Staff Relocation Research Articles

Consequences of implementing activity-based flexible offices in academia: a follow-up study of perceived changes in the physical and psychosocial work environment after relocation

PurposeThis study aims to investigate university staff relocation from multiple separate buildings to a new building with activity-based flexible offices (AFOs) at a University in Sweden. The aim was to assess staff perceptions of the physical and psychosocial work environment and whether there were any changes in these perceptions before and after the move.Design/methodology/approachA mixed-methods design was used, analyzing closed-ended survey data at two time points (T1, n = 169 and T2, n = 160) and open-ended responses (n = 180) at T2.FindingsThe main findings revealed that employees started working more from home and that there were significant decreases in perceptions of the physical and psychosocial work environment, as well as job satisfaction, after the move to the new premises.Practical implicationsA comprehensive analysis of existing work processes, tasks and collaborations is crucial when planning new university premises. The planning process needs to be done in close collaboration with different stakeholders with multiple perspectives.Originality/valueIntroduction of AFOs in an academic setting can lead to negative consequences for occupational health and efficiency.

Forecasting of the Employment Rate in the EU ICT Field

The ingrained tendency to implement information and communication technologies (ICT) in EU enterprises over the last decade has caused dramatic changes in the labor market. Since the de­mand for ICT personnel is growing, there is still a need to create a comprehensive strategy to effectively manage ICT specialists when restructuring enterprises. The aim of the research is to identify transferring processes between low‑ and high‑skilled ICT personnel and predict the employment rate in the ICT field until 2025. A Markov chain was used as the method of anal­ysis. Using statistical data about the employment rate of ICT personnel by education attainment level, we have built a Markov chain model that describes the processes of ICT personnel with different levels of education. Data from 2005 to 2019 was used to build forecasting because of the absence of the latest information. We demonstrate that with the help of digitalization, the employment rate of ICT staff in 2025 will increase by 64% compared to 2018. The research verifies that ICT personnel will be in great demand until 2023 and, importantly, low‑ and mid­dle‑skilled personnel will be in demand, as well as high‑skilled personnel. The employment rate in the ICT field will be at its highest level in 2022 as the favorable economic conditions for ICT adoption will help it. The growing demand for low‑ and medium‑skilled ICT staff are met both by staff relocation processes and by the increasing digitalization of business units and public sec­tor institutions. The added value of the analysis is the prediction that the largest growth in ICT personnel employment will occur by 2023, but employment growth will slow down after that. The main obstacle to employment growth through digitalization is the global economic crisis because of different reasons.

A rolling-horizon decision framework for integrating relocation and user flexibility in one-way electric carsharing systems

One-way electric carsharing system has become the most widely used form of carsharing service in practice. However, the demand uncertainty, car imbalance, parking shortage, and battery charging jointly impose great challenges upon the operation. Many carsharing operators, e.g., GoFun, offer incentives to flexible users for accepting alternative itineraries and also adopt a full reservation policy. In this paper, we propose a rolling-horizon decision framework that integrates the operator’s car and staff relocation decisions, user flexibility, and charging of electric cars in the real-time setting. We formulate the problem at each decision epoch as a time–space network flow model that simultaneously optimizes the decisions. We develop an iterated local search heuristic algorithm to solve the model for large-scale practical problems. Based on theoretical insights and clustering of stations, we develop new local search procedures customized for the dynamic carsharing problem. We use real-world data from GoFun as an example to conduct extensive computational experiments. The results show that our algorithm significantly outperforms a particle swarm optimization algorithm and the popular greedy policy, and also has a low efficiency loss compared to the off-line heuristic solution. The transportation network size, clustering size, and operational efficiency are revealed to have significant impacts on the profit and service level.

A user-based adaptive joint relocation model combining electric car-sharing and bicycle-sharing

This paper presents a user incentive-based adaptive joint relocation model, combining electric car-sharing and bicycle-sharing to optimize the spatiotemporal distribution of shared electric vehicles and increase the use of car-sharing. On the one hand, the optimization model takes subsidy cost and user satisfaction into consideration. On the other hand, multiple dynamic constraints, including the state of charge of electric vehicles, cycling distance, station status, the historical trend of user orders, are considered. Then, the Genetic Algorithm is adapted to solve this joint relocation model; the optimal subsidy price for users, initial vehicle configuration and multi-time-period dynamic thresholds in each station and vehicle relocation scheme are obtained. Finally, a well-known electric vehicle-sharing company is chosen as a case study. The results show that the relocation cost of joint relocation is reduced by around 70% compared with traditional staff relocation, and user satisfaction can be enhanced.

Challenges of Conducting Point-Of-Care Testing Operations During The COVID-19 Pandemic In The Municipal Public Health System Based Ambulatory Care And School Health Clinics In New York City

Introduction/ObjectiveOur New York City Municipal Public Health System based multisite ambulatory clinics and school-based clinics, offer various waived POCT (point of care tests) and provider performed microscopy (PPM). To ensure standardization and quality of POC testing across our health system, our laboratory service conducts system wide centralized implementation, monitoring and oversight of the POCT operations in regard to regulatory compliance, test performance, quality control and training. With the emergence of the COVID-19 infection in the New York City, like all other clinical laboratories, our ambulatory care clinics encountered numerous hurdles and challenges. Here we elaborated the issues that we encountered and how we managed to overcome during the COVID-19 Pandemic.Methods/Case ReportWe categorized the challenges that affected our managers as well as field level laboratory operations and have devised a plane to deal with COVID-19 related predicaments.Results (if a Case Study enter NA)Among the staffing issues, staff relocation to the acute care hospital laboratories during the peak of the pandemic caused massive delay or cessation of POCT operations in our ambulatory care clinics. Manual result entry, for COVID-19 testing, at the patient portals due to lack of interface with the reference testing labs, staff shortages and frequent absences due to illness and fatigue were primary issues noted at technical level. Furthermore, there were notable delays in the processing of paper works and new staff recruitments. The lack of and significant delays in the critical laboratory supplies was another major management issue.ConclusionGiven the vastness and complexity of our multisite ambulatory care network, the COVID -19 pandemic impacted our ambulatory care clinic POCT operation in a very challenging way. However, our timeliness, coordinated interventions, close communications and initiatives handled the obstacles that arose very effectively to the ensure quality of POC testing, patient safety and quality care across our health system.

Соціокультурні основи інноваційного розвитку громад: архетипний підхід

Based on the analysis of modern theories and practical approaches to local development management, the author determined that many successful strategies for community revival are based on the ability of society and business to self-organize at the local level. The author identifies the formation factors of local innovation archetypes and the resource base of innovation development of communities. One of the main aspects of the formation of local innovation archetypes is the development of mechanisms for the public choice of the innovation process priorities and their implementation, and creating tools for broad information support and promotion of innovative ideas to create success stories. It is determined that the main tasks of local community development practices are capacity building and community empowerment, the transformation of local residents from actors into actors, development of participatory democracy and involvement of residents in the development of the territory (enhanced participation). The author substantiates that regional (local) innovation landscapes are more suitable for developing complex interactions and capital formation of ties as competitive advantages. The territories are communities of economic interest and can take advantage of ties and joint activities of economic entities. Implicit knowledge (cooperation between educational institutions, research institutions, business, staff relocation, public-private sector interaction, technology diffusion, etc.) in the measurement of networks depend heavily on coordination and are necessary for various innovations. Based on the analysis of local development theories, it is substantiated that the most effective tool developing of local communities is to involve people in joint activities aimed at achieving the public good or benefit for all participants. Examples of the best world experience and practices in involving communities in solving local development issues are considered.

Impacts of major health conditions affecting the Australian sheepmeat value chain: a review.

Major health conditions in sheep contribute to substantial economic losses throughout the sheepmeat supply chain in Australia. A systematic review was undertaken to explore the measurable impact of six conditions: arthritis, sheep measles, pleurisy, pneumonia, grass seeds and rib fractures, on the production of lamb and mutton across the meat value chain. Peer-reviewed scientific literature from three databases and non-peer-reviewed articles and reports from Australian government and non-government websites were searched between 11 and 17 November 2019. Original articles, including studies conducted in Australia and New Zealand, that had measurable impacts on conditions of interest were included. The search yielded 16 articles and reports and were classified as producer impact and/or processor impact studies. Mortalities were quantified for pneumonia and arthritis, with pneumonia having the highest impact for producers. Grass seed infestation resulted in the highest impact on carcase and liveweight losses compared to arthritis and pneumonia. Arthritis had the highest trim weight losses for both lamb and mutton and the highest rate of carcase condemnation. Grass seed was the only condition where other impacts on the processor (chain speed and staff relocation to the boning room) were quantified. Although quantifiable production and processing losses were available for some conditions, this review has highlighted that limited quantifiable data based on scientifically sound research were not available for other conditions. The evidence for some conditions found in this review can be used to target future research activities and to further assist producers in making informed management decisions on prevention and control.

Electric vehicle car-sharing optimization relocation model combining user relocation and staff relocation

ABSTRACT Factors including unbalanced user travel demand, vehicle charging status, and high operating cost of enterprises have restricted the development of electric vehicle car-sharing. This paper comprehensively considers the impact of multiple dynamic constraints such as user demand, state of charge of electric vehicles, and operating profit on vehicle relocation. The travel behavior of consumers is studied through Multinomial Logistic Regression method. User demand for electric vehicle car-sharing is forecast through Hidden Markov Model. A new vehicle relocation strategy combining staff relocation and user relocation is formulated. With the goal of maximizing enterprise profit, an electric vehicle car-sharing optimization relocation model in region level is finally established. Taking Anting Town as an example to verify the model, the results show that this new vehicle relocation strategy can effectively reduce the operating cost of enterprises, improve the circulation rate and utilization rate of vehicles, and reduce unnecessary waste of resources.

The Relocation of a Health Care Department's Impact on Staff: A Cross-Sectional Survey.

This survey compares certain quality of work-life factors between a relocated work group and a control group. A self-administered, cross-sectional survey was conducted 12 months after five departments (304 workers) had been relocated between two public health sites. The survey explored the workers' psychosocial job characteristics, their perceived health, and psycho-organizational constraints. The results compared both the relocated and control groups by using univariate and then multivariate statistical analyzes. When compared with the control group (n = 272), the relocated group (n = 180) showed a higher prevalence of psychosocial job characteristic "isostrain." The relocated group showed greater psycho-organizational constraints regarding the organizations favoring communication and team relationships. It seems that staff relocation can provoke a sense of uncertainty and isolation. Perhaps better communication might have reduced this and deter possible negative health outcomes.

Conducting health survey research in a deep rural South African community: challenges and adaptive strategies

BackgroundIn many parts of the developing world, rural health requires focused policy attention, informed by reliable, representative health data. Yet there is surprisingly little published material to guide health researchers who face the unique set of hurdles associated with conducting field research in remote rural areas.MethodsIn this paper we provide a detailed description of the key challenges encountered during health survey field research carried out in 2010 in a deep rural site in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The aim of the field research was to collect data on the health of children aged 10 to 17 years old, and their primary adult caregivers, as part of a larger national health survey; the research was a collaboration between several South African and foreign universities, South African national government departments, and various NGO partners. In presenting each of the four fieldwork challenges encountered on this site, we describe the initial planning decisions made, the difficulties faced when implementing these in the field, and the adaptive strategies we used to respond to these challenges. We reflect on learnings of potential relevance for the research community.ResultsOur four key fieldwork challenges were scarce research capacity, staff relocation tensions, logistical constraints, and difficulties related to community buy-in. Addressing each of these obstacles required timely assessment of the situation and adaptation of field plans, in collaboration with our local NGO partner. Adaptive strategies included a greater use of local knowledge; the adoption of tribal authority boundaries as the smallest geopolitical units for sampling; a creative developmental approach to capacity building; and planned, on-going engagement with multiple community representatives.ConclusionsWe argue that in order to maintain high scientific standards of research and manage to ‘get the job done’ on the ground, it is necessary to respond to fieldwork challenges that arise as a cohesive team, with timely, locally-relevant, and often creative, solutions. Budgeting sufficient time and project resources for capacity building and community buy-in processes is also essential when working in remote communities unaccustomed to research. Documenting and sharing field experiences can provide valuable information for other researchers planning to conduct fieldwork in similar contexts.

How one emergency plan works in a complex research facility

Evacuating a pharmaceutical research complex presents a multitude of challenges. The Pfizer Global Research and Development (PGRD) Ann Arbor Laboratories include a variety of building types and functions over eight distinct sites within a 20-mile radius. A single, comprehensive evacuation/severe weather shelter plan is used to ensure the life safety of all PGRD colleagues. The system utilizes volunteer Safety Wardens and Safety Monitors who are organized in a pyramid structure with the Chief Warden presiding at the top. The group strives to keep up with continuous change in the form of construction, demolition, staff relocation, and staff addition/departure. The safety department uses a diverse bag of tricks to recruit, retain, train and drill our program volunteers. PGRD Ann Arbor Laboratories has maintained an effective Emergency Evacuation Program in spite of the explosion in growth we have experienced in the last decade.

Sterling plans major R&D staff relocation

Sterling Drug plans to move 800 scientists and support staff of 950 employed at its research operations in Rensselaer, N.Y., to Providence Township in Pennsylvania, 20 miles northwest of Philadelphia, over the next four years. About 150 positions at the former Sterling-Winthrop Research Institute, established in 1950, will be eliminated. Sterling intends to employ 2000 scientists and support staff at the Pennsylvania site by the year 2000. Acquired by Eastman Kodak in early 1988 and now operated as an independent subsidiary, Sterling also plans to close its nearby East Greenbush, N.Y., manufacturing plant, with 260 employees, within the next two years. Leo J. Thomas, Sterling's chairman, says, Consolidation of our U.S. research operations into a single cohesive unit in state-of-the-art facilities should improve significantly our capabilities in drug discovery and development. Thomas, a career Kodak employee, was named to head Sterling in August 1988. A generous relocation allowance will be granted to ...