Customer Uncertainty following Downsizing: The Effects of Extent of Downsizing and Open Communication

In contemporary South Africa, partnerships between service providers in government, non-governmental organisations, the private sector and community based organisations have been identified as a means to strengthen communities and the sustainability of social services. However, the unequal power relations that exists between and within these organisations often leads to fragmentation, duplication, and lack of coordination of social services. Using Fowler’s (1998) conceptualisation of authentic partnerships, this qualitative phase of a larger study explored the challenges of building authentic partnerships in Bhambayi, a predominantly informal settlement in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Individual interviews and a focus group held with nine service providers revealed that intraorganisational challenges, cross-boundary and inter-organisational relations as well as political influences were obstacles to the development of authentic partnerships. The article suggests that open communication, clarity of roles and mutual trust between service providers is vital.

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DATA EXCHANGE ORGANIZATION IN SCADA-SYSTEMS BASED ON STANDARD OPEN COMMUNICATION PROTOCOLS

RSUH/RGGU Bulletin. Series Information Science. Information Security. Mathematics ◽

10.28995/2686-679x-2019-1-8-20 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 8-20

Author(s):

Galina S. Ivanova ◽

◽

Maxim V. Bäcker ◽

Keyword(s):

Data Exchange ◽

Communication Protocols ◽

Open Communication ◽

Scada Systems

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Healthcare-Associated Infections: Not Only a Clinical Burden, But a Forensic Point of View

Current Pharmaceutical Biotechnology ◽

10.2174/1389201020666190618122649 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 20 (8) ◽

pp. 658-664 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Marco Di Paolo ◽

Luigi Papi ◽

Paolo Malacarne ◽

Federica Gori ◽

Emanuela Turillazzi

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Clinical Medicine ◽

Methodological Approach ◽

Care Facility ◽

Public Health Problem ◽

Control Measures ◽

Major Public Health Problem ◽

Healthcare Associated Infections ◽

Open Communication ◽

Healthcare Associated

Background: Healthcare-associated infections (HCAIs) occur when patients receiving treatment in a health care setting develop an infection. They represent a major public health problem, requiring the integration of clinical medicine, pathology, epidemiology, laboratory sciences, and, finally, forensic medicine. Methods: The determination of cause of death is fundamental not only in the cases of presumed malpractice to ascertain the causal link with any negligent behavior both of health facilities and of individual professionals, but also for epidemiological purposes since it may help to know the global burden of HCAIs, that remains undetermined because of the difficulty of gathering reliable diagnostic data. A complete methodological approach, integrating clinical data by means of autopsy and histological and laboratory findings aiming to identify and demonstrate the host response to infectious insult, is mandatory in HCAIs related deaths. Results: Important tasks for forensic specialists in hospitals and health services centers are the promotion of transparency and open communication by health-care workers on the risk of HCAIs, thus facilitating patients’ engagement and the implementation of educational interventions for professionals aimed to improve their knowledge and adherence to prevention and control measures. Conclusion: HCAIs are a major problem for patient safety in every health-care facility and system around the world and their control and prevention represent a challenging priority for healthcare institution and workers committed to making healthcare safer. Clinicians are at the forefront in the war against HCAIs, however, also forensic pathologists have a remarkable role.

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Restoring the Order of Information Packets Based on Hash Sequence Analysis

Proceedings of Southwest State University ◽

10.21869/2223-1560-2020-24-1-175-188 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 24 (1) ◽

pp. 175-188

Author(s):

M. O. Tanygin

Keyword(s):

Communication Channel ◽

System Analysis ◽

Open Communication ◽

Probability Of Error ◽

Original Sequence ◽

Blockchain Technology ◽

Service Information ◽

Field Information ◽

Additional Service ◽

Acceptable Reliability

Purpose of research. Currently, various technologies and methods are used to control the integrity and authenticity of data transmitted through open communication channels. One of them is the technology for transmitting sequences of information packets connected to each other in chains using certain cryptographic algorithms. Similar approaches are used in the well-known blockchain technology and are focused on large volumes of transmitted and protected information and large sizes of additional service information fields. The purpose of this article is to study the characteristics of systems, transmission of small information packets in comparison with traditional size frames of TCP/IP stack, in which the broken packet sequence order is restored using the chain method, by analyzing hash sequences available in each of such packets.Methods. In this article, simulation modeling, system analysis method, method of systematization and ranking of the obtained results are used.Results. It is shown that increasing the size of the additional field with the hash of the previous message from 4 to 6 bits has a significant effect on reducing the probability of erroneous restore of the order of information packets. Further increasing the length of the hash field reduces the probability of error by only 2 to 5 % for each additional bit of the hash field for any length of the chain being restored. It is shown that the coefficient of the usage of the communication channel (the ratio of useful chain of packets to the volume of information transmitted through the communication channel) is maximum when the length of the hash field is 6 in the whole range of sizes of the field information part of the data packet.Conclusion. The paper shows that the chain method is applicable for restoring the original sequence of information packets transmitted from the source to the receiver in systems where the preservation of the sequence of packets is not guaranteed. The obtained values of the transmission system parameters allow us to ensure acceptable reliability of data transmission with a minimum amount of additional service information, and achieve information redundancy less than that in similar ones by 10-15.

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School Environment as a Determinant of Organizational Learning Support

Lifelong Learning ◽

10.11118/lifele2019090120 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

pp. 20-44

Author(s):

Valentína Šuťáková ◽

Janka Ferencová ◽

Martina Kosturková

Keyword(s):

Qualitative Research ◽

Organizational Change ◽

Organizational Learning ◽

School Environment ◽

Psychological Safety ◽

School Management ◽

Learning Support ◽

Open Communication ◽

New Ideas ◽

Learning Research

Organizational learning as a strategic tool for organizational change and stabilization of success has been discussed in a school environment since the 1990s. Its importance is increasing in the context of dynamic development of the society and the need to flexibly adapt to constant changes. Organizational learning research focuses on analyzing factors that are important to organizational learning and adaptability. The study aim was to examine a school environment as a determinant of organizational learning support. We chose a design of qualitative research, in which a group interview with 32 teachers from four schools was carried out. Based on the interviews we specified five categories of organizational learning support – psychological safety, open communication, cooperation, openness to new ideas, engagement and participation. Through an analysis of participants‘ responses, we identified the most significant barriers to organizational learning in the environment of selected schools. Their recognition has made it possible to formulate recommendations related to school management and to the promotion of organizational learning at schools.

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136. Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff: Solutions for Large-Scale Stewardship Obstacles

Open Forum Infectious Diseases ◽

10.1093/ofid/ofaa439.181 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 7 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. S79-S80

Author(s):

Joanne Huang ◽

Zahra Kassamali Escobar ◽

Rupali Jain ◽

Jeannie D Chan ◽

John B Lynch ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Urgent Care ◽

Complex Data ◽

Open Communication ◽

University Of Washington ◽

Data Set ◽

Constructive Feedback ◽

Diagnostic Coding ◽

Icd 10 ◽

Tract Infections ◽

The University

Abstract Background In an effort to support stewardship endeavors, the MITIGATE (a Multifaceted Intervention to Improve Prescribing for Acute Respiratory Infection for Adult and Children in Emergency Department and Urgent Care Settings) Toolkit was published in 2018, aiming to reduce unnecessary antibiotics for viral respiratory tract infections (RTIs). At the University of Washington, we have incorporated strategies from this toolkit at our urgent care clinics. This study aims to address solutions to some of the challenges we experienced. Challenges and Solutions Methods This was a retrospective observational study conducted at Valley Medical Center (Sept 2019-Mar 2020) and the University of Washington (Jan 2019-Feb 2020) urgent care clinics. Patients were identified through ICD-10 diagnosis codes included in the MITIGATE toolkit. The primary outcome was identifying challenges and solutions developed during this process. Results We encountered five challenges during our roll-out of MITIGATE. First, using both ICD-9 and ICD-10 codes can lead to inaccurate data collection. Second, technical support for coding a complex data set is essential and should be accounted for prior to beginning stewardship interventions of this scale. Third, unintentional incorrect diagnosis selection was common and may require reeducation of prescribers on proper selection. Fourth, focusing on singular issues rather than multiple outcomes is more feasible and can offer several opportunities for stewardship interventions. Lastly, changing prescribing behavior can cause unintended tension during implementation. Modifying benchmarks measured, allowing for bi-directional feedback, and identifying provider champions can help maintain open communication. Conclusion Resources such as the MITIGATE toolkit are helpful to implement standardized data driven stewardship interventions. We have experienced some challenges including a complex data build, errors with diagnostic coding, providing constructive feedback while maintaining positive stewardship relationships, and choosing feasible outcomes to measure. We present solutions to these challenges with the aim to provide guidance to those who are considering using this toolkit for outpatient stewardship interventions. Disclosures All Authors: No reported disclosures

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‘We tend to get pad happy’: a qualitative study of health practitioners’ perspectives on the quality of continence care for older people in hospital

BMJ Open Quality ◽

10.1136/bmjoq-2021-001380 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (2) ◽

pp. e001380

Author(s):

John Percival ◽

Katharine Abbott ◽

Theresa Allain ◽

Rachel Bradley ◽

Fiona Cramp ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Quality Care ◽

Age Groups ◽

Well Being ◽

Residential Home ◽

Care Planning ◽

Open Communication ◽

Predisposing Factor ◽

Health Practitioners ◽

Care Training

BackgroundBladder and bowel control difficulties affect 20% and 10% of the UK population, respectively, touch all age groups and are particularly prevalent in the older (65+ years) population. However, the quality of continence care is often poor, compromising patient health and well-being, increasing the risk of infection, and is a predisposing factor to nursing and residential home placement.ObjectiveTo identify factors that help or hinder good continence care for patients aged 65 years and over in hospital medical ward settings. Medical care, not surgical, was our exclusive focus.MethodsWe conducted 27 qualitative interviews with nursing, medical and allied health practitioners in three hospitals. We used a purposive sample and analysed data thematically, both manually and with the aid of NVivo software.ResultsInterviews revealed perspectives on practice promoting or inhibiting good quality continence care, as well as suggestions for improvements. Good continence care was said to be advanced through person-centred care, robust assessment and monitoring, and a proactive approach to encouraging patient independence. Barriers to quality care centred on lack of oversight, automatic use of incontinence products and staffing pressures. Suggested improvements centred on participatory care, open communication and care planning with a higher bladder and bowel health profile. In order to drive such improvements, hospital-based practitioners indicate a need and desire for regular continence care training.ConclusionsFindings help explain the persistence of barriers to providing good quality care for patients aged 65 years and over with incontinence. Resolute continence promotion, in hospitals and throughout the National Health Service, would reduce reliance on products and the accompanying risks of patient dependency and catheter-associated gram-negative bacteraemia. Robust assessment and care planning, open communication and regular continence care training would assist such promotion and also help mitigate resource limitations by developing safer, time-efficient continence care.

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Experimental study on the effects of a single simulator-based bridge resource management unit on attitudes, behaviour and performance

Journal of Navigation ◽

10.1017/s0373463321000436 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-15

Author(s):

Stefan Röttger ◽

Hannes Krey

Keyword(s):

Resource Management ◽

Performance Outcomes ◽

Simulator Training ◽

Control Group ◽

Open Communication ◽

Positive Attitudes ◽

Group Data ◽

Communication And Coordination ◽

And Performance ◽

German Navy

Abstract The objective of this work was to assess whether the implementation of a bridge resource management (BRM) unit into the simulator-based nautical training of the German Navy is effective in improving non-technical skills and navigation performance. To this end, questionnaire data, observations of behaviour and performance outcomes were compared between a control group and an experimental group. Data of 24 bridge teams (126 sailors) were used for the analyses. Ten teams received BRM training and 14 teams served as the control group with unchanged simulator training. Reactions to simulator training were positive in both groups but more favourable in the control group. In the BRM group, significantly more positive attitudes towards open communication and coordination, more frequent sharing of information and fewer collisions were found than in the control group. Effect sizes were rather small. This may be due to the limited scale of the BRM unit, which consisted of only one instruction-training-feedback cycle. The extension of BRM-related feedback to all simulator runs of the nautical training can be expected to produce larger effects on attitudes, behaviour and performance.

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