Work Organisation and Innovation

[Excerpt] Innovations in work organisation have the potential to optimise production processes in companies and improve employees’ overall experience of work. This report explores the links between innovations in work organisation – under the broader label of high performance work practices (HPWPs) – and the potential benefits for both employees and organisations. It draws on empirical evidence from case studies carried out in 13 Member States of the European Union where workplace innovations have resulted in positive outcomes

Drinking patterns among Korean adults: results of the 2009 Korean community health survey.

ObjectivesIn Korea, the proportion of deaths due to alcohol is estimated at 8.9%, far exceeding the global estimate of 3.8%. Therefore, this study was performed to examine the factors associated with low-risk, moderate-risk, and high-risk drinking patterns in Korean adults and to identify target populations for prevention and control of alcohol-related diseases and deaths.MethodsWe analyzed data from 230 715 Korean adults aged 19 years and older who participated in the 2009 Korean Community Health Survey. Multinomial logistic regression analysis was used to examine associations between socio-demographic and health-related factors and patterns of alcohol use.ResultsA substantially larger proportion of men than women engaged in high risk (21.2% vs. 3.4%) and moderate-risk alcohol use (15.5% vs. 8.2%). In both sexes, moderate- and high-risk uses were associated with younger age, higher income, being currently employed, smoking, being overweight/obese, and good self-rated health.ConclusionsGiven the large proportion of the population that is engaging in moderate- and high-risk drinking and given the social norms that support this behavior, public health policies and campaigns to reduce alcohol consumption targeting the entire population are indicated

A cross-syndrome comparison of sleep-dependent learning on a cognitive procedural task

Sleep plays a key role in the consolidation of newly acquired information and skills into long term memory. Children with Down syndrome (DS) and Williams syndrome (WS) frequently experience sleep problems, abnormal sleep architecture and difficulties with learning; thus, we predicted that children from these clinical populations would demonstrate impairments in sleep-dependent memory consolidation relative to children with typical development (TD) on a cognitive procedural task: The Tower of Hanoi. Children with DS (n = 17), WS (n = 22) and TD (n = 34) completed the Tower of Hanoi task. They were trained on the task either in the morning or evening, then completed it again following counterbalanced retention intervals of daytime wake and night time sleep. Children with TD and with WS benefitted from sleep for enhanced memory consolidation and improved their performance on the task by reducing the number of moves taken to completion, and by making fewer rule violations. We did not find any large effects of sleep on learning in children with DS, suggesting that these children are not only delayed, but atypical in their learning strategies. Importantly, our findings have implications for educational strategies for all children, specifically considering circadian influences on new learning and the role of children’s night time sleep as an aid to learning.<br/

Practice Changing Practice Professional Development Program: Phase 2 Investigating Impact Final Report

The Practice Changing Practice (PCP) professional learning program began as a pilot professional learning program in 2018. The program was designed and delivered through the Education Knowledge Network within the School of Education at Western Sydney University. The program was developed in response to an identified need for leadership training that resulted in increased teacher capacity and sustained change in school culture, leading to improved student outcomes and experiences. The PCP pilot program involved a group of school leaders from a range of schools in Western Sydney. The program introduced action research as a method of professional learning, requiring participants to identify, research, and address a problem of leadership practice. In 2019 the program (Phase 1) was expanded and underwent a research evaluation (Attard, 2020). Findings from this evaluation confirmed the program was successful

Organizational readiness for wellness promotion - a survey of 100 African American church leaders in South Los Angeles.

BackgroundChurches are an important asset and a trusted resource in the African American community. We needed a better understanding of their readiness to engage in health promotion before launching a large-scale health promotion effort in partnership with South Los Angeles churches.MethodsIn 2017, we conducted surveys with leaders of 100 churches. Surveys were conducted face-to-face (32%) or by telephone (68%) with senior pastors (one per church) and lasted on average 48 min. We compared small (less than 50 active members), medium (50-99 active members) and large churches (at least 100 active members), and assessed which church characteristics were associated with the implementation of wellness activities.ResultsMedium and large churches conducted significantly more wellness activities than small churches and were more likely to have wellness champions and health policies. Regardless of church size, insufficient budget was the most commonly cited barrier to implement wellness activities (85%). A substantial proportion of churches was not sure how to implement wellness activities (61%) and lacked volunteers (58%). Forty-five percent of the variation in the number of wellness activities in the last 12 months was explained by church characteristics, such as size of congregation, number of paid staff, leadership engagement, having a wellness ministry and barriers.ConclusionsMany churches in South Los Angeles are actively engaged in health promotion activities, despite a general lack of resources. We recommend a comprehensive assessment of church characteristics in intervention studies to enable the use of strategies (e.g., stratification by size) that reduce imbalances that could mask or magnify study outcomes. Our data provide empirical support for the inner settings construct of the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research in the context of health promotion in African American churches

The efficacy of antibiotics to prevent collibacilosis in broiler poultry: A protocol for a systematic review and network meta-analysis.

Antibiotics are used in broiler poultry production both for the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases. However, antibiotic use is a driver of antibiotic resistance. The World Health Organization has published numerous reports urging all stakeholders concerned with both food-producing animals and humans to establish recommended steps to enhance the prudent use of antimicrobials (WHO, 2015). Similarly, the World Animal Health Organization has also published recommendations and position statements regarding prudent use and risk management related to antimicrobial use in animals (OIE, 2017). Colibacillosis is an important bacterial pathogen of poultry, and a costly disease for the industry resulting in multimillion dollar losses annually through morbidity, mortality or carcass condemnation at slaughter. Colibacillosis refers to any localized or systemic infection caused entirely or partly by the organism avian pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC). These bacteria may be isolated as the sole pathogen or contribute to a disease complex with mixed viral and bacterial infections (Guabirara and Schouler, 2015). Two main disease processes important in the broiler industry are early mortality and cellulitis. Early mortality is defined by chicks under a week of age experiencing a higher than normal percentage of deaths in a flock. Early mortality can be caused by many things, for example chilling, overheating, or dehydration, however E.coli infection, or colibacillosis, is one of the main culprits. Colibacillosis can present with omphalitis, yolk sacculitis, enteritis, pasty vents, pericarditis, perihepatitis, polyserositis, congested lungs, splenomegaly and darkened proventriculus or any these combinations (Guabiraba and Schouler, 2015; Geetha and Palanivel, 2018). Many chicks succumb to an early and severe infection or are culled due to excessive morbidity. Antibiotics are typically used to reduce early mortality (Chauvin et al., 2005; Dziva and Stevens, 2008). Those with severe infection are unlikely to survive, however appropriate treatment reduces transmission between birds and improves the suitability of those with a mild infection. Not every labelled drug for E.coli is efficacious, resistance is common (Kabir, 2010) and effectiveness can vary from flock to flock, even within a flock, with more than one strain and more than one treatment. Understanding the efficacy of antibiotics used to prevent colibacillosis in broiler chickens is essential to optimizing their use; ineffective antibiotics should not be used for prevention or, if there are multiple efficacious antibiotics, their importance to human medicine should be considered when making decisions on antibiotic use. Systematic reviews of randomized controlled trials, and network meta-analysis to provide input on relative antibiotic efficacy, will yield the highest level of evidence for efficacy of treatments under field conditions (Sargeant and O’Connor, 2014)

The Impact of World Literature in Secondary Schools in Oregon and Chile : A Comparative Case Study

The reading of world literature, literary works from cultures other than one’s own, offers an effective means of creating greater awareness and sensitivity towards others. Research on the subject makes it clear that world literature can help lay the groundwork for a sense of world citizenship in students. To what extent have U.S. high school students been exposed to world literature? Do they display more characteristics of world citizenship as a result? How do U.S. high school students compare to their peers abroad? To answer these questions, I conducted a case study of three high schools in the state of Oregon and three high schools in the Bío-Bío Region of Chile (Region VIII) where I administered a written survey to literature students. The survey included questions regarding students’ backgrounds, experience with world literature, knowledge of world affairs, and personal opinions. I found that other factors (e.g. economic status and number of domestic authors in each country) affect students’ access to and interest in world affairs. The reading of world literature is one of a myriad of factors that contribute to the intricate idea of world citizenship. While it is difficult to isolate reading world literature as an explicit cause of greater world citizenship, it is clear that world literature can and should play an important role in the development of global perspectives in students’ lives

Characteristics of individuals who report present and past weight loss behaviours: results from a Canadian university community

Purpose: To characterise individuals who reported present and past weight loss behaviours on psycho-behavioural factors known to influence body weight, e.g. overeating, dietary restriction. Methods: An online questionnaire was distributed to a university community. Questions pertaining to present weight loss, previous weight loss, eating behaviour tendencies, perceived stress and sleep quality were answered by 3,069 individuals. Body weight and height were selfreported. Results: Present and past weight loss behaviours were prevalent in the sample, with 33.3 % of the participants who reported trying to lose weight, 33.1 % who reported having previously lost weight ([10 lbs), and 18.8 % who reported repeated weight loss behaviour (i.e. present and past weight loss behaviours). Trying to lose weight and previous weight loss were both independently associated with increased risk for psycho-behavioural characteristics known to be associated with obesity, e.g. overeating tendencies, perceived stress, short sleep duration. This risk was particularly elevated among the underweight/normalweight individuals who reported repeated weight loss behaviours. Indeed, adjusted odds ratios for reporting restrictive and overeating tendencies, perceived stress and short sleep for these individuals were significantly higher compared to their underweight/normal-weight peers who did not report repeated weight loss behaviours (adjusted odds ratios 4.7, 2.7, 1.8, and 1.8, respectively, p\0.01 to \0.0001). Conclusions: Normal-weight individuals reporting weight loss behaviours are characterised by a psycho-behaviour profile which may further increase their risk of weight gain

Webinars as a Tool for Increasing Awareness of Diabetes Prevention and Management Programs

Stakeholders sought to reduce the burden of preventable diabetes among adults in Utah via a “Food as Medicine” webinar series. The “Food as Medicine” webinar series sought to increase awareness of and enrollment in public diabetes programs. Evaluation results from the webinar series indicated an increase in awareness of diabetes programs and nutrition information needed to improve personal diabetes management