Towards an office of institutional aesthetics

By exploring the territory between being within the zone of art practice and the zone of art educational institutions along with their attendant bureaucratic structures, Dutton will engage with the possibility of applying different types of (poetic) sensibilities that emerge out of reflexive art practice onto and into the heart of the controlling rhetoric and processes that function as normative behaviour within many institutions of art education. Thinking of the Art School as a site of an improbable constellation of subjectivities and political and institutional imperatives, Dutton will outline a path through which art and institution might begin to conflate in a zone of possibilities. Starting with a propositional ‘Office of Institutional Aesthetics’, which has its roots in real world scenarios, Dutton will characterise the tensions and strains of contemporary institutions of art education as ‘end’ obsessed—after which he will explore forms of practice which concern ‘becomings’ rather than completions. Dutton concludes that those of us who straddle art and art-educational spheres might need to re-think our institutions as networks of behaviours and tactics in much the same way we might encounter and engage in the process of art over the fetish of the artefact

Preference for Plants in an Office Environment

Plants in the workplace are known to bring a number of benefits including psychological as well as aesthetic and air quality benefits. Therefore, plants can have an impact on overall organisational performance. However, findings of previous studies have rarely been applied in the FM context and yet strategic FM delivery in improving workplace productivity is essential for business survival. The paper explores the importance of interior plants in maintaining the physical and psychological well-being of office occupants utilising a survey of participants’ perceptions of photographs of an office with various levels of planting installed from no plants up to very high levels of planting. The paper provides preliminary results of a longer programme of research into the benefits of plants within the FM context. The work demonstrates that a reasonable level of interior planting in offices is preferred over offices with no plants. These perceived benefits may have a direct impact on overall organisational performance and therefore incorporating elements of nature within building design and management may in future be considered imperative to achieving the desired strategic outcomes of the organisation

Treating Homeless Opioid Dependent Patients with Buprenorphine in an Office-Based Setting

CONTEXT Although office-based opioid treatment with buprenorphine (OBOT-B) has been successfully implemented in primary care settings in the US, its use has not been reported in homeless patients. OBJECTIVE To characterize the feasibility of OBOT-B in homeless relative to housed patients. DESIGN A retrospective record review examining treatment failure, drug use, utilization of substance abuse treatment services, and intensity of clinical support by a nurse care manager (NCM) among homeless and housed patients in an OBOT-B program between August 2003 and October 2004. Treatment failure was defined as elopement before completing medication induction, discharge after medication induction due to ongoing drug use with concurrent nonadherence with intensified treatment, or discharge due to disruptive behavior. RESULTS Of 44 homeless and 41 housed patients enrolled over 12 months, homeless patients were more likely to be older, nonwhite, unemployed, infected with HIV and hepatitis C, and report a psychiatric illness. Homeless patients had fewer social supports and more chronic substance abuse histories with a 3- to 6-fold greater number of years of drug use, number of detoxification attempts and percentage with a history of methadone maintenance treatment. The proportion of subjects with treatment failure for the homeless (21%) and housed (22%) did not differ (P=.94). At 12 months, both groups had similar proportions with illicit opioid use [Odds ratio (OR), 0.9 (95% CI, 0.5–1.7) P=.8], utilization of counseling (homeless, 46%; housed, 49%; P=.95), and participation in mutual-help groups (homeless, 25%; housed, 29%; P=.96). At 12 months, 36% of the homeless group was no longer homeless. During the first month of treatment, homeless patients required more clinical support from the NCM than housed patients. CONCLUSIONS Despite homeless opioid dependent patients' social instability, greater comorbidities, and more chronic drug use, office-based opioid treatment with buprenorphine was effectively implemented in this population comparable to outcomes in housed patients with respect to treatment failure, illicit opioid use, and utilization of substance abuse treatment

Developing an “Office” Culture.

Research has shown that an organizations culture has a profound effect on employee recruitment, retention and performance. This session explores the importance of workplace culture in the productivity and morale of faculty members and what role a leader plays in developing that culture