Assessing the Need for a Specialist Service for People with Intellectual Disabilities and Mental Health Problems Living in Israel: A Qualitative Study

Background: It is well established that people with intellectual disabilities are at higher risk of developing mental illnesses. This study aimed to assess the need for a specialized service for people (children and adults) with intellectual disabilities and mental health problems living in Israel. Methods: Our research question was: is there a need for a specialist mental health service for people with intellectual disabilities living in Israel and, if so, what type of service would be most appropriate? We conducted a qualitative study using semi-structured interviews with 14 major stakeholders to identify key themes in response to our research question. The data were coded and themes were identified. Results: Participants were generally not satisfied with current mental health care for people with intellectual disabilities and there was a general agreement that services are in need of improvement. We identified three major themes from the data. These were: current services, future services, and ways to facilitate change. Conclusion: We hope that our findings will be instrumental in shaping the ongoing debate about the best form of delivery of services to this population in Israel. Specifically, we suggest the development of a more specialized system, with the formation of multidisciplinary regional assessment and treatment units in parallel with improved relevant training for all mental health workers and the possibility of referral to specialized teams in more complex cases

Corporate Political Power: The Politics of Reputation & Traceability

We live, it is said, in a second Gilded Age, in which politics is dominated by corporate power and elite business interests. But how does corporate money flow into politics? This Article provides an original empirical analysis of when and why corporations engage in particular forms of political activity and uses those findings to develop a novel, empirically-grounded approach to the First Amendment’s treatment of traceability mandates in politics. We analyze the conditions under which firms shift between (1) using their political action committees (PACs) to contribute to candidates and political parties, and (2) engaging in less traceable forms of political activity, like lobbying, in which the specific targets of firms’ influence efforts are unknown. This Article identifies a key variable that explains when and why corporations shift from lighter (more traceable and direct) to darker (less traceable and more indirect) channels of political engagement. We demonstrate that corporate political activity grows darker as a firm’s reputation grows more negative. This dynamic produces the disquieting result that the corporate political interventions that are likely to be the most controversial are also those most likely to be deployed in ways the public is least able to monitor. Our findings indicate that the traceability of money creates a concrete limit on the ability of corporate actors to influence politics—a limit which plausibly applies to political giving more broadly. Corporate donors who are seen as political liabilities find it increasingly difficult to locate politicians who will openly take their money or accept other support. Politicians refuse or return traceable donations from disreputable donors. Our research thus demonstrates that the power of business in politics is more conditional than generally appreciated. This Article uses these empirical findings to interrogate the relationship between traceability mandates in politics and theories of the First Amendment. While the Supreme Court has prominently struck down restrictions on money in politics in cases like Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, it has repeatedly upheld a variety of disclosure requirements. For a range of reasons, including the Supreme Court’s decision in Americans for Prosperity Foundation v. Bonta, however, disclosure mandates are likely to become an increasingly important site of conflict in both policy and litigation, making it ever more important to assess and theorize the justifications for them. Our research suggests an empirically-grounded justification: traceability alters politicians’ behavior, causing them to act more consistently with public opinion. In other words, traceability mandates make politicians more accountable to the people. At the same time, there is evidence that traceability policies, and the reduction of darker corporate money in politics they produce, promote the public’s belief that their views shape the political system. Traceability mandates, in sort, advance both objective and subjective forms of democratic accountability. We thus argue that policies that advance the traceability of corporate money in politics not only further core First Amendment values but may be required by them. By identifying how and why corporate money flows into politics at a fine level of detail, this Article also provides important information that policy makers can use to craft campaign finance and lobbying reforms. Our empirical findings and theoretical analysis support policy changes that increase the traceability of corporate money in politics, including broader and more robust disclosure requirements for corporate lobbying and individual donations made by corporate executives and directors

The development of best practice guidelines for the contingency management of health-related absenteeism in the motor manufacturing industry

The research problem in this study was to identify best practices for the contingency management of health-related absenteeism. To achieve this goal, the following actions were taken: A literature study was conducted to identify the scope and impact of health-related absenteeism on organisations and the legal parameters within which health-related absenteeism should be managed. A literature study was also conducted to identify strategies to prevent and reduce health-related absenteeism and strategies to ensure the continuous provision of products and services in periods of high absenteeism. The theoretical study focused on the management of absenteeism, wellness, ill-health/mental problems and HIV/AIDS, as well as contingency strategies aimed at maintaining production and service provision. iii The findings from the literature study were integrated into a model of best practices for the contingency management of health-related absenteeism. This model was used as a basis for the development of a survey questionnaire to determine whether senior human resources practitioners, occupational health practitioners or line managers, who were responsible for the management of health-related absenteeism in organisations, agreed with the best practice guidelines developed in the study. The survey was conducted in the motor and motor component industry in the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Municipality and Buffalo City Metropole. The empirical results from the study showed a strong concurrence with the best practices guidelines developed in the study, with the exception of the strategies aimed at maintaining undisrupted production and service provision during periods of high absenteeism. In particular, disagreement was shown with regard to alternative work arrangements such as flexible work-hours, a compressed workweek, telecommuting and job-sharing. Absenteeism, in general, is an issue that organisations are challenged with on a daily basis. The proliferation of various diseases, specifically HIV/AIDS, is contributing to this problem. An integrated and strategic approach is required to deal effectively and constructively with the immediate and expected future impact of health-related issues on absenteeism. Organisations could use the best practices guidelines, identified in this study, as a mechanism to benchmark how well they manage health-related absenteeis

Professoras da rede pública da educação infantil de Blumenau e a sexualidade das crianças de três a quatro anos : dificuldades, desafios e possibilidades.

Orientadora : Magda Tânia Martins da SilvaMonografia (especialização) - Universidade Federal do Paraná, Setor Litoral, Curso de Especialização em Gênero e Diversidade na EscolaInclui referênciasResumo : A educação Infantil, primeira etapa da educação básica, é concebida como importante momento para a construção da subjetividade do ser. Essa construção vem acompanhada também pelo desenvolvimento sexual da criança. O presente artigo tem como objetivo explicitar como algumas das professoras da educação infantil podem discutir a sexualidade na faixa etária que compreende dos três a quatro anos em duas instituições de educação infantil no município BlumenauSC. A escolha de seis educadoras se deu levando-se em conta seu tempo de serviço e sua formação. Consideramos viável o emprego da pesquisa qualitativa, por meio de um questionário aberto, formulado com sete perguntas para coleta de dados. Entrelaçado a este momento, tivemos ainda, a oportunidade de uma conversa franca sobre a temática: as dificuldades, os conflitos e as possibilidades, vivenciadas nos Centros de Educação Infantil. Também houve a possibilidade da exposição de filmes e reportagens, enriquecendo o debate e incitando maiores reflexões, mesmo após o encerramento deste artigo. Nossa pesquisa está apoiada numa gama de autores que já discutem temáticas relativas à sexualidade e educação, entre eles, citamos: Bazílio e Kramer, Freire, Minayo, Nunes e Silva, também o Referencial Curricular Nacional para a Educação Infantil e as Diretrizes Curriculares Municipais para a Educação Básica, este último, como sendo o principal apoio para planejamentos das atividades dos CEIS de Blumenau, elaborado com a participação dos profissionais da educação de Cidade. Ao buscar entender como as professoras lidam com a sexualidade na educação infantil, verificamos que a insegurança, a escassez de formações sobre o tema e o próprio preconceito são os resultados que permeiam as dificuldades para conceber uma proposta de educação para a sexualidade das crianças de três a quatro anos

Dominoes

This project is inspired by the design of dominoes in the way they fall when they are knocked over. While this project is similar in the way they fall, we were able to make it in a more creative and fun way. First, the law of continuation is seen in the way the blocks are layered and continue in a straight path. Next, the law of proximity is important for our design to function correctly. Without close proximity with one another the blocks would not be able to fall as easily, nor would they be able to be pulled back up through the use of the beaded string. Finally, we included the law of symmetry into our designing process so that our project looked organized and symmetrical, not losing focus on the actual function of the design.https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/theoryinaction_projects2020/1001/thumbnail.jp

Business model for beef production in Chile

The objective of this study is to develop a business model to enhance cattle population, income and profitability of Region de los Lagos’ (Chile) cattle industry based on meat production from male dairy (uncastrated calves). Rearing methods in the U.K, Ireland and New Zealand were compared with the Chilean practices in their productive and economical aspects, per animal. A combined housed-free feeding method was stated, to use pasture at its best potential with 18-month finished calves, preferably of Holstein and Holstein-Fresian breeds. Production costs consistent with optimum weight gains and an efficient scheme of cost of feeding are expected

Evidence of compliance-based and voluntary-based diversity management initiatives in South African companies.

Since 1994, with the advent of the first democratic elections, organisations in South Africa have embarked on a road of transformation to increase diversity in the workplace. This paper investigates the nature of diversity management initiatives and the extent to which companies in South Africa implement compliance-based and voluntary-based diversity management initiatives. Although literature on diversity management does exist, a paucity of research on compliance-based versus voluntarybased diversity management initiatives is noted. A survey with a web-based questionnaire was conducted among a sample of 342 employees from five TOPCO 500 South Africa’s Best Managed Companies. The findings indicated that a holistic approach towards diversity management is required. In this respect, a formal diversity change strategy and programme, in addition to an employment equity plan and strategy, should be developed and implemented, and a more concerted effort is required from organisations to recruit, promote and empower women, as well as recruit and accommodate people living with disabilities

Achieving excellence in private intensive care units: The effect of transformational leadership and organisational culture on organisational change outcomes

Orientation: Organisational change outcomes in private intensive care units are linked to higher patient satisfaction, improved quality of patient care, family support, cost-effective care practices and an increased level of excellence. Transformational leadership and fostering a positive organisational culture can contribute to these change outcomes. Research purpose: The study determined whether transformational leadership and a supportive organisational culture were evident in six private intensive care units in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. A conceptual framework to investigate the relationship between transformational leadership, organisational culture, and organisational change outcomes, was proposed and tested. Motivation for the study: The prevalence of transformational leadership, a positive organisational culture and their effect on organisational change outcomes in private healthcare industries require further research in order to generate appropriate recommendations. Research design, approach and method: A positivistic, quantitative design was used. A survey was conducted using a questionnaire which, in previous studies, produced scores with Cronbach’s alpha coefficients greater than 0.80, to collect data from a sample of 130 professional nurses in private intensive care units. Main findings: Transformational leadership and a positive organisational culture were evident in the private intensive care units sampled. A strong, positive correlation exists between transformational leadership, organisational culture, and organisational change outcomes. This correlation provides sufficient evidence to accept the postulated research hypotheses. Innovation and intellectual stimulation were identified as the factors in need of improvement. Practical or managerial implications: The findings of the study may be used by managers in intensive care units to promote organisational change outcomes, linked to transformational leadership and a positive organisational culture. Contribution: The study provides evidence of the way in which transformational leadership and a positive organisational culture affect organisational change outcomes in the context of private healthcare in South Africa, thereby addressing a research gap in this area

Vision in an abundant North American bird: The Red-winged Blackbird

Avian vision is fundamentally different from human vision; however, even within birds there are substantial between species differences in visual perception in terms of visual acuity, visual coverage, and color vision. However, there are not many species that have all these visual traits described, which can constrain our ability to study the evolution of visual systems in birds. To start addressing this gap, we characterized multiple traits of the visual system (visual coverage, visual acuity, centers of acute vision, and color vision) of the Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus), one of the most abundant and studied birds in North America. We found that Red-winged Blackbirds have: wide visual coverage; one center of acute vision per eye (fovea) projecting fronto-laterally with high density of single and double cones, making it the center of both chromatic and achromatic vision; a wide binocular field that does not have the input of the centers of acute vision; and an ultraviolet sensitive visual system. With this information, we parameterized a Red-winged Blackbird-specific perceptual model considering different plumage patches. We found that the male red epaulet was chromatically conspicuous but with minimal achromatic signal, but the male yellow patch had a lower chromatic but a higher achromatic signal, which may be explained by the pigment composition of the feathers. However, the female epaulet was not visually conspicuous in both the chromatic and achromatic dimensions compared with other female feather patches. We discuss the implications of this visual system configuration relative to the foraging, antipredator, mate choice, and social behaviors of Red-winged Blackbirds. Our findings can be used for comparative studies as well as for making more species-specific predictions about different visual behaviors for future empirical testing