Exploring use of climate information for optimal design of water resources infrastructure

We conducted surveys of fire and fuels managers at local, regional, and national levels to gain insights into decision processes and information flows in wildfire management. Survey results in the form of fire managers’ decision calendars show how climate information needs vary seasonally, over space, and through the organizational network, and help determine optimal points for introducing climate information and forecasts into decision processes. We identified opportunities to use climate information in fire management, including seasonal to interannual climate forecasts at all organizational levels, to improve the targeting of fuels treatments and prescribed burns, the positioning and movement of initial attack resources, and staffing and budgeting decisions. Longer-term (5–10 years) outlooks also could be useful at the national level in setting budget and research priorities. We discuss these opportunities and examine the kinds of organizational changes that could facilitate effective use of existing climate information and climate forecast capabilities.

Workshop on marine mammal research & monitoring in the National Marine Sanctuaries, Wailea, Maui, Hawaii, 28 November 1999

The Second National Workshop on Marine Mammal Research and Monitoring in the National Marine Sanctuaries was held on 28 November 1999 in Maui, Hawaii. The workshop preceded the Thirteenth Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals, and provided an opportunity to review and promote marine mammal research and monitoring in the National Marine Sanctuaries (NMS). The purpose of the workshop was to bring together researchers and sanctuary staff and to improve marine mammal research and monitoring throughout the sanctuaries. Discussion topics included: potential multi-sanctuary projects, sources of funding for multi-sanctuary projects, services and equipment for researchers through the sanctuaries, consolidating small levels of funding, help in funding and support for writing up data, publishing documents in Technical Memoranda, and letters of support. Representatives from the NMS national office and nine sanctuaries provided participants with overviews of marine mammal research within the sanctuaries. Presentations were also given by representatives from the National Marine Fisheries Service’s Permits and Health and Stranding programs. During the breakout working groups, there were several comments and suggestions consistent among each of the groups to improve marine mammal research. Each group emphasized the need to improve communication among researchers and to better share data. These suggestions included web-based information networks, advisory panels, and workshops. Regionally based research projects were also emphasized. In order to best study marine mammal populations, collaborative studies must take place throughout multiple sanctuaries. In order to achieve these large scale studies, funding and staffing must be directed towards these studies and distributed among each of the sanctuaries so that they may all be able to have the staffing, equipment, and vessels necessary to achieve a collaborative, ecosystem-based, regional marine mammal monitoring program. It will take several years to achieve all of the suggestions from the workshop, but thanks to the workshop participants, the National Marine Sanctuary Program has begun to direct marine mammal research and monitoring in order to achieve the goals of the workshop. This document provides a summary of the workshop with a focus on key points/main issues. We have included contact information intended to encourage continued collaboration among the individuals and organizations represented at the 1999 Marine Mammal Research and Monitoring in the National Marine Sanctuaries Workshop. (PDF contains 71 pages.)

Management and Promotion of Digitization Projects: Geologic Atlas of the US

The Geologic Atlas of the United States was digitized and stored in the Texas A&M University institutional repository. Extensive metadata was created which emphasized the geographic and geologic aspects of the material. The map sheets were also convered into kml files for Google Earth and ESRI shape files for use in GIS. A Yahoo!Map interface allows for visualization of the locations of each folio and user friendly browsing across the collection. Details of the project will be discussed, including the selection, digitization methods and standards, preservation, metadata, web presence and staffing. Its storage in DSpace, assortment of publicity outlets, and its inclusion in targeted clearinghouses expand its potential use to national and international audiences.

Annual report 1993

The report provides an account of the activities carried out by the Lake Kariba Fisheries Research Institute during the year 1993 under the following headings: Institute finances; Staffing and staff training; Staff housing; Infrastructure and institute expansion; Vehicles and vessels; and, Fisheries and fishery management. Individual reports regarding the various project activities conducted during the year are also included.

Annual report 1994

The report provides an account of the activities carried out by the Lake Kariba Fisheries Research Institute during the year 1994 under the following headings: Institute finances; Staffing and staff training; Staff housing; Infrastructure and institute expansion; Vehicles and vessels; and, Fisheries and fishery management. Individual reports regarding the various project activities conducted during the year are also included.

Annual report 1998

The report provides an account of the activities of the Lake Kariba Fisheries Research Institute of Zimbabwe during the period July 1997 to December 1998. It is presented under the following major headings: 1) Introduction; 2) Institute finances; 3) Staffing and staff training; 4) Infrastructure; 5) Vehicles and vessels; 6) Fisheries management -- kapenta management, inshore fisheries management, law enforcement; 7) Kariba Lakeshore Combination Masterplan; 8) Joint protocol; 9) Research work; and, 10) Publications and presentations.

A gestão em saúde e as ferramentas gerenciais: a experiência com o SISPLAN do Instituto Nacional de Câncer

A gestão na área de saúde vem sofrendo modificações ao longo do tempo. As últimas duas décadas foram voltadas para o crescimento e implementação da gestão profissional neste setor, com o suporte do uso de sistemas de planejamento informatizados como apoio à gestão. Assim, este estudo tem como principal fio condutor as premissas da Gestão e do uso de ferramentas gerenciais. Embora não seja um estudo de caso, apoia-se em uma experiência concreta de gestão no Instituto Nacional de Câncer do Rio de Janeiro. Nesta pesquisa é observado que as organizações de saúde sempre estiveram voltadas para a assistência sem preocupação com a gestão em si, mas que a partir da crise econômica mundial dos anos 80 houve mudanças neste cenário. Estas alterações ocorreram não somente na gestão da saúde, como também na profissionalização do gestor. O uso de ferramentas gerenciais também é contemplado nesta pesquisa, porquanto hoje se debate a sua importância no auxílio do planejamento e da estratégia a ser orientada para estas organizações. Paralelamente à discussão sobre os sistemas mais usados nas empresas e organizações de saúde, é discutida como ferramenta gerencial principal nesta tese o Sistema de Planejamento (SISPLAN) do Instituto Nacional de Câncer do Rio de Janeiro, um instrumento desenvolvido na Instituição e que vem redesenhando os espaços institucionais de decisão e de discussão de políticas. Este estudo demonstra que a aplicação desta ferramenta gerencial possibilitou a implementação dos projetos prioritários e mais relevantes. Como ferramenta gerencial, o SISPLAN facilitou o desenvolvimento de uma gestão participativa e compartilhada em todos os níveis. Apesar das melhorias que ainda são necessárias para o aperfeiçoamento deste instrumento, são inegáveis as conquistas obtidas no transcorrer deste processo. Percebe-se, contudo, que apesar das suas características o SISPLAN não parece ser a ferramenta gerencial que expresse a estratégia da instituição, pois ele se comporta como uma ferramenta de planejamento. Assim, conclui-se que pelas características apresentadas durante o estudo, que o balanced scorecard deva ser associado ao SISPLAN como uma ferramenta gerencial complementar para permitir a construção da estratégia, baseada em uma cadeia de relações de causa e efeito e de fatores impulsionadores. Esta tese vem demonstrar que a disponibilização de uma ferramenta gerencial é fundamental para o sucesso da gestão.

Dimensionamento da Carga de Trabalho em Unidade de Alta Complexidade em Traumatologia e Ortopedia.

Os gestores de saúde enfrentam desafios crescentes e recursos insuficientes em todo o mundo para referente às atividades realizadas, assim como observação direta dos profissionais para medir o tempo gasto em cada uma de suas atividades durante intervalos de tempo predeterminados. Posteriormente, os resultados encontrados no estudo foram aplicados ao instrumento informatizado de indicadores de carga de trabalho para estimativa do dimensionamento de pessoal (Workload Indicators of Staffing Need responder à demanda de serviços de saúde, especialmente relacionados à ortopedia e traumatologia, causando agravamento de casos e aumento do número de sequelas que reverterão em maior demanda por procedimentos de média e alta complexidade. Este estudo foi motivado pela necessidade de se analisar de forma consistente a composição e o desempenho dos profissionais na área de saúde e afins para o funcionamento pleno de uma unidade de saúde de alta complexidade em ortopedia e traumatologia. Teve como objetivo contribuir para o desenvolvimento da metodologia, disseminação do conhecimento e importância do dimensionamento da força de trabalho em instituições complexas de saúde, além de oportunidade para testar e disseminar o método de indicadores de carga de trabalho para dimensionamento de pessoal e sua importância para o planejamento e a gestão de recursos humanos em saúde. O projeto se desenvolveu em três estudos sequenciais e complementares. Inicialmente, foi feita uma revisão da bibliografia sobre o dimensionamento de recursos humanos em saúde (RHS), buscando reduzir lacuna da escassez de modelos e metodologias, bem como contribuir para o desenho e a utilização de modelos de organização e prestação de serviços que assegurem a oferta de serviços de saúde com qualidade e segurança. Em seguida, realizou-se um estudo de caso no Instituto Nacional de Traumatologia e Ortopedia (INTO)/Ministério da Saúde (MS), utilizando metodologia quantitativa e roteiros semiestruturados para estimar o tempo WISN), como testagem da metodologia promovida pela Organização Mundial da Saúde (OMS). Os resultados da análise da carga de trabalho e estimativa do dimensionamento de pessoal de saúde podem apoiar e nortear a elaboração e a implementação de políticas para melhorias na qualidade e na produtividade dos serviços de saúde. Os resultados encontrados revelam que não há déficit de profissionais médicos nos três grupos estudados, tornando-se imperioso a realização de alguns questionamentos em relação à produção cirúrgica versus entrada na fila de espera.

Stress on the ward: evidence of safety tipping points in hospitals

Do hospitals experience safety tipping points as utilization increases, and if so, what are the implications for hospital operations management? We argue that safety tipping points occur when managerial escalation policies are exhausted and workload variability buffers are depleted. Front-line clinical staff is forced to ration resources and, at the same time, becomes more error prone as a result of elevated stress hormone levels. We confirm the existence of safety tipping points for in-hospital mortality using the discharge records of 82,280 patients across six high-mortality-risk conditions from 256 clinical departments of 83 German hospitals. Focusing on survival during the first seven days following admission, we estimate a mortality tipping point at an occupancy level of 92.5%. Among the 17% of patients in our sample who experienced occupancy above the tipping point during the first seven days of their hospital stay, high occupancy accounted for one in seven deaths. The existence of a safety tipping point has important implications for hospital management. First, flexible capacity expansion is more cost-effective for safety improvement than rigid capacity, because it will only be used when occupancy reaches the tipping point. In the context of our sample, flexible staffing saves more than 40% of the cost of a fully staffed capacity expansion, while achieving the same reduction in mortality. Second, reducing the variability of demand by pooling capacity in hospital clusters can greatly increase safety in a hospital system, because it reduces the likelihood that a patient will experience occupancy levels beyond the tipping point. Pooling the capacity of nearby hospitals in our sample reduces the number of deaths due to high occupancy by 34%.

Institutional change and coproduction of public services: The effect of charter schools on parental involvement

Recent discussions of school choice have revived arguments that the decentralization of governing institutions can enhance the quality of public services by increasing the participation of intended beneficiaries in the production of those services. We use data from the Schools and Staffing Survey to examine the extent to which the decentralization of authority to charter schools induces parents to become more involved in their children's schools. We find that parents are indeed more involved in charter schools than in observationally similar public schools, especially in urban elementary and middle schools. Although we find that this difference is partly attributable to measurable institutional and organizational factors, we also find that charter schools tend to be established in areas with above-average proportions of involved parents, and we find suggestive evidence that, within those areas, it is the more involved parents who tend to select into charter schools. Thus, while the institutional characteristics of charter schools do appear to induce parents to become more involved in their children's schools, such characteristics are only part of the explanation for the greater parental involvement in charter schools than in traditional public schools. © The Author 2005. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.

Clinical Research Environment in India: Challenges and Proposed Solutions.

India has compelling need and keen aspirations for indigenous clinical research. Notwithstanding this need and previously reported growth the expected expansion of Indian clinical research has not materialized. We reviewed the scientific literature, lay press reports, and ClinicalTrials.gov data for information and commentary on projections, progress, and impediments associated with clinical trials in India. We also propose targeted solutions to identified challenges. The Indian clinical trial sector grew by (+) 20.3% CAGR (compound annual growth rate) between 2005 and 2010 and contracted by (-) 14.6% CAGR between 2010 and 2013. Phase-1 trials grew by (+) 43.5% CAGR from 2005-2013, phase-2 trials grew by (+) 19.8% CAGR from 2005-2009 and contracted by (-) 12.6% CAGR from 2009-2013, and phase-3 trials grew by (+) 13.0% CAGR from 2005-2010 and contracted by (-) 28.8% CAGR from 2010-2013. This was associated with a slowing of the regulatory approval process, increased media coverage and activist engagement, and accelerated development of regulatory guidelines and recuperative initiatives. We propose the following as potential targets for restorative interventions: Regulatory overhaul (leadership and enforcement of regulations, resolution of ambiguity in regulations, staffing, training, guidelines, and ethical principles [e.g., compensation]).Education and training of research professionals, clinicians, and regulators.Public awareness and empowerment. After a peak in 2009-2010, the clinical research sector in India appears to be experiencing a contraction. There are indications of challenges in regulatory enforcement of guidelines; training of clinical research professionals; and awareness, participation, partnership, and the general image amongst the non-professional media and public. Preventative and corrective principles and interventions are outlined with the goal of realizing the clinical research potential in India.

Nursing resources and patient outcomes in intensive care: a systematic review of the literature

Objectives: To evaluate the empirical evidence linking nursing resources to patient outcomes in intensive care settings as a framework for future research in this area. Background: Concerns about patient safely and the quality of care are driving research on the clinical and cost-effectiveness of health care interventions, including the deployment of human resources. This is particularly important in intensive care where a large proportion of the health care budget is consumed and where nursing staff is the main item of expenditure. Recommendations about staffing levels have been trade but may not be evidence based and may not always be achieved in practice. Methods: We searched systematically for studies of the impact of nursing resources (e.g. nurse-patient ratios, nurses' level of education, training and experience) on patient Outcomes, including mortality and adverse events, in adult intensive care. Abstracts of articles were reviewed and retrieved if they investigated the relationship between nursing resources and patient Outcomes. Characteristics of the studies were tabulated and the quality of the Studies assessed. Results: Of the 15 studies included in this review, two reported it statistical relationship between nursing resources and both mortality and adverse events, one reported ail association to mortality only, seven studies reported that they Could not reject the null hypothesis of no relationship to mortality and 10 studies (out of 10 that tested the hypothesis) reported a relationship to adverse events. The main explanatory mechanisms were the lack of time for nurses to perform preventative measures, or for patient surveillance. The nurses' role in pain control was noted by One author. Studies were mainly observational and retrospective and varied in scope from 1 to 52 units. Recommendations for future research include developing the mechanisms linking nursing resources to patient Outcomes, and designing large multi-centre prospective Studies that link patient's exposure to nursing care oil a shift-by-shift basis over time. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

'Bowing from the heart': an investigation into discourses of professionalism and the work of caring for students in further education

Since their incorporation in 1993, further education (FE) colleges in England have been responsible for their own staffing and, faced with funding constraints as well as recruitment and retention targets, some have introduced a new category of staff referred to here as 'learning support workers' (LSWs). Though their employment conditions and specific duties vary considerably, LSWs' work often includes providing individual care for students. In this small-scale study, using semi-structured interviews, the perceptions of some teachers and LSWs about the nature of their relationships with each other and with students are investigated. The study is set broadly in the context of debates about the impact of public sector reform on FE colleges and teachers. A discourse analysis approach is adopted in discussion of the data. The authors conclude that although they are differently positioned in relation to traditional discourses of professionalism, both teachers and LSWs are perceived to be carrying out what Hochschild termed 'emotional labour'. The contradictory nature of emotional labour is also highlighted. Some of the implications of employing a new group of workers in FE are discussed.

El apoyo a la investigación en las bibliotecas universitarias españolas

Los cambios sufridos por los modelos de comunicación científica hacen que las bibliotecas universitarias se vean obligadas a dar nuevos servicios. Para adecuarse al investigador los bibliotecarios están desarrollando habilidades, colaborando con cada vez más estamentos y sustentando el acceso abierto. Apoyándose en una lista de posibles servicios, basada en la literatura especializada, este trabajo pretende cuantificar y evaluar el apoyo a la investigación desde las bibliotecas universitarias españolas. El sondeo demuestra la aparición de nuevos servicios e infraestructuras. Pero estas asistencias no suelen sistematizarse, difundirse ni evaluarse. Y, por otra parte, las consecuentes inversiones en personal y TIC han generado una brecha entre universidades

Group Design-Build-Test Projects as the Core of an Integrated Curriculum in Product Design and Development

The School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Queen’s University Belfast introduced a new degree programme in Product Design and Development (PDD) in 2004. As well as setting out to meet all UK-SPEC requirements, the entirely new curriculum was developed in line with the syllabus and standards defined by the CDIO Initiative, an international collaboration of universities aiming to improve the education of engineering students. The CDIO ethos is that students are taught in the context of conceiving, designing, implementing and operating a product or system. Fundamental to this is an integrated curriculum with multiple Design-Build-Test (DBT) experiences at the core. Unlike most traditional engineering courses the PDD degree features group DBT projects in all years of the programme. The projects increase in complexity and challenge in a staged manner, with learning outcomes guided by Bloom’s taxonomy of learning domains. The integrated course structure enables the immediate application of disciplinary knowledge, gained from other modules, as well as development of professional skills and attributes in the context of the DBT activity. This has a positive impact on student engagement and the embedding of these relevant skills, identified from a stakeholder survey, has also been shown to better prepare students for professional practice. This paper will detail the methodology used in the development of the curriculum, refinements that have been made during the first five years of operation and discuss the resource and staffing issues raised in facilitating such a learning environment.