What effect do formalised human resource procedures such as contracts and appraisals have on employee motivation in the hospitality industry

This paper examines the effects of formalised HR procedures on employee motivation in the hospitality sector. It has long been accepted that staff turnover, the ultimate sign of poor employee motivation, is very high within the hospitality industry (Thomas, 2006), This research attempts to establish whether this is affected by the presence or absence of formalised HR procedures. Rowley and Purcell (2001) and many others have discussed the possibility of 'turnover culture' within the industry and indeed whether it has been both borne from and reinforced by the industry itself, even to the point of it being accepted as 'tradition' for hospitality workers to develop their skills by moving between establishments. Unfortunately there is still an overall perception that there is ignorance towards the importance of human resource development as a contributing factor to service provision within the industry (Baum et al 1997). Coupled with this, leadership within the hospitality industry has historically been based on the principles of bureaucratic management, considering employees as a resource like any other; cost driven to achieve the goals of the organization (Lucas & Deery, 2004). This does not fall in line with current thinking on "best practice HRM". An investigation was undertaken into the level of presence of formalised HR procedures such as appraisals, interviews, personal development plans and contracts and compared with levels of employee turnover within the industry to detect any positive or negative correlation between the two. The report concludes and provides evidence that organisations within the industry would all benefit from implementing or improving HR procedures. The report also shows evidence that employee turnover positively correlates with increasing HR procedures cementing the recommendation that the hospitality industry should look to improve practices as a whole

Wisteria

This evening gown, which I titled Wisteria, was inspired by the climbing Wisteria shrub with fragrant purple flowers. Wisteria has beautiful delicate clusters of flowers, in an elegant deep purple, a color associated with royalty through the ages

Using Dance/Movement Therapy to Educate Hospice Providers on Preventing Burnout: A Method

Burnout is a clinical condition that an individual may experience whenever they are in a constant state of stress. It is categorized by three groups of symptoms: emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and negative self-evaluation of personal achievement (Rizo-Baeza et al., 2017, p. 19). This inquiry investigated the impact of burnout on hospice professionals and volunteers through researching previous literature. The research led to the development of a psychoeducational, body-based method with a Dance/Movement Therapy (DMT) foundation. This preventative method was implemented in two separate workshops for hospice professionals and volunteers at a Massachusetts-based hospital system. Results indicate a need for training in the creation and implementation of a self-care plan, an individually-motivated action plan targeted to improve the four areas of well-being (physical, intellectual, emotional, and social/spiritual), as well as workplace psycho-social support in the hospice system

The knight from nowhere : a biographical case study of social mobility in Victorian Britain

This study re-­examines social mobility in Victorian Britain, focusing on the experiences of the actor Henry Irving (1838-­1905). Irving rose from ‘humble’ beginnings to become one of the most respected men in Victorian society, and was the first actor to receive a knighthood. The Victorians celebrated the possibilities of social mobility, or 'self-­making' as they termed it, through independence, diligence and thrift, pointing to exemplary figureheads such as Irving. But self-­making was a cultural fantasy, and this study tracks Irving’s experiences to investigate the realities of his unusual achievement. I explore life in the rural and urban places where Irving lived, and position him within cultures of education, theatre, and artistic bohemia. In this way I signal the importance of such contexts in modulating experience, behaviour, and bodily comportment. I demonstrate that the Victorians interpreted status through the effect of the presence of the body in social interaction and understood society as consisting of two groups, the polite and the vulgar. As Irving left behind the lower middle-class social circles of his youth that conditioned and constrained his bodily practices, and entered new social circles, he changed the way he spoke, presented himself and moved his body. Without this bodily reconditioning, I argue, Irving would not have achieved what he did. This is not just a biographical narrative of one individual’s life. Rather, it is a study of the importance of the particular in historical analysis. It is about how the individual negotiated wider processes, practices and ideas in Victorian Britain, and the ways in which these factors shaped his experience. I show how a focused analysis of one man, his body, his life experiences and his representation in auto/biography can yield new insights into power relations, cultures of class, and social mobility in the Victorian period

Development and application of evanescent wave cavity ring-down spectroscopy as a probe of biologically relevant interfaces

The application of a hybrid instrument combining Evanescent Wave Cavity Ring-Down Spectroscopy (EW-CRDS) with electrochemical and fluidic methods is described. The electrochemical/fluidic methods were used to induce a surface process, the effects of which were subsequently monitored in situ and in real time with exquisite spectral sensitivity and excellent temporal resolution by EW-CRDS. The well-defined manner in which the surface processes were initiated allowed the extraction of kinetic rate constants by fitting the EW-CRDS data to mathematical models of the surface process coupled to convection-diffusion. The investigations described include: the study of the thermodynamics and kinetics of the adsorption of tris(bipyridine)ruthenium(II) ([Ru(bpy)3]2+) to polypeptide films using EW-CRDS with chronoamperometry; the real-time electrochemistry of cytochrome c immobilised on silica by EW-CRDS with chronoamperometry; the kinetics of adsorption and DNA-assisted desorption of 5,10,15,20-tetra(N-methylpyridinium-4-yl)porphyrin at the silica-water interface using EW-CRDS with an impinging jet flow cell; and the monitoring the adsorption of cationic phospholipid vesicles at the silica-aqueous interface and the interaction of 5,10,15,20-Tetraphenyl-21H, 23H-porphine-p,p′,p″,p′′′-tetrasulfonic acid tetrasodium hydrate with the resulting bilayer also using EW-CRDS with an impinging jet flow cell. The work described in this thesis provides a platform on which EW-CRDS can be used to study dynamics at biointerfaces, such as the association of ions, peptides, proteins and drugs with phospholipid bilayers, the electron transfer between redox enzymes in a biomimetic environment, and the lateral diffusion of protons, ions and proteins at biomembranes. Such studies are essential to the understanding of many important cellular processes in addition to the development and optimisation of a number of bio-inspired technologies

Google Calendar : a single case experimental design study of a man with severe memory problems

A single case experimental design across behaviours was utilised to explore the effectiveness of Google Calendar text alerts delivered to a mobile phone as a memory aid. The participant was a 43-year-old man (JA) with severe memory problems and executive difficulties caused by a traumatic brain injury (TBI). JA was initially very unwilling to use any memory aid and so a detailed assessment of his beliefs about memory aids, his cognitive difficulties and his social context was performed and a set of specifications for an aid was produced collaboratively. Six weeks of baseline data and six weeks of intervention data were collected for three target memory behaviours and three control memory behaviours. Results were analysed using nonoverlap of all pairs (NAP) analysis which showed a reduction in forgetting in the three target behaviours and no change in two of the three control behaviours. A subjective measure (the revised Everyday Memory Questionnaire) also suggested improvement. This study illustrates that Google Calendar is a highly effective memory aid and emphasises the importance of choosing a memory aid to suit the person's lifestyle and beliefs

PEPFAR Public Health Evaluation-Care and Support -Phase I Kenya

Phase 1, a survey of 120 care facilities in Kenya and Uganda, found that over 90% of facilities provided some level of clinical, psychological,and preventive care. Pain control was very limited with paracetamol often the only analgesic. In focus group discussions, patients appreciated free care and positive attitudes from staff, but said that services would be improved by more staff, shorter queues, and reliable drug supplies

PEPFAR Public Health Evaluation -Care and Support -Phase I Uganda

Phase 1, a survey of 120 care facilities in Kenya and Uganda, found that over 90% of facilities provided some level of clinical, psychological,and preventive care. Pain control was very limited with paracetamol often the only analgesic. In focus group discussions, patients appreciated free care and positive attitudes from staff, but said that services would be improved by more staff, shorter queues, and reliable drug supplies