Understanding and optimising an identification/brief advice (IBA) service about alcohol in the community pharmacy setting

This is the final report of an evaluation into the identification/brief advice (IBA) service about alcohol in community pharmacy settings in the North West of England. Since 2007, almost 100 pharmacies in the North West have - at some point - been commissioned to provide an identification and brief advice (IBA) service for alcohol. This evaluation sought to understand how the service had been adapted for and implemented in the community pharmacy setting, and how its potential might be maximised. Its aims were: 1. To characterise, consolidate and optimise both the constant and variable elements of the pharmacy alcohol identification/brief advice (IBA) service in NHS Northwest, and 2. To inform planning for current and future pharmacy based services promoting safe consumption of alcohol. The evaluation was split into three main workstreams, supported by a preliminary scoping phase, and combined quantitative and qualitative methods: • Descriptive and comparative statistical analysis of pharmacy alcohol IBA data; • In-pharmacy work, including observation of staff engagement with customers, recording consultations between staff and customers, follow-up telephone interviews with customers, and group feedback interviews with pharmacy staff; • Stakeholder engagement through self-completion surveys, semi-structured interviews and a workshop. This report gives the background to the project, and details the methods, results and implications

Review of employment and skills: April 2011

"This Review has its foundation in the Leitch Report published in 2006, which recommended the development of an “integrated employment and skills service to help people meet the challenges of the modern labour market” and for the UK Commission for Employment and Skills to report on the changes required to deliver integrated services. The UK Commission’s 2010-11 Grant in Aid Letter required: “The continuation of a Review that has as its focus progress on integrating employment and skills systems”. This report covers England only. There will be separate reporting for Wales and Scotland after the elections in May 2011." - Page 5

The Third Way for the Third Sector: Using Design to Transfer Knowledge and Improve Service in a Voluntary Community Sector Organisation

This paper describes a two-year Knowledge Transfer Partnership that concluded in September 2011. Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTP) is a UK-wide activity that helps organisations to improve their competitiveness and productivity by making better use of knowledge, technology and skills within universities, colleges and research organisations. This paper details the outcome of a KTP between Age UK Newcastle and Northumbria University’s School of Design that aimed to use Design approaches to improve the charity’s services. This paper will describe the recent context for organisations operating in the Voluntary Community Sector and discuss the relevance of a Design approach to both the improvement of customer services in this circumstance, as well as the transfer of knowledge to a capacity-starved organisation. It will also document how Design was used to achieve both of these aims, and the resulting impact of this engagement on the organisation and stakeholders

One-Stop Accessibility: A Nationwide Survey of One-Stop Centers on Services for People with Disabilities

The purpose of this study is to ascertain the accessibility status of One-Stop centers andthe ways that workforce development systems are serving people with disabilities. It is important to gauge how services to people with disabilities are being implemented around the country. While WIA requires that all services be fully accessible to people with disabilities , and that VR agencies be partners in the One-Stop system, the real success of the One-Stop system for people with disabilities depends on the commitment of local Workforce Investment Boards (WIBs) and One-Stop Operators to create a system that responds to their needs. Services and programs for people with disabilities should not only focus on accessibility and nondiscrimination

Operator-based approaches to harm minimisation in gambling: summary, review and future directions

In this report we give critical consideration to the nature and effectiveness of harm minimisation in gambling. We identify gambling-related harm as both personal (e.g., health, wellbeing, relationships) and economic (e.g., financial) harm that occurs from exceeding one’s disposable income or disposable leisure time. We have elected to use the term ‘harm minimisation’ as the most appropriate term for reducing the impact of problem gambling, given its breadth in regard to the range of goals it seeks to achieve, and the range of means by which they may be achieved. The extent to which an employee can proactively identify a problem gambler in a gambling venue is uncertain. Research suggests that indicators do exist, such as sessional information (e.g., duration or frequency of play) and negative emotional responses to gambling losses. However, the practical implications of requiring employees to identify and interact with customers suspected of experiencing harm are questionable, particularly as the employees may not possess the clinical intervention skills which may be necessary. Based on emerging evidence, behavioural indicators identifiable in industryheld data, could be used to identify customers experiencing harm. A programme of research is underway in Great Britain and in other jurisdiction

CleanTX Analysis on the Smart Grid

The utility industry in the United States has an opportunity to revolutionize its electric grid system by utilizing emerging software, hardware and wireless technologies and renewable energy sources. As electricity generation in the U.S. increases by over 30% from today’s generation of 4,100 Terawatt hours per year to a production of 5,400 Terawatt hours per year by 2030, a new type of grid is necessary to ensure reliable and quality power. The projected U.S. population increase and economic growth will require a grid that can transmit and distribute significantly more power than it does today. Known as a Smart Grid, this system enables two- way transmission of electrons and information to create a demand-response system that will optimize electricity delivery to consumers. This paper outlines the issues with the current grid infrastructure, discusses the economic advantages of the Smart Grid for both consumers and utilities, and examines the emerging technologies that will enable cleaner, more efficient and cost- effective power transmission and consumption.IC2 Institut

Social Media Strategic Plan For Under Armour

This thesis is a study of the effects of social media on an organization’s integrated marketing communications strategy in general and provides a proposal of how the sports apparel company Under Armour could use social media to enhance its promotional strategies. It is a discussion of the implications that social media has on consumer behavior with focus on how social media has changed the way today’s consumers interact with brands. This thesis provides an analysis of the growing importance of social media being implemented within a business. Benefits discussed include the appeal of social media over traditional media, increased customer satisfaction, increased loyalty, and brand awareness. A list of essential social media networking sites is discussed under the different platforms of networking, promoting and sharing, highlighting their importance to a business. Under Armour’s current social media presence is discussed and how social media has become a new component of the Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) mix. An illustration of how Homeland/Embassy strategy uses social media is provided as an example of how Under Armour could use social media in its IMC mix

Yunus Abdullah - Use of Social Media by Businesses: A New opportunity For Consulting Services by Accounting Firms

In the last 10 years, social media has been restructuring business policies and practices creating new business models. These models are shaping the internal and external aspects of businesses, improving efficiency, and hopefully yielding higher profits while reducing costs. At the same time, social media is being implemented in such internal operations as employee training, recruiting, communication within organizations, and building business loyalty. Businesses are becoming more dependent on social media, making social media an inevitable expectation of effective business models. The millennial are the new generation of adults who are taking over the business world. This generation of young adults grew up using such social media networks as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google +, and LinkedIn. To sustain good relationship with their clients (millennial), businesses must meet people\u27s expectation of the practices and plan their policies accordingly. This paper will examine how the use of social media by businesses is leading to a new service being offered by accounting firms, social media consulting. Experts in internal controls, accounting firms, will have the resources and capacity to offer services in social media consulting. The large accounting firms such as Deloitte, KPMG, Ernst &Young, and PWC have already entered social media consulting market.https://epublications.marquette.edu/mcnair_2013/1006/thumbnail.jp