Managing stakeholder \u27push back\u27, an exploratory investigation into dealing with negative cross cultural communication in a global environment

This paper addresses the issue of a current business phenomenon &ndash; &lsquo;push back&rsquo;. This phenomenon has been experienced by a number of transnational companies. It is embedded in the challenges of cross-cultural communication and involves the linkage of local culture activists with globalisation acitivists in an alliance to stop business growth. This exploratory investigation examines three multinational organisations using qualitative research. From the findings a model has been developed in an attempt to provide practitioners with a framework with which to understand &lsquo;push back&rsquo;. The complexity of combating alliances of this nature raises challenges for the current approaches to marketing and the need for a multi-stakeholder approach in cross-cultural communication is suggested.<br /

A Means of Codifying Safety Cross-Training Knowledge Expectations For Biosafety Professionals

INTRODUCTION: The health and safety issues encountered by biosafety professionals in the daily conduct of their work is rarely limited solely to potentially infectious pathogens. A basic understanding of the other types of hazards inherent to laboratories is necessary. As such, management of the health and safety program at an academic health institution sought to ensure crosscutting competency for its technical staff, including staff members within the biosafety program. METHODS: Using a focus group approach, a team of safety professionals from a variety of specialties developed a list of 50 basic health and safety items that any safety specialist should know, inclusive of basic but important information about biosafety that was considered imperative for staff members to understand. This list was used as the basis for a formal cross-training effort. RESULTS: Staff responded positively to the approach and the associated cross-training, and overall compliance with an array of health and safety expectations was experienced across the institution. Subsequently, the list of questions has been shared broadly with other organizations for their own consideration and use. DISCUSSION/CONCLUSION: The codification of the basic knowledge expectations for technical staff within a health and safety program at an academic health institution, which includes the biosafety program technical staff, was warmly received and helped establish what information was expected to be known and what issues warranted input from other specialty areas. The cross-training expectations served to expand the health and safety services provided despite resource limitations and organizational growth

Pivoting the Biosafety Program in Response to Covid-19: Recommendations of Key Services and Tasks to Consider For the Next Pandemic

INTRODUCTION: With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, a rapid adjustment of work tasks was necessary for many biosafety programs (and other safety programs) to address drastic shifts in workload demands amid pandemic-related shutdowns and subsequent needs for supporting COVID-19-related safe work protocols, diagnostic testing, research, vaccine development, and so forth. From a program management standpoint, evaluating and understanding these tasks were critically important to ensure that appropriate support and resources were in place, especially during such unprecedented times of rapid change and significant impact to normal life and routine. METHODS: Described here are examples of how the biosafety program at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth Houston) addressed these challenges. RESULTS: As part of this required pivot, key services and tasks emerged into three distinct categories: (1) those that were temporarily diminished, (2) those that had to continue despite COVID-19 and the associated shutdowns for safety or compliance purposes, and (3) those that dramatically increased in volume, frequency, and novelty. CONCLUSION: Although the adjustments described were made in situ as the pandemic evolved, the cataloging of these tasks throughout the experience can serve as a template for biosafety programs to plan and prepare for the next pandemic, which will inevitably occur

Giant Merkel Cell Carcinoma Masquerading as a Benign Cyst on the Buttock of an African American Man

We report a case of a 60-year-old African American man who presented with a 4-year history of a previously asymptomatic, recently enlarging nodule on his left buttock, which was initially presumed to be an epidermoid cyst. Physical examination revealed a large, fixed, subcutaneous tumor, and a biopsy revealed merkel cell carcinoma. Immunohistochemical staining was positive for pankeratin, CAM 5.2, synaptophysin, and CD56 and negative for CK7, CK20, TTF-1, chromogranin, CD3, CD20, CD57, MART1, and HMB 45. The patient underwent wide local excision of the lesion with removal of the fascia overlying the gluteus and full body positron emission tomography (PET) and was found to have Stage IIb disease. He subsequently received adjuvant radiotherapy limited to the tumor bed at a dose of 60 gray

Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Disseminating Workplace Health Promotion Resources to Businesses

Encouraging workplaces to undertake health promotion is important yet little is known of the types of information small and medium size workplaces would find useful. Two resources on workplace health promotion were mailed to 213 workplaces. The resources provided information on the benefits of workplace health promotion, suggestions for low-cost activities and components of a sustainable program. 62% of respondents rated the resources as either ‘very useful’ or ‘somewhat useful’. Workplaces in ‘contemplation’ and ‘preparation’ stages of change for engaging in WHP were most likely to have undertaken an activity to support the health and well-being of employees or be intending to, as a result of reading the resources .The findings of this study provide useful information on the reach and impact of dissemination of health promotion resources by mail to workplaces, and particularly small businesses

Assessing the Established Competency Categories of the Biosafety, infection Prevention, and Public Health Professions: a Guide For Addressing Needed Professional Development Training For the Current and Next Pandemic

A recent series of widespread infectious disease outbreaks has highlighted commonalities and differences between three key professions that operate on the front lines of response in support of research and/or direct healthcare providers: biosafety, infection prevention, and public health. This assessment, which builds upon previous study by the authors, examines the stated professional competency categories for these three areas, highlighting similarities and differences. This assessment is important as these professions are being drawn together in an operational environment driven by the current pandemic and inevitably future disease outbreaks. Cross-training opportunities for the various professions are proposed

What Do Struggling Readers Think?

Research Question How do struggling readers identify their experiences with reading, both inside and outside of school? Purpose In an era of high stakes testing and pressure for students to demonstrate academic achievement, particularly in reading, the state of Georgia has emphasized additional rigor over the past ten years. Data demonstrates that 36% of Georgia’s children read below grade level at the end of third grade (GADOE, 2022). A range of efforts to improve reading levels include the establishment of the Deal Center, Senate Dyslexia Bill (SB 48), and a state reading task force addressing teacher preparation for teaching reading. Despite all these endeavors, the voices missing from the conversation are those of individuals who struggle with reading. Research Design To explore this perspective, including potential intervention strategies, we engaged in a qualitative study examining “What Struggling Readers Think”. We interviewed students, who had already been identified as struggling readers, to gather insights into their reading experiences. In addition, we interviewed adults who identify as struggling readers. These developmental perspectives revealed specific points of difficulty in connection with what we understand from literacy research and Critical Disability Studies (CDS). Findings & Implications Across ages, struggling readers expressed resistance to and avoidance of reading. Participants perceived significant critique of others regarding their challenges in reading, in ways that shaped their feelings about themselves as learners. Participants described clear desire for help with reading, specifically teacher read alouds, spelling, decoding, and complex comprehension. Teens and adults, who received effective interventions, described finding an appreciation for reading in their daily lives and an awareness of tools needed to support their ongoing progress. This presentation will elucidate how the experiences of struggling readers can inform educators in designing more effective interventions and increase reading levels in Georgia

The Towuti Drilling Project:paleoenvironments, biological evolution, and geomicrobiology of a tropical Pacific lake

The Towuti Drilling Project (TDP) is an international research program, whose goal is to understand long-term environmental and climatic change in the tropical western Pacific, the impacts of geological and environmental changes on the biological evolution of aquatic taxa, and the geomicrobiology and biogeochemistry of metal-rich, ultramafic-hosted lake sediments through the scientific drilling of Lake Towuti, southern Sulawesi, Indonesia. Lake Towuti is a large tectonic lake at the downstream end of the Malili lake system, a chain of five highly biodiverse lakes that are among the oldest lakes in Southeast Asia. In 2015 we carried out a scientific drilling program on Lake Towuti using the International Continental Scientific Drilling Program (ICDP) Deep Lakes Drilling System (DLDS). We recovered a total of  ∼ 1018 m of core from 11 drilling sites with water depths ranging from 156 to 200 m. Recovery averaged 91.7 %, and the maximum drilling depth was 175 m below the lake floor, penetrating the entire sedimentary infill of the basin. Initial data from core and borehole logging indicate that these cores record the evolution of a highly dynamic tectonic and limnological system, with clear indications of orbital-scale climate variability during the mid- to late Pleistocene

Brandywine Farmers Market

Final project for INAG253: Technology of Fruit and Vegetable Production and PLSC433: Technology of Fruit and Vegetable Production (Fall 2020). University of Maryland, College Park.Through their work with the National Center for Smart Growth at the University of Maryland (UMD), the Prince George's County- Department of Parks and Recreation commissioned this report from the university’s Partnership for Action Learning in Sustainability (PALS). PALS works with local jurisdictions throughout Maryland to identify projects and problems that can be taught through university courses where students focus on developing innovative, research-based solutions. This project was focused on two teams in developing a strategic communication plan and establishing the Brandywine Farmers Market. This report centers on obtaining research by using communication to accomplish organizational goal of creating the Brandywine Farmers Market and principles/practices of field production of commercial horticultural crops, with emphasis on fruit and vegetable systems for the Brandywine Farmers Market.Prince George's County- Planning Department (PG PD