Purpose - As a backdrop to the empirical contributions contained within this special issue, this guest editorial reviews the context of construction employment. It summarises the challenges inherent in construction work which have impeded the development of human resource management within the sector and discusses the mutually supporting contributions of the papers in furthering our understanding of how to improve the performance of the industry. Design/methodology/approach ¿ The operational context of the sector is reviewed briefly, before the efficacy of the industry¿s employment practices are examined through a review of the contributions contained within the special issue. Findings ¿ The papers reveal the interplay of structural and cultural factors which have led to the skills shortages currently impeding the industry¿s development. There is a need for the sector to modernise and formalise its working and employment practices if performance and productivity improvements are to be achieved. Originality/value of the paper ¿ By revealing the interconnected nature of the construction employment perspectives presented within this special issue, this paper presents a case for adopting a fresh transdisciplinary research agenda for addressing the industry's employment concerns.

In this research, we consider the spares provisioning problem, where a finite population of homogeneous machines are being deployed to meet a constant demand. While a machine is operating, it could become inoperable due to the failure of a critical built-in part in the machine. Before repairs on the machine can be initiated, however, a replacement part must be obtained. If a replacement part is available from stock, the machine is immediately transferred to the repair subsystem, in which one or more repair stations operate in parallel. If the replacement part is not in stock, then the machine waits in the ordering subsystem for the arrival of a new part. Once a machine is repaired, it is immediately deployed to meet demand if needed, else it joins a queue of standby machines. The spare machines have zero probability of failure and, if available, a spare replaces a deployed machine immediately upon the latter's failure. The machine operating time, repair time, and ordering time of the parts are assumed to be exponentially distributed. The ordering subsystem for the parts brings a new aspect to the spares provisioning problem, and dramatically increases its difficulty. This is because the queuing network model which describes the system is a non-product-form network in the case of finite nonzero stocking policy, and specification of closed-form solutions is highly unlikely for such networks. In this dissertation, we present efficient algorithms through which the optimal number of machines, repair stations and stocking level of the parts that minimize total operations costs subject to a service-level constraint can be obtained. The algorithms, which based on Little's result from queuing theory and some approximate models used for bounding, have proven to be extremely efficient in terms of computer storage and execution time, even for large problems. / Ph. D.

Yes / Background: The efficacy of medicines depends on their accessibility and availability. Dedicated medicine shortage reporting systems (MSRS) have been set up in different countries, either mandatory or voluntary, following the recommendations of the World Health Organisation to ensure these. Objectives: To explore how the Medicine Shortages Reporting System (MSRS) can tackle medicine shortages through improved access and sustainability. Methods: Personnel directly involved in the reporting mechanisms for medicine shortages in eight (8) countries participated in semi-structured interviews. An interview protocol based on the Dynamic Capabilities View and Organisational Information Processing Theory (OIPT) was developed. It contained questions related to participant's views on the process involved in MSRS and how it was used to tackle shortages. Data were thematically analysed. Results: Three core elements were identified to influence MSRS's ability to tackle shortages and ensure sustainability; (1) the ability to identify what information requirements the reporting system needs, (2) identify information processing capabilities, and (3) the ability to match requirements and information processing capabilities through a dynamic capability decision-making process. The dynamic decision-making process involves reiteratively sensing shortages by understanding and validating information received. Conclusion: Building MSRS to tackle shortages for accessibility and sustainability is a systemic process that entails understanding the various elements and processes of MSRS. It includes defining medicine shortages, reconfiguring resources, defining accessibility and ensuring the system's sustainability. Our study provides insights into MSRS developed for mitigating medicine shortages and provides a framework for a sustainable MSRS. The findings extend the literature on medicine shortage management by identifying the various elements required to set up an MSRS. It also provides practical implications for countries that seek to establish MSRS to mitigate medicine shortages. Further studies could extend the number of participating countries to provide a clearer picture of the MSRS and how it can reduce medicine shortages. / This research is supported by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Yorkshire and Humber Patient Safety Research Collaboration (NIHR Yorkshire and Humber PSRC). Grant number - NIHR204293.

Yes / Purpose Medicine shortages have a detrimental impact on stakeholders in the pharmaceutical supply chain (PSC). Existing studies suggest that building resilience strategies can mitigate the effects of these shortages. As such, this research aims to examine whether resilience strategies can reduce the impact of medicine shortages in the United Kingdom's (UK) PSC. Design/methodology/approach A sequential mixed-methods approach that involved qualitative and quantitative research enquiry was employed in this study. The data were collected using semi-structured interviews with 23 key UK PSC actors at the qualitative stage. During the quantitative phase, 106 respondents completed the survey questionnaires. The data were analysed using partial least square-structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). Findings The results revealed that reactive and proactive elements of resilience strategies helped tackle medicine shortages. Reactive strategies increased relational issues such as behavioural uncertainty, whilst proactive strategies mitigated them. Practical implications The findings suggest that PSC managers and decision-makers can benefit from adopting structural flexibility and proactive strategies, which are cost-effective measures to tackle medicine shortages. Also engaging in strategic alliances as a proactive strategy mitigates relational issues that may arise in a complex supply chain (SC). Originality/value This study is the first to provide empirical evidence of the impact of resilience strategies in mitigating medicine shortages in the UK's PSC.

The pre-hospital industry is faced with many challenges, one of which is the skills shortage of advanced life support paramedics in the country. The industry has naturally dictated competition both nationally and internationally for the recruitment of these advanced life support paramedics. Staff turnover has increased as a result of this issue which also has financial implications on the individual business of constant recruitment and turnover. The purpose of this study is to investigate problems that currently exist in the industry with regards to the advanced life support paramedic employment which will provide valuable information on retention strategies and reduce staff turnover.

The pre-hospital industry is faced with many challenges, one of which is the skills shortage of advanced life support paramedics in the country. The industry has naturally dictated competition both nationally and internationally for the recruitment of these advanced life support paramedics. Staff turnover has increased as a result of this issue which also has financial implications on the individual business of constant recruitment and turnover. The purpose of this study is to investigate problems that currently exist in the industry with regards to the advanced life support paramedic employment which will provide valuable information on retention strategies and reduce staff turnover.

Magister Artium (Development Studies) - MA(DVS) / Climate change has induced a number of environmental issues that have affected people's lives beyond the scope of ecology; these effects have touched on the social, cultural and economic dimensions of life as well. In light of this, migration has increasingly been used as a climate adaptation strategy particularly in rural areas. This has not only changed migration patterns, it has also reconstructed the gender dynamics within the migration discourse through the ‘feminization of migration.’ Hence it has become important to analyse, understand and unpack the various ways in which women experience climate change and climate-induced migration, and how this has affected their lives. Additionally, women's position as active agents in climate migration and knowledge production has increasingly been acknowledged in climate and migration discourse This study focused on the effects of climate change on female migration patterns in Goromonzi District, Zimbabwe; and took place in Hiya village. The main research question aimed to find out if using migration as an adaptation strategy to climate change had positively changed the lives of women in rural Zimbabwe? With a focus on Hiya village in Goromonzi, Zimbabwe the research question was answered through identifying migration push factors for women, climate resistant livelihoods and the benefits of migration in light of climate induced environmental disasters. A mixed methods research approach was used however the research is largely qualitative.

This thesis examines and explains multinational employers' experiences of localized shortages of skilled process workers in Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP), China. It explains three challenges facing SIP employers in accessing sufficient skilled process workers and their responses within HRM to such challenges. These three challenges are employers' experiences with vocational education and training (VET) deficiencies in students' skill development, employers' experiences of poaching of skilled process workers by other companies, and employers' experiences of provision of workplace training for skilled process workers in their own companies. In response to these challenges, SIP employers have adopted various HRM measures that include differing combination of recruitment and selection, employee retention, training and development, and employment relations management. These policies and practices represent the different ways that SIP employers have attempted to meet the challenges of localized skill shortages in the context of their own business strategies.

This dissertation investigates the supply of and demand for High School teachers, working in prescribed faculty areas in Government schools in the A.C.T., over the period from January 1983 to July 1984, for all new temporary teachers appointed to the Service. Statistical details of vacancies for assistant teachers, in the 12 defined faculties of this study, were obtained from the Assistant Principals (Staffing) of the 17 A.C.T. High Schools, as well as from records maintained by the Staffing Officers of the A.C.T. Schools Office. The levels of High School teacher demand, for the period under investigation, are compared with similar statistics obtained for previous years in the A.C.T., as well with other Australian and international figures on teacher supply and demand. Through these comparisons, suggestions are made regarding emerging trends of teacher shortage, in particular faculty areas. Historical parallels are presented to supplement these arguments and to give underlying reasons for the projections that are made. The potential supply of faculty teachers over the period is investigated through an analysis of teacher faculty waiting lists. Numbers from these lists are compared with the actual demand statistics previously collected and a potential supply to vacancy ratio collected for each faculty area. A major part of the study is the construction of supply satisfaction indices, under the headings of: "Overall Satisfaction, Teaching Skills, Academic Qualifications, Other Requirements and Recruitment". These indices were derived from Likert type rating scales completed by the Assistant Principals, in respect of each of the 397 temporary teachers employed. After obtaining an average rating in each faculty, for the five measures of satisfaction, as determined by the Assistant Principals, observations are made as to how closely these indices match the corresponding potential supply indices. Particular emphasis is placed on the comparisons between the recruitment satisfaction index (i.e. - how quickly recruitment was expedited) and the potential supply ratio for each faculty. Reasons are advanced for any significant differences detected, and the overall findings interpreted in terms of possible future trends. The study concludes with an analysis of factors affecting the market for teachers. Recommendations are made for future planning that may offset problems which were detected in the A.C.T. market for High School teachers.

A Mail Survey to Assess the Incidence and Impact of Drug Shortages within Texas Non – Government Acute Care Hospitals Tawfik Rajab Rajab, M.S.Phr. The University of Texas at Austin, 2013 Supervisor: Marvin D. Shepherd The objective of this study was to explore the incidence and impact of drug shortages within Texas Non-Government Acute Care Hospitals. A self-administered mail survey instrument was used to collect data. A convenience sample of 321 pharmacy directors of non-government acute care hospitals in the state of Texas was selected from the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) Hospital List for 2012. A total of 125 completed surveys were received by mail and 8 surveys were returned as undelivered, resulting in a response rate of 39.84% (125/313). A total of 56 (45.5%) respondents reported 11 or more drug shortages for the month of April 2013. There was a significant association between the number of drug shortages experienced and hospital size (p = 0.003), inpatient medication budget (p = 0.001) and hospital location (p=0.015). Of the 124 respondents, 78 (62.9%) spent four to 12 hours a week on managing drug shortage situations. There was a significant association between the number of hours spent per week by hospital pharmacy personnel when managing drug shortages controlling for hospital size (p < 0.001), number of drug shortages experienced (p < 0.001), number of pharmacist FTEs (p < 0.001), and number of pharmacy technician FTEs (p < 0.001). A total of 107 (85.6%) reported that grey market vendors have contacted hospital pharmacy personnel in the month of April, 2013. A total of 96 (76.8%) ‘strongly agreed’ that grey market vendors are more likely to contact health care facility when drug shortage exists, 110 (88%) ‘strongly agreed’ that grey market vendors sell drugs in short supply at inflated prices and 70 (56%) ‘strongly agreed’ that the practice of buying drug products from grey market vendors should be eliminated. In summary, all surveyed hospitals experienced at least one drug shortage for the month of April 2013, pharmacy personnel devoted a significant amount of time managing drug shortages and the majority of the hospitals were contacted by grey market vendors with the aim of selling drugs in short supply. / text