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1 – 10 of 227International assessments have shown gender disparity in STEM among middle school students. Little is known of the gender disparity, the role of psychosocial factors, and…
Abstract
International assessments have shown gender disparity in STEM among middle school students. Little is known of the gender disparity, the role of psychosocial factors, and school-to-work aspirations in STEM fields in the Cambodian context. The sample included 100 15-year-old students (53% females) from 10 schools in four provinces and the capital city. Classroom observations included eight classrooms from one of the 10 surveyed schools. This study’s measures were adapted from TIMSS’s including science and math interests, and perceived STEM support from teachers and parents. Results indicated that non-STEM subjects are on top of the most enjoyed subjects reported by the students. No statistical significance between genders on STEM interests was found. A multiple regression analysis showed that parents’ and teachers’ support in math, and teachers’ support in science, were predictive of STEM interests. Both parents and students tended to value math more than science, indicating a possible lack of understanding of science. Students showed a significant disconnect between STEM education received in classrooms and aspirations toward an actual career in STEM fields. Classroom observations indicated that while females tended to be shy in the classroom, most teachers did not exhibit behaviors suggesting gender discrimination patterns. Explanations of students’ interests in STEM regardless of gender, as well as the current climate in higher education and careers regarding the gender disparity in STEM, were discussed based on socioeconomic and sociocultural issues within the Cambodian context.
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Sue Ball, Steve Simpson, Diane Beavis and John Dyer
The move away from the provision of long‐stay beds by the NHS inevitably meant a change in function for wards for elderly patients with cognitive impairment to a more acute way of…
Abstract
The move away from the provision of long‐stay beds by the NHS inevitably meant a change in function for wards for elderly patients with cognitive impairment to a more acute way of working. Literature is scarce on the role or effectiveness of the new assessment wards that have replaced them and the factors affecting outcome and the duration of stay. Evidence suggests that those patients with higher dependency levels and behavioural problems stay in hospital longer, as do those awaiting a nursing home placement.This paper reports a prospective study of a consecutive group of 101 patients who died on or were discharged from an acute assessment ward for elderly patients with cognitive impairment. Clinical characteristics were recorded according to an in‐patient dementia care pathway, which included Mini‐MOUSEPAD, Crichton activities of daily living, Mini‐Mental State Examination and the Burvill physical health score evaluations. Outcome measures were duration of stay, destination on discharge or death on the ward.Most patients had cerebrovascular disease (48%) or Alzheimer's disease (32.9%), and their average Mini‐Mental State Examination score was 14.9. The mean duration of stay was 7.9 weeks. Self‐funding status and lack of behavioural and psychological complications were associated with a reduced duration of stay. 22.2% of patients were successfully rehabilitated to their own homes, but 20% died. Discharge home was most strongly predicted by having a spouse at home, and the need for nursing home rather than residential care was related to the severity of cognitive impairment. This study concludes that patients can expect to stay in hospital for 8 weeks but two areas of concern are highlighted. Firstly, the importance of the funding of community rehabilitation for patients with memory disorders and, secondly, the importance of a spouse at home to look after the patient.
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Steve Simpson, Janet Craven and Rebecca Weekes
This study is a follow‐up to a previously published paper, by Ball et al. in 2004. The purpose of the study was to examine the factors that influenced the discharge outcomes and…
Abstract
Purpose
This study is a follow‐up to a previously published paper, by Ball et al. in 2004. The purpose of the study was to examine the factors that influenced the discharge outcomes and duration of stay over the three years since the introduction of the National Framework for Continuing Health Care (CHC) provision in October 2007.
Design/methodology/approach
This study examined consecutive dementia patients (n=175) admitted to an organic elderly mental health assessment ward over a three‐year period between January 2008 and December 2010. The majority of patients in the study had vascular dementia (34 per cent) or Alzheimer's disease (31 per cent) with an average score of 11.5 in the Mini‐Mental State Examination. The assessment tools used in this study were good indicators as part of the dementia care pathway to predict the rehabilitation outcome.
Findings
The mean duration of stay of patients was 8.4 weeks but this was extended to 18.3 weeks for the 15 per cent of patients subject to CHC funding. Patients who require CHC funding can expect to stay in hospital for more than ten weeks before a placement is made. Duration of stay was longer for those patients with behavioural and psychological complications, but the strongest independent predictor of duration of stay was CHC funding which accounted for 23 per cent of the duration of stay in hospital, independently of any clinical parameters in the patient.
Originality/value
This study provides evidence of the effect of current funding procedures in the discharge of inpatients with dementia from an assessment ward.
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Steve Simpson and Ron Cacioppe
Discusses the importance of bringing to the awareness of all employees the “unwritten ground rules” (UGRs) that operate in an organization. UGRs can be used to transform an…
Abstract
Discusses the importance of bringing to the awareness of all employees the “unwritten ground rules” (UGRs) that operate in an organization. UGRs can be used to transform an organization’s culture to a new set of ground rules that directly reinforce behaviours that contribute to strategic organizational objectives and excellent customer service. Defines and describes unwritten ground rules and then discusses their relevance to customer service and the achievement of organizational objectives. Examples of negative and positive unwritten ground rules that were described by staff to be at the core of their organization’s actions are provided. Provides a model that defines unwritten ground rules in four quadrants of organizational activities and suggests that all four quadrants need to have effective ground rules for an organization to succeed. Finally, it provides an UGR change process that involves seven elements for changing the UGRs to achieve the organization’s strategic objectives and a truly “balanced scorecard”.
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This case deals with a purported fraud perpetrated on a nonprofit organization named Springfield Downtown, Inc. by its Executive Director, Donna Anderson. Under Anderson’s…
Abstract
This case deals with a purported fraud perpetrated on a nonprofit organization named Springfield Downtown, Inc. by its Executive Director, Donna Anderson. Under Anderson’s leadership from 2003 to 2010, the downtown area of Springfield, California, had been completely revitalized. Then in 2010, the Board of Directors began to uncover a practice followed by Anderson of converting checks addressed to Springfield Downtown, Inc. for her own private use. After an initial Police Department investigation of the practice, the Board of Directors launched its own internal analysis and discovered at least $415,000 in “questioned check activity.”
The focus of the case is on the ethics of decisions made by Anderson and steps taken by the leadership of Springfield Downtown to assess the implications of the financial fraud using the fraud triangle. Questions are posed to evaluate the actions of Anderson from an ethical perspective and the implications of weaknesses in internal controls in nonprofit organizations for financial fraud.