Social Mandate Research Articles

Identifying and Promoting Best Practices in Residency Application and Selection in a Complex Academic Health Network.

Medical education institutions have a social mandate to produce a diverse physician workforce that meets the public's needs. Recent reports have framed the admission process outcome of undergraduate and postgraduate medical education (UGME and PGME) programs as a key determinant of the collective contributions graduating cohorts will make to society, creating a sense of urgency around the issue of who gets accepted. The need for evidence-informed residency application and selection processes is growing because of the increasing size and diversity of the applicant pool and the need for equity, fairness, social accountability, and health human resource planning. The selection literature, however, is dominated by a UGME focus and emphasizes determination of desirable qualities of future physicians and selection instrument reliability and validity. Gaps remain regarding PGME selection, particularly the creation of specialty-specific selection criteria, suitable outcome measures, and reliable selection systems.In this Perspective, the authors describe the University of Toronto's centralized approach to defining system-level best practices for residency application and selection. Over the 2012-2013 academic year, the Best Practices in Application and Selection working group reviewed relevant literature and reports, consulted content experts, surveyed local practices, and conducted iterative stakeholder consultations on draft recommendations. Strong agreement arose around the resulting 13 principles and 24 best practices, which had either empirical support or face validity. These recommendations, which are shared in this article, have been adopted by the university's PGME advisory committee and will inform a national initiative to improve trainees' transition from UGME to PGME in Canada.

Corporate Social Initiatives and Employee Retention

Firms are increasingly launching initiatives with explicit social mandates. The business case for these often relies on one critical aspect of human capital management: employee retention. Although prior empirical studies have demonstrated a link between corporate social initiatives and intermediate employee-related outcomes such as motivation and identification with the firm, their relationship with final retention outcomes has not been investigated. Our study fills this gap. Using individual-level data for approximately 10,000 employees in a global management consulting firm, we present empirical evidence of a positive retention effect associated with employee participation in a corporate initiative with explicit social impact goals. In addition, we offer arguments for moderating conditions that weaken this relationship and present evidence consistent with our arguments. Further econometric analysis based on a stringent matching approach as well as additional analyses based on survey and interview data suggest that the retention effect can at least partly be attributed to treatment and is not all just a manifestation of sorting of certain types of employees into the social initiative. Overall, by demonstrating a positive association between social initiative participation and employee retention, this study highlights the need for further research into how corporate social engagement can serve as a tool for strategic human capital management.

Ética y Servicios Sociales: consideraciones sobre la intervención familiar

This article analyses the performance of ethical responsibility in the field of family intervention. It exposes briefly the double scope of family intervention: the scope of generic measures of family support and the scope of the care and protection of children on social risk. It sets out the features of the ethics of family intervention, pointing out on the one hand, that it is the social mandate which configures the identity and ethics of professional practice and on the other, emphasizing the need to distinguish between ethical, moral and legal norms in addressing the problems and dilemmas of the social intervention. In this context, a series of relevant issues in the ethics of family intervention are suggested. Family intervention involves the exercise of competences with great impact on people’s lives. Therefore, institutions and professionals must recognize those issues and include them in their professional curriculum along with a critical thinking approach on the ethics of social intervention on children, family and youth.

Challenges and opportunities for the school system

Educational agencies are going through a difficult transition, with important consequences in terms of de-legitimacy of the social mandate historically assigned to the school. The reason for this widespread unease can be traced to the fact that today we live in a complex system. This paper arises within this problematic framework with the intent to outline the most important lines of change affecting education agencies during the last fifteen years, paying particular attention to the new institutional and normative framework that redefined the whole educational structure in Italy. The objective of this paper is to contribute to the development of a new vision of the education system, more in line with the challenges posed by the global and complex society that emphasizes both the importance of evaluation of education agencies, on the basis of Quality Assurance more attentive to results, and the community’s responsibility to education.

The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

The scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) has a fascinating history, has played a significant role in higher education for the past 25 years, and has a specific meaning that has developed over time and with much debate. It has been part of national and international conversations that have questioned the role of scholarship and whether its increasingly restrictive standards have limited higher education’s ability to respond adequately to today’s academic and social mandates. This essay introduces Pedagogy in Health Promotion readers to SoTL’s origin as one of four scholarly functions proposed in Ernest Boyer’s highly influential book Scholarship Reconsidered: Priorities of the Professoriate. It summarizes these functions, describes SoTL’s subsequent development, and then applies all four functions to health education and health promotion discussing their relevance to the field. Finally, this essay raises questions regarding the current alignment of scholarship with professional roles and responsibilities and inquires whether a more authentic alignment might be achieved.

EDUCATIONAL INNOVATIONS: AXIOLOGICAL BASES OF MEGALOPOLIS YOUTH’S READINESS

The purpose of the present article is to examine the value bases of the readiness for innovations in the modern education of the youth of the megalopolises. Methods. As the methods were used: theoretical analysis and modeling method, as well as a survey of students of megalopolises (n = 1187) by the valuable questionnaire of S. Schwartz. Results. The authors give the description of educational innovations from the perspective of the overall needs of society in an individual which has technological skills and targets in acquiring and operating information. The reorientation of education on advancing development is implemented through numerous tactical and strategic changes in its form, content, methods and structure of the educational system in general. These changes can be united into five groups. Organizational innovations are pointed at changing the structure of education in accordance with the dynamic characteristics of society. Informative innovations suggest differentiation of activities and the level of responsibility of professionals in the same profile. The activity innovations are focused on changing the teachers’ readiness to transform their professional work and the development of their innovative competence. Productive innovations solve the problem of personality development of a professional in accordance with the social mandate. Socio-control innovations are designed to achieve transparency of management education for society. Implementation of the considered innovations is provided by numerous factors, which includes readiness of students to participate in the latest developments of the educational environment. The basis of this readiness contains value orientations, actualizing expectations and targets of young people as participants of innovations. Value priorities of megalopolis youth are highlighted: independence of thoughts and actions, hedonism, reputation and goodwill. On the one hand, these values provide a high readiness of young people to participate in educational innovation, but on the other, reflect their passive consumer attitudes towards innovation. Scientific novelty. The relation to introduction of innovations for today is underexplored. Authors of the publication have tried to close the gaps in this socially significant question. Practical significance. The obtained data can be used for organisation of innovation activities on education development and involving the most up-and-coming students as participants and creators.

Specialty resident perceptions of the impact of a distributed education model on practice location intentions

Objectives: There is an increased focus internationally on the social mandate of postgraduate training programs. This study explores specialty residents’ perceptions of the impact of the University of Calgary’s (UC) distributed education rotations on their self-perceived likelihood of practice location, and if this effect is influenced by resident specialty or stage of program.Methods: Residents participating in the UC Distributed Royal College Initiative (DistRCI) between July 2010 and June 2013 completed an online survey following their rotation. Descriptive statistics and student’s t-test were employed to analyze quantitative survey data, and a constant comparative approach was used to analyze free text qualitative responses.Results: Residents indicated they were satisfied with the program (92%), and that the distributed rotations significantly increased their self-reported likelihood of practicing in smaller centers (p < 0.05). The findings suggest that the shift in attitude is independent of discipline, program year, and logistical experiences of living at the distributed sites, and is consistent across multiple cohorts over several academic years.Conclusion: The findings highlight the value of a distributed education program in contributing to future practice and career development, and its relevance in the social accountability of postgraduate programs.

Evolving trends in nurse regulation: what are the policy impacts for nursing's social mandate?

We recognize a paradox of power and promise in the context of legislative and organizational changes in nurse regulation which poses constraints on nursing's capacity to bring voice and influence to pressing matters of healthcare and public policy. The profession is at an important crossroads wherein leaders must be well informed in political, economic and legislative trends to harness the profession's power while also navigating forces that may put at risk its central mission to serve society. We present a critical policy analysis of the impact of recent regulatory trends on what the International Council of Nurses considers nursing's three 'pillars' - the profession of nursing, socioeconomic welfare of nurses and nurse regulation. Themes surfacing from this analysis include regulatory discontinuity, a tightening of regulatory control, and an increasingly managerial governance culture. These themes illuminate insights and strategies required to renew and revitalize the social mandate of our profession amidst a climate of urgency in the questioning of nurse scholars with respect to the future of the profession. At this historic juncture, nurses must clearly understand the implications of legislative and organizational regulatory changes to ensure the profession contributes to full capacity in achieving health and health equity globally.

Confronting the social mandate for nursing scholarship – One school of nursing’s journey.

Confronting the social mandate for nursing scholarship – One school of nursing’s journey.

Estudo de uma Rede de Atenção Psicossocial: Paradoxos e Efeitos da Precariedade

Este estudo objetiva compreender a organização da assistência psicossocial em uma cidade de médio porte. Para tanto, desenvolveu-se uma pesquisa qualitativa, baseada no paradigma construtivista e apoiada em produções teóricas do campo da saúde coletiva e saúde mental. As estratégias metodológicas foram grupos focais, entrevistas em profundidade e pesquisa documental. Participaram 80 sujeitos, representados por profissionais da Estratégia de Saúde da Família (ESF), do Núcleo de Apoio à Saúde da Família e do Centro de Atenção Psicossocial (CAPS), bem como por usuários deste último. Identificaram-se paradoxos e impasses produzidos pela escassez de recursos, pelo lugar que o CAPS assume na atenção psicossocial da cidade e por uma incorporação da política nacional de saúde mental dissociada das reflexões críticas, da história e do constructo conceitual que a produziram. O CAPS assume lugar de referência e confiança para os pacientes, mas se mantém isolado e responsabilizado pelo mandato social sobre a loucura e o louco. Na ESF, os pacientes são identificados por meio dos signos da periculosidade e carência, enquanto que o remédio assume função de agente de apaziguamento, constituindo a principal estratégia terapêutica. Imersa no imaginário da precariedade, a rede estudada ilumina vários riscos para a consolidação da Reforma Psiquiátrica brasileira.

Challenges and Potential Solutions to Educating Learners About Pediatric Complex Care

ObjectiveTo identify existing challenges and potential strategies for providing complex care training to future pediatricians from a national group of educators. MethodsData were collected from pediatric educators involved in complex care at the Pediatric Educational Excellence Across the Continuum national meeting. Participants completed an anonymous 15-item survey adapted from the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) Best Practices for Better Care initiative and participated in a focus group to understand the challenges and potential solutions to pediatric complex care education. Data were analyzed using grounded theory. ResultsOf the 15 participants, 9 (60%) were in educational leadership positions. All participants provided care to children with medical complexity (CMC), although 80% (n = 12) reported no formal training. Thematic analysis revealed learners’ challenges in 2 domains: 1) a lack of ownership for the patient because of decreased continuity, decision-making authority, and autonomy, as a result of the multitude of care providers and parents’ distrust; and 2) a sense of being overwhelmed as a result of lack of preparedness and disruptions in work flow. Participants suggested 3 mitigating strategies: being candid about the difficulties of complex care, discussing the social mandate to care for CMC, and cultivating humility among learners. ConclusionsResidency education must prepare pediatricians to care for all children, regardless of disease. Training in complex care involves redefining the physician’s role so that they are better equipped to participate in collaboration, empathy and advocacy with CMC. This study is the first to identify specific challenges and offer potential solutions to help establish training guidelines.

Cultural competence: a constructivist definition.

In nursing education, most of the current teaching practices perpetuate an essentialist perspective of culture and make it imperative to refresh the concept of cultural competence in nursing. The purpose of this article is to propose a constructivist definition of cultural competence that stems from the conclusions of an extensive critical review of the literature on the concepts of culture, cultural competence, and cultural safety among nurses and other health professionals. The proposed constructivist definition is situated in the unitary-transformative paradigm in nursing as defined by Newman and colleagues. It makes the connection between the field of competency-based education and the nursing discipline. Cultural competence in a constructivist paradigm that is oriented toward critical, reflective practice can help us develop knowledge about the role of nurses in reducing health inequalities and lead to a comprehensive ethical reflection about the social mandate of health care professionals.

Schools of Hope: How Julius Rosenwald Helped Change African American Education by Norman H. Finkelstein (review)

Reviewed by: Schools of Hope: How Julius Rosenwald Helped Change African American Education by Norman H. Finkelstein Elizabeth Bush Finkelstein, Norman H. Schools of Hope: How Julius Rosenwald Helped Change African American Education. Calkins Creek, 2014. 80p. illus. with photographs ISBN 978-1-59078-841-7 $16.95 R Gr. 5-8. Inspired by the teaching of Rabbi Emil Hirsch, Sears, Roebuck president Julius Rosenwald developed a personal philosophy of philanthropy and expanded on his early career goal of making $15,000 a year—keeping a third for living expenses, saving a third for the future, and giving a third to charity. A successful businessman at the dawn of the twentieth century, he looked for worthy causes and found an ideal collaboration with Booker T. Washington, whose philosophy of self-help leading to social advancement meshed well with his own. Working at first through Washington’s Tuskegee Institute and later through his own foundation, Rosenwald established schools for black children throughout the South, setting strict expectations for matching funds and long-term management through the extant public school systems. Finkelstein examines the philanthropic activities of the man readers may have met in Carole Boston Weatherford’s fictional Dear Mr. Rosenwald (BCCB 10/06). This work delves more deeply into Rosenwald’s other charitable work and ably contextualizes the school-building program within the “separate but equal” social mandate that was then the law of the land. Plenty of black and white photos and architectural plans provide a vivid picture of the before-and-after state of post–Civil War black schools, and they also bring readers up to date on current preservation efforts. Index, citations, and print and online sources are included. Copyright © 2014 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois

Deep Dive and Back: Social Impact Projects, Conflicting Institutional Logics, and Employee Retention

Firms are increasingly launching initiatives with explicit social mandates. Often the business case for these initiatives is justified through one critical aspect of human capital management: employee retention. Although prior empirical studies have demonstrated a link between such corporate social initiatives and intermediate employee-related outcomes like motivation and identification with the firm, the relationship between employee participation in these initiatives and retention outcomes has not been investigated. Our study fills this gap. Using individual-level project participation and retention data for approximately 10,000 employees in a global management consulting firm, we present empirical evidence in support of a positive retention effect associated with participation in an initiative with social impact goals. In addition, we offer arguments for moderating conditions that might weaken this relationship, and present evidence consistent with these arguments. Further econometric analysis based on a stringent matching approach as well as additional analyses based on survey and interview data also point towards there being a retention effect. Overall, by demonstrating a positive association between corporate social engagement and employee retention, this study calls attention to the need for further research into the mechanisms through which social engagement can serve as a tool for strategic human capital management.

Disruptive Innovation and the Global Emergence of Hybrid Corporate Legal Structures

A 'hybrid' is a corporate entity that embodies legal features which empower businesses to pursue dual economic and social mandates. This article explores how the global development of hybrid corporations have the potential to foster disruptive innovations in the marketplace that, in combination with top-down regulatory reform, will contribute to an environment where sustainable companies become the norm

L’ambiguïté du mandat social de la psychiatrie

Because psychiatry, like any medicine, is an art, the evolution of its assumptions and knowledge depends on its inclusion in a social context including power play and skill. Historically, the requirement of independence of psychiatry is based on a balance of power in favor of the statutory university neuropsychiatry and a report of knowledge that has its origins in exercise conditions specific to the nascent sectored practice. The Antipsychiatric quarrel of 1960s demonstrates particularly well identity tension between judgment on society and medical defence. Nowadays, the issue of social sanitarisation is testing the double figure against which the French psychiatric common culture is built: That of the asylum support meeting a social demand for exclusion of the mental illness, that the denial of a medical status of madness preventing a return to the sick hope of recovery and integration into the community. The emergence of the concept of psychosocial distress in the early 1990s, correlated with the development of public policies, especially those known as the integration and inclusion, and the deinstitutionalization movement that marks the psychiatric care system reactualize the nagging question of the social mandate of psychiatry, and with it, the relationship between professional psychiatric cultures and mental health policies.

Deep Dive and Back: Social Impact Projects and Employee Retention

Increasingly firms encourage their employees to devote part of their time to projects with an explicit social mandate. One justification for doing so is the potential for improved employee retentio...

Dinámicas institucionales en situaciones de cambio: entre el cuestionamiento y las improntas de mitos fundacionales

Innovations in educational institutions are of great complexity, considering they impact their very constituent elements. This work analyzes institutional dynamics in situations of curricular innovation, embodied in intersubjectivities of different professor groups, through the grading of final exams of the students. In this sense, different types of statistical analyses of student grades represent an axis for the analysis that accounts for the questioning of change and of imprints of foundational myths. The value of a correlation of meanings reflected in different types of analyses of the grades given by professors to students can indicate what each individual considers as valid and false and may represent an interesting thread to expand the way of looking at unconscious social mandates. In order to understand the complexity of institutions it is important to reveal their history and reflect on the way in which practices and social interweavings of times past have turned into enabling and restricting structures of the present.

School physical education in the transition from solid modernity to liquid modernity: the Brazilian case

This article discusses the implications of the contemporary transition from a solid modernity to a liquid modernity for school physical education, according to the metaphors adopted by the Polish sociologist and English resident Zygmunt Bauman. By leveraging Bauman's sociological theory, this article pursues two aims: (1) to examine how physical education was forged by the characteristics of solid modernity and (2) to demonstrate how the cultural dynamics of contemporary bodily practices can be analyzed and interpreted based on the characteristics of the so-called liquid modernity. The article further argues that the contours of liquid modernity indicate the need for a ‘culturalist turn’ in physical education, which would mean giving up a model requiring universal claims of solid modernity. Finally, the article concludes with some reflections on the need to revise the social mandate of school physical education, as well as on some of the challenges that must be faced by this field.

¿Son necesarias las televisiones públicas en España? Un debate adulterado

La información no es sólo mercancía u objeto de especulación económica. Es un derecho y un acto de justicia. La información no pertenece al propietario de la empresa informativa. Le asiste el derecho a explotar el servicio, sí, pero el derecho de información es un mandato social que le excede. Por ello, las televisiones públicas, nacidas bajo esos principios de pertenencia ciudadana, deberían ser un espacio de libertad y de respeto hacia trabajadores y ciudadanos: los primeros, como mediadores y garantes de la veracidad informativa; los segundos, como sujetos receptores y titulares soberanos del derecho de información.