			Home About us Contact

Institutional Policies (institutional + policy)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Medical Sciences	33%
Education	33%

Selected Abstracts

Enhancing Part-time Teaching in Higher Education: a Challenge for Institutional Policy and Practice

HIGHER EDUCATION QUARTERLY, Issue 4 2007
Peter Knight
Higher education in the UK has seen a steady increase in the numbers of part-time teachers, yet the way in which they are inducted into teaching and the utilisation of their expertise are under-researched. This qualitative study of 33 part-time teachers from several universities suggests that their involvement in higher education should be considered from a fresh perspective, which differs from approaches to the enhancement of university teaching that rely upon simply educating individual teachers to do better by requiring their attendance at formally provided courses and events. While these approaches have their place, modern research on professional learning is increasingly pointing to the view that professional formation is an ecological process that is insufficiently served by the formal provision of learning opportunities. The ecological perspective, which emphasises the part played by the everyday workplace in professional formation, provides a challenge to leaders and managers regarding the development and implementation of institutional policy and practice. [source]

Land-use and resource conflicts in the Okavango Delta, Botswana

AFRICAN JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY, Issue 2009
Michael B. K. Darkoh
Abstract This study assesses land-use conflicts in the Okavango wetland ecosystem. A survey of the livelihood activities of a sample of four villages has been carried out and a stakeholder approach used to identify and analyse the key actors involved in resource competition and conflicts in the area. Traditional and emerging stakeholders were identified and found to be in conflict not only with each other but within themselves. Institutional policies on land use in the area are not properly harmonized, and there has been a top-down approach to development planning and implementation of development programmes. As a result, land-use conflicts have escalated in the area. The Okavango Delta Management Plan adopted in 2007 should integrate and harmonize all the land-use policies, and land management in the area. [source]

Systematic review on embracing cultural diversity for developing and sustaining a healthy work environment in healthcare

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EVIDENCE BASED HEALTHCARE, Issue 1 2007
Alan Pearson RN, FRCN, FRCNA
Abstract Objectives, The objective of this review was to evaluate evidence on the structures and processes that support development of effective culturally competent practices and a healthy work environment. Culturally competent practices are a congruent set of workforce behaviours, management practices and institutional policies within a practice setting resulting in an organisational environment that is inclusive of cultural and other forms of diversity. Inclusion criteria, This review included quantitative and qualitative evidence, with a particular emphasis on identifying systematic reviews and randomised controlled trials. For quantitative evidence, other controlled, and descriptive designs were also included. For qualitative evidence, all methodologies were considered. Participants were staff, patients, and systems or policies that were involved or affected by concepts of cultural competence in the nursing workforce in a healthcare environment. Types of interventions included any strategy that had a cultural competence component, which influenced the work environment, and/or patient and nursing staff in the environment. The types of outcomes of interest to this review included nursing staff outcomes, patient outcomes, organisational outcomes and systems level outcomes. Search strategy, The search sought both published and unpublished literature written in the English language. A comprehensive three-step search strategy was used, first to identify appropriate key words, second to combine all optimal key words into a comprehensive search strategy for each database and finally to review the reference lists of all included reviews and research reports. The databases searched were CINAHL, Medline, Current Contents, the Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effectiveness, The Cochrane Library, PsycINFO, Embase, Sociological Abstracts, Econ lit, ABI/Inform, ERIC and PubMed. The search for unpublished literature used Dissertation Abstracts International. Methodological quality, Methodological quality was independently established by two reviewers, using standardised techniques from the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) System for the Unified Management, Assessment and Review of Information (SUMARI) package. Discussion with a third reviewer was initiated where a low level of agreement was identified for a particular paper. Following inclusion, data extraction was conducted using standardised data extraction tools from the JBI SUMARI suite for quantitative and qualitative research. Data synthesis was performed using the JBI Qualitative Assessment and Review Instrument and JBI Narrative, Opinion and Text Assessment and Review Instrument software to aggregate findings by identifying commonalities across texts. Quantitative data were presented in narrative summary, as statistical pooling was not appropriate with the included studies. Results, Of the 659 identified papers, 45 were selected for full paper retrieval, and 19 were considered to meet the inclusion criteria for this review. The results identified a number of processes that would contribute to the development of a culturally competent workforce. Appropriate and competent linguistic services, and intercultural staff training and education, were identified as key findings in this review. Conclusions, The review recommends that health provider agencies establish links with organisations that can address needs of culturally diverse groups of patients, include cultural competence in decision support systems and staff education as well as embed them in patient brochures and educational materials. The review also concluded that staff in-service programs consider the skills needed to foster a culturally competent workforce, and recruitment strategies that also explicitly address this need. [source]

Physician attitudes towards ventilatory support for spinal muscular atrophy type 1 in Australasia

JOURNAL OF PAEDIATRICS AND CHILD HEALTH, Issue 12 2007
Nimeshan Geevasinga
Background: Without ventilatory support, premature death from respiratory insufficiency is virtually universal in infants with spinal muscular atrophy type 1 (SMA1). With mechanical ventilation, however, long-term survival has been reported from numerous international centres. We aimed to characterize physician attitudes to the various forms of ventilatory support for children with SMA1. Methods: We surveyed neurologists, respiratory physicians, clinical geneticists and intensivists from all major paediatric hospitals in Australia and New Zealand regarding their views on ventilatory management of SMA1. Results: Ninety-two of the 157 (59%) physicians surveyed replied. Respondents included 16 clinical geneticists, 19 intensive care physicians, 28 neurologists and 29 respiratory physicians. Almost half (47%) opposed invasive ventilation of children with SMA1 and respiratory failure precipitated by intercurrent illness. The majority (76%) opposed invasive ventilatory support for chronic respiratory failure in SMA1. In contrast, non-invasive ventilation was felt by 85% to be appropriate for acute respiratory deteriorations, with 49% supporting long-term non-invasive ventilatory support. Most physicians felt that decisions regarding ventilation should be made jointly by parents and doctors, and that hospital Clinical Ethics Committees should be involved in the event of discordant opinion regarding further management. A majority felt that a defined hospital policy would be valuable in guiding management of SMA1. Conclusions: Respiratory support in SMA1 is an important issue with significant ethical, financial and resource management implications. Most physicians in Australian and New Zealand oppose invasive ventilatory support for chronic respiratory failure in SMA1. Non-invasive ventilation is an accepted intervention for acute respiratory decompensation and may have a role in the long-term management of SMA1. Clinical Ethics Committees and institutional policies have a place in guiding physicians and parents in the management of children with SMA1. [source]

Engendering trust through institutional policies and practices

NEW DIRECTIONS FOR TEACHING & LEARNING, Issue 90 2002
Ann F. Lucas
Transforming the department into a team of people who support and trust each other not only revitalizes faculty members as their value is affirmed but also increases their contributions to the department and institution. [source]

Prison Drug Dealing and the Ethnographic Lens

THE HOWARD JOURNAL OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE, Issue 4 2006
BEN CREWE
Having detailed the way that the research project proceeded, it analyses prison drug dealing as an individually meaningful act that takes place within a broader context of cultural codes, social relations and institutional policies. It suggests that, to unpack these issues fully, and chart the terms of the internal economy which heroin dominates, a committed attendance in the prison establishment, and an approach that is broad and exploratory, is of great benefit. [source]

Structure and Function of Emergency Care Research Networks: Strengths, Weaknesses, and Challenges

ACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE, Issue 10 2009
Linda Papa MD
Abstract The ability of emergency care research (ECR) to produce meaningful improvements in the outcomes of acutely ill or injured patients depends on the optimal configuration, infrastructure, organization, and support of emergency care research networks (ECRNs). Through the experiences of existing ECRNs, we can learn how to best accomplish this. A meeting was organized in Washington, DC, on May 28, 2008, to discuss the present state and future directions of clinical research networks as they relate to emergency care. Prior to the conference, at the time of online registration, participants responded to a series of preconference questions addressing the relevant issues that would form the basis of the breakout session discussions. During the conference, representatives from a number of existing ECRNs participated in discussions with the attendees and provided a description of their respective networks, infrastructure, and challenges. Breakout sessions provided the opportunity to further discuss the strengths and weaknesses of these networks and patterns of success with respect to their formation, management, funding, best practices, and pitfalls. Discussions centered on identifying characteristics that promote or inhibit successful networks and their interactivity, productivity, and expansion. Here the authors describe the current state of ECRNs and identify the strengths, weaknesses, and potential pitfalls of research networks. The most commonly cited strengths of population- or disease-based research networks identified in the preconference survey were access to larger numbers of patients; involvement of physician experts in the field, contributing to high-level study content; and the collaboration among investigators. The most commonly cited weaknesses were studies with too narrow a focus and restrictive inclusion criteria, a vast organizational structure with a risk of either too much or too little central organization or control, and heterogeneity of institutional policies and procedures among sites. Through the survey and structured discussion process involving multiple stakeholders, the authors have identified strengths and weaknesses that are consistent across a number of existing ECRNs. By leveraging the strengths and addressing the weaknesses, strategies can be adopted to enhance the scientific value and productivity of these networks and give direction to future ECRNs. [source]

Legal issues in maximum security institutions for people with mental illness: liberty, security, and administrative discretion

BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES & THE LAW, Issue 5 2002
John Petrila J.D., LL.M.
This article explores four legal issues relevant to the provision of care in secure hospitals. These include the current status of right to treatment litigation; the potential impact of the Americans with Disabilities Act; new developments in laws governing restraint and seclusion; and the need for uniform institutional policies on risk assessment. These issues illustrate the potential conflicts between individual autonomy and institutional control that have been at the heart of mental health law for three decades. The article suggests that because of the diminishing oversight provided by the federal judiciary, institutional custodians have a particular obligation to ensure that individual rights are not overwhelmed by concerns with security. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]