Taking Business to a “Hire” Level: Strategies for Workforce Planning

[Excerpt] Workforce planning has always existed in some form, but has seen a recent reemergence in the human resources arena as companies try to move away from just-in-time staffing. This renewed focus has forced HR professionals to question how to create a pipeline that considers both the number of required employees and the types of skills needed. The following paragraphs argue that, through estimating, collaborating, and adapting, organizations can maximize their opportunities for a strong pipeline. First, staffing models will be paired with HR metrics to formulate the staffing needs of the organization. Second, collaboration with other functions will be emphasized to maximize the accuracy of the estimations. Finally, emerging concepts, such as eLancing, will be discussed as a way to adjust for unexpected changes in human capital needs

Educational Leave of Absence: Retaining High-Potential Employees Pursuing MBA Degrees

[Excerpt] Surveys show that 78% of companies include tuition reimbursement as a part of their benefits offerings compared to 0% who offer to pay-off existing student loans. These statistics alone shed light on why a growing number of workers are deciding to pursue an educational leave of absence through their company when pursuing their education. Why would an employee leave their work if they know their future employer will not pay off their student loan debt, while at the same time their sponsoring company will cover some of the costs, have a position waiting for them, and continue to provide health coverage while they are in school full-time? Yet despite this continued relationship with their organization, employees often leave the organization upon receiving their MBA, resulting in losses of talent and money for the company. This practice is especially prevalent in employees who receive only partial tuition assistance from their employer while pursuing their MBA—meaning they still have substantial student loan debt to pay off following graduation

Beyond Born This Way : Reconsidering trans narratives

When most Americans hear the words “trans” or “transgender”, celebrities like Caitlyn Jenner, Chaz Bono, or Laverne Cox likely come to mind along with their highly public stories of medical and social transition. While these celebrity representations have served to increase visibility for the trans community throughout the United States over the past decade, trans representation remains limited in terms of intersectionality and a narrow focus on celebrity stories and themes of essentialization, dysphoria, and medical transition. At the same time, research on trans narratives also remains focused almost exclusively on trans women and men who experience dysphoria and undergo medical transition. This leaves the following questions: What are the consequences of such a narrow focus on only one kind of trans story within the media? How did the representations we know today develop in the first place? What are the experiences of trans people who do not fit into the dominant narrative like? What can we learn from these experiences, representations, and histories in terms of theory and activism? To answer these questions, in this thesis I will present a qualitative textual analysis of interviews with seven trans people from various backgrounds on their gendered life experiences and compare them to trans celebrity narratives, historical narratives, and alternative narratives trans people have formed for themselves. While the stories collected and analyzed in this study are not generalizable to all trans people, as case studies they will enhance our knowledge of trans narratives, experiences, and identities

A Case Study of the Risk and Crisis Communications Used in the 2008 Salmonella Outbreak

The Salmonella outbreak of 2008 was one of the largest foodborne illness outbreaks in the last 20 years. Tomatoes were initially pinpointed as the source of the outbreak, and the tomato industry suffered losses of $100 million in 2008. Eventually the FDA was able to trace the outbreak to imported jalapeño peppers, but this discovery was too late to recover losses for the tomato industry. The purpose of this study was to examine the risk and crisis communication efforts taken by public relations practitioners in the produce industry during the 2008 Salmonella outbreak to determine which efforts were successful and which were ineffective. This qualitative case study used the interviews of nine public relations practitioners in the tomato industry to collect the information needed to fully explore the research objectives of the study. The study found that all of the public relations practitioners attempted to communicate effectively with their audiences despite the negative nature of the 2008 Salmonella crisis. Additionally, the practitioners revealed their thoughts and perceptions about the outbreak, the media, and the communications used during the outbreak, which provided valuable insight into the communication efforts of an organization during a crisis

Contribution of thirdhand smoke to overall tobacco smoke exposure in pediatric patients: study protocol.

BackgroundThirdhand smoke (THS) is the persistent residue resulting from secondhand smoke (SHS) that accumulates in dust, objects, and on surfaces in homes where tobacco has been used, and is reemitted into air. Very little is known about the extent to which THS contributes to children's overall tobacco smoke exposure (OTS) levels, defined as their combined THS and SHS exposure. Even less is known about the effect of OTS and THS on children's health. This project will examine how different home smoking behaviors contribute to THS and OTS and if levels of THS are associated with respiratory illnesses in nonsmoking children.MethodsThis project leverages the experimental design from an ongoing pediatric emergency department-based tobacco cessation trial of caregivers who smoke and their children (NIHR01HD083354). At baseline and follow-up, we will collect urine and handwipe samples from children and samples of dust and air from the homes of smokers who smoke indoors, have smoking bans or who have quit smoking. These samples will be analyzed to examine to what extent THS pollution at home contributes to OTS exposure over and above SHS and to what extent THS continues to persist and contribute to OTS in homes of smokers who have quit or have smoking bans. Targeted and nontargeted chemical analyses of home dust samples will explore which types of THS pollutants are present in homes. Electronic medical record review will examine if THS and OTS levels are associated with child respiratory illness. Additionally, a repository of child and environmental samples will be created.DiscussionThe results of this study will be crucial to help close gaps in our understanding of the types, quantity, and clinical effects of OTS, THS exposure, and THS pollutants in a unique sample of tobacco smoke-exposed ill children and their homes. The potential impact of these findings is substantial, as currently the level of risk in OTS attributable to THS is unknown. This research has the potential to change how we protect children from OTS, by recognizing that SHS and THS exposure needs to be addressed separately and jointly as sources of pollution and exposure.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02531594 . Date of registration: August 24, 2015

Concert recording 2018-11-02

[Track 1]. My house from Matilda / Tim Minchin -- [Track 2]. Everybody loves Louis from Sunday in the park with George / Stephen Sondheim -- [Track 3]. Per la gloria d\u27adorarvi / Giovanni Battista Bononcini -- [Track 4]. The vagabond / Ralph Vaughan Williams -- [Track 5]. Se tu m\u27ami / Alessandro Parisotti -- [Track 6]. Die Hölle Rache kocht from The magic flute / Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart -- [Track 7]. Dans un boire solitaire / Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart -- [Track 8]. Love\u27s philosophy / Roger Quilter -- [Track 9]. Comme raggio di sol / Antonio Caldara -- [Track 10]. The vagabond / Ralph Vaughan Williams -- [Track 11]. Sognai / Francesco Schira -- [Track 12]. Fair Robin I love from Tartuffe / Kirke Mechem -- [Track 13]. Sonntag, op. 47, no. 3 / Johannes Brahms -- [Track 14]. O del mio amato ben / Stefano Donaudy -- [Track 15]. Spring / Dominick Argento -- [Track 16]. Gott im Frühling, D. 448 / Franz Schubert -- [Track 17]. Vaga luna, che inargent / Vincenzo Bellini -- [Track 18]. The Salley gardens / Benjamin Britten -- [Track 19]. Three browning songs, op. 44. I. The year\u27s at the spring II. Ah, love, but a day III. I send my heart up to thee / Amy Beach -- [Track 20]. From Dichterliebe, op. 48. 6. Im Rhein, im heiligin Strome 7. Ich grolle nicht 8. Und wüssten\u27s die Blumen, die kleinen 9. Das ist ein Flöten und Geigen / Robert Schumann -- [Track 21]. Thy hand, Belinda from Dido and Aeneas / Henry Purcell -- [Track 22]. Cowboy songs. I. Bucking bronco II. Lift me into heaven slowly III. Billy the kid / Libby Larsen

Case Study of Resilient Baton Rouge: Applying Depression Collaborative Care and Community Planning to Disaster Recovery.

BackgroundAddressing behavioral health impacts of major disasters is a priority of increasing national attention, but there are limited examples of implementation strategies to guide new disaster responses. We provide a case study of an effort being applied in response to the 2016 Great Flood in Baton Rouge.MethodsResilient Baton Rouge was designed to support recovery after major flooding by building local capacity to implement an expanded model of depression collaborative care for adults, coupled with identifying and responding to local priorities and assets for recovery. For a descriptive, initial evaluation, we coupled analysis of documents and process notes with descriptive surveys of participants in initial training and orientation, including preliminary comparisons among licensed and non-licensed participants to identify training priorities.ResultsWe expanded local behavioral health service delivery capacity through subgrants to four agencies, provision of training tailored to licensed and non-licensed providers and development of advisory councils and partnerships with grassroots and government agencies. We also undertook initial efforts to enhance national collaboration around post-disaster resilience.ConclusionOur partnered processes and lessons learned may be applicable to other communities that aim to promote resilience, as well as planning for and responding to post-disaster behavioral health needs

A Rapid Assessment of Disaster Preparedness Needs and Resources during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Background: This year has seen the emergence of two major crises, a significant increase in the frequency and severity of hurricanes and the COVID-19 pandemic. However, little is known as to how each of these two events have impacted the other. A rapid qualitative assessment was conducted to determine the impact of the pandemic on preparedness and response to natural disasters and the impact of past experiences with natural disasters in responding to the pandemic. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 26 representatives of 24 different community-based programs in southern Louisiana. Data were analyzed using procedures embedded in the Rapid Assessment Procedure-Informed Community Ethnography methodology, using techniques of immersion and crystallization and focused thematic analysis. Results: The pandemic has impacted the form and function of disaster preparedness, making it harder to plan for evacuations in the event of a hurricane. Specific concerns included being able to see people in person, providing food and other resources to residents who shelter in place, finding volunteers to assist in food distribution and other forms of disaster response, competing for funds to support disaster-related activities, developing new support infrastructures, and focusing on equity in disaster preparedness. However, several strengths based on disaster preparedness experience and capabilities were identified, including providing a framework for how to respond and adapt to COVID and integration of COVID response with their normal disaster preparedness activities. Conclusions: Although prior experience has enabled community-based organizations to respond to the pandemic, the pandemic is also creating new challenges to preparing for and responding to natural disasters