scholarly journals Research capacity training for surveillance and response in the Indo-Pacific: a case study of implementation

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 61-68
Author(s):  
K. Carlisle ◽  
S. Larkins ◽  
M. Whittaker ◽  
D. MacLaren ◽  
H. Harrington ◽  
...  

SETTING: Surveillance and response workforce in the Indo-Pacific region, including Papua New Guinea (PNG), Solomon Islands, Fiji, Eastern Indonesia and Timor-Leste.OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the implementation of a modified WHO SORT IT research training programme which included a workplace-based research project. The training was designed for surveillance and response frontline workforce in the Indo-Pacific region.DESIGN: This was a programme evaluation using mixed methods. Fifty-three health and biosecurity workers from Fiji, Indonesia, PNG, Solomon Islands and Timor-Leste participated in the research training programme.RESULTS: Implementation of the programme was modified to reflect the context of participant countries. Work-place research projects focused on priority issues identified by local policy makers and in-country stakeholders. Self-reported research skills showed a significant increase (P < 0.01) after the completion of training. Participants reported high scores for satisfaction with training.CONCLUSIONS: This case study provides lessons learnt for future research training, and demonstrates that the SORT IT model can be modified to reflect the context of implementation without compromising purpose or outcomes.

F1000Research ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. 583
Author(s):  
Rony Zachariah ◽  
Dermot Maher ◽  
Abraham Aseffa ◽  
Mahnaz Vahedi ◽  
Pascal Launois ◽  
...  

Background:  TDR, The Special Programme for Research and Training hosted at the World Health Organization, has long supported Low- and Middle-Income Countries in strengthening research capacity through three training programmes: the Postgraduate Training Scheme (PGTS), the Clinical Research and Development Fellowship (CRDF), and the Structured Operational Research Training InitiaTive (SORT IT). In the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, we assessed whether those trained through these programmes were involved in the COVID-19 response and if so, in which area(s) of the emergency response they were applying their skills. Methods: From the records for each training programme, we identified the individuals who had completed training during the relevant timespan of each programme: 1999-2018 for the CRDF scheme, 2015-2020 for PGTS, and 2009-2019 for SORT-IT. Between March and April 2020, we sent trainees an online questionnaire by e-mail. Results: Out of 1254 trained, 1143 could be contacted and 699 responded to the survey. Of the latter, 411 were involved with the COVID-19 response, of whom 315 (77%) were applying their acquired skills in 85 countries. With some overlap between programmes, 84% of those trained through CRDF were applying their skills in 27 countries, 91% of those trained through PGTS were applying their skills in 19 countries, and through SORT IT, this was 73% in 62 countries.  Skills were being applied in various areas of the emergency response, including: emergency preparedness, situation analysis/surveillance, infection control and clinical management, data generation, mitigating the effect of COVID on the health system, and research.  Depending on the type of training programme, 26-74% were involved in implementation, operational or clinical research. Conclusion: Research training programmes build research capacity and equip health workers with transferable core competencies and skillsets prior to epidemics. This becomes invaluable in building health system resilience at a time of pandemics.


F1000Research ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. 583
Author(s):  
Rony Zachariah ◽  
Dermot Maher ◽  
Abraham Aseffa ◽  
Mahnaz Vahedi ◽  
Pascal Launois ◽  
...  

Background:  TDR, The Special Programme for Research and Training hosted at the World Health Organization, has long supported Low- and Middle-Income Countries in strengthening research capacity through three training programmes: the Postgraduate Training Scheme (PGTS), the Clinical Research and Development Fellowship (CRDF), and the Structured Operational Research Training InitiaTive (SORT IT). In the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, we assessed whether those trained through these programmes were involved in the COVID-19 response and if so, in which area(s) of the emergency response they were applying their skills. Methods: From the records for each training programme, we identified the individuals who had completed training during the relevant timespan of each programme: 1999-2018 for the CRDF scheme, 2015-2020 for PGTS, and 2009-2019 for SORT-IT. Between March and April 2020, we sent trainees an online questionnaire by e-mail. Results: Out of 1254 trained, 1143 could be contacted and 699 responded to the survey. Of the latter, 411 were involved with the COVID-19 response, of whom 315 (77%) were applying their acquired skills in 85 countries. With some overlap between programmes, 84% of those trained through CRDF were applying their skills in 27 countries, 91% of those trained through PGTS were applying their skills in 19 countries, and through SORT IT, this was 73% in 62 countries.  Skills were being applied in various areas of the emergency response, including: emergency preparedness, situation analysis/surveillance, infection control and clinical management, data generation, mitigating the effect of COVID on the health system, and research.  Depending on the type of training programme, 26-74% were involved in implementation, operational or clinical research. Conclusion: Research training programmes build research capacity and equip health workers with transferable core competencies and skillsets prior to epidemics. This becomes invaluable in building health system resilience at a time of pandemics.


Author(s):  
Jacobus N. Cronjé

Background: Since logistics emerged as an applied discipline during the latter part of the 20th century, there has been an increased need for skills development in logistics and supply chain management. However, literature suggests a general shortage of educated and skilled logistics and supply chain managers worldwide.Objectives: The purpose of this article was to benchmark an in-house training programme in logistics management in the beverage industry of Zimbabwe with international best practice.Method: A case study approach was followed focusing on the programme curriculum, content and delivery. The article reports on the nature and effectiveness of the programme. The curriculum was benchmarked with skills requirements identified in literature. Relevance was evaluated based on participant perceptions over a period of 3 years using questionnaires with both closed- and open-ended questions.Results: Findings suggested that the programme offering is in line with international practice whilst it also addresses particular issues in Third World countries. Participants perceived the programme as being practical and valuable for enhancing their job performance and career development.Conclusion: The article provides a framework for evaluating logistics training programmes. Future research could include an evaluation that measures changes in on-the-job behaviour of participants.


2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (5) ◽  
pp. 205-221
Author(s):  
Qing Zhang ◽  
◽  
Jingmin Wang ◽  
Ruihong Ji ◽  
Tairan Huang ◽  
...  

Postgraduate education in China bears the dual mission of "high-end talent supply" and "scientific and technological innovation" as delegated by the Ministry of Education of China (2017). Improve the quality of postgraduate student training and management is essential for Chinese universities to meet this requirement. This paper investigates the practical effectiveness of using a specially designed, internationally collaborative research training workshop to enhance new Chinese postgraduate students' scientific literacy and self-efficacy. The research results show that the workshop, which integrates seminar presentations and both individual and group-based student activities, is of practical significance for improving the experiences of first-year postgraduate students. The findings indicate the application of enactive mastery and vicarious learning strategies in research training workshop effectively boost students' motivation, confidence and feeling of accomplishment at their early research career, and can provide ongoing benefits to support Chinese students to further develop research skills and capabilities. The positive findings in this exploratory study can inform future research projects to examine the transferability of this research training workshop model in the broader Chinese higher education context.


10.28945/4003 ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
pp. 169-191 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amanda J Tonks ◽  
Anwen S Williams

Aim/Purpose: Understanding the educational needs of postgraduate research candidates (PGRs) is essential to facilitate development, support attainment, and maintain graduate quality. Background: The production and effective defence of the research thesis are the summative assessment tools used in postgraduate research education. Examiners’ reports provide a rich source of feedback and indicate the gap between the candidate’s level of performance and that expected for the award. This provides a lens through which to view the unmet training needs of PGR cohorts. Methodology: Following a review of all examiner reports for PGR assessments held over a 12 month period, we explored the quantitative and qualitative dimension data in context in order to identify common training needs for our PGR students. Utilising this theoretical framework and standard thematic analysis, we identified recurring themes and were able to determine key areas for future focus. Contribution: This study utilises independent comment from postgraduate research candidate thesis and oral examination assessment to identify unmet core research training needs. Findings: We recognised seven key areas identified by the examiners for improvement: i) quality of scientific writing, ii) general presentation of thesis, iii) statistics /data analysis, iv) understanding / critical appraisal, v) experimental design, vi) English language and vii) supervision. Academic literacy and numeracy stood out as key areas for future training focus. The results highlight areas for future focus in educational provision and targeted training for PGRs undertaking biomedical and life sciences research within our faculty. Recommendations for Practitioners: Evaluation of postgraduate research programmes should include feedback from a variety of sources and not rely solely on employability and completion rates as measures of success. The examination committees are an important source of feedback on the individual and the programme with regard to attainment of core research skills. Recommendation for Researchers: Regular and wide reaching evaluation of postgraduate research programmes and support available is required to ensure the sector can meet the changing needs of our PGR cohorts. Impact on Society: Doctoral graduates are entering increasingly diverse employment fields. Ensuring the quality of graduates and supporting their journey through candidature ensures the greatest value for society once in the work place. Future Research: This study highlights unmet training needs of PGRs as identified by an inde-pendent expert. The impact of engagement with training and the importance of prior experience are not explored in this study, nor is the student perspective on the process. These will reveal additional dimensions to the evaluation process.


Author(s):  
Hyojin Kim ◽  
Daesik Hur ◽  
Tobias Schoenherr

Supplier development has been a critical supply management practice since the 1990s. In many instances, it has even become imperative for buyer firms to support and prepare their supply bases for uncertain economic and market environments, socially and environmentally conscious customers, advances in digital technologies, and increasing competition. Yet, research that approaches supplier development with the objective to advance all these dimensions in an integrated fashion is scarce. This study fills this void by exploring how a buyer firm may address these emerging challenges in its supply base. Specifically, an in-depth case study of LG Electronics explores how the firm designs and operates multidimensional supplier development activities to foster the stability and sustainability of its supply base while enhancing its core suppliers’ competitive capabilities. This chapter illustrates how supplier development can be taken to the next level, presents implications for managerial practice, and outlines promising future research avenues.


Author(s):  
Anuj Dixit ◽  
Srikanta Routroy ◽  
Sunil Kumar Dubey

Purpose This paper aims to review the healthcare supply chain (HSC) literature along various areas and to find out the gap in it. Design/methodology/approach In total, 143 research papers were reviewed during 1996-2017. A critical review was carried out in various dimensions such as research methodologies/data collection method (empirical, case study and literature review) and inquiry mode of research methodology (qualitative, quantitative and mixed), country-specific, targeted area, research aim and year of publication. Findings Supply chain (SC) operations, performance measurement, inventory management, lean and agile operation, and use of information technology were well studied and analyzed, however, employee and customer training, tracking and visibility of medicines, cold chain management, human resource practices, risk management and waste management are felt to be important areas but not much attention were made in this direction. Research limitations/implications Mainly drug and vaccine SC were considered in current study of HSC while SC along healthcare equipment and machine, hospitality and drug manufacturing related papers were excluded in this study. Practical implications This literature review has recognized and analyzed various issues relevant to HSC and shows the direction for future research to develop an efficient and effective HSC. Originality/value The insight of various aspects of HSC was explored in general for better and deeper understanding of it for designing of an efficient and competent HSC. The outcomes of the study may form a basis to decide direction of future research.


2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 189-202 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian O’Boyle ◽  
David Shilbury ◽  
Lesley Ferkins

The aim of this study is to explore leadership within nonprofit sport governance. As an outcome, the authors present a preliminary working model of leadership in nonprofit sport governance based on existing literature and our new empirical evidence. Leadership in nonprofit sport governance has received limited attention to date in scholarly discourse. The authors adopt a case study approach involving three organizations and 16 participant interviews from board members and Chief Executive Officers within the golf network in Australia to uncover key leadership issues in this domain. Interviews were analyzed using an interpretive process, and a thematic structure relating to leadership in the nonprofit sport governance context was developed. Leadership ambiguity, distribution of leadership, leadership skills and development, and leadership and volunteerism emerged as the key themes in the research. These themes, combined with existing literature, are integrated into a preliminary working model of leadership in nonprofit sport governance that helps to shape the issues and challenges embedded within this emerging area of inquiry. The authors offer a number of suggestions for future research to refine, test, critique, and elaborate on our proposed working model.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 4121
Author(s):  
Hana Tomaskova ◽  
Erfan Babaee Tirkolaee

The purpose of this article was to demonstrate the difference between a pandemic plan’s textual prescription and its effective processing using graphical notation. Before creating a case study of the Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN) of the Czech Republic’s pandemic plan, we conducted a systematic review of the process approach in pandemic planning and a document analysis of relevant public documents. The authors emphasized the opacity of hundreds of pages of text records in an explanatory case study and demonstrated the effectiveness of the process approach in reengineering and improving the response to such a critical situation. A potential extension to the automation and involvement of SMART technologies or process optimization through process mining techniques is presented as a future research topic.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 378
Author(s):  
Jaco Griffioen ◽  
Monique van der Drift ◽  
Hans van den Broek

This paper sets out to enhance current Maritime Crew Resource Management (MCRM) training, and with that to improve the training of technical and non-technical skills given to bachelor maritime officers. The rationale for CRM training is improving safety performance by reducing accidents caused by human error. The central notion of CRM training is that applying good resource management principles during day-to-day operations will lead to a beneficial change in attitudes and behaviour regarding safety. This article therefore indicates that enhanced MCRM should play a more structural role in the training of student officers. However, the key question is: what are the required changes in attitude and behaviour that will create sufficient adaptability to improve safety performance? To provide an answer, we introduce the Resilience Engineering (RE) theory. From an RE point of view, we elaborate on the relation between team adaptability and safety performance, operationalized as a competence profile. In addition, a case study of the ‘Rotterdam Approach’ will be presented, in which the MCRM training design has been enhanced with RE, with the objective to train team adaptability skills for improved safety performance.


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