Today's Practices Research Articles

Agency-hired hotel housekeepers: an at-risk group for adverse health outcomes.

Hotel housekeepers experience unique workplace hazards and characteristics that increase their risks for poor health outcomes. Today's agency-hiring practices may further marginalize hotel housekeepers and negatively impact their health. Yet the impact of such hiring practices on the health of this vulnerable worker group remains unexplored. This article presents the debate regarding agency-hiring practices and how these practices may influence the health and well-being of hotel housekeepers. Implications for occupational health nurses are also discussed.

The impact of repeat-testing of common chemistry analytes at critical concentrations

Early notification of critical values by the clinical laboratory to the treating physician is a requirement for accreditation and is essential for effective patient management. Many laboratories automatically repeat a critical value before reporting it to prevent possible misdiagnosis. Given today's advanced instrumentation and quality assurance practices, we questioned the validity of this approach. We performed an audit of repeat-testing in our laboratory to assess for significant differences between initial and repeated test results, estimate the delay caused by repeat-testing and to quantify the cost of repeating these assays. A retrospective audit of repeat-tests for sodium, potassium, calcium and magnesium in the first quarter of 2013 at Tygerberg Academic Laboratory was conducted. Data on the initial and repeat-test values and the time that they were performed was extracted from our laboratory information system. The Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendment criteria for allowable error were employed to assess for significant difference between results. A total of 2308 repeated tests were studied. There was no significant difference in 2291 (99.3%) of the samples. The average delay ranged from 35 min for magnesium to 42 min for sodium and calcium. At least 2.9% of laboratory running costs for the analytes was spent on repeating them. The practice of repeating a critical test result appears unnecessary as it yields similar results, delays notification to the treating clinician and increases laboratory running costs.

Open industry standards for mitigating risks to global supply chains

Governments and large enterprises are cognizant of and appreciate the benefits of globalization. They also recognize their increasing reliance on commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) information technology (IT) components (software and hardware) necessary to meet the needs of their business missions. As cyberattacks increase in sophistication, stealth, and severity, governments and larger enterprises are taking a more comprehensive approach to risk management and product assurance. Simply improving today's security practices is insufficient. A comprehensive approach involves understanding the practices commercial technology suppliers can employ to protect the integrity of their products and services in the global supply chain--including an understanding of how suppliers manage the risks inherent in globalized product development and manufacturing. This paper outlines the nature of the global technology supply chain, the challenges posed, and the impact on consumers. It describes the added importance of a framework for addressing these challenges based on an approach of IBM, as well as evolving industry open standards efforts to address technology supply chain risks.

Present pilotage practices in Finland

Pilotage has been studied very little internationally and also in Finland. However, accidents in which pilots have been involved have been investigated thoroughly. Studies show that the traditional individual-centred pilotage with non-written passage plans no longer serves the needs of today's traffic and vessels that have increased in size. Pilotage should be based on the so-called good pilotage practices, i.e. pre-prepared, yet adaptable passage plans, more efficient bridge co-operation and modern navigation instruments. Yet, these are not an integral part of the prevailing pilotage practices in Finland. Pilotage should be developed so that the safety management systems of the vessels support the co-operation on the bridge, but on the other hand, so that the advantages of today's pilotage practices are maintained.

Perpetrator programmes for partner violence: A clarification

Legal and Criminological PsychologyVolume 18, Issue 2 p. 382-382 Clarification statementFree Access Perpetrator programmes for partner violence: A clarification This article corrects the following: Perpetrator programmes for partner violence: A rejoinder to Respect John Archer, Louise Dixon, Nicola Graham-Kevan, Volume 17Issue 2Legal and Criminological Psychology pages: 225-232 First Published online: July 23, 2012 First published: 29 August 2013 https://doi.org/10.1111/lcrp.12026AboutSectionsPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat Following publication of Archer, Dixon, and Graham-Kevan (2012), a representative from Respect raised with the editorial office some concerns about the portrayal of Respect's activities by Archer et al. Having considered the analysis and data presented by each party, the Editor of Legal and Criminological Psychology concluded that there was no misrepresentation of available information within Archer et al. and that the article remains fit for publication. However, it was agreed useful to publish the following statements to clarify today's practices at Respect. Respect does not, and has never, independently run a helpline for female victims. The helpline promoted on Respect's website is administrated by Women's Aid and Refuge. Respect responds to male and female perpetrators. For example, their recent analysis of calls to the Respect Helpline showed that a minority of callers were female perpetrators. Respect view an assessment of gender as vital to responding effectively to domestic violence, and one that should be understood to explain other factors of domestic violence. However, they do not view it as the only factor to be considered. Respect's website now contains details of multi-site research work, including the Mirabel project described in Debbonaire and Todd (2012). The journal welcomes the opportunity to have made these clarifications, whilst maintaining the integrity of the originally published works. It thanks the authors, Respect, and the Editor for their detailed comments and analysis. References Archer, J., Dixon, L., & Graham-Kevan, N. (2012). Perpetrator programmes for partner violence: A rejoinder to Respect. Legal and Criminological Psychology, 17, 225– 232. doi:10.1111/j.2044-8333.2012.02061.x Debbonaire, T., & Todd, J. (2012). Respect response to Dixon et al. (2012) ‘Perpetrator programmes for partner violence: Are they based on ideology or evidence?’. Legal and Criminological Psychology, 17, 216– 224. doi:10.1111/j.2044-8333.2012.02051.x Volume18, Issue2September 2013Pages 382-382 ReferencesRelatedInformation

Honoring complexity

PurposeMost micro‐oriented research has assumed that leaders operate within a formally designed, pre‐specified and stable structural hierarchy. In the emerging knowledge economy, however, the watchwords have become flexibility and speed. Today's business practices feature temporary task forces, project teams, joint ventures, and alliances. The authors aim to draw from the political science literature, presenting methodology for examining team leadership in context that augments and enhances the analyses that can be obtained with commonly used correlational/regression models.Design/methodology/approachMore specifically, the authors will develop a detailed analysis of the potential applicability of the set‐theoretic approach for elucidating a configural analysis of team leadership, demonstrating that this method provides insight into the data that complements that provided by regression analysis.FindingsThe authors examine the findings from more traditional approaches to analysis, and set‐theoretic analysis, and demonstrate that set‐theoretic analysis provides additional insights into the phenomena in question.Research limitations/implicationsThe possibilities for future research in the organizational leadership literature using set‐theoretic analysis are endless. The method is appropriate for theory development, theory confirmation, exploration, and more. Our current theoretical models are lacking in complexity, partly due to the limitations of existing methodology, and our advice to organizations would be significantly enriched were we able to establish that there are alternate means to the desired outcome, based on the context. Set‐theoretic methodology promises to enrich and enhance our field, particularly if we use it iteratively with the currently common methodologies, to develop richer and more contextually based theories.Originality/valueSet‐theoretic methods may well provide an additional set of tools for better understanding leadership in the context in which it occurs.

Ideological challenges to developing leisure sport in Romania: a cultural and historical analysis of the impact of elite sport on popular sport practice

In contrast to the national government willingness, the development of mass physical activities remains limited in Romania. This matter of fact is particular in regard of the elite sports team high level results and the country's integration into the European Union which contributes to social and economic emancipation. This paradox has motivated us to link today's sport situation and the country's sport strategy since 1945. The sports policy in Romania has made some representations far away from hedonistic dimensions of physical activity. This heritage is obvious in the promotion of sport by the government. Romanian institutions communicate on the possibilities of social improvement by competition and the functional benefits of physical activity. This functional vision of sport and the cultural heritage of the country obstructs the hedonistic values that characterize today's popular games and leisure practices.

Emergent Literacy: Children's Books from 0 to 3 (review)

Reviewed by: Emergent Literacy: Children's Books from 0 to 3 Glenna Sloan (bio) Emergent Literacy: Children's Books from 0 to 3. Edited by Bettina Kummerling-Meibauer. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing, 2011. Writing to the New York Times in response to an article published on 8 October 2010, Shelly Harwayne, former teacher, principal, and school superintendent, pointedly includes a quotation from a universally beloved picture book: "Your article about the decline of picture book reading made me have a 'terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.'" Others, equally appalled—among them writers, psychologists, literacy experts, parents, and grandparents—joined her in commenting on what they considered a scary story. In the article, "Picture Books, Long a Staple, Lose Out in the Rush to Read," publishers claimed that picture books, holding limited value for children, were no longer in wide demand. Quoted in the piece were parents who, perhaps already anticipating the stiff competition for acceptance into the best colleges, were eager to have their toddlers read pages thick with text and so had turned to chapter books. "Parents are saying, 'My kid doesn't need books with pictures,'" declared the publisher of Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers. The vast majority of those writing letters to the editor in response to this article were lay people of all ages and backgrounds, not experts in literacy development. Yet they spoke passionately in defense of the picture book's worth. One letter writer argued, "Rushing our children into chapter books is like teaching multiplication before our kids know how to count. Bring back those picture books, and our children will not only learn to read but also love to read." Another wrote, "'Reading' illustrations is a fine art learned by ample exposure. It is critical for developing a complex sense of wonder, and an understanding of multiple meaning and irony, as well as perceiving messages of line, color, time and space." [End Page 507] While personal experience and common sense may be sufficient to convince some parents and caregivers that early pleasurable experiences with picture books positively affect the development of a young child's intellect, language, and artistic sense, today's educational policies and practices are seldom based on hunches, but on scholarly research. Emergent Literacy: Children's Books from 0 to 3 provides a model for research into the value of picture books. The editor points out that this volume "constitutes the first serious, sustained examination of the study of children's books for children ages from 0 to 3 with contributions by scholars working in different domains and attempting to assess the recognition of the role and influence of children's literature on the cognitive, linguistic, and aesthetic development of young children" (9). Each of the thirteen chapters in this scholarly collection is a revised version of a paper presented at an international conference held at the Picturebook Museum "Burg Wissem," in Troisdorf near Cologne, Germany, in March 2009. The papers are organized into three parts. In part one, chapter two, "The Dragon in the Cave: Textual representations of fictional and everyday events by children under three," considers in detail "a micro, multimodal analysis of ways in which the child recognizes and acknowledges distinct generic forms and textual structures in her mark-making" (17). Chapter three, "Color perception in infants and young children," is a thorough, informative, but succinct discussion of its title. Chapter four considers basic designs in picture books and modern art, and how experience with these provides "a productive foundation for learning abstract principles [which] can make an essential contribution to the understanding of writing and other codification" (72). The six chapters of part two examine a range of picture books intended for young children, including early concept books, simple alphabet books, and books that introduce children to cultural norms. As the editor points out in her introduction, "Aspects covered in this section include the use of visual and verbal metaphors in picturebooks for young children, the cognitive challenges of concept acquisition in relation to language acquisition, visual literacy and literary literacy and the consideration of the aesthetic qualities of picturebooks targeted at this age group" (10). Part three, "Child-book Interactions: Case Studies...

The 100 most significant events in American business: an encyclopedia

This reference book details the top 100 groundbreaking events in the history of American business, featuring case studies of successful companies who challenged traditional operating paradigms, historical perspectives on labor laws, management practices, and economic climates, and an examination of the impact of these influences on today's business practices. * Chronology of key events in the history of American business from 1630 to the present * Helpful sidebars of the evolution of key terms used today * Comprehensive index includes category, company names, personal names, and cross references to other events * Suggestions for further reading for each article * 10 relevant charts and tables * Appendix of relevant sources * 80 key primary documents supporting major events in American business

Enterprise Risk Management: Today's Leading Research and Best Practices for Tomorrow's Executives, John Fraser, Betty J. Simkins, John Wiley & Sons, 2010, 577pp. (hardback), £70.00. ISBN: 978-0-470-49908-5

Enterprise Risk Management: Today's Leading Research and Best Practices for Tomorrow's Executives, John Fraser, Betty J. Simkins, John Wiley & Sons, 2010, 577pp. (hardback), £70.00. ISBN: 978-0-470-49908-5

Multi-fidelity design of aeroelastic wing tip devices

In recent years, significant resources have been invested to further improve the efficiency and environmental sustainability of modern aircraft. A possible strategy consists of reducing the induced-drag contribution (40% of total drag) by means of wing tip devices, e.g. winglets. However, these solutions have a negative impact on structural sizing, requiring reinforcements, and aeroelastic stability, requiring mass balancing. The subject of this study is the numerical study of an alternative wing tip device. In particular, two different design concepts are presented, namely discrete and raked options. These solutions improve the aerodynamic efficiency by extending the wing span and feature an integrated aeroelastic passive load alleviation capability. The design of the wing tip devices follows a multi-fidelity approach, closely matching today's best practices in the aerospace industry. In the first part of the study, the design phase is carried out with low-fidelity very efficient tools. In the second part, the most promising solutions are verified with high-fidelity more expensive tools, within the framework of computational aeroelasticity.

A Primer on the Cost of Quality for Improvement of Laboratory and Pathology Specimen Processes

In today's environment, many laboratories and pathology practices are challenged to maintain or increase their quality while simultaneously lowering their overall costs. The cost of improving specimen processes is related to quality, and we demonstrate that actual costs can be reduced by designing "quality at the source" into the processes. Various costs are hidden along the total testing process, and we suggest ways to identify opportunities to reduce cost by improving quality in laboratories and pathology practices through the use of Lean, Six Sigma, and industrial engineering.

Continuing our process safety management journey

Abstract“…in the eyes of the public the industry is one.”Trevor Kletz (b. 1922)Process safety risk reduction efforts are a part of our journey to make our chemical industry safer for people and the environment. This article focuses on our process safety risk reduction efforts, providing (1) a brief historical discussion, (2) a framework for today's current practices, and (3) a proposal for some future efforts. Process safety practices have evolved over the years and continue to evolve today as we share our new practices and theories. In addition, today's digital age continues to enhance our ability to share information across the globe, and it has accelerated the changing nature of the public's view of the chemical industry—the public's concept of acceptable societal risk. Our right to operate chemical facilities is based on several factors, including our effect on neighboring communities, the public's changing perception, and the governmental regulations created in response to major fires, explosions, and toxic releases. © 2012 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Process Saf Prog, 2012

Aging and incidence of dementia

Unprecedented numbers of people are living to advanced old age. The consequences of striking and ongoing demographic changes are profound, including underfunded pension plans and threats to government programs like Social Security and Medicare. Today's policies and practices are not designed to account for such large numbers of people living well beyond normal retirement age, drawing funds and services. One widely appreciated consequence of this demographic change, well known to neurologists and all caregivers, is the huge increase in persons who develop dementia. The article by Schrijvers and colleagues1 addresses a question of profound public policy importance: “Is dementia incidence declining?” The experiences of most physicians and the general public lead to the …

The salvation of meaning in Peter Drucker's oeuvre

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to illuminate Peter Drucker's management theory by exploring German theological concerns which constituted his unique approach in management theory.Design/methodology/approachTo uncover the secularized German theological roots in Drucker's work, the paper juxtaposes his writings from his 60‐year‐long career with prior cultural interpretations of German scholarship.FindingsThe analysis shows that German secularized theological concerns surrounding the fall of modernity influenced Drucker's oeuvre, leading him to advocate “the meaningful organization” as a pragmatic solution to the ills of modern society. While Drucker's ideas evolved over the years, the paper shows that his agenda to promote meaningful organizations in an otherwise totalitarian‐prone, alienated, rationalized and meaningless era remained consistent. This interpretation suggests that Drucker believed that management had moral duties in a Nietzschean godless world. The paper shows that these themes continued structuring Drucker's corpus in three domains: the information revolution, corporate social responsibility, and the role of organizations in the third sector.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper reveals that Drucker was driven by deep cultural codes that proscribed many of his observations and suggested remedies. Hence, it calls for similar unearthing of the historical roots of management theory and practice.Originality/valueIn this paper a novel interpretation of Drucker's work is introduced. Extending work highlighting Drucker's spiritual roots, the paper demonstrates that the German secularized theological conception of the downfall of modernity was a constant lens through which Drucker saw the world, and that this historical backdrop was the motivating spur in his attempt to save it from another catastrophe. Given the entrenchment of Drucker's ideas in today's management practices and theories, it is imperative to understand these German moral and theological predispositions.

Factor analysis of global trends in twenty‐first century leadership

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine whether the nature of leadership in the early years of the twenty‐first century as conceptualized in the research literature is valid among real organizational leaders across four global regions.Design/methodology/approachA literature review of recent scholarly articles suggested that today's leadership best practices can be sorted into six categories, or zones: Reflection, Society, Diversity, Ingenuity, People, and Business. These six zones became topics for focus groups of organizational leaders that tentatively supported the six‐zone structure and provided qualitative data used to create a 42‐item measure, the AchieveGlobal Leadership Scale (AGLS). The AGLS was then employed to examine the degree to which 899 leaders in Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the USA felt that each zone was important in meeting their organizational challenges.FindingsThe data from the 42 items were analyzed using a confirmatory factor analysis, which suggested that the six zones all triangulated on and comprised the larger construct, Leadership in the twenty‐first century. Regional differences emerged in the importance that leaders attributed to the zones, in the degree to which leaders effectively demonstrated the zones, and in the order in which leaders ranked their organizations' top business challenges.Originality/valueThe six‐zone model of leadership and its differences by geographic region hold potential to help leaders examine and improve their own leadership abilities.

Whitehead's Benedictine Ideal in Education: Rhythms of listening, reading and work

The article attempts to clarify the appeal to the Benedictine ideal that Alfred North Whitehead (1861–1947) makes in The Aims of Education and Other Essays as a way to renew the life of the spirit in education. In particular, the essay will consider St. Benedict's three central themes of Whitehead's philosophy: freedom and discipline, the teacher as artist and the art of life, and universities as workshops or homes of creative energy. The aim is to bring about a harmony of thought and action, the mind to the feelings of the heart, to subordinate scientific or critical pedagogy to aesthetic‐spiritual instruction. This deserves our attention because today's educational theories and practices emphasize the technical, the critical, and the social sides to the neglect of the aesthetic‐spiritual side. On both its practical and theoretical side, the educational theory of Whitehead falls within the Benedictine tradition of ora (meditative reading) and labora (work).

RQ-Tech, A Strategic-Level Approach for Conceptualizing Enterprise Architectures

The purpose of this study is to present a system-theoretic based methodology and corresponding model for Enterprise Architecture development. Enterprise Architecture models can assist managers by illustrating the systemic relationships of their business and the impact their decisions can make. Unfortunately, today's modeling practices are proprietary, time-consuming, and generally ineffective as tools for communicating strategic-level planning across and down all levels of the enterprise. This research explored the most significant factors that must be considered when translating authoritative text and rich pictures of business doctrine into semantic models. An ontology, namely RQ-Tech, was used to parse and tag representative samples of strategic, operational, and tactical Department of Defense Joint doctrine publications and the results were analyzed with respect to how well the data could represent a holistic model of the business enterprise. The results of this research have the potential to add to the existing body of knowledge in systems theory, systems-based methods, and software engineering by expanding the domain of systems methodologies useful for assessment and evaluation of complex systems. This generalizable and transportable framework, the RQ-Tech methodology, was found to be useful for focusing attention on solving the right business enterprise problems.

Promoting safe and effective use of blood products

Promoting safe and effective use of blood products

Identifying enabling management practices for employee engagement

Orientation: A currently emerging viewpoint is that today's management practices no longer add value to organisations. The focus of this article is to conduct a systematic review of the scholarly literature on management practices that could be related to employee engagement. Research purpose: This study searched for evidence in support of the notion of a management value chain, and enabling management practices within each value chain component that could relate to employee engagement. Motivation for the study: An alternative management value chain model could contribute towards a better understanding of which management practices may potentially impact employee engagement. Research design, approach, and method: This is a non-empirical (theoretical) study, based on a systematic, in-depth literature review to identify the key management components and enabling practices within this proposed management value chain. Scholarly research databases were sourced for relevant peer reviewed research conducted since 1990, not excluding important contributions prior to 1990. The literature was systematically searched, selected, studied, and contextualized within this study. Main findings: Support was found for the notion of a management value chain, for enabling management practices within each proposed management value chain component, and it was also established these management practices indeed have an impact on employee engagement. Practical/managerial/implications: The possibility that management work can be presented as a generic management value chain allows managers to approach engaging management practices more systematically. Contribution/value-add: This study highlights the importance of some management practices that have never been seen as part of management work.