Th is study was limited to 165 farmers involved in various segments of production agriculture in the state of Utah. County agents and vocational agriculture teachers in each county nominated these farmers as candidates according to their respective farming operations. The following six defined areas of production agriculture were used as selection criteria to insure equal input in the study: Beef, Dairy, Swine , Sheep, Poultry, and Crops. All farmers were surveyed by means of persona l interviews conducted by either county agents or vocational agriculture instructors in their respective counties. The surveying instrument used was developed through a thorough review of the National Agricultural Competency Study list of skill quest ions. Farmers were asked to rank on a likert-type scale, the importance each skill had on their operation. Farmers· were also asked to reply yes or no to whether or not they needed additional training in each skill area. Eleven categories of competencies were-used in the study in an attempt to highlight all areas of production agriculture. Data were compiled and a Burroughs 6700 computer was utilized for program evaluation to find means, rankings, ranges, and frequencies. A review of the study revealed that: 1. Over one- third of all farmers surveyed terminated their formal education after high school . This places a great deal of emphasis on high school agriculture curriculum as well as adult education programs. 2. Many areas of production agriculture have overlapping areas of skills and competencies. 3. There is a commonality of competencies needed by all those entering the production agriculture industry. 4. Areas of anima l health, equipment maintenance, soil preparation, and planting as well as legal practices and safety precautions, all placed very high in ranks of importance throughout the study. 5. Most employment figures are projected to remain relatively constant with a 10% or less fluctuation projected over a five-year period. The only exception is that of part-time non-family employees which shows a decrease of 18%. 6. One-hundred-ten of the one-hundred- fourteen competencies surveyed in the study were considered to be of some importance to the agriculture industry.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / The U.S. is now experiencing an unprecedented growth in its older population. In order to reduce the adverse effects of population aging, older adults’ civic engagement has been a recent focus in the field of aging. A considerable body of literature has documented the significance, current status, positive outcomes, and influencing factors of American elders’ civic engagement. However, there are very few studies, if any, that adopt an organizational competency perspective to explore the promotion of older adults’ participation in civic activities. To fill the current research gap, the dissertation aims to help formal organizations identify and develop necessary competencies to better engage American elders through two inquiries. The first inquiry is a mixed methods systematic literature review which included 19 quantitative studies, two qualitative studies, and one mixed methods study. Through meta-summary, six themes and 28 factors related to American elders’ civic engagement were generated. These themes encompassed socio-demographic factors (eight factors), health status (four factors), program characteristics (four factors), engagement opportunities (three factors), engagement outcomes (five factors), and social capital (four factors). Formal organizations are advised to develop relevant competencies to capture the beneficial influences of facilitating factors and minimize the adverse impact of obstructive factors. The second inquiry aims to develop and validate an Organizational Competency Scale (OCS) for elder civic engagement programs. 32 formal organizations and pertinent programs in the State of Texas participated in the pilot study. Factor analyses of the data collected from these organizations revealed a seven-factor solution for the OCS. These factors included client discovery with support, client-centered planning and management, client assessment and training, integration of diverse groups, promotion of adaptation between groups, integration of resources to address the structural constraints, and promotion of social recognition and social justice. As a reliable and valid scale, the OCS can serve as both an assessment tool and practice guidelines for formal organizations to evaluate and develop their competencies to increase American elders’ civic engagement. / 2 years

Preventable deaths due to medical errors are a significant cause of death in the United States. Decreased communication and collaboration has been cited as a potential reason for these preventable medical errors. Interprofessional practice (IPP) is a service delivery method where medical professionals from different disciplines intentionally work together in order to provide collaborated and collective care for patients. Interprofessional education (IPE) training programs are becoming more common in healthcare education, and have been cited as one way to improve IPP among healthcare providers. However, gaps exist in the literature regarding how to best structure and implement these programs so that they have the most generalization to actual team based clinical practice. The current study sought to bridge this gap by assessing self-rated IPP behaviors in clinical practice and examining differences between those who engaged in IPE during their graduate training and those who did not. Interprofessionalism survey responses for the final sample consisted of 82 individuals who graduated from the programs of interesting between 2020 and 2023. No significant differences were found between those who participate in IPE and those who did not on the Interprofessional Professionalism Assessment (IPA), an open source survey designed to assess IPP skills. Potential reasons for these findings as well as recommendations for implementation of IPE and future research directions are provided.

Over the past 28 years, as a human resource (HR) professional, I observed much writing and research on the need for the HR function to focus more on strategic outcomes and less on administration (Lawlerand Boudreau, 2012; OPM, 1999; PPS, 2010; Ulrich 1997). The shift in focus from administrative to strategic has been slow, demonstrated by the fact that from 1995 to 2010 the HR function appears to have has not changed how it allocates its time, has not increased focus on strategic outcomes, and is not engaging in higher value-added activities (Lawler and Boudreau, 2012). Absent from the literature is research on why the members of the HR function have been slow to embrace and demonstrate a strategic HR role (Beer, 1997; Lawler and Boudreau, 2012, OPM, 1999). This study was designed to address this knowledge gap by exploring the relationship between creativity and goal orientation and demonstration of strategic HR competencies based on self-assessed competencies. Understanding these constructs and their relationship to the demonstration of strategic HR competencies can inform the nature of interventions, to include selection, certification, training and development, to facilitate the movement of the HR function from an administrative to a strategic focus. Perceptions about creativity, goal orientation, and demonstration of strategic HR competencies were solicited from Department of Defense, Department of the Army civilian HR professionals. Correlational and multiple regression analyses were used to explore creativity and goal orientation and their relation to the demonstration of strategic HR competencies. Results showed that 17% of the variance in demonstrated strategic HR competencies was explained by creativity and a learning goal orientation, both characteristics of the individual HR professionals. After controlling for pay grade, these predictors still explained 13% of the variance in the self-assessed demonstration of strategic HR competencies. Suggestions for future research include replicating this study with a larger, diverse, randomized sample to validate and expand the findings of this study in terms of affects and generalizations. In addition, research exploring the work environment in organizations that have successfully made the transition from an administrative to a strategic focus. / Ph. D.

Background: Nursing competencies are important for quality of care, patient safety, and identifying gaps in knowledge and skills. Patient harm has been linked to a lack of competency and insufficient policy and procedures. Purpose: The purpose of this quality improvement project was to achieve standardization of nursing competencies within nurse-led clinics. Aims: The aims of this project were to validate select competency days and determine the satisfaction of the competency days by the participants. The second aim of this project was to develop an electronic tracking form. A third aim was to develop and present a policy and procedure for competency assessment for approval. Methods: Two competency days were held in February of 2024. A Google form was created to aid in the tracking of competencies. Validation methods were return demonstration and post-tests. At the end of the check-offs, participants completed a 5-point Likert scale satisfaction survey. Findings: Six nurses (n=6) participated in the competency days. Based on the satisfaction survey, all participants (n=6) found the competency day beneficial and promoted confidence in performing nursing skills. Conclusion and nursing implications: All participants found the competency day beneficial. The competency policy and procedures are currently under development. Once developed, the policy, procedure, and tracking form will be reviewed by the director of quality compliance, clinical directors, and chief nursing officer for approval and implementation in all nurse-led clinics within the organization.

No description available.

The purpose of this study was to identify the essential competencies for entry-level management positions in the food and beverage (F&B) industry based on the perspectives of Taiwanese industry professionals across three groups: work experience in Taiwan and/or mainland China, two F&B sectors (Hotel F&Bs and restaurants), and three management levels (first-line, middle, and top). A total of 515 Taiwanese F&B industry professionals participated in this study with 104 participants currently employed in mainland China, some of whom worked previously in Taiwan, and 411 participants working in Taiwan, without work experience in mainland China. Factor analysis produced four dimensions of important competencies: leadership, F&B management, interpersonal skills, and communication skills. Results indicated that communication skills was the only dimension that showed significant difference between participants with and without work experience in mainland China. The findings of this study indicated that 14 of 41 competency items were ranked in the top 10 based on the responses of the three groups. Participants from all three groups ranked "high level of personal integrity" as the most important competence and "ability to communicate orally in proper English" was ranked as the second most important competence by all groups except the restaurant sector. The results also showed that 10 of 41 competency items were ranked differently between participants with and without working experiences in mainland China. Findings are beneficial for graduates preparing to enter a management position in F&B, industry leaders/managers, recruiters and corporate trainers, educators, and future research.

The Title IX Coordinator is the chief administrator tasked with ensuring institutional compliance with Title IX, but scant literature exists about how Title IX Coordinators come to their role, how they gain the skills, competencies, and knowledge required to ensure institutional Title IX compliance, and how they juggle ethical considerations of fidelity, justice, autonomy, beneficence, and nonmalfeasance. The purpose of this study is to understand how TIX Coordinators make meaning of their role on campus and their role in institutional compliance with Title IX mandates. This qualitative research project uses a semi-structured interview protocol to enable participants to reflect on the skills, competencies, and knowledge they use to develop and implement policy change in their role, and in response to federal unfunded mandates, as well as the ethical considerations that they must balance in executing these duties. This research focuses on seven participants who are Title IX Coordinators at four-year institutions located in the United States. Findings indicate that Title IX Coordinators believe that they gain their skills and knowledge about being Title IX Coordinators from prior experiences, including their own childhood experiences. Participants believe that empathy, communication skills, and an ability to persevere are major competencies that Title IX Coordinators need to possess. Findings also indicate that participants exhibit strong fidelity to institutional compliance with TIX regulations and procedures, even when they may not fully agree with them. Findings also indicate that participants do not believe that the current Title IX regulatory scheme promotes justice, leading to a conclusion that, as currently constituted, the role of the Title IX Coordinator is impossible. This study also identifies some practice and policy areas future discussion and research. / Doctor of Philosophy / Title IX is a federal non-discrimination law that requires educational institutions receiving financial assistance from the federal government, often in the form of student loans and research grants, to ensure that their educational programs and activities are free from gender-based discrimination. Sexual assault on college campuses is viewed as an issue of gender-based discrimination because it can create an environment where individuals, regardless of their gender and gender-identity, are victims of sexual harassment in violation of Title IX. Through a series of guidance documents and federal rules, institutions are now required to have a Title IX Coordinator, a person who is in charge of ensuring compliance with Title IX. While still a relatively new role on college campuses, little research has been conducted about Title IX Coordinators, their roles, what types of skills they need, and how they approach their work. Seven Title IX Coordinators at four-year institutions in the United States were interviewed for this study. Analysis of these interviews found that Title IX Coordinators bring what they have learned from prior work and personal experiences to their work in Title IX and believe that their jobs primarily exist to ensure that their institutions are not sued for violating Title IX. Because participants believe that ensuring institutional compliance is expected to be their highest priority, they do not think that the current Title IX rules allow either people who are victims of gender-based discrimination, or those accused of engaging in gender-based discrimination, to receive any form of justice. This duty to serve and protect, in the face of a system that does not provide justice, leads to the conclusion that, as currently constructed, achieving the goals of Title IX on college campuses is impossible because the Title IX Coordinator is stuck in a system that does not achieve its ultimate goal: to eliminate, or at least reduce, gender-based discrimination and ensure access to education.

The aim of this research was to identify where the expectation gap of IT competencies lies, between accountancy trainees, SAICA and employers. Existing findings and empirical research findings from this study were compared to the prescribed competencies of the professional body, SAICA, to identify where the gap lies and to suggest possible action plans to overcome it. The findings of this study suggest that the availability of technology and IT at schools is limited. Employers identified an overall expectation gap where trainees are not able to apply the basic IT competencies that should have been acquired at university to the practical working environment. The data collected also identified that IT competencies are not being taught at the same level at different universities through the different responses of students, lecturers and trainees, which leads to inconsistent exposure of accountancy trainees to IT prior to their traineeship. As IT competencies have a significant impact on the every-day working life of such a trainee, employers and SAICA expect that students would have obtained basic IT competencies before the start of their traineeship. / MCom (Accountancy)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2015

The aim of this research was to identify where the expectation gap of IT competencies lies, between accountancy trainees, SAICA and employers. Existing findings and empirical research findings from this study were compared to the prescribed competencies of the professional body, SAICA, to identify where the gap lies and to suggest possible action plans to overcome it. The findings of this study suggest that the availability of technology and IT at schools is limited. Employers identified an overall expectation gap where trainees are not able to apply the basic IT competencies that should have been acquired at university to the practical working environment. The data collected also identified that IT competencies are not being taught at the same level at different universities through the different responses of students, lecturers and trainees, which leads to inconsistent exposure of accountancy trainees to IT prior to their traineeship. As IT competencies have a significant impact on the every-day working life of such a trainee, employers and SAICA expect that students would have obtained basic IT competencies before the start of their traineeship. / MCom (Accountancy)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2015