Fear vs. Threat, School Shootings and Violence

The first recorded school shooting took place in Charlottesville, Virginia on November 12, 1840. The most recent school shooting took place on July 11, 2019 in Hartford, Connecticut. Over 500 school shootings have taken place since the Charlottesville incident. Sadly, school shootings are not an anomaly to many communities in America. Administrators, and particularly principals, are faced with significant challenges in creating an environment that is conducive to the development of a productive and safe school culture. The content of this manuscript will explore the existing administrative roles and responsibilities with respect to school safety and the implementation and supervision of those procedures. Also discussed in the manuscript will be the role that fear plays in the decision making process and how some decisions may be misplaced and could be redirected toward more favorable areas of emphasis (i.e., counseling, active supervision, alternative academic options, community outreach, and inclusive student opportunities).

New Ramesside Copy of the Teaching of Amenemhat

A newly excavated ostracon from Abydos bearing the concluding chapter of “The Instruction (a.k.a. Teaching) of King Amenemhat” opens up an interesting enquiry. An ostracon found in the immediate vicinity of a New Kingdom royal memorial temple and carrying an excerpt from a major literary text is an important find, as it develops our insight into New Kingdom educational practices and intellectual quests. The range of ostraca types and text genres appearing in the area of the temple of Ramesses II points to a fully functional temple organization with a building phase and an operational phase, with supplies and literate personnel on site, potentially in different administrative roles. Studies in educational and intellectual pursuits, in turn, are key to expanding our comprehension of the functions—and enjoyment—of Egyptian culture.

Graham Wood. 6 February 1934—4 November 2016

Graham Wood was a world-leading corrosion scientist who bridged both the aqueous (electrochemical) corrosion and high-temperature oxidation branches of the subject. His analytical predictions of depletion and enrichment profiles in substrate and scale during preferential oxidation have long been confirmed in practice. He also demonstrated that transient oxides can be vital solid lubricants in oxidative friction and wear processes. He elucidated ionic transport in amorphous anodic films, leading to precise models of pore initiation, development and closure, thus allowing the strict design of anodic films for practical application. He set up, and headed, the Corrosion and Protection Centre at the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST) and was instrumental in initiating the Corrosion and Protection Centre Industrial Service, which, respectively, became the world's largest academic centre on the study of materials degradation and the world's largest corrosion consulting organization. While keeping active in research, he held increasingly senior administrative roles, where he established a specialist graduate school and helped prepare UMIST to full independence from the Victoria University of Manchester.

The Role of STEM Program Directors in Broadening the Impact of STEM Interventions

STEM transformation has been a longstanding goal for higher education institutions who not only wish to maintain global economic competitiveness but most recently have also aimed efforts at achieving STEM equity. While researchers have typically looked to students’ and faculty’s experiences for answers, STEM program directors possess great insight from working closely with students in both faculty and administrative roles. This study explores the views of 45 STEM program directors at 10 institutions across the U.S. that had high STEM bachelor’s degree-completion rates relative to similarly resourced institutions. We document the lessons and strategies that STEM program directors have used to broaden institutional impact, including demonstrating their program’s efficacy through assessments and evaluations, coordinating, and streamlining efforts to ensure program efficiency and longevity, incentivizing support for labor, and consolidating support from institutional leaders. We also disentangle the roles STEM program directors play as grassroots leaders or institutional agents, distinguishing them by their authority and decision-making power and by whether they work to transform the institution to better serve students or to transform students’ behaviors to adapt to the institution. Our findings provide avenues to leverage STEM program directors’ efforts in order to move toward STEM education transformation in higher education.

A Qualitative Dual-Site Analysis of The Pharmacist Discharge Care (PHARM-DC) Intervention Using The CFIR Framework

Introduction: Older adults face several challenges when transitioning from acute hospitals to community-based care. The PHARMacist Discharge Care (PHARM-DC) intervention is a pharmacist-led Transitions of Care (TOC) program intended to reduce 30-day hospital readmissions and emergency department visits at two large hospitals. This study used the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) framework to evaluate pharmacist perceptions of the PHARM-DC intervention.Methods: Intervention pharmacists and pharmacy administrators were purposively recruited by study team members located within each participating institution. Study team members located within each institution coordinated with two study authors unaffiliated with the institutions implementing the intervention to conduct interviews and focus groups remotely via telecommunication software. Interviews were recorded and transcribed, with transcriptions imported into NVivo for qualitative analysis. Qualitative analysis was performed using an iterative process to identify “a priori” constructs based on CFIR domains (intervention characteristics, outer setting, inner setting, characteristics of the individuals involved, and the process of implementation) and to create overarching themes as identified during coding.Results: In total, ten semi-structured interviews and one focus group were completed across both hospitals. At Site A, six interviews were conducted with intervention pharmacists and pharmacists in administrative roles. Also at Site A, one focus group comprised of five intervention pharmacists was conducted. At Site B, interviews were conducted with four intervention pharmacists and pharmacists in administrative roles. Three overarching themes were identified: PHARM-DC and Institutional Context, Importance of PHARM-DC Adaptability, and Recommendations for PHARM-DC Improvement and Sustainability. Increasing pharmacist support for technical tasks and navigating pharmacist-patient language barriers were important to intervention implementation and delivery. Identifying cost-savings and quantifying outcomes as a result of the intervention were particularly important when considering how to sustain and expand the PHARM-DC intervention.Conclusion: The PHARM-DC intervention can successfully be implemented at two institutions with considerable variations in TOC initiatives, resources, and staffing. Future implementation of PHARM-DC interventions should consider the themes identified, including an examination of institution-specific contextual factors such as the roles that pharmacy technicians may play in TOC interventions, the importance of intervention adaptability to account for patient needs and institutional resources, and pharmacist recommendations for intervention improvement and sustainability.

Diversity Through Bureaucracy: System Judges and Intersectional Diversification of the Israeli Judiciary

This article examines the role bureaucracy has in enhancing the social diversity of judiciaries. It does so by analyzing the Israeli judiciary and its reforms over the last three decades, and the interaction of these reforms with the appearance of intersectional judges—Arab women, Jewish women of Orthodox background, and Jewish women from geographic and economic peripheries—into the Israeli judiciary. Based on an original empirical study, the article shows that the career paths of intersectional judges include administrative roles in the judiciary more often than non-intersectional judges. The article further demonstrates how these administrative career paths were shaped by bureaucratic-minded reforms. The Israeli case study thus shows how the bureaucratic design of the judiciary can accommodate diversity efforts, sometimes unintendedly, and discusses the merits, boundaries, and drawbacks of such bureaucratic design.

Internet of things based attendance system design and development in a smart classroom

Attendance records are one of the main administrative roles on campuses. Therefore, several technologies can be used on an attendance system, including barcode, radio frequency identification (RFID), fingerprint, and faceprint. The main functions of attendance systems on campuses are mainly focused on how to obtain the attendee data list, store on the database, and display the list on the information system. This research proposes an attendance system in the smart classroom which supports the system’s previous activities as well as its integration with security and classroom management. In this system, the NodeMCU which was connected to the Wi-Fi router served as the controller, while the fingerspot revo FF-153BNC functioned as the system input. In addition, the database server was used to allocate attendee and classroom management data. This system is connected with the information system and classroom display unit, and component and system testing were applied in this research. The results showed that each system unit successfully integrated and managed the attendance, security, and classroom schedule.

Leadership: an effective human factor during COVID-19

BackgroundA hybrid leader is an individual with a professional background who takes on managerial roles. For surgeons, leadership is a non-technical skill within a domain of a human factor and a diverse role that makes them an effective hybrid leader.ObjectivesWe hypothesised that a surgical leader acts as a link between different departments in an organisation to influence performance at the workplace to bring positive changes in healthcare and patient safety.MethodsWe followed the nine-dimension Healthcare Leadership Model (HLM) and reflected on the leadership roles within our surgical department at the Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust, United Kingdom.ResultsChanges were quickly adopted and monitored while leadership learned adaptability to function quickly. Hierarchical decision making was removed while levelling up communication. Telemedicine was quickly adopted at both elective and ambulatory emergency settings. The local survey also showed trust and co-operation among team members.ConclusionsHybrid surgical leadership is a complex but divergent role that acts as a bridge between the surgical team and others in administrative roles that promotes safer patient outcomes and better well-being for the organisations’ members

Form over Function

This chapter provides an overview of the system of local government and politics. It reviews the institutional and management structures, policy functions, and financial profiles of local government units. The chapter emphasizes that successive waves of reform have done little to establish a robust system of local government, and, indeed, that legislative changes have focused on institutional form over function at several junctures. The number of local authorities has been rationalized, and while the official position stresses enhanced policy and administrative roles, any rigorous analysis must conclude that local government has been hollowed out. Local elections have become more regular since a constitutional change in 2001, and while they have obvious ‘second order’ aspects, candidate numbers are robust, turnout remains reasonable relative to other contests, and there is a strong perception that councillors are embedded in their communities.

AN ANALYSIS OF EFL TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS RELATED TO THE DECISION-MAKING PROCESS: A CASE STUDY AT A FOUNDATION UNIVERSITY IN TURKEY

Decision-making process requires school leaders and teachers to approach problems in a systematic way with more attention as a part of their academic and administrative roles, duties and responsibilities. In this respect, it is inevitable for them to consider the complex nature of decision-making procedures that is reshaped again and again due to the stakeholders various social, educational, cultural and psychological backgrounds. Bearing these points in mind, the purpose of the current study was to investigate the EFL teachers’ perceptions of decision-making process and identify the decision-making style they follow. Additionally, it aspired after searching whether gender and teaching experience effect the EFL teachers’ decision-making styles. A qualitative case study design was applied for the present study in accordance with its purpose. 6 EFL teachers (3 females and 3 male) working at the School of Foreign Languages in a private university took part in this study as participants. Collected data was analysed with Creswell’s (2012) inductive content analysis. The findings reached as a result of the study revealed that teachers’ perceptions of decision-making process were categorized under four headings. They were (1) the careful consideration of the situation, (2) involvement of all the parties, (3) reacting to an undesired situation, and (4) feeling responsible. It was also observed that while the men utilized rational decision-making style, the women preferred dependent decision-making style. Additionally, according to the findings, all of the participants stated that teaching experience had a positive correlation with decision-making process which means that the more experience teachers have, the more successful and effective decisions they take.