Direct Care Worker in Nursing Facilities Turnover Report, December 2015

The 2008 general assembly acknowledged in House File (HF) 2539, Section 71 that employee turnover rates in nursing facilities should be documented but also recognized that this information was not currently being collected. The department was directed to modify the nursing facility cost report to capture information on the turnover rates of direct care and other employees of nursing facilities. The department was also required to submit a report on an annual basis to the governor and general assembly which provides an analysis of direct care worker and other nursing facility employee turnover by individual nursing facility, a comparison of the turnover rate in each individual nursing facility with the state wide average, and an analysis of any improvement or decline in meeting any accountability goals or other measures related to turnover rates. The annual report was to include any data available regarding turnover rate trends, and other information the department deemed appropriate.

Resident & Family Councils in Nursing Facilities

Resident and family councils are vital to the operation of a nursing home, providing a voice for residents and their families. Resident and family councils provide an organized method of creating change, providing support and improving the quality of life for nursing home residents. A resident council is an independent, organized group of residents who live in a nursing home and meet on a regular basis to promote and enhance the quality of life for all residents. A family council is a group of family members and friends of nursing home residents who work to maintain or improve the quality of life for nursing home residents.

Community structure and water quality in Mediterranean streams of a Natural Park (Sant Llorenç del Munt, NE Spain)

Se estudian las comunidades de macroinvertebrados de los ríos del Parque Natural de Sant Llorenç del Munt i la Serra de l'Obac (Barcelona, NE España) y su relación con las condiciones de flujo de los ríos. Hasta 78 localidades se visitaron en dos ocasiones (invierno y verano de 1996) y en 26 de ellas se tomaron muestras de macroinvertebrados. Mientras en invierno el 63 % de los kilÛmetros investigados tenía flujo continuo y menos del 1% estaba seco, en verano solo el 26% tenía flujo continuo, un 20% estaba totalmente seco y el resto presentaba pozas en su lecho. A pesar de ello el número de familias de macroinvertebrados fue de 54 en invierno y 94 en verano, siendo dominantes en este último caso los heterópteros, coleópteros, odonatos y dípteros, mientras que en invierno los tricópteros y plecópteros eran más diversos. En general, la comunidad presentó una estrategia trófica recolectora aunque la proporción de los ramoneadores y depredadores aumentó en verano. El estudio de las comunidades mediante el análisis de su abundancia en los dos perÌodos, mostró que las variables temporales (flujo, temperatura) o las relacionadas con el incremento de la producciÛn primaria (oxÌgeno, pH) explicaban la mayor parte de la variabilidad con los elementos mas reófilos propios de invierno y los leníticos de verano, mientras que otros factores fisicoquímicos no eran relevantes. Calculado el índice biológico BMWP' se demostró que los valores en verano eran superiores o similares a los de invierno lo que se explica por la mayor diversidad aunque la calificaciÛn individual de cada una de las familias encontradas en verano fuera menor que las halladas en invierno.

Viimeistelyohjelma Business Park -kohteissa

Tämä insinöörityö tehtiin NCC Rakennus Oy:lle. Työssä selvitettiin Business Park -kohteiden viimeistelyyn liittyviä ongelmia haastatteluin ja tutustumalla viimeistelyohjelmiin sekä aiempiin tutkimuksiin. Tässä insinöörityössä kehitettiin Business Park -kohteisiin räätälöity viimeistelyohjelma nykyisen käytännön pohjalta. Työssä ei ole tehty uutta viimeistelyohjelmaa, vaan nykyisen toimintatavan kehitystyötä. Työssä ei pyritty kehittämään viimeistelyohjelmaa kokonaisvaltaisesti vaan paneuduttiin tutkimusvaiheessa havaittuihin suurimpiin ongelma kohtiin ja puutteisiin, joita kehitettiin. Business Park -toimistotalokohteet toteutetaan perustajaurakointina, jolloin samaan konserniin (NCC) kuuluvat yritykset rakennuttavat (NCC Property Development) ja rakentavat (NCC Rakennus Oy). Kyseisissä kohteissa rakentamisen viimeistelyvaiheessa aiemmin ilmenneet ongelmat olivat syynä insinöörityöni aiheeseen.

Cultural Planning and community sustainability: The case of the Cultural Facilities Plan of Catalonia (PECCAT 2010-20)

The government of Catalonia has developed a planning framework that seeks to establish the provision of cultural facilities throughout the country. The Cultural Facilities Plan of Catalonia (PECCAT) is based on an analysis of historical gaps and establishes a minimum spatial scheme. The plan responds to problems associated with the absence of a former similar instrument, which has led to an inconsistent and inappropriate cultural infrastructure that fails to fulfill its fundamental mission of securing the cultural rights of the population. The paper sets forth the aims of this policy and describes the objectives and basic characteristics of the plan and the expected outcomes. With the plan, the government of Catalonia seeks to rebalance the infrastructure within the territory and to ensure universal access to basic cultural services, while avoiding a logic of standardization and taking local communities into account. With the development of local plans in the municipalities, local governments encourage community participation processes to adapt and decide on priorities for action based on needs assessments and cultural opportunities for local sustainable development. The local plans focus on local cultural strengths, take advantage of opportunities, and aim to realize the cultural dynamics of a place through establishing an infrastructure that can best respond to the needs and cultural demands of the local communities, taking into account economic, social, and environmental sustainability.

ESTRO-HERO survey: Guidelines for equipment and staffing of radiotherapy facilities in the European countries: Final results of the ESTRO-HERO survey

Background and purpose: In planning to meet evidence based needs for radiotherapy, guidelines for the provision of capital and human resources are central if access, quality and safety are not to be compromised. A component of the ESTRO-HERO (Health Economics in Radiation Oncology) project is to document the current availability and content of guidelines for radiotherapy in Europe. Materials and methods: An 84 part questionnaire was distributed to the European countries through their national scientific and professional radiotherapy societies with 30 items relating to the availability of guidelines for equipment and staffing and selected operational issues. Twenty-nine countries provided full or partial evaluable responses. Results: The availability of guidelines across Europe is far from uniform. The metrics used for capital and human resources are variable. There seem to have been no major changes in the availability or specifics of guidelines over the ten-year period since the QUARTS study with the exception of the recent expansion of RTT staffing models. Where comparison is possible it appears that staffing for radiation oncologists, medical physicists and particularly RTTs tend to exceed guidelines suggesting developments in clinical radiotherapy are moving faster than guideline updating. Conclusion: The efficient provision of safe, high quality radiotherapy services would benefit from the availability of well-structured guidelines for capital and human resources, based on agreed upon metrics, which could be linked to detailed estimates of need

Distribution of tree species in a geomorphological and pedological gradient of submontane semidecidual seasonal forest in the vicinity of Rio Doce state park, Minas Gerais

The objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that the distribution of tree species in a fragment of submontane seasonal semideciduous forest, a buffer zone in the Parque Estadual do Rio Doce, Minas Gerais, is influenced by geomorphological and weather and soil variables, therefore it can represent a source of information for the restoration of degraded areas where environmental conditions are similar to those of the study area. A detailed soil survey was conducted in the area by sampling three soil profiles per slope segment, totaling 12 profiles. To sample the topsoil, four composite samples were collected from the 10-20 cm layers in each topographic range totaling 16 composite samples. In the low ramp and the lower and upper concave slopes, the texture ranged from clay to sandy-clay. The soil and topographic gradient was characterized by changes in the soil physical-chemical properties. The soil in the 10-20 cm sampled layer was sandier, slightly more fertile and less acid in the low ramp than the clayer soil, nutrient-poor and highly acid soil at the top. The soil conditions in the lower and upper slope of the sampled layers, in turn, were intermediate. The P levels were limiting in all soils. The species distribution along the topographic gradient was associated with variations in chemical fertility, acidity and soil texture. The distribution of Pera leandri, Astronium fraxinifolium, Pouteria torta, Machaerium brasiliense and Myrcia rufipes was correlated with high aluminum levels and to low soil fertility and these species may be indicated for restoration of degraded areas on hillsides and hilltops in regions where environmental conditions are similar. The distribution of Pouteria venosa, Apuleia leiocarpa and Acacia polyphylla was correlated with the less acid and more fertile soil in the environment of the low ramps, indicating the potential for the restoration of similar areas.

Thermal performance and concentration of gases in facilities for pigs in semiarid region from State of Paraiba - Brazil

The study was conducted in a facility for pigs during the nursery and finishing in the town of 'Montadas', in the semiarid of the state of Paraiba, Brazil, in the rainy and dry season, aiming to evaluate the concentration of oxygen, methane, carbon monoxide and ammonia, and the bioclimatic indexes: ambient temperature (AT), relative humidity (RH) and the index of black globe temperature and humidity (IBGTH). These indexes differed significantly (P>0.05) between the periods and times. The AT in the rainy season was in the thermal comfort zone(TCZ) in most of the times in the nursery; for the finishing phase, thermal discomfort occurred; during the dry season, there was thermal comfort in the nursery phase; in the finishing phase the thermal discomfort occurred at all times. In the rainy season, the IBGTH was in TCZ; in the dry season, it was above the TCZ. The RH in the rainy period was in the TCZ; in the dry season, in most of the times, below the range of the TCZ. The concentration of gases showed no differences (P > 0.05) between periods and between the times, and the carbon monoxide, hydrogen sulfide and methane were below 1.0 ppm, and the ammonia showed a mean of 5.2 ppm. None of the analyzed gases exceeded the limits established by Brazilian and international standards for animals and workers.

Nocturnal thermal comfort in facilities for growing swines

In most of Brazilian pig farms, the environmental acclimatization systems run manually. For night and early morning periods, this practice isn't appropriate, because, in general, there are not employees available to run these manual systems. This research aimed to compare the bioclimatic profile of two differently constructed facilities to the external environment, considering the period from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. during the spring, in order to show that night and early morning temperatures do not coincides with growing pig's thermoneutral zone. For this reason, acclimatization must be also carried out at these periods. It was analyzed the dry bulb temperature, relative air humidity, temperature-humidity index (THI) and enthalpy data of the sheds and external areas. Under the studied conditions, it was possible to conclude that the constructively appropriate shed appeared to be less influenced by the external environment, allowing better thermal control for growing pigs. Further research must be conducted to verify if automatic cooling systems is needed during night and early morning.

Control of ammonia emissions in naturally ventilated dairy cattle facilities in Portugal

We conducted a study of the processes associated to NH3 emission in naturally ventilated dairy cattle facilities, having described factors that regulate NH3 emission, as well as methodologies for measuring these emissions at these facilities. Appropriate techniques to mitigate NH3 emission in facilities located in regions with warm climates were also identified. The most effective mitigation techniques with simple implementation include strategies associated to: (i) installation design and flooring, which lead to reduced emissions, (ii) excreta pre-excretion, namely the use of diets with optimized crude protein content and increased milk production at farm level; and (iii) excreta post-excretion, particularly by changing the conditions of environmental monitoring within the premises, practice introduction or additive application in the management of excreta deposited on floors.

Evaluation of roof slope and exposure with different roofing materials in reduced models of animal production facilities in spring and summer

The present study was conducted at the Department of Rural Engineering and the Department of Animal Morphology and Physiology of FCAV/Unesp, Jaboticabal, SP, Brazil. The objective was to verify the influence of roof slope, exposure and roofing material on the internal temperature of reduced models of animal production facilities. For the development of the research, 48 reduced and dissemble models with dimensions 1.00 × 1.00 × 0.50 m were used. The roof was shed-type, and the models faced to the North or South directions, with 24 models for each side of exposure. Ceramic, galvanized-steel and fibro tiles were used to build the roofs. Slopes varied between 20, 30, 40 and 50% for the ceramic tile and 10, 30, 40 and 50% for the other two. Inside the models, temperature readings were performed at every hour, for 12 months. The results were evaluated in a general linear model in a nested 3 × 4 × 2 factorial arrangement, in which the effects of roofing material and exposure were nested on the factor Slope. Means were compared by the Tukey test at 5% of probability. After analyzing the data, we observed that with the increase in the slope and exposure to the South, there was a drop in the internal temperature within the model at the geographic coordinates of Jaboticabal city (SP/Brazil).

Technology park as an element of innovative infrastructure- its role in internationalization support.

The Thesis concentrates on two central terms – Technology park and the resource-based view of the organization. General attention is devoted to competencies and capabilities of organizations that operate in foreign environment. It is difficult to go abroad without any experience and support from local government, especially for small or medium company. Technology and Science parks are the main sources of competitive advantage for this kind of organizations. They provide a huge range of services as well as business consultations and financial support on different stages of companies’ development. The Thesis was made with the assistance of Technopolis Oy in Lappeenranta. During the research companies in Finland and Russia were interviewed. Based on empirical findings important capabilities for entering foreign market were identified and some recommendations for the Technology park were given.