Identification and analysis of business and software services : A consolidated approach

Although the benefits of service orientation are prevalent in literature, a review, analysis, and evaluation of the 30 existing service analysis approaches presented in this paper have shown that a comprehensive approach to the identification and analysis of both business and supporting software services is missing. Based on this evaluation of existing approaches and additional sources, we close this gap by proposing an integrated, consolidated approach to business and software service analysis that combines and extends the strengths of the examined methodologies.

Four years after graduation : occupational therapists' work destinations and perceptions of preparedness for practice

Objective: The present study sought to identify the work destinations of graduates and ascertain their perceived preparedness for practice from a regional occupational therapy program, which had been specifically developed to support the health requirements of northern Australians by having an emphasis on rural practice. ---------- Design: Self-report questionnaires and semistructured in-depth telephone interviews. ---------- Participants: Graduates (n = 15) from the first cohort of occupational therapists from James Cook University, Queensland. ---------- Main outcome measure: The study enabled comparisons to be made between rural and urban based occupational therapists, while the semistructured interviews provided a deeper understanding of participants' experiences regarding their preparation for practice. ---------- Results: Demographic differences were noted between occupational therapists working in rural and urban settings. Rural therapists were predominantly younger and had worked in slightly more positions than their urban counterparts. The study also offered some insights into the value that therapists placed on the subjects taught during their undergraduate occupational therapy training, and had highlighted the differences in perceptions between therapists with rural experience and those with urban experience regarding the subjects that best prepared them for practice. Generally, rural therapists reported that all subjects included in the curriculum had equipped them well for practice. ---------- Conclusions: Findings suggest the need to undertake further research to determine the actual nature of rural practice, the personal characteristics of rural graduates and the experiences of students while on rural clinical placements.

Services Procurement

This Services Procurement Report incorporates the previous benchmarking research and aims to develop innovative methods and guidelines for the procurement of FM services, applicable to iconic and / or performing arts centre facilities, or facilities with similar FM functions. The FM Exemplar Project utilising the Sydney Opera House produced its initial procurement report in June 2005 which analysed the strategic objectives and operational requirements that provide ‘demand statements’ as evaluation criteria in the service procurement process. The subsequent interim procurement report in September 2005 discussed the elements contributing to the criteria for decision-making in the service procurement process. This procurement report concentrates on the research on procurement strategies and innovative methods using a case study approach. The objectives of this report are to: Investigate service procurement methods and process in iconic and/or performing arts centre facilities; Showcase FM innovation in Sydney Opera House through a case study; Establish a preliminary decision-making framework and guidelines for selection of appropriate FM procurement routes to provide a useful model for FM community

Re-invent yourself: from London intensive care nursing and the Nigerian oil fields to an an academic library in Brisbane; a career change worth making.

A complete change of career forces a seismic shift in every aspect of your life. From day one, you have to face the loss of long held beliefs, behaviours, the known world of self, and security. We came from professions that themselves are poles apart, and many of the challenges we faced entering the profession were the same: juggling full-time work, part time study, and family commitmemts, taking a pay cut, and loss of social life. But over a short period of time we both transitioned to our new profession successfully. so what make our successful transition possible?

The Impact of Experiential Learning in Enhancing Palliative Care Knowledge and Skills among Nurses

Nurses working in community settings are increasingly required to care for people with chronic, life limiting conditions. Innovative educational programs are required to ensure nurses are equipped to deal with this challenging area of practice. The Program of Experience in the Palliative Approach (PEPA) started in 2003 as an initiative of the Australian Government, Department of Health and Ageing. The overall aim of PEPA is to improve the quality, availability and access to palliative care for people who are dying, and their families, by improving the skills and expertise of health practitioners, and enhancing collaboration between primary and specialist palliative care services. PEPA provides nurses with an opportunity to develop knowledge and skills in the palliative approach to care through funded clinical workforce placements or workshops.

Sustainable subdivisions – review of technologies for integrated water services

Water is a current major global, national and local issue. Historic drought and unprecedented restriction levels are now substantially influencing almost all Australia’s major cities. Residential design and adoption of appropriate technologies plays a key role in urban water efficiency. This project, the first of the CRC-CI Sustainable subdivisions program with a focus on water, explores the existing technologies available for sustainable suburbs.

Health professional partnerships and their impact on Aboriginal health : an occupational therapist's and Aboriginal health worker's perspective

Objective: To describe the extent and nature of demonstrated professional partnerships between occupational therapists and Aboriginal health workers in rural and remote communities of North Queensland. The study identifies ways in which professional partnerships improve client services and enhance occupational therapy outcomes through exploring the aspects of communication, collaboration and bridging cultural boundaries.---------- Design: Data collected via in-depth, semistructured telephone interviews. ---------- Setting: Aboriginal and mainstream health and human service organisations in rural and remote North Queensland. Rural and remote areas were identified using the Accessibility and Remoteness Index of Australia codes. ---------- Participants: Seven participants working in rural and remote areas of North Queensland, comprising four occupational therapists and three Aboriginal health workers. All participants were female. ---------- Results: Participants identified five core themes when describing the extent and nature of professional partnerships between occupational therapists and Aboriginal health workers. Themes include: professional interaction; perception of professional roles; benefits to the client; professional interdependence; and significance of Aboriginal culture. According to participants, when partnerships between occupational therapists and Aboriginal health workers were formed, clients received a more culturally appropriate service, were more comfortable in the presence of the occupational therapist, obtained a greater understanding of occupational therapy assessment and intervention, and felt valued in the health care process. ---------- Conclusions: This study substantiates the necessity for the formation of professional partnerships between occupational therapists and Aboriginal health workers. The findings suggest that participation in professional partnerships has positive implications for occupational therapists working with Aboriginal clients and Aboriginal health workers in rural and remote regions of North Queensland.

Inward exporting of professional services : lessons from an exploratory study of Australian educational firms

Inward export activities for services companies have been largely neglected in the literature. Little is known about how professional service firms export to overseas consumers who travel to the domestic market of the firm. This study utilizes a resource-based perspective (RBV) to explore the main barriers and drivers of export performance for professional education services. A case study of Australia’s education industry, as well as interviews with executives from four Australian education institutions, was conducted. Findings show that inward exporters confront most barriers in the domestic market where the service is provided, and drivers of export performance combine firm- and country-specific resources.

How the whiteness embedded in health services impacts on the health and well-being of Aboriginal peoples

Aboriginal women are treated differently by non-indigenous health care providers based on perceptions of Aboriginality and skin colour and white race privilege within health care environments. The experiences shared below are from some of the Aboriginal woman respondents in a research project undertaken within Rockhampton, a regional area in Central Queensland (Fredericks, 2003). The experiences give an insight into how the Aboriginal women interviewed felt and their observations of how other Aboriginal women were treated within health care settings based on skin colour and perceptions of Aboriginality. A number of the women demonstrated a personal in-depth analysis of the issues surrounding place, skin colour and Aboriginality. For example, one of the women, who I named Kay, identified one particular health service organisation and stated that, ‘it is a totally white designed space. There is nothing that identifies me to that place. I just won’t go there as a client because I don’t feel they cater for me as a black woman’. Kay’s words give us an understanding of the reality experienced by Aboriginal women as they move in and out of places within health environments and broader society. Some of these experiences are examples of direct racism, whilst other examples are subtle and demonstrate how whiteness manifests and plays out within places. I offer acknowledgement and honour to the Aboriginal women who shared their stories and gave me a glimpse of their realities in the research project from which the findings presented in this chapter are taken. It is to this research project that is the subject of this chapter.

How has PEPA changed practice? Views of employers of PEPA participants

The Program of Experience in the Palliative Approach (PEPA) started in 2003 as an initiative of the Australian Government, Department of Health and Ageing. The overall aim of PEPA is to improve the quality, availability and access to palliative care for people who are dying, and their families, by providing opportunities for health professionals to undertake supported clinical placements in specialist palliative care services. PEPA participants are encouraged to identify strategies to transfer the learning from their clinical placement into their practice setting.

Supporting mature-aged students from a low socioeconomic background

The aim of the current study was to examine mature-aged student perceptions of university support services and barriers to study. Using a mixed methods approach, interviews and focus groups were conducted with mature-aged students to identify barriers to study, knowledge and use of current student support services, and suggestions to improve upon these services. From these data and an audit of university support services, an online survey was created to examine study barriers and patterns of support service use, as well as, perceptions of proposed support services not currently offered by the university within a larger sample of mature-aged students. Analysis of survey data indicated distinct patterns of barriers and support service use according to socioeconomic status as well as other demographic factors such as, age and enrolment status. Study findings are discussed in terms of generating support services for the retention of mature-aged students of low socioeconomic status and for the retention of mature-aged students in general.

Measuring and supporting quality of life

It is widely acknowledged that “quality of life” (QoL) is an imprecise concept, which is difficult to define (Arnold, 1991; Ball et al., 2000; Bury & Holme, 1993; Byrne & MacLean, 1997; Guse & Masesar, 1999; McDowell & Newell, 1996). McDowell and Newell (1996) described the term as “intuitively familiar” (p.382), suggesting that everyone believes that they know what it means; while, in reality its meaning differs from person to person. Recent years, have seen steadily increasing interest in the study and measurement of QoL related to human services, which reflects greater importance being attached to accountability in its widest sense. Anecdotally, many care staff will indicate that ensuring good QoL for their clients is important to them, but how can we ascertain whether we are achieving positive QoL outcomes, and given the complexities of the concept and its measurement, how can we best incorporate QoL assessment into everyday practice? This chapter will explore the issues of QoL definition and measurement, particularly as they pertain to aged care. It will consider many measurement tool options, and provide advice on how to choose an appropriate instrument for your circumstances. Issues of quality of care and their relationship to QoL will also be considered, and the chapter will conclude with a discussion on the integration of QoL assessment into practice. Because residential aged care constitutes a living environment as well as a care environment, QoL is considered particularly pertinent in this context, and as such, it will provide much of the focus for the chapter

Growing demand for emergency health services in Queensland, Australia

Introduction: The demand for emergency health services (EHS), both in the prehospital (ambulance) and hospital (emergency departments) settings, is growing rapidly in Australia. Broader health system changes have reduced available health infrastructure, particularly hospital beds, resulting in reduced access to and congestion of the EHS as demonstrated by longer waiting times and ambulance “ramping”. Ambulance ramping occurring when patients have a prolonged wait on the emergency vehicle due to the unavailability of hospital beds. This presentation will outline the trends in EHS demand in Queensland compared with the rest of Australia and factors that appear to be contributing to the growth in demand. Methods: Secondary analysis was conducted using data from publicly available sources. Data from the Queensland Ambulance Service and Queensland Health Emergency Department Information System (EDIS) also were analyzed. Results: The demand for ambulance services and emergency departments has been increasing at 8% and 4% per year over the last decade, respectively; while accessible hospital beds have reduced by almost 10% contributing to the emergency department congestion and possibly contributing to the prehospital demand. While the increase in the proportion of the elderly population seems to explain a great deal of the demand for EHS, other factors also influence this growth including patient characteristics, institutional and societal factors, economic, EHS arrangements, and clinical factors. Conclusions: Overcrowding of facilities that provide EHS are causing considerable community concern. This overcrowding is caused by the growing demand and reduced access. The causes of this growing demand are complex, and require further detailed analysis in order to quantify and qualify these causes in order to provide a resilient foundation of evidence for future policy direction.

Why is there a gender gap in children presenting for Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder services?

This study addressed why girls are less likely to be referred for mental health services for attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) than boys. Ninety-six parents of children with elevated ADHD symptoms and 140 elementary school teachers read vignettes about children with ADHD. Half of the participants read vignettes with boys' names, and half read the same vignettes but with girls' names. Participants then rated their likeliness to seek or recommend services for the child in each vignette. Parents and teachers were less likely to seek or recommend services for girls than boys with ADHD, but results did not support the hypothesis that this is because girls are less disruptive than boys. Rather, differences in service seeking were explained by the fact that parents and teachers believed that learning assistance is less effective for girls than boys with ADHD.