Supervisory Arrangements Research Articles

A Systematic Treatment of Supervision for Use in Function Allocation

This paper presents IDA-S, a systematic framework for use in describing and defining relationships between a human operator and an (partially) automated system. The purpose of the framework is to support systems engineers, human-factors experts and other design stakeholders, in exploring alternative ways in which a function might be shared between a human and a machine. This paper discusses one particular aspect of IDA-S, namely the way that the framework describes supervisory arrangements for automated systems.

Individual appraisal for senior medical staff

There is public concern about medical errors. In Britain, the Bristol Inquiry is the paradigmatic example that focuses professional and public attention on the safety of medical interventions. In the US the Institute of Medicine's recent report To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System (1999) was widely seen on both sides of the Atlantic as confirming what most already feared, that medical interventions were accompanied by unacceptably high levels of preventable harms (Barach & Small, 2000). The response to these public concerns has been multifold. In the UK clinical governance was introduced in April 1999, principally to focus attention on continuously improving the quality of clinical care. At the same time, the arrangements for the registration of doctors by the General Medical Council (GMC) was under review and there was an expectation that NHS trusts would bring consultants, who hitherto had been regarded as independent practitioners outside any supervisory system or arrangement, within an appraisal system. It has become clear that this appraisal system will be a component part of the GMC's revalidation of doctors (GMC, 2000). What is clear is that these varying systems are designed to restore public trust by providing an open process, which has the confidence of the profession, management and public alike. In this paper we aim to discuss the historical development of appraisal as a system for reviewing the performance of individual practitioners, suggest a method for appraising senior medical staff and finally to discuss the limitations and problems inherent in the introduction of such a system.

The Financial Services Authority's new approach to regulation

The new single regulator for financial services, which acquires its main powers under the new Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, brings together nine regulatory and supervisory bodies operating under a broad range of existing statutory or contractual arrangements across all financial services sectors. In January 2000, the Financial Services Authority (FSA) published a policy report on its new approach to regulation, aimed at focusing its regulatory effort on the risks to its statutory objectives. The proposals rely to a significant extent upon a new risk assessment process, outlined in the paper, which is intended to identify those areas of greatest risk. The paper considers how the new approach is likely to be implemented and looks at the issues involved in applying a risk‐based approach consistently across the industry sectors. The paper includes a review of the supervisory arrangements adopted by four of the predecessor regulators.

An exploratory investigation into the nursing management of aggression in acute psychiatric settings.

The management of aggression in inpatient psychiatric facilities is a major concern for nurses. Despite the prevalence of research on aggression within psychiatric settings, very few studies have tracked the clinical management of identified patients in a systematic manner. The overall aim of this study was to explore the clinical management of patients identified as potentially aggressive in psychiatric inpatient settings. A multimethod approach was used to collect the data. This included surveys, focus groups, and a file audit of patients identified from a random sample of completed aggression incident forms. The findings indicated that 88% of nurses who participated in the survey were assaulted and indicated the need for risk assessment; team management and review; and the importance of the first 5 days of admission as crucial for assessment and review. The development of support structures, formal preceptoring and supervisory arrangements and postincident supports were suggested as part of an overall strategy to support nurses working in acute inpatient settings.

An exploratory investigation into the nursing management of aggression in acute psychiatric settings

The management of aggression in inpatient psychiatric facilities is a major concern for nurses. Despite the prevalence of research on aggression within psychiatric settings, very few studies have tracked the clinical management of identified patients in a systematic manner. The overall aim of this study was to explore the clinical management of patients identified as potentially aggressive in psychiatric inpatient settings. A multimethod approach was used to collect the data. This included surveys, focus groups, and a file audit of patients identified from a random sample of completed aggression incident forms. The findings indicated that 88% of nurses who participated in the survey were assaulted and indicated the need for risk assessment; team management and review; and the importance of the first 5 days of admission as crucial for assessment and review. The development of support structures, formal preceptoring and supervisory arrangements and postincident supports were suggested as part of an overall strategy to support nurses working in acute inpatient settings.

Restructuring Financial Regulation in the European Monetary Union

This article argues that present financial regulatory arrangements within the European Monetary Union are not adequate either to preserve stability or to foster financial integration. Reform of financial regulation should concentrate on •establishing clear procedures for crisis lending and management, with the European Central Bank at the center; •preparing the ground for more centralized supervisory arrangements in banking, insurance, and securities; and •establishing and consolidating an active domestic and European Union-wide competition policy that limits local market power and national champions that are too big to fail.

Assessing competitive conditions in the Greek banking system

This paper uses the Rosse-Panzar statistic to assess empirically competitive conditions in the Greek banking system over the period 1993–1995. The competitiveness of the banking system is evaluated using a non-structural estimation technique. The results indicate that bank revenues were earned as if under conditions of monopolistic competition. The gradual elimination of exchange controls, the capital movement liberalisation, the enactment of the Second Banking Directive of the European Union and the supervisory arrangements have been related to the competitive conditions of the Greek banking system.

Joint Supervision and the PhD: safety net or panacea?

ABSTRACT This paper provides an analysis of the 1996 Harris report of postgraduate education. Arguably the most comprehensive report on postgraduate education in recent years, the Harris report is an important statement concerning present and future funding and organisation of postgraduate education in the UK. This paper focuses on issues of postgraduate supervision raised in the review and links them to some of the findings of a five‐year research programme which has focused on the socialisation and supervision of doctoral students in six disciplines. The paper engages with issues relating to the research environment in which postgraduate study is to be located, codes of practice for postgraduate work and different approaches to supervision. In particular, the paper discusses differences in supervision which occur between the social and natural sciences and considers the role and feasibility of joint supervisory arrangements. The paper has particular salience in the light of the results of the most recent Research Assessment Exercise and the continued growth in postgraduate education throughout the UK.

Supervisory Multiple Model Control

This article discusses the ccxnplete controller design strategy required for implementing Multiple Model Control (MMC), applied to nonlinear systems. It is shown that the multiple model design can be recast into a supervisory arrangement, where a global supervisor is utilised to select the appropriate controller from a fixed family set. Unlike current techniques where Fuzzy Validity Functions or Bayesian Estimates are utilised in the selection mechanism, the apprоаϿһ of a Multiple Model Observer (MMO) is employed for the selection architecture within the supervisor. This notion, is a natural extension of the MMC design. Switching between the individual controllers is accomplished bumplessly by using a Multiple Model Bumpless Transfer Mechanism, thus producing a smooth and continuous control signal as the plant alters continuously. The design of the complete controller is segmented into two sections; Supervisory and Global Regulator Controllers, with bumpless transfer implemented within the regulatory controller design. All sections ensure stability and robustness in face of plant uncertainties.

Experiences from the supervision of psychiatric interns in their psychotherapeutic work

During the last 10 years the author has supervised 45 psychiatric interns in psychotherapy. most of the trainees were married/cohabitant and had children. Age range 27-47. Fifty-eight percent had not received supervision before, the rest had between 10 and 95 sessions. Eighty percent had no or very little theoretical education in psychotherapy. Sixty percent were without clinical experience other than psychiatry, 13% had no clinical experience in psychiatry. The trainees received from 10 to 90 sessions of supervision, mean 41. After reviewing the supervisory records the author evaluated all interns on a scale from 1 to 7 on motivation for psychotherapy suitability as psychotherapists and degree of learning problems. As many as 73% were rated good-excellent in their motivation for psychotherapeutic work (4-7). A little more than 50% were evaluated to have good to excellent qualifications as psychotherapists, while 13% were considered to be poorly qualified. Fifty-seven percent had learning problems of a small or moderate degree which did not represent major obstacles to learning, while 25% had more significant problems, but still learned quite a bit. Eight trainees were evaluated to have serious problems in learning, and three of these were considered unfit to become psychiatrists. Even though many were considered to have serious learning problems, as many as 90% had found the usefulness of the supervision to be from good-excellent (4-7). This was shown by en enquete where the trainees rated the psychotherapy supervision on a scale from 1 to 7. Respondent rate was 84%. Four had not experienced one of their supervisors as a helper, but had positive experiences with the other supervisor. All were satisfied with the supervisory arrangement, but had critical comments to the supervisor's activity/technique. There seemed to be a general wish for explicit frames and expectations, and a supervisor who was transparent and flexible and who could be active both in comments on the trainee's work and in showing more of hers/his own work.Interns, Psychotherapy, Supervision.

Competitive conditions in european banking

In this paper we utilise the Rosse-Panzar statistic to assess competitive conditions in major EC banking markets between 1986 and 1989. Although EC banking legislation has established relatively free access to member country banking systems in recent years, our results indicate no change in market conduct of banks between 1986 and 1989. The results suggest that banks in Germany, the United Kingdom, France and Spain earned revenues as if under conditions of monopolistic competition in the period. In the case of Italy, they are consistent with banks having earned revenues as if under monopoly or conjectural variations short-run oligopoly conditions. We interpret the results as indicative of a lack of integration in EC banking markets and they thus underline the importance of the Second Banking Directive, the associated supervisory arrangements, and the elimination of capital controls as to achieving full integration.

Alternatives to Edwards

In the continuing debate on the minimum viable size for a physics department that has been given greater urgency by the Edwards report on The Future of University Physics, very little attention has been focused on the needs of students. Few commentators have asked whether undergraduates are best taught in lecture classes one or two hundred strong, where they may well feel lost in the crowd, and only the most courageous or foolhardy ask a question. And are the tutorial and supervisory arrangements in the large, noncollegiate universities adequate for the needs of most students? Do such students get to know the members of their class, let alone research students, postdocs and staff? I doubt it.

Reward Structures and Organizational Design

This article is concerned with the issues of motivation and control of nursing home personnel to increase their responsiveness to the needs of the elderly. The perspective taken is one of organizational analysis and, specifically, a consideration of the functions and dysfunctions of particular reward structures. The reward structures analyzed are (1) reimbursement schemes for homes in relation to the performance of home administrators and (2) supervisory arrangements for personal care workers in regard to the delivery of nonroutine services to patients. We point out some of the difficulties inherent in existing organizational structures and suggest modifications to increase the influence of patients and their relatives.

Administration of a Program of Continuous Pupil Progress

PERHAPS the most important factor in developing a program of continuous pupil progress is the freedom of the teacher to plan his own program within certain well-defined but rather broad limits. The administrators of most large city school systems in America have been guilty of preaching an activity philosophy-a philosophy built on learning through experience-and then imposing administrative and supervisory arrangements that reduce this philosophy to little more than so many pages in a book on modern education. They exhort their teachers to recognize individual differences and to democratize procedures. At the same time they require the teachers to instruct large classes, to group their pupils into grades, to present elaborately detailed content specified for those grades, to test progress in the light of standards of achievement for graded courses of study, to compartmentalize the program on a subject basis with so many minutes allotted to each subject, and to promote once or twice a year the pupils who have made the hurdles of a grade. Under conditions of this sort, though it may not be impossible for a teacher to develop a program of continuous pupil progress, certainly it is difficult. The writer's contention is that, within certain broad limitations defined by social demands, teachers must be free to develop cooperatively a program which will provide for the uninterrupted growth of their pupils. This point of view represents democratic school administration. Furthermore, it assumes a school personnel prepared to accept the responsibilities that are implied. During the past few years there has been a marked tendency in Philadelphia public schools toward wider latitude in interpretation, especially in the adaptation of courses of study to local conditions. Schools are also encouraged to make such modifications as are neces679