Alternative service organizations: Funding environment, strategies, and patterns of adaptation

This study explored the strategies that community-based, consumer-focused advocacy, alternative service organizations (ASOs), implemented to adapt to the changes in the nonprofit funding environment (Oliver & McShane, 1979; Perlmutter, 1988a, 1994). It is not clear as to the extent to which current funding trends have influenced ASOs as little empirical research has been conducted in this area (Magnus, 2001; Marquez, 2003; Powell, 1986). ^ This study used a qualitative research design to investigate strategies implemented by these organizations to adapt to changes such as decreasing government, foundation, and corporate funding and an increasing number of nonprofit organizations. More than 20 community informants helped to identify, locate, and provide information about ASOs. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a sample of 30 ASO executive directors from diverse organizations in Miami-bade and Broward Counties, in South Florida. ^ Data analysis was facilitated by the use of ATLAS.ti, version 5, a qualitative data analysis computer software program designed for grounded theory research. This process generated five major themes: Funding Environment; Internal Structure; Strategies for Survival; Sustainability; and Committing to the Cause, Mission, and Vision. ^ The results indicate that ASOs are struggling to survive financially by cutting programs, decreasing staff, and limiting service to consumers. They are also exploring ways to develop fundraising strategies; for example, increasing the number of proposals written for grants, focusing on fund development, and establishing for-profit ventures. Even organizations that state that they are currently financially stable are concerned about their financial vulnerability. There is little flexibility or cushioning to adjust to "funding jolts." The fear of losing current funding levels and being placed in a tenuous financial situation is a constant concern for these ASOs. ^ Further data collected from the self-administered Funding Checklist and demographic forms were coded and analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). Descriptive information and frequencies generated findings regarding the revenue, staff compliment, use of volunteers and fundraising consultants, and fundraising practices. The study proposes a model of funding relationships and presents implications for social work practice, and policy, along with recommendations for future research. ^

The Impact of Hotel Size and Service Type on Employee Job Satisfaction

There has been no research on the impact of hotel size and service type on employee satisfaction. Yet the distinction between service types (limited service and full service) has become commonplace and the dynamics and organization of these hotels are decidedly different. This study finds that differences are evident in certain aspects of employee satisfaction based on size and service type.

Leadership in the Lodging and Non-Commercial Food Service Industries

The qualities of vision, communication, trust, and perseverance are strongly identified by leaders in the lodging and food service businesses as characterizing effective leaders. The authors report on their research into essential qualities which mark the innovative industry leader.

Service Quality and Black Customer Satisfaction - A Perspective on the United States Restaurant Industry

This paper examines the issue of racial discrimination of Black United States (U.S.) restaurant patrons from a service quality and customer satisfaction perspective. In spite of the progress the industry has made in recent years to alleviate this problem, many contemporary examples clearly demonstrate that racial discrimination is still of great concern. The articles stresses the importance of an ethical approach in human resource management-intensive and offers suggestions for reducing discriminatory practices in U.S. restaurant service delivery.

The influence of neurocognitive impairment, alcohol and other drug (AOD) use, and psychosocial factors on antiretroviral treatment adherence, service utilization and viral load among HIV-seropositive adults

Among people living with HIV (PLWH), adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) can be affected by problems of neurocognitive (NC) impairment, stress, alcohol and other drug (AOD) abuse, and other barriers. The aims of this research were to: (1) examine factors associated with NC impairment, (2) explore relationships between psychosocial variables with ART adherence and viral load (VL), and (3) evaluate the efficacy of an evidence-based intervention in improving ART adherence, increasing service utilization, and decreasing VL. The first study (n=370) was cross sectional and used structural equation modeling to test whether AOD use, years living with HIV, and time from HIV diagnosis to seeking care were associated with poorer NC functioning. The second study (n=246) used similar methods to test the hypothesis that stress, barriers to adherence, NC impairment, poor social support, and AOD use were related to lower VL mediated by ART adherence. The third study (n=243) evaluated an evidence-based, eight-session program to improve ART adherence, reduce VL, and increase service utilization in a randomized controlled trial. Study participants were PLWH living in South Florida, 18 to 60 years old, with a history of alcohol abuse enrolled from January 2009 through November 2012. Secondary analysis of available data showed: (1) scores on interference with executive functioning increased by 0.32 for each day of marijuana use and 1.18 for each year living with HIV, but no association was found between alcohol use and NC functioning; (2) each barrier to adherence was associated with a 10% decrease in adherence to ART and a 0.42 unit increase in VL (log10) and the relationship between barriers and VL was partially mediated by ART adherence; (3) participants in the evidence-based program were more likely than the comparison group to report an undetectable VL (OR=2.25, p<0.01) at 6 months, but not 3 months, post-intervention. Psychosocial factors affect VL, but ART adherence is essential in achieving an undetectable VL in PLWH.

Event mining for system and service management

Modern IT infrastructures are constructed by large scale computing systems and administered by IT service providers. Manually maintaining such large computing systems is costly and inefficient. Service providers often seek automatic or semi-automatic methodologies of detecting and resolving system issues to improve their service quality and efficiency. This dissertation investigates several data-driven approaches for assisting service providers in achieving this goal. The detailed problems studied by these approaches can be categorized into the three aspects in the service workflow: 1) preprocessing raw textual system logs to structural events; 2) refining monitoring configurations for eliminating false positives and false negatives; 3) improving the efficiency of system diagnosis on detected alerts. Solving these problems usually requires a huge amount of domain knowledge about the particular computing systems. The approaches investigated by this dissertation are developed based on event mining algorithms, which are able to automatically derive part of that knowledge from the historical system logs, events and tickets. ^ In particular, two textual clustering algorithms are developed for converting raw textual logs into system events. For refining the monitoring configuration, a rule based alert prediction algorithm is proposed for eliminating false alerts (false positives) without losing any real alert and a textual classification method is applied to identify the missing alerts (false negatives) from manual incident tickets. For system diagnosis, this dissertation presents an efficient algorithm for discovering the temporal dependencies between system events with corresponding time lags, which can help the administrators to determine the redundancies of deployed monitoring situations and dependencies of system components. To improve the efficiency of incident ticket resolving, several KNN-based algorithms that recommend relevant historical tickets with resolutions for incoming tickets are investigated. Finally, this dissertation offers a novel algorithm for searching similar textual event segments over large system logs that assists administrators to locate similar system behaviors in the logs. Extensive empirical evaluation on system logs, events and tickets from real IT infrastructures demonstrates the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed approaches.^

Designing motivation or motivating design? Exploring Service Design, motivation and behavioural change

Motivation researcher Edward Deci has suggested that if we want behavioural change to be sustainable, we have to move past thinking of motivation as something that we ‘do’ to other people and see it rather as something that we as Service Designers can enable service users to ‘do’ by themselves. In this article, Fergus Bisset explores the ways in which Service Designers can create more motivating services. Dan Lockton then looks at where motivating behaviour via Service Design often starts, with the basic ‘pinball’ and ‘shortcut’ approaches. We conclude by proposing that if services are to be sustainable in the long term, we as Service Designers need to strive to accommodate humans' differing levels of motivation and encourage and support service users' sense of autonomy within the services we design.

Unifying Services Marketing and Operations with Service Experience Management

One of the pioneer firms in the leisure cruise industry embarked on a bold idea in 2000 to offer an unregimented experience unlike most cruises. Despite the appeal of the concept from a marketing perspective, the service innovation posed operational challenges, many of which continue to undermine the firm’s competitive position. Using a multi-method empirical approach and interdisciplinary views that draw on research from marketing and operations management, the authors analyze this business case to identify challenges that service firms face when services are developed and managed from siloed functional perspectives. Based on their research findings and guided by the literature, the authors derive a service-systems model to aid service planning and management. The authors further highlight a new organizational form and function for services under the domain of service experience management that is positioned as a means to unify service operations and marketing for delivering on service promises. The authors offer direction for further research on service operations systems and service experience management.

Assessing variation in personal health service delivery and workplace smoking ban enforcement by local health departments

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2016-08

Challenges to improve inter-professional care and service collaboration for people living with psychiatric disabilities in ordinary housing

The aim of this study was to describe health care- and social service professionals' experiences of a quality-improvement program implemented in the south of Sweden. The focus of the program was to develop inter-professional collaboration to improve care and service to people with psychiatric disabilities in ordinary housing. Focus group interviews and a thematic analysis were used. The result was captured as themes along steps in process. (I) Entering the quality-improvement program: Lack of information about the program, The challenge of getting started, and Approaching the resources reluctantly. (II) Doing the practice-based improvement work: Facing unprepared workplaces, and Doing twice the work. (III) Looking backevaluation over 1 year: Balancing theoretical knowledge with practical training, and Considering profound knowledge as an integral part of work. The improvement process in clinical practice was found to be both time and energy consuming, yet worth the effort. The findings also indicate that collaboration across organizational boundaries was broadened, and the care and service delivery were improved.

Morbidity and temporary cycles for the outpatient service at Universidad Estatal a Distancia in Costa Rica

No data has apparently been published on morbidity and outpatient service of faculty and staff of a distance university.  This report presents such data from the Universidad Estatal a Distancia (Costa Rican State University for Distance Education). The participants in this study were the employees who were outpatients between January 15, 2004 and December 15, 2006.  Instead of using a sample, the entire population was studied with a total of 1,526 medical records. Procedure: During the first stage all of the medical records were read and the morbidity data was tabulated.  Subsequently, this information was statistically analyzed using Statgraphics Centurion XV. The main findings were that 50% of the patients used the outpatient service only once during the study period and that most of them were between 20 and 50 years of age.  The days with the most consultations were Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays.  The number of consultations was relatively stable throughout the year, with a slight increase in June. The three main causes for visiting the service were: upper respiratory tract diseases, muscular-skeletal disorders, and irritated digestive system problems. Main conclusions: Most of the consultations were from the departments with the more faculty and staff members; however, some departments had extremely high or low consultation rates per capita, maybe due to factors such as pathologies that require periodic control, geographical proximity, and psycho-social issues of patients who create a vicious circle due to the somatization of such problems.  The hypothesis that this population’s morbidity rate would differ from the national average because of its high educational level was rejected.  Nevertheless, the hypothesis that there are weekly and yearly cycles was maintained.

The Influence of Neurocognitive Impairment, Alcohol and other Drug (AOD) Use, and Psychosocial Factors on Antiretroviral Treatment Adherence, Service Utilization and Viral Load Among HIV-Seropositive Adults

Among people living with HIV (PLWH), adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) can be affected by problems of neurocognitive (NC) impairment, stress, alcohol and other drug (AOD) abuse, and other barriers. The aims of this research were to: (1) examine factors associated with NC impairment, (2) explore relationships between psychosocial variables with ART adherence and viral load (VL), and (3) evaluate the efficacy of an evidence-based intervention in improving ART adherence, increasing service utilization, and decreasing VL. The first study (n=370) was cross sectional and used structural equation modeling to test whether AOD use, years living with HIV, and time from HIV diagnosis to seeking care were associated with poorer NC functioning. The second study (n=246) used similar methods to test the hypothesis that stress, barriers to adherence, NC impairment, poor social support, and AOD use were related to lower VL mediated by ART adherence. The third study (n=243) evaluated an evidence-based, eight-session program to improve ART adherence, reduce VL, and increase service utilization in a randomized controlled trial. Study participants were PLWH living in South Florida, 18 to 60 years old, with a history of alcohol abuse enrolled from January 2009 through November 2012. Secondary analysis of available data showed: (1) scores on interference with executive functioning increased by 0.32 for each day of marijuana use and 1.18 for each year living with HIV, but no association was found between alcohol use and NC functioning; (2) each barrier to adherence was associated with a 10% decrease in adherence to ART and a 0.42 unit increase in VL (log10) and the relationship between barriers and VL was partially mediated by ART adherence; (3) participants in the evidence-based program were more likely than the comparison group to report an undetectable VL (OR=2.25, p Psychosocial factors affect VL, but ART adherence is essential in achieving an undetectable VL in PLWH.

Consequences for the Bovine Embryo of Being Derived from a Spermatozoon Subjected to Post-Ejaculatory Aging and Heat Shock: Development to the Blastocyst Stage and Sex Ratio

The objective was to determine whether aging of sperm caused by incubation at normothermic (38.5 C) or heat shock (40 C) temperatures for 4 h prior to oocyte insemination affects sperm motility, fertilizing ability, competence of the resultant embryo to develop to the blastocyst stage and blastocyst sex ratio. In the first experiment, the percent of sperm that were motile was reduced by aging (P<0.001) and the reduction in motility was greater for sperm at 40 C compared to sperm at 38.5 C (P<0.01). In the second experiment, oocytes were inseminated with aged sperm. A smaller percent of oocytes fertilized with sperm aged at either temperature cleaved by Day 3 after insemination than oocytes fertilized with fresh sperm (P<0.05). There was no effect of sperm aging on the percent of oocytes or cleaved embryos that developed to the blastocyst stage. Aging of sperm before fertilization at 38.5 C reduced the percent of blastocysts that were male (P=0.08). In the third experiment, incubation of sperm at 38.5 C or 40 C for 4 h did not reduce fertilizing ability of sperm as determined by pronuclear formation at 18 h post insemination. In conclusion, aging of sperm reduced cleavage rate and the percent of blastocysts that were males but had no effect on the developmental capacity of the. embryo. The effect of aging on cleavage rate may represent reduced motility and errors occurring after fertilization and pronuclear formation. Aging at a temperature characteristic of maternal hyperthermia had little additional effect except that polyspermy was reduced. Results indicate that embryo competence for development to the blastocyst stage is independent of sperm damage as a result of aging for 4 h at normothermic or hyperthermic temperatures.

Strategic alignment and performance: Brazilian companies in the medical diagnostics sector

A gap has been identified in the literature on the diagnosis and monitoring of the degree of strategic alignment. The main objective of this article is to diagnose and analyze the strategic alignment profile using the alignment diagnostic profile (ADP) tool, which enables organizations to show visually their degree of strategic alignment. The methodological approach adopted is multiple-case studies, which were conducted at five organizations in the medical diagnostics sector. The results indicate that the ADP enables organizations to understand the steps required to improve their level of alignment and to identify and locate gaps and conflicts.

Effect of Charge Asymmetry on Adsorption and Phase Separation of Polyampholytes on Silica and Cellulose Surfaces

The relation between the properties of polyampholytes in aqueous solution and their adsorption behaviors on silica and cellulose surfaces was investigated. Four polyampholytes carrying different charge densities but with the same nominal ratio of positive to negative segments and two structurally similar polyelectrolytes (a polyacid and a polybase) were investigated by using quartz crystal microgravimetry using silica-coated and cellulose-coated quartz resonators. Time-resolved mass and rigidity (or viscoelasticity) of the adsorbed layer was determined from the shifts in frequency (Delta f) and energy dissipation (Delta D) of the respective resonator. Therefore, elucidation of the dynamics and extent of adsorption, as well as the conformational changes of the adsorbed macromolecules, were possible. The charge properties of the solid Surface played a crucial role in the adsorption of the studied polyampholytes, which was explained by the capability of the surface to polarize the polyampholyte at the interface. Under the same experimental conditions, the polyampholytes had a higher nominal charge density phase-separated near the interface, producing a soft, dissipative, and loosely bound layer. In the case of cellulose substrates, where adsorption was limited, electrostatic and polarization effects were concluded to be less significant.