Specialized Workforce Research Articles

Coping with disruptive patients: Perspectives of primary care employees.

The impact of patient aggression on primary health care employees is underexplored, yet imperative to address, given high rates of burnout. We qualitatively explore perceptions of patient aggression among staff in women's health primary care at the Veterans Health Administration (VA). Our objective is to identify coping strategies that staf devised in response to aggressive behavior. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 60 VA women's health primary care employees in 2021 and 2022. Informed by the Job Demands-Resources theoretical model, we used rapid qualitative analysis to identify themes related to patient aggression and employee coping strategies. Disruptive behaviors reported by participants included verbal and physical aggression. Staff cited disruptive patient behavior as emotionally draining and perceived a lack of consequences for low-level aggression. Respondents used coping strategies in response to patient aggression at three time points: before, during, and after a negative interaction. At each point, support from team members emerged as a dominant coping mechanism, as well as rapport-building with patients. Patient aggression can negatively impact the work experiences of primary care employees. At VA, women's health primary care staff have devised multiple strategies to cope with these interactions. However, the ability to effectively prevent and manage patient aggression is limited by the lack of meaningful repercussions for aggression at the organizational level, which has important implications for employee well-being and retention. Retention of women's health employees in VA is critical given the need for a highly specialized workforce to address the complex health needs of women veterans.

The need for health system strengthening in the wake of natural disasters: Lessons from the 2023 Türkiye–Syria earthquake

AbstractThe 2023 Türkiye–Syria earthquake was reported as the largest earthquake of Mw7.8, resulting in over 50,783 and 7259 deaths in Turkey and Syria, respectively. It has also damaged numerous residential buildings and other essential infrastructures, thus rendering more than 850,000 children and 356,000 pregnant women homeless, forcing them into displacement and its dire consequences, such as inadequate temporary shelters, a lack of access to safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), necessary for disease prevention, health promotion and maintenance. The disaster has disproportionately affected the Syrian refugee community in Turkey as it has fuelled disparities and discrimination, exacerbating the response to the disaster and forcing refugees to return to Syria due to dire living conditions. Minimizing the effects of the disaster on the communities is therefore essential. There is a need to strengthen health system resilience and emergency response to natural disasters to reduce and prevent the aftermath. Disaster preparedness plans should include regulations that ensure that local buildings and infrastructure are disaster‐resistant. Furthermore, it is vital to highlight the importance of funding and appropriate resource allocation for disaster risk reduction. These include improving plans and logistics for recovery efforts, adequate preparation of temporary shelters and evacuation centres and allocating necessities such as food and water. Investment in proper search and rescue response, a special workforce for response and the rebuilding of important infrastructure are crucial. Finally, response to disasters must be inclusive and prioritize vulnerable populations, such as children, the aged women and refugees.

ACPSEM position paper on ROMP scope of practice and staffing levels for magnetic resonance linear accelerators

The purpose of this position paper is to outline the ACPSEM recommendations on Medical Physicist scope of practice and staffing levels, as they relate to the use of dedicated MRI-Linacs in the treatment of patients. A core function of Medical Physicists is to safely implement changes in medical practice via the introduction of new technology and to ensure high quality radiation oncology services are provided to patients. Determining the feasibility of MRI-Linacs in any existing setting, or in establishing a new site, mandates the knowledge and services of Radiation Oncology Medical Physicists (ROMPs) as the Qualified Experts within this setting. ROMPs are key members of the multi-disciplinary team which will be required to steer the successful establishment of MRI Linac infrastructure within departments. To support efficient implementation, ROMPs must be embedded in the process from the start, including any feasibility study, initiation of the project, and development of the business case. ROMPs must be retained throughout all stages of acquisition, service development, and ongoing clinical use and expansion. The number of MRI-Linacs in Australia and New Zealand is growing. This expansion is occurring in parallel with rapid technological evolution, expanding tumour stream applications, and increasing consumer uptake. Growth and applications of MRI-Linac therapy will continue to occur beyond current known horizons, via development on the MR-Linac platform itself and through the migration of learning from this platform to conventional Linacs (known horizons for example include the use of daily, online image guided adaptive radiotherapy and MRI data informing decision making for planning and treatment before and throughout treatment courses). Clinical use, research and development will be a significant component of expanding patient access to MRI-Linac treatment and there will be an ongoing need to attract and retain ROMPs to initially establish services and in particular to drive service development and delivery for the life of the Linacs. MRI and Linac technologies mean it is necessary to perform a specialized workforce assessment for these devices, distinct from those employed for conventional Linacs and associated services. MRI-Linacs are complex, have a heightened risk profile compared to standard Linacs, and are unique in their treatment of patients. Accordingly, the workforce needs for MRI-Linacs are greater than for standard Linacs. To ensure safe and high-quality Radiation Oncology patient services are provided, it is recommended that staffing levels should be based on the 2021 ACPSEM Australian Radiation Workforce model and calculator using the MRI-Linac specific ROMP workforce modelling guidelines outlined in this paper. The ACPSEM workforce model and calculator are closely aligned with other Australian/New Zealand and international benchmarks.

A Porter's Five Forces Model Proposal for Additive Manufacturing Technology: A Case Study in Portuguese industry

Industry 4.0 constituted a trigger to a new phase in the Industrial Revolution, heavily focused on the interconnectivity of the systems, bringing disruptive technologies such as Additive Manufacturing (AM). On top of that, in the past few decades AM has been gaining visibility due to technological evolution and due to the need to increase differentiating factors to overtake competitors. Coupled with this, phenomenon such as increased firms’ competitivity and rivalry, increased customer demand and diversity and the shift from an industrial economy to a knowledge-based economy are leading to the emergence of new business models. However, despite of AM's business possibilities, in literature it is missing a model to analyse the impact of AM in business strategy. Accordingly, the present research focuses on understanding how AM impacts firms’ business strategy. To achieve that objective, is proposed an adaptation of Porter's Five Forces Model to aid in positioning firms’ strategy when using AM. The model was applied to 13 organisations operating with AM in Portugal. It was possible to conclude that all the participating firms, except one, fit in the incremental stream of development as regards to AM technology, where AM technologies appear as a complementing technology. Also, the participating firms seem to experience the low capability to capture specialized workforce for AM, high capital requirements to enter the market and low IPR regulation. AM brings an opportunity for higher bargaining power to arise due to 'prosumerism', yet it does not add value as a tool for the standard products industry. Moreover, suppliers strongly influence sectors' competition, which will presumably suffer from increased rivalry tensions.

Management and outcomes of spinal tuberculosis in Africa: a scoping review protocol

AbstractBackgroundSpinal tuberculosis (TB) remains a major public health challenge in Africa, where 85% of the global deaths from TB is recorded. Patients with spinal TB have a high tendency to develop permanent disability, with significant financial costs. Most patients with spinal TB from Africa are unable to receive timely and effective intervention due to several socio-economic factors, deplorable healthcare infrastructure and inadequate specialized workforce. In addition, there is a lack of contextually appropriate evidence-based guidelines for management of this potentially debilitating but treatable condition. This scoping review protocol outlines how the authors aim to investigate the available evidence on the management and outcome of spinal TB in Africa.MethodsAJOL, Embase, Pubmed/Medline, Google Scholar and Conchrane will be searched for articles published on the management and outcome of TB since the inception of the database. All patients from any of the 54 African countries will be included regardless of the socio-demographics.ResultsThe primary outcomes will include the available treatment modalities and the clinical outcomes among patients managed for spinal TB in Africa. Secondary outcomes will include the epidemiology of spinal TB in Africa, information on the availability of diagnostic tools and the challenges faced in the management of spinal TB in Africa, including delays in treatment.DiscussionAnalysis of the outcomes and prognostic indicators will allow for a comparison of patient cohorts and the effectiveness of the different treatment modalities employed across Africa. This scoping review will be the first to address this research question.

Assessment of masticatory function in the differential diagnosis of Stage IV periodontitis: A pilot diagnostic accuracy study.

After diagnosis of periodontitis is made, detection of Stage IV cases is critical for appropriate management that may call for interdisciplinary care. This study aims to identify and assess the accuracy of a simple screening approach for practice and surveillance of Stage IV periodontitis. Masticatory function assessments by both validated self-reported masticatory dysfunction questionnaire and dual-color chewing gum mixing ability test (index test) were conducted in 214 consecutive patients, followed by a full-mouth periodontal examination. Periodontal diagnosis was based on the 2017 World Workshop classification of periodontal diseases (reference standard). Multivariate logistic regression and area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) analyses were performed. Overall, the individual patient-reported masticatory dysfunction questions showed low to moderate accuracy for predicting Stage IV periodontitis. The objective measures of masticatory function by calculating the variance of hue from the chewing gum test performed better with an AUROC of 0.840. A diagnostic approach based on age, self-report of altered food type intake, and chewing gum test results exhibited excellent performance for predicting Stage IV periodontitis (sensitivity: 89.7%; specificity:76.3%; AUROC:0.912). Once the presence of periodontitis has been established, a simple diagnostic approach that does not require specialized workforce, complex, or lengthy assessment allows identification of patients with Stage IV periodontitis. This is important as these patients require specific case work up and interdisciplinary care pathways. Additional studies are required to validate the findings in multiple populations.

Advances in training of the specialized human resources for health in Tanzania: the case of Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences

BackgroundIncreasing the number of specialized human resources for health is paramount to attainment of the United Nations sustainable development goals. Higher learning institutions in low-and middle-income countries must address this necessity. Here, we describe the 5-years trends in accreditation of the clinical and non-clinical postgraduate (PG) programmes, student admission and graduation at the Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (MUHAS) in Tanzania, highlighting successes, challenges and opportunities for improvement.MethodsThis was a retrospective longitudinal study describing trends in PG training at MUHAS between 2015 and 2016 and 2019-2020. Major interventions in the reporting period included university-wide short course training programme to faculty on curricula development and initiation of online application system. Data were collected through a review of secondary data from various university records and was analyzed descriptively. Primary outcomes were the number of accredited PG programmes, number of PG applicants as well as proportions of applicants selected, applicants registered (enrolled) and students graduated, with a focus on gender and internationalization (students who are not from Tanzania).ResultsThe number of PG programmes increased from 60 in 2015-2016 to 77 in 2019-2020, including programmes in rare fields such as cardiothoracic surgery, cardiothoracic anesthesia and critical care. The number of PG applications, selected applicants, registered applicants and PG students graduating at the university over the past five academic years had steadily increased by 79, 81, 50 and 79%, respectively. The average proportions of PG students who applied, were selected and registered as well as graduated at the university over the past five years by gender and internationalization has remained stably at 60% vs. 40% (male vs. female) and 90% vs. 10% (Tanzanian vs. international), respectively. In total, the university graduated 1348 specialized healthcare workers in the five years period, including 45 super-specialists in critical fields, through a steady increase from 200 graduates in 2015-2016 to 357 graduates in 2019-2020. Major challenges encountered include inadequate sponsorship, limited number of academic staff and limited physical infrastructure for teaching.ConclusionDespite challenges encountered, MUHAS has made significant advances over the past five years in training of specialized and super-specialized healthcare workforce by increasing the number of programmes, enrollment and graduates whilst maintaining a narrow gender gap and international relevance. MUHAS will continue to be the pillar in training of the specialized human resources for health and is thus poised to contribute to timely attainment of the health-related United Nations sustainable development goals in Tanzania and beyond, particularly within the Sub-Saharan Africa region.

IoT Based Smart Intruder Detection System For Smart Homes

The intruder detection system is targeted for the private areas, restricted areas and for the domestic home applications to notify the entrance of the intruder or any person to the specified areas. The intruder detection system eliminates the theft and entrance of the persons to the restricted areas by notifying the owner or the gardener through the registered application when the system detects an intruder in the locality. In this work an IoT based intruder detection system named Smart-IDS is proposed to avoid the entrance of the person without any special workforce for the target location. The proposed Smart-IDS detects the intruder using the Node MCU and Ultrasonic sensor and the cloud based Blynk application is employed to send the alert notification to the user. The experiments with the proposed Smart-IDS has performed more efficiently.

Mammography Services in Zambia

Breast cancer is the second most common cancer after cervical cancer and the leading causes of death in women in Zambia. To overcome this challenge, a national early diagnosis of breast cancer programme has been established by the Ministry of Health which includes offering mammography services. This paper aims to review the status of the mammography services in Zambia. The availability of mammography services has significantly improved the diagnosis of breast cancer in this country. However, the delivery of services is being humped by numerous challenges such as lack of awareness, the inconsistent supply of consumables, limited human resources, and lack of education and training programs. There is a need to improve the delivery of mammography services by establishing a well-structured and specialized workforce and bringing services closer to the community.

Quality Management and Best Practices: An Experiential Learning Model for Higher Education with a special reference to Laxmi Memorial Education Trust

Education helps men and women claim their rights and realize their potential in the economic, political and social arenas. It is also the single most powerful way to lift people knowledge-based society. Further, higher educational institutions contribute to the growth of the nation by providing specialized knowledge and skilled work force. Education helps men and women claim their rights and realize their potential in the economic, political and social arenas. It is also the single most powerful way to lift people knowledge-based society. Further, higher educational institutions contribute to the growth of the nation by providing specialized knowledge and skilled work force. Though India has a very large population of youth who lookup for higher education, the number and percentage of students enrolling for higher education and professional courses are far below the world average. Educational institutions have realized that in the highly competitive environment, students can be attracted to them only by providing the best in terms of facilities and inputs. But, there is still no universal consensus on how best the quality can be managed within higher education. The present study tries to understand and report the views and perceptions of heads of educational institutions, faculty and the students from selected five institutions functioning under Laxmi Memorial Education Trust ® (LMET), with reference to quality on various dimensions and to develop a model based on the research indication received.

Solutions for hazards on access road to dam Sveta Petka

AbstractOctopus Rijeka at 2014 begins with international activity through his branch office in Skopje, and at 2015 begins with project “Slope protection of access road to dam Sveta Petka” in Macedonia. This project was exceptionally complex constructional operation, taking in consideration objective geological conditions, extreme geometric parameters of cross profile (slopes about 50 m high), as well as necessity of work in conditions of active traffic. All this required engagement of special machines and special workforce. About this project the most characteristic thing were often landslides on parts. The work section was long about 6 km, and for rehabilitation were provided: 58 000 m2 protection wire mesh, 18 000 m’ anchors, in length from three to eight meters and 2 500 m3 shotcrete. The design provided many work activities, depending from configuration of site and rehabilitation type: slope protection with wire mesh and/or shotcrete; rehabilitation of scree, installation of gabions etc.

A Study on the Satisfaction of the Trust in the Land Trust - Focused on the Borrowed Land Trust -

In this study, the factors affecting the level of satisfaction were found in people with experience using borrowed land trusts to seek ways to activate the borrowed land trust later. Research models were set up and multiple regression analysis performed by analyzing the factors affecting the degree of trust satisfaction through the existing prior study on the borrowed land trust, the theoretical review, and the interview with the professional group. The analysis showed that the characteristic variables affecting the level of satisfaction of the borrowed land trust are stability factors, reliability factors, convenience factors, rapidness factors, and fairness factors. In addition, the reliability factors were found to be the most influential factors affecting the degree of trust satisfaction, followed by the factors of rapidness, convenience and stability. The implications for promoting the borrowed land trust based on the analysis results are as follows : First, as the reliability factors show a high level of satisfaction with the trust company, it should focus on enhancing its perception of the trust company s brand and reputation, and on ensuring its compliance with the trust contract terms and conditions. Second, since the factor of rapidness have a significant impact on the level of trust satisfaction, it is necessary to consider improving the continuous procedures for making quick and reasonable decisions on the decision to buy a borrowed land trust and to proceed with the project. Third, if the trust company had focused on quantitative growth amid the booming real estate market and the increase in development demand, it would introduce a specialized workforce training system to enhance the professionalism of the borrowed land trust, a major beneficiary of the trust company. Lastly, efforts will be made to maintain close relations through continuous sharing of knowledge and information with borrowed land trust clients.

E PLURIBUS UNUM? THE COMMUNITARIZATION OF EU MIGRATION, ASYLUM AND BORDER MANAGEMENT POLICIES IN TIMES OF CRISIS

The article accounts for the emergence of an external dimension of EU internal policies and focuses on the migration, asylum and border management domains. Building on Bretherton & Vogler (2006), it assesses and explains the forms and extent of EU’s external engagement. Firstly, it assesses the degree of EU actorness – that is, the extent to which the Union has become an actor in global politics - in the researched fields in terms of opportunity, presence and capabilities. Secondly, it attempts to explain the emergence of such EU external engagement. While the article defends that the treaty objective of creating an European Area of Freedom, Security and Justice (article 3 TEU) makes EU external action in the migration, asylum and border control domains necessary, it also acknowledges the role of external triggers, such as the so-called 2015 ‘migration and refugee crisis’. On the one hand, external events can provide scope conditions accelerating the pace by which EU external action is pursued. On the other hand, they can also trigger the comeback of hard security concerns linked to claims for ‘more national sovereignty’, thus constraining the development of EU (external) action. The analysis carried out shows that the degree of EU actorness varies considerably across the three domains researched. On one extreme of the continuum, neo-realist understandings of increased arrivals of foreign citizens as hard security challenges to member states account for the enhanced interest in cooperation at the intergovernmental level. Such interpretations explain why the most established domain for EU external engagement is the cooperation with third countries on border management, as it is shown by the expansion of the mandate of EU agencies such as Europol and Frontex, or by negotiation by the European Commission of international agreements containing clauses on readmission of third country citizens irregularly residing in the EU to their countries of origin (the Mobility Partnerships). Less developed, yet quickly evolving, is the EU external dimension of migration policies. Functional concerns related to the need to acquire highly specialized (and relatively cheap) workforce towards an efficient functioning of the single market have prompted a remarkable the law-making in this area, as shown by the EC directives and regulations aimed at third country students, unpaid trainees, voluntary workers and big corporations’ staff. While the neo-functionalist logic explains the emergence of the external dimension of EU migration policies, it may also explain this development is currently limited to certain areas within the policy area. A comprehensive approach to migration policy has not proved possible to achieve so far, due to institutional and bureaucratic limitations, as well as the different agenda of national policymakers. On the other extreme of the continuum, liberal theories and constructivism account for the constraints currently limiting the full development of EU actorness in asylum policies. Several member states’ civil societies do not perceive prospects for absolute gains deriving from cooperation at the EU level. Constraints to the establishment of international institutions regulating asylum policies are thus understood through the lack of strong societal pressures at the member states level. Therefore, while the article puts forward a combination of neo-functionalist, neo-realist, liberal intergovernamentalist and constructivist explanations to account for the emergence of an external dimension of migration asylum and border management policies, as wells as for the obstacles opposing that process, it also provides evidence that external triggers such as increased migratory pressure lead to internal policy dynamics with positive or negative impacts on the shift of actorness from EU member states to the EU itself.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.eis.0.11.18956

Investigating the Role and Function of Rural Municipality Cooperatives in Rural Development in Golestan Province

Extended abstract 1. INTRODUCTION The use of local and institutes is one of the management approaches in rural communities that in certain periods of the history of rural development is considered. In this regard, rural municipality cooperatives have been formed in many areas and have been played highly effective role in facilitating services of rural municipality. Therefore, current research aimed to investigate the role and function of rural municipality cooperatives in rural development in Golestan Province. 2. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK Rural management, by definition, is a process in which and institutions are shaped to meet the objectives of the rural community and, in fact, organizing and conducting community and rural environment occurs. Within this general definition, the aims such as rural modernization and improving the physical environment, guiding and monitoring the process of rural development and improving living and working conditions for rural management could be considered. With establishment of rural municipalities in addition to rural council, as legislator and approval of rural development programs, executive management of village affairs was laid to rural municipalities. So, rural municipalities as non-governmental organizations, which administrate rural affairs under the supervision of local villagers and Islamic Councils, have important duties in the field of public affairs. Moreover, the rural municipality’s cooperative is a voluntary association for collective action of rural administrator in taking the needs of the construction, services, economic and socio-cultural as well as promoting and developing rural areas. Rural municipality’s cooperative with a few basic purposes were formed, one of which improve the livelihoods, health and well-being of the villagers. The second objective is contributing to economic self-sufficiency and strengthening rural municipality and the third goal is the creation of productive and sustainable employment in rural areas which is a very important purpose of this cooperatives. In the final conclusion with regard to the economic and developmental benefits associated with rural municipality’s cooperative, most important activities of this cooperation can include implementation of rural development projects, providing engineering and consulting services in the village, helping rural municipality in services and civil activities, providing equipment for the private sector to carry out construction activities and services, creating network to gather crops and livestock and industrial of rural people and implementation of economic projects to maintain and exploit natural resources of rural areas. 3. METHODOLOGY Statistical population was 830 of rural administrators who had membership in municipality cooperatives of Golestan province. Sample size (n=118) was determinated by Cochran's formula. The sample was selected by cluster sampling technique within 9 rural municipality cooperatives. Validity of the research questionnaire was confirmed by 3 experts from Golestan municipality cooperatives and faculty members. Calculated Cronbach alpha coefficient as indication of questionnaire’s reliability was equal to 0.928, 0.840, 0.901 and 0.908 for main part of questionnaire, including civil, economic services and socio-cultural function respectively. 4. DISCUSSION Results of ranking items related to each function showed that participation in the construction and improvement of rural housing regarding civil function, investment to improve agricultural and industrial production regarding economic function, leveling the rural streets regarding service function and training managers familiar with the conditions of the village and local organizations regarding social-cultural function had a high priority. One sample t test results showed that the municipality cooperatives have no role and effect on rural development. Friedman test results showed that the impact of functions are not different and have equal priority. Results of independent sample t-test showed that municipality cooperatives in the central district of each county have better functions. Kruskal-Wallis test to compare the performance of the municipality cooperative based on years of establishment showed that cooperative with longer years of establishment have better performance in all the four functions. Kruskal-Wallis test results to compare the performance of the municipality cooperative among counties showed that Gorgan county has high performance in civil and services function while Kordkoy county has high performance in socio-cultural and economic function 5– Conclusion Limitation/strategies: The focus of this study was to examine the role and function of rural municipality cooperatives in taking rural development, so it is expected that future researches investigate identification strategies to improve the performance of role and functions of the cooperatives. According to the findings, collaboration rural demarche to provide the required machinery, transfer of development projects and providing specialized workforce, support in financing from the district council, coordination of all rural councils and rural municipalities with cooperatives, establishment of funding, insurance, planning for effective communication and consultation meetings between cooperatives in county, province and country to improve the role and functioning of cooperatives is effective. Moreover, understanding the role and function of rural municipality cooperatives in rural development in Golestan province and providing recommendations for improving the performance of this type of cooperatives are originality and value of this research.

Emergency Vehicle Positioning, Inc

Emergency Vehicle Positioning, (EVPI), has developed a satellite-based tracking system that continuously updates and displays the location of every vehicle in its network. A recently signed contract presents new technical challenges that may make the normally installed system inadequate. While it is possible to augment the system so that it will definitely work, doing so would entail considerable cost. This case is a modified version of Siting Systems, Inc. (UVA-QA-0441). The only difference is that the QA-0441 provides all possible conditional probabilities, offering a slightly different introduction to Bayes's Theorem. In this case, only the recent conditional probabilities are provided. Indeed, except for the name, date, final paragraph (which mentions the other probabilities), and the exhibit on conditional probabilities, the cases are identical. Therefore, the teaching note for the Integrated Siting Systems case (UVA-QA-0441TN) is also appropriate for this case. Excerpt UVA-QA-0512 Rev. May 23, 2018 Emergency Vehicle Positioning, After the plentiful years of the Reagan military buildup, the defense industry realized that it would have to diversify into nonmilitary applications if it were to survive the contractions of the mid-1990s without losing the capabilities of its highly trained and specialized work force. One result was the spin-off of a variety of small firms, each attempting to commercialize some collection of specialized skills and technologies that had been developed for military use. Emergency Vehicle Positioning, (EVPI), was one such firm. By February 1996, not only had EVPI successfully navigated the system-development phase of its first commercial product—an integrated, real-time, mobile-vehicle-tracking system—but it had already successfully installed its first several systems. The EVPI tracking system continuously updated and displayed the location of every vehicle in its network on centralized maps at any number of dispatch centers. It was designed for use by emergency-services providers, such as ambulances, police, and fire departments. By tracking and routing mobile units to emergency sites, response times could be reduced significantly from those of traditional systems that dispatched centrally housed vehicles. When the system was used with vehicles already in motion, performance time could be further improved by automatically tracking both the location and availability of each vehicle (whether available for a call or currently active). The EVPI system had already demonstrated response-time reductions in excess of 10%. Because improved 911 response time often meant saved lives, and because many emergency-services providers were paid on the basis of realized response time, interest in the system was high. . . .

Morgan Stanley Group, Inc.: Initial Public Offering

This case involves the analysis of the price at which Morgan Stanley proposes initially to offer its shares. The required analysis includes various valuation techniques, as well as the qualitative assessment of strategic and environmental factors. A student Lotus worksheet file is available on computer diskette for use with this case. Excerpt UVA-F-0719 MORGAN STANLEY GROUP, INC.: INITIAL PUBLIC OFFERING On February 14, 1986, the investment bank of Morgan Stanley & Co. issued a preliminary prospectus for the sale of 4,500,000 shares of its own common stock to the public at a price estimated to be between $ 42 and $ 46 per share. This move signaled a new era in the firm's history, as previously Morgan Stanley had been organized as a “partnership” consisting of 111 managing directors and 143 principals. The offering raised numerous questions: Why had Morgan Stanley chosen to go public rather than sell to a large and well-capitalized buyer? Why did Morgan Stanley need external capital at all? Securities Industry Morgan Stanley competed with an array of firms providing underwriting, financial advice, distribution, and trading/market-making functions. Exhibit 1 provides general financial information on major domestic investment banks but, in addition, Morgan Stanley regarded itself as an international securities firm and included in its realm of competitors merchant banks (for example: S. G. Warburg & Co.), universal banks (for example: Deutschebank), the London investment banking subsidiaries of U.S. money center banks, and large Japanese financial services firms (for example: Nomura Securities). Several trends were changing the competitive structure of the securities industry. Exhibit 2 suggests the magnitude and avenues of change. The trends included increasing concentration of competition, technological change in information support systems, rising demand for a highly specialized work force, innovation in the design of financial securities, the advent of globalized trading and underwriting, inter-market trading (for example: between futures, options, and stocks), and quasi-merchant banking activities. Of special significance was the introduction of Rule 415 in 1982, which allowed corporations to keep registration statements “on the shelf” and quickly (i.e., in two days) issue securities. This rule was credited with eroding investment banking relationships and motivating issuers to seek bids for underwriting business. More recently, investment bankers had begun to bid for the entire underwriting issue in “bought deals” that were then sold directly to investors and distributed to other firms. The new levels of competition in underwriting required more capital. . . .

La ruta del tabaco: migración temporal entre Nayarit, México y la Costa Este de Estados Unidos.

<p align="LEFT"> </p><p><strong><span style="color: #221e1f; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="color: #221e1f; font-size: xx-small;">Nayarit es el principal estado productor de tabaco en México; sin embargo, dicha actividad ha venido a menos desde principios de los años ochenta, principalmente reflejada en una reducción de la superficie cultivada de tabaco y en el número de productores habilitados. El objetivo general de este trabajo consiste en dar a conocer el impacto que el fenómeno migratorio Santiago Ixcuintla, Nayarit-Costa Este de Estados Unidos ha tenido entre los migrantes y sus familias en términos de agricultura, capital económico, capital intelectual y capital social. Como eje que guía la presente investigación planteamos que el empleo en los campos de tabaco en Estados Unidos es uno de los factores importantes por los cuales no ha tenido eco la política de reconversión productiva para el tabaco en Nayarit que entró en vigor a partir de 2004. La histórica producción tabacalera en Nayarit ha formado una mano de obra especializada que emplean en los tabacales de Estados Unidos; así entonces, ¿cómo dejar la actividad que les permite ser la mano de obra especializada por la cual son contratados, en un lugar donde les pagan como jornaleros, hasta diez veces más de lo que ganan aquí como productores?</span></span></strong></p>

Az Audi Hungaria Motor Kft. hatása a helyi gazdasági és társadalmi folyamatokra

Egy terület gazdasági szerkezetének vizsgálatában és területi tőkéjének összetételében a magán- és állótőke mérése a területi hatások megfigyelése szempontjából fontos. Győr város fontos feladata a gazdaság történelmi múltra építő működésének fejlesztése. A tanulmány az Audi Hungaria Motor Kft. Győr város gazdasági környezetébe való beágyazódását foglalja össze. Kiemelem azokat a vállalati tulajdonságokat, melyek hatással vannak Győr életére, hangsúlyozom a vállalati adottságokat, az innovatív törekvéseket (logisztika, társadalmi felelősségvállalás). Fejezetenként tárgyalom a gazdasági környezet azon jelenségeit, folyamatait, melyek a vállalat jelenlétéből adódóan a városi és a nemzetgazdaságra jelentős hatással vannak. Ezek a regionális gazdaság számára fontos hatásmechanizmusokat képeznek, melyek szem előtt tartása fontos lehet a város hosszú távú területi fejlődésében. A tanulmány öt részre bontható. Az általános vállalati bemutatás után a letelepedési és az utóbbi évek terjeszkedési folyamatait kiemelve bemutatom a helyi munkaerőre gyakorolt hatásokat. Ezután a logisztikai folyamatok szabályait és a beszállítói hálózat szilárdságát vizsgálom, így körüljárom a helyi vállalkozásokra, különösen a beszállítói hálózatban működő helyi vállalkozásokra gyakorolt hatás kérdéskörét. A következő részek a város közvetlen gazdaságfejlesztő szerepvállalását, valamint a vállalat helyi gazdaságot és társadalmat érintő törekvéseit mutatják be.

The Impact of Job Satisfaction and Organizational commitment on the Intention to leave among the Academicians

For the economic development and poverty alleviation of any state, academicians are the role model of the system, accountable for producing specialized workforce. This role becomes more important in the background of the developing countries (DCs). In the current research, the researcher made an effort to investigate the impact of job satisfaction (JS) and organizational

QUALITY AND PROSPECTIVE OF SICILIAN SAFFRON

Italy has one of the most valuable saffron in Europe. We have three Protected Designations of Origin in Sardinia, Aquila and San Gimignano. Italian saffron is present in other areas. In Sicily this spicy is present from the Middle Ages in the central area, in particular near Enna. Nowadays there are almost 5 ha that are cultivated by saffron. This area is characterized by excellent soil, good weather, good viability and agriculture tradition too. The main group is Cooperativa Oro Rosso di Sicilia. It is a young coop that was founded by 12 partners in 2005 with an elevated culture (every one has an undergraduate or a graduate degree), with a small plot of land (between 1000/2500 m 2 ) and lowest mechanization and no specialized workforce; also, Sicilian soil is excellent for cultivating this spice. For this reason it is necessary to search for new markets, as the Middle Eastern market or the Russian market, where our high quality products are strongly requested. The principal risk is that the European product could bleed for the competition of Iranian saffron that are produced with lower costs but that has lower quality than our saffron and that represents 90% of world production. For Sicilian saffron, an important opportunity could be the partnership with typical cheese producers (piacentinu ennese) that are important for Sicilian saffron to obtain the PDO. Another important action is the creation of a partnership between University and farms for developing a commercial strategy and mechanization.