Tun Mahathir’s administration of Malaysia’s relationship with Bangladesh: A preliminary appraisal

This study examines the pertinency and materiality of Malaysia’s affiliation with Bangladesh. It presents the picture of deep reciprocal relationships in trading and investment, workforce issues, and the societal, religious and cultural exchange between Malaysia and Bangladesh that deserve elevated research to get ideas of a further snapshot. The historiographic approach and literature-based qualitative method apply to this research and uses written primary and secondary sources to gather information. Several published texts and archival documents examine to achieve the objective. In terms of significance, the result of this study would craft a narrative of a new spear of the economic relationships, societal circumstance, and cultural contact that especially evident during Tun Mahathir administration when he served Malaysia as the fourth Prime Minister that would deserve supplementary study. Furthermore, it would serve to understand the characteristics of the subsequent engagements of Malaysia with Bangladesh.

Unmet Family Needs in Hospice and Research Priorities: Perspectives From a National Sample of Hospice Agencies

Although hospice cares for nearly 1.5 million patients and families annually, little is known about practitioners’ opinions of current gaps in care and research. To this end, we posed two open-ended questions to hospice representatives to identify practice-relevant research priorities. Data stem from two optional questions (Q1: N = 72; Q2: N = 73) appended to Cagle et al.’s (2020) national survey of 600 randomly selected hospices, stratified by state and profit status. Most participants provided the majority of care in-home (84.7%; 79.5%) and worked at a medium-sized hospice (50.0%; 49.3%). Responses to Q1 (“What is the biggest unmet need for hospice patients and families?”) and Q2 (“In your opinion, what is the most pressing topic that hospice researchers need to study?”) were analyzed for content and then synthesized. Analyst triangulation and peer debriefing improved trustworthiness. Emerging domains included: access to hospice, hospice services and workforce issues, and education. The access to hospice domain contained a subtheme regarding the need for earlier referrals. Participants noted that short lengths of stay undermine the clinical benefits to patients and families, and that hospice enrollment criteria may contribute to inadequate lengths of stay. The hospice services and workforce issues domain largely focused on burnout prevention. Participants acknowledged that provider self-care was linked to the quality of patient care. The education domain contained subthemes related to improving physician knowledge regarding prognostication and referral, and to patients and families regarding misconceptions about hospice care. Findings highlight critical needs for future hospice research and policy change.

An Investigation on the Constraints to Telework Implementation in New Zealand Businesses

<p>Telework has many potential benefits for both employers and employees, and has been explored extensively in past and present research. However, the adoption rates of telework is much lower than expected. Organizations in general as well as in New Zealand are reluctant to implement it on a grand scale. The purpose of this study is to find the answer for this phenomenon. This study takes an approach based on the Theory of Constraints to discover one of the main constraints to telework implementation. Constraints were explored across seven factors: perceived benefit, top management support, economic constraint, workplace constraint, technological constraint, risks and workforce constraint. Data were collected from members of four professional associations in New Zealand that specialized in the ICT and commerce fields. The results of this study indicated that lack of top management support is the main constraint to telework implementation in New Zealand businesses. The author suggests that managers should pay more attention to top management support, workforce issues and culture change for a successful telework program. Future research should seek the opinions of non-adopters; explore workforce constraints; and use a data collection method that can identify participants' demographics.</p>

An Investigation on the Constraints to Telework Implementation in New Zealand Businesses

<p>Telework has many potential benefits for both employers and employees, and has been explored extensively in past and present research. However, the adoption rates of telework is much lower than expected. Organizations in general as well as in New Zealand are reluctant to implement it on a grand scale. The purpose of this study is to find the answer for this phenomenon. This study takes an approach based on the Theory of Constraints to discover one of the main constraints to telework implementation. Constraints were explored across seven factors: perceived benefit, top management support, economic constraint, workplace constraint, technological constraint, risks and workforce constraint. Data were collected from members of four professional associations in New Zealand that specialized in the ICT and commerce fields. The results of this study indicated that lack of top management support is the main constraint to telework implementation in New Zealand businesses. The author suggests that managers should pay more attention to top management support, workforce issues and culture change for a successful telework program. Future research should seek the opinions of non-adopters; explore workforce constraints; and use a data collection method that can identify participants' demographics.</p>

“So Glad to Be Home”: Money Follows the Person Participants’ Experiences After Transitioning Out of an Institution

This study examined qualitative data from participants who transitioned from institutional to community living through the Money Follows the Person (MFP) Rebalancing Demonstration in Connecticut. As part of the MFP quality of life survey, 1,566 participants provided qualitative feedback about their experiences at 6-, 12-, and 24-month time points after transition. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs serves as a thematic framework to analyze the data. In their open-ended comments, many participants underscored the efficacy of the program and offered constructive feedback; some people also reported barriers and challenges to community living. While MFP participants generally report high satisfaction with the program, both in Connecticut and nationally, some participants identified areas of unmet need, including housing, transportation, and workforce issues. Findings have the potential to expand stakeholders’ understanding of participants’ needs and facilitate policies to improve services and supports for older adults and people living with disabilities who return to community living following institutionalization.

Workforce issues: the blurring of boundaries in surgical care

Bradley Russell and Nicholas Fletcher discuss the need for clear boundaries for those nurses practising at an advanced level in surgical specialties

Events Employment Crises’ Impacts and Resolutions (Richard N S Robinson and Yawei Jiang)

The aim of this chapter is to consider employment in relation to the broader events industry and crisis. In doing so this contribution homes in on two substantial research gaps in the literature. The first, related to the intrinsic interdependency between the events industry and the tourism and hospitality industries (Getz & Page, 2016), is that there is a well-documented academic and policy-maker ambivalence towards workforce issues in the broader tourism, hospitality, and event industries relative to other topics in these domains (Baum et al., 2016; Liu, 2018; Muskat & Mair, 2020). The second gap is that although there is a rich literature related to tourism and events recovery from, and resilience to, crisis and disasters, their impacts on workforce, and the role they play in recovery is ill-understood (Ritchie & Jiang, 2019). There is, however, also an interdependency between many of the entertainment, cultural and sporting industries and events (Getz, 1997). Almost without exception the global tourism (hospitality and events) and entertainment (cultural and arts) have been the hardest hit economically by the COVID-19 pandemic (Sigala, 2020). A focal point of this chapter, therefore, will be the consideration of not only direct event employment effects vis-a-vis crises but also the ripple effects on other workforces dependent on the ‘soft infrastructure’ that the event industry generates.

What Lies Ahead: Northwest Florida’s Healthcare Workforce Supply

Studies describing healthcare workforce distribution are myriad. Little space, however, has been devoted to regional and local workforce issues. This literature review sought to first review national factors affecting healthcare supply, then progressively focus on the state and regional levels. The analysis concluded that, while healthcare workforce shortages are not present in Florida in terms of nursing, there is a significant gap between physician supply and demand. The results concluded that nearly all of the factors presented can be addressed through educational and health policy initiatives. Strategies were suggested to better meet the needs of Florida’s underserved populations through primary care providers.