Secured Cotabato City State Polytechnic College Web-Based Student Clearance System

The study describes the Secured CCSPC Web-Based Student Clearance System's use and predicted effects. Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), Hypertext Preprocessor (PHP), Sublime editor, Bootstrap, and MySQL as the database tool were used to create the clearance system. This system includes two-factor authentication for students and designated offices. In the clearance system, a Secure Socket Layer (SSL) for data transit, as well as a software firewall and anti-SQL Injection attack, were offered and implemented. The CCSPC Portal was linked to the web-based student clearance system and Web API, with Web API acting as a bridge between SIMone and the clearance system. SIMone's role is to offer just a limited amount of information on the web-based clearing, such as designated office operations, account status from the Cashier, and student profiles from the Registrar. Students and the approved offices in charge of signing the student clearance include the Graduating Class Association (GCA) Treasurer, Laboratory Custodian, Cashier, Librarian, Academic Related Services (ARS), SPEED Director, Department Chairperson, College Dean, and the Registrar. The ISO 9126-1 International Standard Tool for Software Evaluation, on the other hand, was utilized in the CCSPC beneficiaries' surveys to test the system's effectiveness and reliability.

Accounting PhD Programs in the United States

As Department Chairperson at The University of Texas at El Paso, I am often asked for advice regarding how to become an accounting professor. Recently, the University attained R1 designation in the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, which indicates top tier doctoral university status with very high research activity (“UTEP Attains National Research Top Tier Ranking”, 2019). This means UTEP is among 4.5%, 130 out of 2,883 universities, of four-year higher education institutions across the United States to earn this R1 distinction (“UTEP Attains National Research Top Tier Ranking”, 2019). This emphasis on research, UTEP’s mission surrounding Access and Excellence, and my own path to becoming an accounting professor were the catalyst behind an editorial geared towards international students interested in exploring a Ph.D. in the United States. We believe the role of an accounting professor is comprised of: 1.) enriching the global business and accounting community through research contributions, 2.) facilitating career readiness to students seeking higher education, and 3.) serving as an ambassador and advocate for students, programs, profession, and research. We hope this editorial helpful and we encourage you to create your own success story.

The career psychological experiences of academic department chairpersons at a South African university

The existing research on the academic department chairperson focuses on the structure of the position more than on the role in terms of career, psychological functioning, coping and well-being of the incumbent. The objective of this research was to describe the career psychological experiences of academic department chairpersons (ADC) in their organisational role. A qualitative and descriptive research design was chosen for a case study of 24 chairpersons. Data were gathered using a focus group followed by thematic analysis. The manifesting themes were crossing the boundary into the career of an ADC, relationships, experienced confl ict and loss in the role, personal well-being and future career as an ADC. A psychological profile was constructed, and the data were interpreted on the basis of various stress coping models. It was concluded that these ADCs did not cope well psychologically, which significantly influenced their work performance. Research on the depth psychology role analysis of the ADC was recommended, followed by an inter-university investigation into the career dilemmas experienced, resulting in their lack of work satisfaction and productivity.

The Transfusion Safety Officer: An Effective Tool in Patient Blood Management

Introduction: A restrictive approach to blood transfusion was shown to be safe and effective over a decade ago, but liberal transfusion practices prevail in many institutions. In 2012, the American Association of Blood Banks published its guidelines encouraging a restrictive approach to transfusions (Carson, B J. et al. Ann Intern Med. 2012;157(1):49-58). In 2013, the American Society of Hematology, along with the American Board of Internal Medicine began a "Choosing Wisely" campaign to educate physicians to limit unnecessary blood transfusions (L K Hicks, et al. Blood. 2013 Dec 5;122(24):3879-83). These guidelines were based on over a decade of published research demonstrating the non-inferiority (and occasionally superiority) of the restrictive approach. Hemodynamically stable patients do not benefit from transfusions to a Hb >9 g/dl. (Bush, R et al. Am J Surg. 1997; 174: 143-148; Hebert, P et al. N Engl J Med 1999; 340:409-417; Barkun A N et al. Ann Intern Med. 2010; 152: 101-113; Carson, J L N Engl J Med 2011; Carson JL et al. Am Heart J. 2013; 165: 365: 2453-2462; Holst, L et al. N Engl J Med 2014;371:1381-91;). Our hospital started an active patient blood management (PBM) program in January 2013 with intensive educational lectures for all departments, addressing physician trainees as well as senior physicians. This led to a modest drop in blood utilization, but many patients continued to receive liberal transfusions. In July 2013, our institution hired a transfusion safety officer (TSO) to review all orders for blood transfusion that fell outside of the medical board approved guidelines (a restrictive policy). This report details the results of our activities and highlights the importance of one-on-one education to change practices that are ingrained over time. Methods: In January 2013, educational lectures along with pocket cards containing restrictive indications were given to the Internal Medicine, ICU, Surgical, and Ob/Gyn house staff to promote a restrictive transfusion approach. In July 2013, a TSO was hired to supplement educational efforts regarding PBM. The TSO underwent training and then trained the blood bank staff. By January 2014, the entire technical staff was trained to screen all packed red blood cell (pRBC) requests prospectively for compliance with the medical board guidelines (transfuse for Hb <7 g/dl). Previously, all pRBC transfusions were audited in a retrospective fashion. In both cases, the results of the audits were forwarded to the transfusion committee and department chairperson. If the Hb <7 g/dl: 2 units issued If the Hb 7-9 g/dl: 1 unit issued, repeat CBC requested If the Hb >9 g/dl with hemodynamic stability: question the justification If the patient was actively bleeding or hemodynamically unstable, release pRBC as requested If the MD insisted on pRBC outside guidelines, issue the units and refer to Medical Director for retrospective audit of medical necessity If no medical necessity found, refer to transfusion committee for review If final review did not meet guidelines, letter sent to MD and to department chairperson. Data including the number of pRBC transfusions, the number of patients transfused, the adjusted discharges and financials were reviewed from 2012 to 2014. Results: Table. 2012 2013 2014 pRBC (units 10,449 10,185 7,980 Patients transfused (#) 2698 2606 2167 Adjusted discharges 40,555 40,225 39,705 RBC units/adjusted discharge 0.258 0.253 0.20 Blood product expense ($) 2,901,069 2,973,863 2,406,370 Conclusion: Traditional approaches to education with grand rounds, case presentations and lectures had only a modest effect on the practice of liberal pRBC transfusions at our institution. However, one-on-one intervention with education was successful in reducing inappropriate pRBC transfusions. The above 22% decrease in RBC utilization was greater than could be accounted for by a fall in adjusted discharges, as demonstrated by the RBC/adjusted discharge ratio. In addition, there was an overall savings of $495,000 from 2012-2014 without any change in vendor or any decrease in the price of the blood products. Experience in many different medical fields has shown that influencing established medical practices is challenging. This PBM process demonstrates how patient safety and quality improvements can also lead to financial savings. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

Leadership in BSW Education: Preparing for the Role of Academic Chair

Leading a social work program as a department chairperson is a multidimensional role requiring knowledge and skills that most faculty are unprepared to provide. Given that most universities do not have training programs to assist department chairpersons in assuming their new roles and responsibilities, faculty members must familiarize themselves with the work of department chairpersons and obtain knowledge and skills from other sources. This article provides a discussion of the various roles and responsibilities required of department chairpersons and the leadership skills required to become an effective and successful administrative leader in academia. A self-survey instrument is provided to assist department chairpersons and those aspiring to become academic leaders in assessing their leadership readiness. The article concludes with a discussion of strategic career planning and its role in helping individuals become effective academic leaders.

Converting Faculty Performance Evaluations Into Merit Raises: A Spreadsheet Model

One of the most important, yet difficult tasks of any academic department chairperson is to evaluate the annual performance of individual faculty members and then to convert the array of performance evaluations into a structure of merit raises. Building on previous literature, this paper presents a spreadsheet model to convert qualitative performance evaluations into merit raises subject to 1) a limited pool of funds for salary adjustments and 2) a requirement that the relative structure of percentage raises match the relative structure of performance evaluations as defined by a linear evaluation scale. The contribution of the paper is its practical nature in that the proposed spreadsheet can immediately be put to use by academic chairpersons, is readily understandable by the faculty, and is useful for all institutions with various combinations of teaching, research, and service expectations for the faculty. To match the structure of raises with that of performance evaluations, qualitative evaluations in each of the three areas of faculty performance—teaching, research, and service—are first converted into numeric equivalents based on a linear evaluation key. Next, the numeric equivalents are weighted according to a weighting scheme dependent on the amount of release time provided to the faculty member for research and/or service, in order to generate an overall numeric evaluation for each faculty member. Finally, the weighted numeric evaluations are converted into percentage merit raises subject to a finite salary adjustment pool using the Goal Seek function in Microsoft Excel. The model is illustrated using a hypothetical department of ten faculty members with varying teaching loads and thus different amounts of release time for research and/or service.