The Process of Implementing an Un-doing Racism Through Inclusiveness Plan: A Case Study

The United Way of Minneapolis has recently required all funded agencies to develop a plan to become more racially inclusive. The plan addresses five areas: governance, human resources, programming, administration, and community contacts. The purpose of this study was to develop an understanding of what the process of implementing an inclusiveness project looked like in one metropolitan social service agency, Theoretical and conceptual frameworks were derived from literature on organizational behavior, in addition to research on the history of exclusionary and differential practices in social work towards people of color. Individual interviews, focus groups, and written documentation of the process were utilized to chronicle the events in this process. An analysis of this data produced a description of this agency\u27s process of developing an inclusiveness plan, documentation of the plan, and a summary of the lessons learned from this experience

Study of an Acrylamide-based Photopolymer for use as a Holographic Data Storage Medium

An acrylamide-based photopolymer formulated in the Centre for Industrial and Engineering Optics has been investigated with a view to further optimisation for holographic optical storage. Series of 15 to 30 gratings were angularly multiplexed in a volume of the photopolymer layers with different thickness at a spatial frequency of 1500 lines/mm. Since the photopolymer is a saturable material, an exposure scheduling method was used to exploit the entire dynamic range of the material and allow equal strength gratings to be recorded. From this investigation the photopolymer layer’s M/# was determined with regard to the recording geometry used. The temporal stability of photopolymer layers was studied in terms of diffraction efficiency and change of the reconstructed angle due to material shrinkage. In addition, the potential of the photopolymer as a holographic data storage medium was demonstrated by recording bit data-pages

The learning experiences of health and social care paraprofessionals on a foundation degree

Foundation degrees have been developed in the UK as a means of meeting the learning needs of paraprofessionals in health and social care and the services within which they work in a cost-effective fashion. Workplace learning is an intrinsic component to these degrees. Taking a socio-cultural perspective, this paper examines how the students' workplaces, life circumstances and sense of career trajectory shaped their learning experience and motivation. A small-scale evaluation study, using semi-structured interviews, focused on the learning experiences of a group of paraprofessionals enrolled in a foundation degree in health and social care. Data revealed fragmented employment patterns, underpinned by consistent vocational drives. While the study resonated with vocation, participants were ambivalent or lacked information about career progression. Workplace conditions, relationships and limited time shaped learning and coping strategies. A strategic and focused approach to student learning is required and includes attention to career pathways, workforce development strategy, the requirements of a range of stakeholders, workplace supervision and support for learning

Predicting university performance in psychology: the role of previous performance and discipline-specific knowledge

Recent initiatives to enhance retention and widen participation ensure it is crucial to understand the factors that predict students' performance during their undergraduate degree. The present research used Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to test three separate models that examined the extent to which British Psychology students' A-level entry qualifications predicted: (1) their performance in years 1-3 of their Psychology degree, and (2) their overall degree performance. Students' overall A-level entry qualifications positively predicted performance during their first year and overall degree performance, but negatively predicted their performance during their third year. Additionally, and more specifically, students' A-level entry qualifications in Psychology positively predicted performance in the first year only. Such findings have implications for admissions tutors, as well as for students who have not studied Psychology before but who are considering applying to do so at university

Building a traceable climate model hierarchy with multi-level emulators

To study climate change on multi-millennial timescales or to explore a model’s parameter space, efficient models with simplified and parameterised processes are required. However, the reduction in explicitly modelled processes can lead to underestimation of some atmospheric responses that are essential to the understanding of the climate system. While more complex general circulations are available and capable of simulating a more realistic climate, they are too computationally intensive for these purposes. In this work, we propose a multi-level Gaussian emulation technique to efficiently estimate the outputs of steady-state simulations of an expensive atmospheric model in response to changes in boundary forcing. The link between a computationally expensive atmospheric model, PLASIM (Planet Simulator), and a cheaper model, EMBM (energy–moisture balance model), is established through the common boundary condition specified by an ocean model, allowing for information to be propagated from one to the other. This technique allows PLASIM emulators to be built at a low cost. The method is first demonstrated by emulating a scalar summary quantity, the global mean surface air temperature. It is then employed to emulate the dimensionally reduced 2-D surface air temperature field. Even though the two atmospheric models chosen are structurally unrelated, Gaussian process emulators of PLASIM atmospheric variables are successfully constructed using EMBM as a fast approximation. With the extra information gained from the cheap model, the multi-level emulator of PLASIM’s 2-D surface air temperature field is built using only one-third the amount of expensive data required by the normal single-level technique. The constructed emulator is shown to capture 93.2% of the variance across the validation ensemble, with the averaged RMSE of 1.33 °C. Using the method proposed, quantities from PLASIM can be constructed and used to study the effects introduced by PLASIM’s atmosphere

Assessing a Quality Improvement Project in a Georgia County Health Department

The study and evaluation of quality improvement among Georgia’s public health systems continues to be a major priority for the Georgia Public Health Practice Based Research Network (GAPH-PBRN). This article focuses on the application and evaluation of a Quality Improvement project in a Georgia County Health Department. The QI team sought to reduce the waiting time in the teen clinic; thereby, increasing the Quality Improvement culture one project at a time in this Health Department. The project revealed that Quality Improvement is a continuous process that requires change and adaptation by employees. This initial Quality Improvement project was the first step in helping to establish Quality Improvement culture in the County Health Department

Health Districts as Quality Improvement Collaboratives and Multi-Jurisdictional Entities

Research Objective: The Georgia Public Health PBRN assessed the utility of the Multi-county Health District as a structured Quality Improvement Collaborative (QIC), and as multi jurisdictional entities for purposes of meeting standards for accreditation by the Public Health Accreditation Board. Data Sets and Sources: Data were collected from online surveys followed up with phone interviews or paper surveys to maximize participation. A newly developed clinical care QIC instrument (Schouten et al, 2010) was modified to collect data with a revised focus on QICs for public health. We retained QI culture constructs in the instrument while shifting the focus from healthcare to public health essential services related to accreditation standards. Study Design: Data was collected from a purposeful sample of local public health key informants in Georgia who were identified by the District Directors’ office as local key informants. Invitations Key informants included county and district staff and county board of health members. Analysis: Psychometric testing of the QIC assessment instrument included tests for validity and reliability. Census-based and self-reported demographic characteristics were used to compare responses. Principal Findings: Strong consensus emerged across various constituencies that Districts were critical for local public health to provide essential services. Key opinion leaders from both the rural and non-rural counties agreed that the Districts were important. Conclusion: Regionalization using Georgia Districts has major potential for supporting QI and meeting quality assurance standards associated with accreditation. Implications for Field of PHSSR: Accreditation has the potential to substantially clarify and enhance the role of public health in the 21st century. But local public health agencies, based on small municipality or county populations, are unlikely to possess and sustain capacity to meet the challenges of comprehensive essential services. Regionalization of local public health capacity is a critical emerging issue with the launching of public health accreditation

Clarifying and Expanding Concepts of Cross-Jurisdictional Sharing: Early Lessons Learned from Conducting QI with Georgia’s Health Districts

Research Objective: Assess the legal and organization cultural foundations for Cross-Jurisdictional Sharing (CJS) in support of local public health accreditation and QI in Georgia. Data Sets and Sources: Archival data (primarily state statutes), secondary data from previous qualitative comparative research on Deep South public health organization, secondary data from previous surveys, and oral interviews and written communication. Study Design: Primarily Qualitative design combining ethnographic and participatory research methods. Analysis: Qualitative Content analysis based on predetermined and emergent themes. Principal Findings: Georgia’s Health Districts have emerged as major CJS entities that support delivery of essential services and local public health (LPH) QI and LPH accreditation readiness, driven primarily by local organizational leadership and culture that is facilitated through enabling statutes in contrast to more top-down state-mandating statutes, regulations and directives. Conclusion: Georgia’s use of districts as multi-county public health entities serves as a primary structure for providing local public health services and has become a critical structure to address the looming demands for QI and accreditation, even though the statutes clearly establish the county as the primary local public health entity. Implications for the Field of PHSSR: This CJS structure to facilitate public health QI and accreditation in Georgia illustrates how agency cultures can emerge from local demands for economies of scale, more than formal policies generated at state level. This is a model that could be very important for advancing CJS in other regions of the country

What are the requirements for developing a successful national registry of auditory implants? A qualitative study

OBJECTIVES: Hearing loss is an area of unmet need, and industry is targeting this field with a growing range of surgically implanted hearing devices. Currently, there is no comprehensive UK registry capturing data on these devices; in its absence, it is difficult to monitor clinical and cost-effectiveness and develop national policy. Recognising that developing such a registry faces considerable challenges, it is important to gather opinions from stakeholders and patients. This paper builds on our systematic review on surgical registry development and aims to identify the specific requirements for developing a successful national registry of auditory implants. DESIGN: Qualitative study. PARTICIPANTS: Data were collected in two ways: (1) semistructured interviews with UK professional stakeholders; and (2) focus groups with patients with hearing loss. The interview and focus group schedules were informed by our systematic review on registry development. Data were analysed using directed content analysis. Judges mapped the themes obtained against a conceptual framework developed from our systematic review on registry development. The conceptual framework consisted of five categories for successful registry development: (1) planning, (2) registry governance, (3) registry dataset, (4) anticipating challenges, (5) implementing solutions. RESULTS: Twenty-seven themes emerged from 40 semistructured interviews with professional stakeholders and 18 themes emerged from three patient focus groups. The most important factor for registry success was high rates of data completion. Benefits of developing a successful registry of auditory implants include: strengthening the evidence base and regulation of auditory implants, driving quality and safety improvements, increased transparency, facilitating patient decision-making and informing policy and guidelines development. CONCLUSIONS: This study identifies the requirements for developing a successful national registry of auditory implants, benefiting from the involvement of numerous professional stakeholder groups and patients with hearing loss. Our approach may be used internationally to inform successful registry development