Strategies for Retaining Employees in the Hospitality Industry

Employee retention is a critical issue for business leaders. The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics reported over 4.5 million employee separations in 2014 because of resignations, layoffs, or terminations. Hospitality managers face some of the lowest employee retention rates of any industry, which leads to poor customer satisfaction and decreased profitability. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore the perceptions of 3 hospitality managers from 3 different mid-sized hospitality organizations in Brevard County, Florida. The conceptual framework for this study was built upon motivation theory; existence, relatedness, and growth theory; and expectancy theory. The data were collected through document and artifact review, a reflective journal, and semistructured interviews. Member checking was completed to strengthen credibility and trustworthiness of the interpretation of the participants\u27 responses. Four themes emerged from the data: the motivational outcome, leadership characteristics, most effective retention strategies, and the least effective strategies influencing employee retention. The findings from this study may educate inform hospitality managers on how to stabilize employment, improve retention, and increase customer satisfaction and profitability

Interview with Edna Hall Ramseur

This interview was conducted by Dr. George Garrison with Edna Hall Ramseur for Dr. Garrison’s project on the History of Emmett Scott High School. Emmett Scott was the segregated high school for African-Americans, which was named after Emmett Scott, a former aide to Booker T. Washington and President Woodrow Wilson. The school opened in 1920 and closed in 1970 when full integration was implemented in Rock Hill, SC schools. Edna Hall Ramseur was born in Orangeburg County, SC and attended schools in Swansee and Columbia, SC. She attended college at Benedict College and after graduating, she taught at Emmett Scott High School from 1957-1967. After leaving Emmett Scott, she taught at Rock Hill High School for two years before she taught in Virginia for several years. She returned to Rock Hill, SC and taught at Northwestern High School in Rock Hill for the first couple of years when it opened before returning to Rock Hill High School where she taught until retiring in 1989. In this interview, she discusses her experiences teaching with a focus on her time at Emmett Scott.https://digitalcommons.winthrop.edu/oralhistoryprogram/1588/thumbnail.jp

Identifying nonalcoholic fatty liver disease patients with active fibrosis by measuring extracellular matrix remodeling rates in tissue and blood.

Excess collagen synthesis (fibrogenesis) in the liver plays a causal role in the progression of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Methods are needed to identify patients with more rapidly progressing disease and to demonstrate early response to treatment. We describe here a novel method to quantify hepatic fibrogenesis flux rates both directly in liver tissue and noninvasively in blood. Twenty-one patients with suspected NAFLD ingested heavy water (2 H2 O, 50-mL aliquots) two to three times daily for 3-5 weeks prior to a clinically indicated liver biopsy. Liver collagen fractional synthesis rate (FSR) and plasma lumican FSR were measured based on 2 H labeling using tandem mass spectrometry. Patients were classified by histology for fibrosis stage (F0-F4) and as having nonalcoholic fatty liver or nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Magnetic resonance elastography measurements of liver stiffness were also performed. Hepatic collagen FSR in NAFLD increased with advancing disease stage (e.g., higher in NASH than nonalcoholic fatty liver, positive correlation with fibrosis score and liver stiffness) and correlated with hemoglobin A1C. In addition, plasma lumican FSR demonstrated a significant correlation with hepatic collagen FSR.ConclusionUsing a well-characterized cohort of patients with biopsy-proven NAFLD, this study demonstrates that hepatic scar in NASH is actively remodeled even in advanced fibrosis, a disease that is generally regarded as static and slowly progressive. Moreover, hepatic collagen FSR correlates with established risks for fibrotic disease progression in NASH, and plasma lumican FSR correlates with hepatic collagen FSR, suggesting applications as direct or surrogate markers, respectively, of hepatic fibrogenesis in humans. (Hepatology 2017;65:78-88)

Nurses\u27 Alumnae Association Bulletin - Volume 6 Number 10

Financial Report Calendar of Events Attention, Class of 1945! Miss Shafer Retires Review of the Alumnae Association Meetings Institutional Staff Nurses\u27 Section Report of Staff Activites - 1948-1949 The Staff Stockings! Stockings! Stockings! Pop-Up Toaster It\u27s Not Too Soon Any White Elephants? Private Duty Section The Jefferson Hospital Private Duty Nurses\u27 Register Report for Barton Memorial Hospital Progress of the Orthopedic Department Just Under the Date Line Pediatrics at Jefferson Controlled Respiration in Anesthesia Anesthesia Progress Physical Advances at Jefferson During the Past Year The White Haven Division The Clara Melville Scholarship Fund The Relief Fund The Busy Year for the Nurses\u27 Home Committee of the Women\u27s Board The Gray Ladies Memories Lost Miscellaneous Items Medical College News Marriages Births Deaths Condolences Prizes District No. 1 Dues Help! Help! Help! Jap Prison School Spurs Nurse to Win University Degree Twenty Ways to Kill an Organization The Bulletin Committee Attention, Alumnae New Addresse

Defining childhood severe falciparum malaria for intervention studies.

Background Clinical trials of interventions designed to prevent severe falciparum malaria in children require a clear endpoint. The internationally accepted definition of severe malaria is sensitive, and appropriate for clinical purposes. However, this definition includes individuals with severe nonmalarial disease and coincident parasitaemia, so may lack specificity in vaccine trials. Although there is no “gold standard” individual test for severe malaria, malaria-attributable fractions (MAFs) can be estimated among groups of children using a logistic model, which we use to test the suitability of various case definitions as trial endpoints. Methods and Findings A total of 4,583 blood samples were taken from well children in cross-sectional surveys and from 1,361 children admitted to a Kenyan District hospital with severe disease. Among children under 2 y old with severe disease and over 2,500 parasites per microliter of blood, the MAFs were above 85% in moderate- and low-transmission areas, but only 61% in a high-transmission area. HIV and malnutrition were not associated with reduced MAFs, but gastroenteritis with severe dehydration (defined by reduced skin turgor), lower respiratory tract infection (clinician's final diagnosis), meningitis (on cerebrospinal fluid [CSF] examination), and bacteraemia were associated with reduced MAFs. The overall MAF was 85% (95% confidence interval [CI] 83.8%–86.1%) without excluding these conditions, 89% (95% CI 88.4%–90.2%) after exclusions, and 95% (95% CI 94.0%–95.5%) when a threshold of 2,500 parasites/μl was also applied. Applying a threshold and exclusion criteria reduced sensitivity to 80% (95% CI 77%–83%). Conclusions The specificity of a case definition for severe malaria is improved by applying a parasite density threshold and by excluding children with meningitis, lower respiratory tract infection (clinician's diagnosis), bacteraemia, and gastroenteritis with severe dehydration, but not by excluding children with HIV or malnutrition

Genetic markers of insulin sensitivity and insulin secretion are associated with spontaneous postnatal growth and response to growth hormone treatment in short SGA children: the North European SGA Study (NESGAS).

PURPOSE: The wide heterogeneity in the early growth and metabolism of children born small for gestational age (SGA), both before and during GH therapy, may reflect common genetic variations related to insulin secretion or sensitivity. METHOD: Combined multiallele single nucleotide polymorphism scores with known associations with insulin sensitivity or insulin secretion were analyzed for their relationships with spontaneous postnatal growth and first-year responses to GH therapy in 96 short SGA children. RESULTS: The insulin sensitivity allele score (GS-InSens) was positively associated with spontaneous postnatal weight gain (regression coefficient [B]: 0.12 SD scores per allele; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.01-0.23; P = .03) and also in response to GH therapy with first-year height velocity (B: 0.18 cm/y per allele; 95% CI, 0.02-0.35; P = .03) and change in IGF-1 (B: 0.17 SD scores per allele; 95% CI, 0.00-0.32; P = .03). The association with first-year height velocity was independent of reported predictors of response to GH therapy (adjusted P = .04). The insulin secretion allele score (GS-InSec) was positively associated with spontaneous postnatal height gain (B: 0.15; 95% CI, 0.01-0.30; P = .03) and disposition index both before (B: 0.02; 95% CI, 0.00-0.04; P = .04) and after 1 year of GH therapy (B: 0.03; 95% CI, 0.01-0.05; P = .002), but not with growth and IGF-1 responses to GH therapy. Neither of the allele scores was associated with size at birth. CONCLUSION: Genetic allele scores indicative of insulin sensitivity and insulin secretion were associated with spontaneous postnatal growth and responses to GH therapy in short SGA children. Further pharmacogenetic studies may support the rationale for adjuvant therapies by informing the mechanisms of treatment response.This study was funded by a research grant from The Danish Council for Independent Research/ Medical Sciences and a research grant from Novo Nordisk A/S.This is the accepted manuscript. The final version is available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1210/jc.2014-3469