Archaeoentomological Research in the North Atlantic : Past, Present, and Future

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Linked through skill: labor market interdependence in the automotive value chain

This dissertation revisits old questions regarding how to increase manufacturing skills, but with attention to the asymmetrical position of large and small firms in manufacturing supply chains. Small-sized firms (under 500 employees) employ roughly half the U.S. workforce, but typically have fewer resources to invest in training their employees compared to their larger-sized counterparts, contributing to recognized labor market inequities. Power and resource asymmetries between large and small firms are particularly pronounced in the automotive industry. A large body of research on global supply chains provides a foundation for this inquiry into how suppliers might adjust their training practices in response to the constraints and expectations of their automotive clients. Integrating approaches from cluster- and supply-chain-based research, the dissertation’s three papers address three related questions: 1) How is skill dispersed across industries supplying the U.S. automotive industry?; 2) How do supply chain dynamics affect suppliers’ ability to train and compensate skilled workers?; and 3) How might smaller companies gain access to training resources in automotive clusters where politics and institutions favor larger firms? The first paper in the dissertation describes the skill requirements of industries in the U.S. automotive cluster. I show that the relationship between skills and wages is uneven and complicated: wages vary by supply chain tier, but in the opposite direction as skill requirements. The automotive industry clearly depends on the high-level manufacturing skills of sectors supplying intermediate goods, yet the lower wages in these sectors may impede skill regeneration and upgrading. The second paper investigates the training decisions of suppliers in a local automotive cluster. I find that cost reduction trends can deter suppliers from investing in training their own production technicians, but also that suppliers can leverage their supply chain position and activate local networks to increase training in spite of negative supply chain pressures. The third paper addresses a bias in the training system diffusion literature toward larger multi-national corporations. Shifting the focus to smaller multi-national enterprises, I find they are well positioned to activate institutional resources, both global and local, to introduce more accessible training models at their branch plant locations.Doctor of Philosoph

Hospital discharge planning: a qualitative study of new-graduate physiotherapists' experiences

Purpose: Discharge planning constitutes a large part of a physiotherapist's role when working in hospital settings. The challenges of decision-making relating to discharge planning have been identified by experienced physiotherapists. Despite known challenges associated with the transition from student to clinician, the experiences of new-graduates undertaking discharge planning are largely unknown. Therefore, this study aimed to explore:1)    new-graduate physiotherapists' experiences of discharge planning in hospital settings, and2)    the influence of pre-professional training on their perceived preparedness for discharge planning.Design: A qualitative general inductive approach using semi-structured interviews. New-graduate physiotherapists (n = 14) working in hospital settings were recruited.Finding: Four themes were generated: 1) responding to the pressures associated with discharging patients, 2) complex decision-making, 3) the role of the interprofessional team, and 4) desiring additional context and complexity from pre-professional training.Practice Implications: The study has identified that new-graduates underestimate the extent to which discharge planning features in their roles within hospital settings, and are unaware of the interprofessional practice required. Whilst they felt that their pre-professional training provides the technical skills required for their roles, they felt that they were not prepared for their role within the broader healthcare system, nor the complexity of clinical practice. This study encourages education providers to emphasise the role of physiotherapists within the broader health care system, through highlighting contexts where physiotherapy knowledge can be applied (i.e., discharge planning) and understanding the role of the physiotherapist within the interprofessional team.Limitations: Important perspectives of mentors and other members of the interprofessional team involved in discharge planning have not been included in this study which may have impacted the interpretation of the results

Centering Work: Integration and Diffusion of Workforce Development within the U.S. Manufacturing Extension Network

As the U.S. economy rebounds from the COVID-19 pandemic, strategies that promote long-term transformation toward high-quality jobs will be critical. This includes workplace-improving interventions that enable employers to upgrade existing jobs, often while enhancing their own competitive position. This paper focuses on the Manufacturing Extension Partnership, a national network of federally funded centers that support small and medium-sized manufacturing firms. We document the range of workforce- and workplace-enhancing strategies that MEP centers have adopted since the network’s inception in the mid-1990s. While workforce development is unevenly implemented across today’s MEP network, leading centers within the network are devising transformative strategies that shape underlying business practices in ways that can improve the quality of front-line manufacturing jobs. The pandemic recovery, along with federal commitment to reenergize domestic supply chains, presents an opportunity to establish NIST-MEP as a national workforce-development leader while also strengthening localized institutional partnerships to center that effort on inclusive economic development and recovery

A comparison of patient education practices of novice and experienced physiotherapists in Australia

Background: Patient education is an integral component of physiotherapy practice. Little is known about the differences in reported use and perception of patient education between experienced and novice physiotherapists. Understanding these differences has important implications for training approaches and physiotherapy practice

Effect of antioxidants on knee cartilage and bone in healthy, middle-aged subjects: a cross-sectional study

The aim of the present study is to examine the effect of dietary antioxidants on knee structure in a cohort of healthy, middle-aged subjects with no clinical knee osteoarthritis

Sustained adherence to a Mediterranean diet and physical activity on all-cause mortality in the Melbourne Collaborative Cohort Study: application of the g-formula.

BACKGROUND: Adherence to a traditional Mediterranean diet has been associated with lower mortality and cardiovascular disease risk. The relative importance of diet compared to other lifestyle factors and effects of dietary patterns over time remains unknown. METHODS: We used the parametric G-formula to account for time-dependent confounding, in order to assess the relative importance of diet compared to other lifestyle factors and effects of dietary patterns over time. We included healthy Melbourne Collaborative Cohort Study participants attending a visit during 1995-1999. Questionnaires assessed diet and physical activity at each of three study waves. Deaths were identified by linkage to national registries. We estimated mortality risk over approximately 14 years (1995-2011). RESULTS: Of 22,213 participants, 2163 (9.7%) died during 13.6 years median follow-up. Sustained high physical activity and adherence to a Mediterranean-style diet resulted in an estimated reduction in all-cause mortality of 1.82 per 100 people (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.03, 3.6). The population attributable fraction was 13% (95% CI: 4, 23%) for sustained high physical activity, 7% (95% CI: - 3, 17%) for sustained adherence to a Mediterranean-style diet and 18% (95% CI: 0, 36%) for their combination. CONCLUSIONS: A small reduction in mortality may be achieved by sustained elevated physical activity levels in healthy middle-aged adults, but there may be comparatively little gain from increasing adherence to a Mediterranean-style diet

High ultra-processed food consumption is associated with elevated psychological distress as an indicator of depression in adults from the Melbourne Collaborative Cohort Study

Background: Few studies have tested longitudinal associations between ultra-processed food consumption and depressive outcomes. As such, further investigation and replication are necessary. The aim of this study is to examine associations of ultra-processed food intake with elevated psychological distress as an indicator of depression after 15 years. Method: Data from the Melbourne Collaborative Cohort Study (MCCS) were analysed (n = 23,299). We applied the NOVA food classification system to a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) to determine ultra-processed food intake at baseline. We categorised energy-adjusted ultra-processed food consumption into quartiles by using the distribution of the dataset. Psychological distress was measured by the ten-item Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10). We fitted unadjusted and adjusted logistic regression models to assess the association of ultra-processed food consumption (exposure) with elevated psychological distress (outcome and defined as K10 ≥ 20). We fitted additional logistic regression models to determine whether these associations were modified by sex, age and body mass index. Results: After adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics and lifestyle and health-related behaviours, participants with the highest relative intake of ultra-processed food were at increased odds of elevated psychological distress compared to participants with the lowest intake (aOR: 1.23; 95%CI: 1.10, 1.38, p for trend = 0.001). We found no evidence for an interaction of sex, age and body mass index with ultra-processed food intake. Conclusion: Higher ultra-processed food intake at baseline was associated with subsequent elevated psychological distress as an indicator of depression at follow-up. Further prospective and intervention studies are necessary to identify possible underlying pathways, specify the precise attributes of ultra-processed food that confer harm, and optimise nutrition-related and public health strategies for common mental disorders