Deregulation and Higher Education: Potential Impact on Access, Affordability and Achievement in Ohio

This paper refocuses attention on the importance of supporting Ohio students. States may appreciate deregulated higher education because, like other forms of privatization, it reduces support, responsibility and oversight. University administrations may see opportunities to raise revenues through real estate deals, parking arrangements, subcontracting, reducing staff compensation, and changing other employment relationships. Private contractors and the business community may favor these arrangements because there are lucrative possibilities for contracts, real estate deals and other arrangements. But the point of the system is not to serve the needs of legislators, administrators or contractors -- it is to educate students. Students, families, employers and taxpayers need a vibrant higher education system capable of delivering affordable academic programs that connect to the 21st century economy

How organisational arrangements affect service provision

This research shows the importance of good organisational support for care giving. Organisational arrangements can shape what individual staff members do in the highly skilled work of meeting resident needs. This may challenge traditional views about care quality that focus attention only on care workers

Documenting of care arrangements for children of mothers admitted to a psychiatric hospital: A South African case study

Background: Enquiring about and documenting care arrangements for children of inpatient mothers with mental illness is paramount. Failure to do so could have a negative impact on the well-being of their children. Documenting care arrangements on admission signals good practice on the part of the admitting medical staff and ensures compliance with the requirements of the South African Children’s Act of 2004. This study explores the current practice at a large government run tertiary female inpatient psychiatric unit in Cape Town, regarding the enquiring and documenting practice within the first 24 hours of admission, of these care arrangements. Methods: The study is a cross sectional study using a mixed methods approach including: i) a case note audit of 100 consecutive patient folders examining the documentation of care arrangements within the first 24 hours of admission and ii) a structured self-administered questionnaire to professional staff working on the unit. Results: A total of 87 clinical folders were audited. Ninety nine percent of these folders had written down in them whether the women had children or not. Fifty eight percent of women had minor children and had 87 children between them. Fifteen percent of women had no care arrangements documented and 20% of women had unclear documentation of care arrangements. Fifteen completed staff questionnaires were returned. All staff agreed that it was important to ask the mothers about care arrangements. Conclusion: Significant more women that those identified on admission may have children who may have been in unsafe care arrangements at the time of their admission. There is room for improving the clarity of documenting of care arrangements and the enquiring into the specific care arrangements

Effecting institutional change: The impact of some strategic issues on the integratiye use of IT in teaching and learning

This paper addresses the effective implementation of change through the identification of issues associated with three key institutional areas which, together, will ensure the effective'integration of multimedia technologies into teaching and learning. These are the need for a firm commitment of support at the institutional level, the development of an institutional strategy, with related staff‐development policies and programmes, and provision for students and academic staff to. acquire enabling IT skills through resource‐based learning as a means to maximize the benefits to be gained from the use of these new technologies. The essential conditions which ensure effective implementation ‐ communication between all stake‐holders, leadership by senior managers, responsive central services and a mixture of funding arrangements ‐ are discusse

Nursing home care for people with dementia and residents' quality of life, quality of care and staff well-being: Design of the Living Arrangements for people with Dementia (LAD) - study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>There is limited information available on how characteristics of the organization of nursing home care and especially group living home care and staff ratio contribute to care staff well being, quality of care and residents' quality of life. Furthermore, it is unknown what the consequences of the increasingly small scale organization of care are for the amount of care staff required in 2030 when there will be much more older people with dementia.</p> <p>Methods/Design</p> <p>This manuscript describes the design of the 'Living Arrangements for people with Dementia study' (LAD-study). The aim of this study is to include living arrangements from every part of this spectrum, ranging from large scale nursing homes to small group living homes. The LAD-study exists of quantitative and qualitative research. Primary outcomes of the quantitative study are wellbeing of care staff, quality of care and quality of life of residents. Furthermore, data concerning staff ratio and characteristics of the living arrangements such as group living home care characteristics are assessed. To get more in-depth insight into the barriers and facilitators in living arrangements for people with dementia to provide good care, focus groups and Dementia Care Mapping are carried out.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>Results of this study are important for policymakers, directors and staff of living arrangements providing nursing home care to people with dementia and essential for the development of methods to improve quality of care, residents' and staff well-being. Data collection will be repeated every two years, to generate knowledge on the results of changing policies in this field.</p

Assessing the impact of the New Student Support Arrangements (NSSA) on higher education institutions (BIS research paper no.12)

"The research explores the impact on the policies, planning and behaviours of universities nearly four years after the introduction of new arrangements for student support in higher education (known as NSSA). It is set within the context of continued policy focus on increasing and widening participation, rising importance of university performance indicators in student choices, and a challenging economic climate. The research uses qualitative evidence collected from over 120 staff in 15 case studies across England..." - exec. summary

Attitudes towards clinical services among people who self-harm: systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Self-harm is increasingly common in many countries, is often repeated and may have other negative outcomes. AIMS: To systematically review people's attitudes towards clinical services following self-harm in order to inform service design and improvement. METHOD: A search of electronic databases was conducted and experts in the field were contacted in order to identify relevant worldwide qualitative or quantitative studies. Data were extracted independently by two reviewers with more weight given to studies of greater quality and relevance. RESULTS: Thirty-one studies met the inclusion criteria. Despite variations in healthcare systems and setting, participants' experiences were remarkably similar. Poor communication between patients and staff and a perceived lack of staff knowledge with regard to self-harm were common themes. Many participants suggested that psychosocial assessments and access to after-care needed to be improved. CONCLUSIONS: Specific aspects of care that might increase service user satisfaction and treatment adherence include staff knowledge, communication and better after-care arrangements. A standard protocol could aid regular audits of users' experiences of services

Using supervision: Support or surveillance?

This is the author's pdf version of an book chapter published by SAGE© 2007.This chapter will analyse supervision of staff in relation to developmental and managerial functions; argue that pressures on social services organisations have ensured that the need for agency accountability far outweighs its developmental function; suggest that the need for professional supervision is greatly enhanced given the development of inter-professional working arrangements; and propose that approaches to supervision can be applied to social work that have first been developed in the health service

EFFECT OF WORK-LIFE BALANCE ON EMPLOYEE RETENTION OF EGERTON UNIVERSITY ACADEMIC STAFF, NAKURU COUNTY, KENYA

This study investigated the effect of work-life balance on employee retention among academic staff at Egerton University in Nakuru County, Kenya. Specifically, it examined the impact of flexible working arrangements on employee retention. The research employed a causal research design with a sample size of 202 academic staff members, determined using the Taro Yamane formula. Data was collected through structured questionnaires and analyzed using descriptive statistics and linear regression analysis. The findings revealed a strong positive correlation (R = 0.863) between flexible working arrangements and employee retention, with flexible working arrangements explaining 74.5% of the variance in employee retention. The study found that aspects such as flexible teaching schedules, work setups that boost improvement, and arrangements that enhance job satisfaction and reduce job stress significantly contribute to employee retention. However, the research also highlighted areas of concern, particularly the lack of flexibility in granting time off for personal matters. The study concludes that implementing flexible working policies can significantly enhance employee retention among academic staff. These findings contribute to the growing body of literature on work-life balance and employee retention in higher education institutions, particularly in the Kenyan context.  Article visualizations

STD Services Delivery Arrangements in Georgia County Health Departments

Background: Uniformity, standardization, and evidence-based public health practice are needed to improve the efficiency and quality of services in local health departments (LHDs). Among the highest priority and most common public health services delivered by LHDs are services related to sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and sexually transmitted infections (STIs).Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine potential variations in the delivery of sexually transmitted disease (STD) services among county health departments (CHD) in Georgia, to determine if potential variations were due to varied administrative practices, and to understand delivery arrangements so that future cost studies can be supported.Methods: Web-based surveys were collected from 134 county health departments in Georgia in 2015.Results: Screening for gonorrhea, chlamydia and syphilis occurred in all the surveyed CHDs. Sixty-eight percent of the CHDs had one or more staff who performed investigations for persons already screened positive for STDs. Partner notification services provided by the CHD staff occurred in only 35 percent of the surveyed CHDs.Conclusions: Variances regarding diagnostic methodologies, work time expenditures, and staff responsibilities likely had an influence on the delivery of STD services across Georgia's CHDs. There are opportunities for uniformity and standardization of administrative practices