Cooperative research and development opportunities with the National Cancer Institute

The Office of Technology Development (OTD) of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) is responsible for negotiating Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADAs), whereby the knowledge resulting from NCI investigators' government-sponsored research is developed in collaboration with universities and/or industry into new products of importance for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). The NCI has recently executed a unique 'clinical trials' CRADA and is developing a model agreement based upon it for the development and commercialization of products for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer and AIDS. NCI drug screening, preclinical testing, clinical trials, and AIDS program capabilities form the basis for this new technology development/technology transfer vehicle. NCI's extensive drug screening program and 'designer foods' program serve as potential sources of investigational new drugs (INDs) and cancer preventatives. Collaborations between NCI and pharmaceutical companies having the facilities, experience, and expertise necessary to develop INDs into approved drugs available to the public are being encouraged where the companies have proprietary rights to INDs, or where NCI has proprietary rights to INDs and invites companies to respond to a collaborator announcement published in the Federal Register. The joint efforts of the NCI and the chosen collaborator are designed to generate the data necessary to obtain pharmaceutic regulatory approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to market the drugs developed, and thereby make them available to health care providers for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer and AIDS

Population, Immigration and Growth in California

This Article presents objective data and analysis regarding the components of California\u27s population growth. It also reviews fiscal impacts from immigration. The author finds that these fiscal impacts are substantially negative for state and local governments. The Article also examines United States workforce needs as they may be affected by an expanding population and as they may implicate immigration. The author recommends changing immigration policy to focus more on workforce needs and skills in California. He recommends federal action on two levels: (1) to compensate California for the hugely disproportionate financial burden it bears from the nation\u27s immigration and refugee policies; and (2) to reform immigration law to reduce overall numbers and put greater focus on workforce needs

Healthcare Workers with Attitude: COVID-19 Pandemic Affects Their Work-Related Attitudes

The COVID-19 pandemic left an unforgettable mark on the world, affecting individuals and societies on an unprecedented scale in this modern era. This study investigates the impact of the pandemic on the attitudes of healthcare professionals, specifically doctors and nurses working in a hospital in the southwestern United States. My research question is: did the COVID-19 pandemic change healthcare professionals’ work-related attitudes, specifically sense of calling, work meaningfulness, strength of workplace friendships, and organizational identification? Data collected from two cohorts of healthcare professionals both before and after the COVID-19 outbreak in the months of February 2019, January and February 2020, and May 2020 to evaluate additional potential changes. The two-tailed paired sample t-test results indicate that among male and doctor respondents, there was an increase in work meaningfulness while female respondents’ work meaningfulness decreased. Additionally, male respondents’ sense of calling increased. Lastly, doctors’ workplace friendships decreased

Human Performance Modelling for Accident Risk Assessment of Active Runway Crossing Operation

A human performance modelling approach is presented for risk assessment of operations with multiple, dynamically interacting agents. The approach is illustrated for a risk model of runway incursion on an active departure runway. This model-based approach can provide detailed, systematically derived results on risk contributions of human operators and technical systems in complex multi-agent environments

Policy implementation and street-level bureaucrats' discretion, autonomy and coping mechanisms : a case study of national curriculum statements at a school in Pietermaritzburg.

Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2009.The link between public policies and their desired outcomes has remained an important subject among scholars and policy makers. Public policies made at the ‘top’ will have to be implemented at local level by street-level bureaucrats who enjoy a considerable degree of autonomy and discretion in the execution of their duties. The implementation of the National Curriculum Statement (NCS) by teachers (street-level bureaucrats) is one such case. Using Lipsky’s streetlevel bureaucracy as a theoretical framework, this study sought to explore the levels of discretion, autonomy and coping mechanisms employed by school teachers at a private Christian school in Pietermaritzburg in the implementation of the NCS. The study sought to discover if the exercise of autonomy and discretion enhanced the implementation of NCS. Both qualitative and quantitative data were collected by the insider participant using interviews with school teachers and observational methods. Analyses revealed that school teachers have considerable discretion in determining the kind of task they assign their learners. However, there were no significant relationships according to the level of discretion and teaching experience or level of professional qualifications. Furthermore, the study shows that most teachers made discretional choices to advance the goals of the Department of Education and to enhance the understating of learners. Factors which forced these teachers to use their discretion are due to poorly defined goals, inadequate resources and excessive workloads. In the face of challenges associated with their work, the teachers employ coping mechanisms which include ‘creaming’, private goal definition, modification of the conception of work, ‘rubber stamping’, referrals and real or psychological withdrawal. The findings of this study also show that school management through routine supervision and the Department of Education’s Common Tasks Assessments (CTAs) as well as national examinations curtail the autonomy and discretion of teachers in the implementation of NCS. The research reveals that the combination of individual decisions made by each street-level bureaucrat in effect constitute the policy of NCS through its implementation at school. The findings also underscore the need for management at all levels to find ways of harnessing the discretion of street-level bureaucrats which enhance the Department of Education’s goals and curb those which hamper policy implementation

Analyzing accountability in street-level bureaucracy : managing the implementation of national curriculum statements in the mGungundlovu District of South Africa.

Ph. D. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg 2013.ii ABSTRACT It has become generally accepted among public policy stakeholders, practitioners and scholars that street – level bureaucrats play a vital role in policy implementation. Because of that, street – level bureaucrats are attracting considerable interest due to their ability to influence policy outcomes through the exercise of their professional discretion and autonomy. On the other hand, there is an immense body of literature covering different techniques public managers can use to hold street – level bureaucrats accountable. Although many studies have been done to investigate the role of management in holding street – level bureaucrats accountable, there are very few such studies in done in South Africa. Our knowledge of the role of management in holding street – level bureaucrats accountable to organisational goals in the education sector of South Africa is largely based on very limited data. The aim of the research was therefore to analyse accountability mechanisms used in managing the implementation of National Curriculum Statements in the education street - level bureaucracy of South Africa. The specific geographical unit of the study was uMgungundlovu District in KwaZulu-Natal Province. The study had five key objectives, each of which is suggestive of a type of accountability: political accountability, performance accountability, hierarchical accountability, legal accountability and professional accountability. In order to understand the different types of accountability used in the implementation of National Curriculum Statements, a comprehensive review of documents was done. This was followed by interviews with six high school principals and surveys with 100 high school educators. The data were analysed quantitatively and qualitatively. The results from documentary review show that the government was exercising political accountability in education through various policies as well as financing education. However, not many respondents were satisfied with its level of political accountability. The results further show that in line with performance accountability, the government was using performance measures to in order to hold educators accountable among other reasons. With various levels of effectiveness, the government is using different forms of hierarchical, legal and professional accountability mechanisms to hold educators accountable. The findings of this study have shown that there are various forms of accountability used in the implementation of National Curriculum Statements. Each type of accountability has its strengths and weaknesses; therefore, they are not mutually exclusive. The present findings have important implications for our understanding of the role played by management in managing policy implementation in street – level bureaucracies