scholarly journals Critical Reflections on the Process of Developing a Resource Manual for Service Providers Working with Immigrants & Refugees with Disabilities

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 98-119
Author(s):  
Kaltrina Kusari ◽  
Yahya El-Lahib ◽  
Natalie Spagnuolo

This paper presents critical reflections on the process of developing a resource manual for service providers who work with immigrants/refugees with disabilities. The development of this manual gave us insight into existing programs which address the intersection between immigration and disability, as well as the paradigms that guide services which target immigrants/ refugees with disabilities. We approached the manual through a postcolonial disability framework which facilitated a critical examination of the operation of ableist and neocolonial discourses within and through settlement practices. The main findings highlight the “siloed” nature of service delivery for immigrants/refugees with disabilities. Findings also illustrate how relevant provincial strategies do not address the intersection between immigration and disability, but rather focus on using immigration to reach other provincial targets. These findings add to the body of existing, albeit scarce, literature which focuses on the immigration-disability nexus and provide important implications for policymaking and service delivery for a largely hidden population of immigrants in Canada.

2013 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 70-89 ◽  
Author(s):  
Krassie Petrova ◽  
Bo Wang

This qualitative study aimed to identify the motivating factors and the challenges related to the adoption of mobile payment (mPayment) by small business retailers. Data collected from semi-structured personal interviews with a small group of participants were analyzed applying a content analysis approach. The findings indicate that retailer demand for mPayment was motivated mainly by perceived customer expectations for a convenient (faster) way to pay using the ubiquitous mobile technology, as well as by the perceived efficiency of mPayment leading to revenue increase. Challenges to mPayment adoption included, among others, the need to compete with already established point-of-sale payment technologies and the lack of information about mPayment leading to uncertainty about its comparative advantages. The study contributes to the body of knowledge by developing and exploring a merchant oriented mPayment adoption model. The factors identified as adoption drivers and challenges provide an insight into New Zealand retailer perspectives on mPayment, and the grounds for recommendations to mPayment service providers.


2007 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 83-90
Author(s):  
Sandhya Anvekar

The courier industry in India is like a vital link of communication between persons and corporations meant for individual and industrial benefits. It is an industry worth Rs. 50 billions and is on steady pace of development. More than 2300 courier companies operating in India, it is a challenge for the service provider of courier services to be unique, competent and provide effective service delivery. An insight into the crucial and critical incidents of service failure and strategizing by closing these failures will ensure effective service deliveries by the courier service providers. A trained and skilled front stage personnel, committed delivery boys/runners and efficient distribution networking can enable the courier service operators to provide failure free effective service delivery.


Author(s):  
Diane L. Kendall

Purpose The purpose of this article was to extend the concepts of systems of oppression in higher education to the clinical setting where communication and swallowing services are delivered to geriatric persons, and to begin a conversation as to how clinicians can disrupt oppression in their workplace. Conclusions As clinical service providers to geriatric persons, it is imperative to understand systems of oppression to affect meaningful change. As trained speech-language pathologists and audiologists, we hold power and privilege in the medical institutions in which we work and are therefore obligated to do the hard work. Suggestions offered in this article are only the start of this important work.


2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (II) ◽  
pp. 41-70
Author(s):  
Florence Wanjiku Njau ◽  
Mary Mutisya Mutungi ◽  
Rayvisic Mutinda

Increasingly, hotel industry has witnessed rapid growth in the 21stcentury and as a result competition within the industry has also intensified. This competition has been fueled by the preoccupation of service quality to add value and strengthen the complete guest experience. However, a major challenge facing the sector is the aspect of service quality particularly in budget hotels which target price sensitive customers. These hotels provide the customers with satisfactory core product at a reasonable price but tend to focus more on profits than on customer satisfaction. The services offered are not standardized and service quality variability is a challenge. The study used an integrated SERVQUAL and Gap model to evaluate customer satisfaction in budget hotels in Nairobi City County, Kenya. The specific objectives of the study were to determine the effect of service design on customer satisfaction, establish the effect of service delivery on customer satisfaction and determine the moderating effect of management perception of service quality on customer satisfaction in budget hotels in Nairobi City County, Kenya. The study adopted a cross sectional survey design and was conducted in 50 budget hotels. A sample size of 334 drawn from the hotel managers, customers and employees were involved in this study. Systematic random sampling technique was used to select the study sample for customers and employees. Data were collected through use of questionnaires and interviews. Both descriptive and inferential statistics was used in data analysis. The study hypotheses were tested was tested using multiple regression (ANOVA) and qualitative data from management perception was analyzed using qualitative data analysis (QCA). The regression analysis indicated that all five dimensions of service quality in service design were significant (0.000) when tested at 95% confidence level. The model was found to be significant. Correlation analysis indicated that the service design factors that had significant impact were realization of assured service in reliability (p = .044 < .05), responsiveness in informing the customers about the time of service delivery (p = .000< .05) and empathy in that operating hours are convenient to customers (p = .030 < .05). The other variables did not have significant values. The results indicate that there are gaps in the budget hotels under study between service design and customer satisfaction. Relationship between service delivery and customer satisfaction was found to be positive but not all the variables were significant. The study findings indicated that four variables; good location (p = .115 > .05), closeness to main city facilities (p = .527 > .05), someone recommended hotel (p = .665 > .05), and good experiences from the hotel (p = .458 > .05) did not have no significant values. This implied that these variables did not have an effect on customer satisfaction resulting in a gap between service delivery and customer satisfaction. This indicated that the service delivery did fully not meet customer expectations. Management perception was found to have a moderating effect between service quality and customer satisfaction. The study concluded that although managers seemed to have a reasonably good understanding of the customer and developed service designs for quality service delivery, the services delivered still fell short of customer expectations. The study therefore recommends that to enhance customer satisfaction, management needs to focus on the changing needs of their customers and develop service designs that twill offer service delivery that satisfies the customer. The study makes some contribution to the body of knowledge as an integrated model in evaluating customer satisfaction. This is an open-access article published and distributed under the terms and conditions of the  Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License of United States unless otherwise stated. Access, citation and distribution of this article is allowed with full recognition of the authors and the source.


Author(s):  
Zoran Vrucinic

The future of medicine belongs to immunology and alergology. I tried to not be too wide in description, but on the other hand to mention the most important concepts of alergology to make access to these diseases more understandable, logical and more useful for our patients, that without complex pathophysiology and mechanism of immune reaction,we gain some basic insight into immunological principles. The name allergy to medicine was introduced by Pirquet in 1906, and is of Greek origin (allos-other + ergon-act; different reaction), essentially representing the reaction of an organism to a substance that has already been in contact with it, and manifested as a specific response thatmanifests as either a heightened reaction, a hypersensitivity, or as a reduced reaction immunity. Synonyms for hypersensitivity are: altered reactivity, reaction, hypersensitivity. The word sensitization comes from the Latin (sensibilitas, atis, f.), which means sensibility,sensitivity, and has retained that meaning in medical vocabulary, while in immunology and allergology this term implies the creation of hypersensitivity to an antigen. Antigen comes from the Greek words, anti-anti + genos-genus, the opposite, anti-substance substance that causes the body to produce antibodies.


Author(s):  
David Carus

This chapter explores Schopenhauer’s concept of force, which lies at the root of his philosophy. It is force in nature and thus in natural science that is inexplicable and grabs Schopenhauer’s attention. To answer the question of what this inexplicable term is at the root of all causation, Schopenhauer looks to the will within us. Through will, he maintains that we gain immediate insight into forces in nature and hence into the thing in itself at the core of everything and all things. Will is thus Schopenhauer’s attempt to answer the question of the essence of appearance. Yet will, as it turns out, cannot be known immediately as it is subject to time, and the acts of will, which we experience within us, do not correlate immediately with the actions of the body (as Schopenhauer had originally postulated). Hence, the acts of will do not lead to an explanation of force, which is at the root of causation in nature. Schopenhauer sets out to explain what is at the root of all appearances, derived from the question of an original cause, or as Schopenhauer states “the cause of causation,” but cannot determine this essence other than by stating that it is will; a will, however, that cannot be immediately known.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 910-911
Author(s):  
Matthew Yau ◽  
Christine Sheppard ◽  
Jocelyn Charles ◽  
Andrea Austen ◽  
Sander Hitzig

Abstract Community support services are an integral component of aging in place. In social housing, older adult tenants struggle to access these services due to the siloed nature of housing and health services. This study aims to describe the relationship between community support services and social housing for older adults and examine ways to optimize delivery. Data on government-funded community support services delivered to 74 seniors’ social housing buildings in Toronto, Ontario was analyzed. Neighbourhood profile data for each building was also collected, and correlational analyses were used to examine the link between neighbourhood characteristics and service delivery. Fifty-six community agencies provided 5,976 units of services across 17 service categories, most commonly mental health supports, case management and congregate dining. On average, each building was supported by nine agencies that provided 80 units of service across 10 service categories. Buildings in neighbourhoods with a higher proportion of low-income older adults had more agencies providing on-site services (r = .275, p &lt; .05), while those in neighbourhoods with more immigrants (r = -.417, p &lt; .01), non-English speakers (r = -.325, p &lt; .01), and visible minorities (r = -.381, p &lt; .01) received fewer services. Findings point to a lack of coordination between service providers, with multiple agencies offering duplicative services within the same building. Vulnerable seniors from equity-seeking groups, including those who do not speak English and recent immigrants, may be excluded from many services, and future service delivery for seniors should strive to address disparities in availability and access.


Author(s):  
Stephane Shepherd ◽  
Aisling Bailey ◽  
Godwin Masuka

African-Australian young people are over-represented in custody in the state of Victoria. It has been recognized in recent government and stakeholder strategic plans that African-Australian community service providers are well placed to help address the increasing complex needs of at-risk African-Australian youth. However little is known about the capacities of such providers to effectively contend with this growing social concern. In response, this study aimed to explore the perspectives and operational (service delivery and governance) experiences of African-Australian community organizations which provide services to at-risk young people in Victoria. Through a series of in-depth interviews with the leadership of eight key African-Australian service providers, we aimed to identify their perceived strengths, obstacles faced and proposed strategies to realize key objectives. Perspectives on key risk factors for young African-Australian justice system contact were also gathered. Several themes were extracted from the interviews, specifically (i) Risk factors for African-Australian youth justice-involvement (school disengagement, peer delinquency, family breakdown, intergenerational discord, perceived social rejection), (ii) The limitations of mainstream institutions to reduce African-Australian youth justice-involvement (too compliance focused, inflexible, business rather than human-centered, disconnected from communities and families), (iii) The advantages of African-Australian community service providers when working with African-Australian youth (community credibility, client trust, flexibility, culturally responsive), (iv) The challenges faced by African-Australian service providers (lack of funding/resources, professional staff shortages, infrastructural/governance limitations), and (v) “What works” in service provision for at-risk African-Australians (client involvement in program design, African staff representation, extensive structured programming matched with client aspirations, prioritizing relationship building, persistent outreach, mental health and legal literacy for clients and families). Implications for service delivery and social policy are discussed within.


Pathogens ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 412
Author(s):  
Natalia Rakislova ◽  
Lorena Marimon ◽  
Mamudo R. Ismail ◽  
Carla Carrilho ◽  
Fabiola Fernandes ◽  
...  

Postmortem studies are crucial for providing insight into emergent diseases. However, a complete autopsy is frequently not feasible in highly transmissible diseases due to biohazard challenges. Minimally invasive autopsy (MIA) is a needle-based approach aimed at collecting samples of key organs without opening the body, which may be a valid alternative in these cases. We aimed to: a) provide biosafety guidelines for conducting MIAs in COVID-19 cases, b) compare the performance of MIA versus complete autopsy, and c) evaluate the safety of the procedure. Between October and December 2020, MIAs were conducted in six deceased patients with PCR-confirmed COVID-19, in a basic autopsy room, with reinforced personal protective equipment. Samples from the lungs and key organs were successfully obtained in all cases. A complete autopsy was performed on the same body immediately after the MIA. The diagnoses of the MIA matched those of the complete autopsy. In four patients, COVID-19 was the main cause of death, being responsible for the different stages of diffuse alveolar damage. No COVID-19 infection was detected in the personnel performing the MIAs or complete autopsies. In conclusion, MIA might be a feasible, adequate and safe alternative for cause of death investigation in COVID-19 cases.


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