An Examination of Selected Organizational Constructs That May Influence a Tri-District Model for Shared Services

It all began in June 2000. The school districts of Newton Public, Andover Regional, and Green Township, New Jersey contracted Guidelines, Inc., Huntington, Long Island, New York to conduct a Grades K-12 Regionallshared Services Feasibility Study. The study was funed via a New Jersey state grant from the Regional Efficiency Development Incentive Program (REDI) Grant Program. The study\u27s executive summary included the objective: To provide information to aid school board members, school officials, and other interested parties in determining whether a K- 12 regional pattern appears feasible and desirable and the extent to which a K- 12 Regionalization Regional Study should be further considered (Savitt, 2000, p. 1). The purpose for this researcher\u27s study was to examine selected organizational constructs that may influence a Tri-District model for shared services as projected for future needs. This study resulted in bona fide research to inform local and school district decision-makers and to provide data for aspiring administrators. This examination was presented as a nonexperimental, retrospective, descriptive case study. Using this design and method, this researcher was able to propose selected organizational constructs that may influence a Tri-District model for shared services, The findings support the use of these constructs by linking them with specific shared-service areas as a means to achieve a beneficial outcome. One of the key findings of this examination included a discussion about people and relationships. These features with this examination\u27s purpose provided the necessary information for a Tri-District shared-services model that can be realistic, meaningful, and relevant

Soil pH moderates the resistance and resilience of C and N cycling to transient and persistent stress

The resilience of microbial functions like carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) cycling to stress is likely heavily dependent on pH. Past research, however, has been limited to laboratory manipulations or a pH gradient resulting from differences in soil mineralogy. In this study, soils were collected from a >50-year field trial where plots have been maintained at pH 4.9, 6 and 7.1. We selected copper (Cu) and heat to represent persistent and transient stresses, respectively. Changes in C mineralization, ammonia oxidation, denitrification, and gene (16S rRNA, nirK, nirS and amoA) abundance were immediately measured after heat- (40 °C for 16 h) and Cu- (500 μg Cu soil g−1 or 1 mg Cu soil g−1) induced stresses, during subsequent recovery over 56 days, and compared to an unstressed control. Higher soil pH significantly increased C mineralization (by 217 %), ammonia oxidation (by 617 %), and the gene abundances of 16S rRNA (by 77 %), nirK (by 976 %) and nirS (by 997 %). Soil pH had a significant (P < 0.001) selection effect on the phylotypes of bacterial communities and ammonium oxidizing bacteria (AOB). Ammonia oxidation was significantly (P < 0.05) more resistant and resilient to both Cu stresses in the pH 7.1 soil. C mineralization in the soil at pH 7.1 was significantly (P < 0.05) more resilient to low Cu than the soil at pH 4.9. Correspondingly, significantly (P < 0.001) distinct bacterial communities were present in these soils, indicating that bacterial composition triggered by the adaptation and tolerance to stress is a central factor governing functional resilience. Denitrification in the pH 7.1 soil was significantly (P < 0.05) more resilient to low and high Cu, compared to the soil at pH 4.9. Similarly, the abundances of nirS and nirK genes were greater in the higher pH soil. Although soil pH directly affects Cu but not heat stress, our results indicated that neutral soils harboured greater resilience of C and N cycling to both Cu (persistent) and heat (transient) stresses

Methane and nitrous oxide fluxes across an elevation gradient in the tropical Peruvian Andes

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Repeat workers' compensation claims: risk factors, costs and work disability

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The objective of our study was to describe factors associated with repeat workers' compensation claims and to compare the work disability arising in workers with single and multiple compensation claims.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>All initial injury claims lodged by persons of working age during a five year period (1996 to 2000) and any repeat claims were extracted from workers' compensation administrative data in the state of Victoria, Australia. Groups of workers with single and multiple claims were identified. Descriptive analysis of claims by affliction, bodily location, industry segment, occupation, employer and workplace was undertaken. Survival analysis determined the impact of these variables on the time between the claims. The economic impact and duration of work incapacity associated with initial and repeat claims was compared between groups.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>37% of persons with an initial claim lodged a second claim. This group contained a significantly greater proportion of males, were younger and more likely to be employed in manual occupations and high-risk industries than those with single claims. 78% of repeat claims were for a second injury. Duration between the claims was shortest when the working conditions had not changed. The initial claims of repeat claimants resulted in significantly (<it>p < 0.001</it>) lower costs and work disability than the repeat claims.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>A substantial proportion of injured workers experience a second occupational injury or disease. These workers pose a greater economic burden than those with single claims, and also experience a substantially greater cumulative period of work disability. There is potential to reduce the social, health and economic burden of workplace injury by enacting prevention programs targeted at these workers.</p

Economic models for sustainable interprofessional education

Limited information exists on funding models for interprofessional education (IPE) course delivery, even though potential savings from IPE could be gained in healthcare delivery efficiencies and patient safety. Unanticipated economic barriers to implementing an IPE curriculum across programs and schools in University settings can stymie or even end movement toward collaboration and sustainable culture change. Clarity among stakeholders, including institutional leadership, faculty, and students, is necessary to avoid confusion about IPE tuition costs and funds flow, given that IPE involves multiple schools and programs sharing space, time, faculty, and tuition dollars. In this paper, we consider three funding models for IPE: (a) Centralized (b) Blended, and (c) Decentralized. The strengths and challenges associated with each of these models are discussed. Beginning such a discussion will move us toward understanding the return on investment of IPE

Intensive grassland management disrupts below-ground multi-trophic resource transfer in response to drought

Modification of soil food webs by land management may alter the response of ecosystem processes to climate extremes, but empirical support is limited and the mechanisms involved remain unclear. Here we quantify how grassland management modifies the transfer of recent photosynthates and soil nitrogen through plants and soil food webs during a post-drought period in a controlled field experiment, using in situ 13C and 15N pulse-labelling in intensively and extensively managed fields. We show that intensive management decrease plant carbon (C) capture and its transfer through components of food webs and soil respiration compared to extensive management. We observe a legacy effect of drought on C transfer pathways mainly in intensively managed grasslands, by increasing plant C assimilation and 13C released as soil CO2 efflux but decreasing its transfer to roots, bacteria and Collembola. Our work provides insight into the interactive effects of grassland management and drought on C transfer pathways, and highlights that capture and rapid transfer of photosynthates through multi-trophic networks are key for maintaining grassland resistance to drought