2002–2008. The herbicide applications have significantly reduced the number of Phragmites stems within invaded swales, with parallel reductions in personnel and chemical costs of the control program. After seven years of treatment, we have achieved substantial containment and suppression of Phragmites, but the plant persists in all but a few of the treated swales. Whether eradication or near-eradication can be ultimately achieved remains uncertain.