The primary purpose of this study was to determine the magnitude of the teacher shortage in the Mississippi Delta region, and to investigate the factors which seem to influence the attrition and retention of teachers. This study employed a nonexperimental quantitative investigation designed to analyze survey data. The sample for this study included selected K-12 teachers employed in school districts in the Mississippi Delta region, and two non-Delta school districts. 436 teachers participated in the study. The study was designed to answer questions on the commitment level of currently employed teachers in the Mississippi Delta region. Data were collected using a 4 - point Likert response scale. All data were entered and analyzed using a SAS Multiple Regression (stepwise) program. In addition, analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to compare the means in each section and to report observed variance in the different parts. A t-test was performed to analyze the differences in the responses of the Delta and non-Delta schools in terms of commitment levels. With the level of significance for inclusion established at p<0.05, the researcher was able to determine that age, years of teaching experience, and salary were insignificant. Results also revealed number of years teaching in the district and race were found to be statistically significant. The researcher did not find any differences in commitment levels or any other variables in the responses of the Delta and non-Delta teacher participants.

An investigation on how educators experience their workloads against the background of teacher shortage. This research study seeks to explore educators’ experiences of the effects of educator shortage on the academic performance of Grade 12 learners in the Butterworth Education District, in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. The research study was a result of the South African literature in education which over- emphasises the poor quality of teacher development as though it is the only cause of the poor academic performance of learners in South African Senior Secondary Schools. For example, the Centre for Education Policy Development Evaluation and Management (CEPD) (2000, p.130) asserts that “Training for educators and managers has been spotlighted in the Curriculum Review Report”. Through this study the researcher wanted to explore other possible explanations for the poor academic performance of the Grade 12 learners in the Butterworth Education District. The research study seeks to investigate whether educator shortages in Senior Secondary Schools could be responsible for the poor academic performance of learners in Grade 12. It was imperative therefore to look into the views and experiences of educators in this regard, with the object of finding the extent of educator shortages in schools, and the possible measures to address the situation, if it is a reality in schools. Six schools were selected, with each providing five participants who made a sum of 30 educators who volunteered to participate in the study. The study was an interpretive survey, where the qualitative methodology was used. The data was collected using semi-structured interviews. A tape recorder was also used to ensure that participants were not misrepresented in the analysis and discussions of the findings. The data was presented, analysed and discussed according to the patterns and themes derived from the sub-research questions. It emerged from the study that there are educator shortages in most senior secondary schools in the Butterworth Education District. This was due to the policies and reports which were contrary to one another. Contradictory reports were produced by three highly respected research institutions the National Teacher Educator Audit (NTEA) there was an oversupply of educators in South African schools (Hofmeyr and Hall 1996). On the other hand the research was conducted by the Pre-Service Education and Training (PRESET) and In-service Educational Service and Training (INSET) published that there is serious educator shortage in South Africa. There was a lack of insight from the Management of the National Department of Education, together with the Provincial Managers of education. These managers of the DoE failed to note that the decisions that they had made in 1994, of ensuring that all learners between ages of 7 and 15 should be taken by parents to school, would negatively affect the future of education if it was not properly planned for. This call for all learners of the above mentioned ages to go to school was made in line with the South African Schools Act No. 84 0f 1996. The implication of the Governments call to send more learners to school, whether parents had money or not, was that more educators had to be employed in the future but that did not happen. Instead, a once-off policy of severance packages was implemented by the government, which led to a lot of good educators taking their packages and leaving the profession. Literature reveals that Teacher Training Colleges were closed at about the same time. The literature also reveals that before the closure of Teacher Training Colleges there was a challenge of redeployment which was also not properly planned, implemented and monitored by the Provincial Managers of the DoE. The study reveals that poor planning of this process led to overcrowded classrooms, a phenomenon which was further exacerbated by the fact that the salaries of Principals and the HoDs in schools were linked to the number of learners the school had admitted. This had its own ramification like schools over-admitting learners because it meant more money for the principals and Heads of Departments. The study has revealed serious consequences which emanated from the educator shortage as a result of overcrowded classes. The literature also reveal that educators get employed and use the profession of teaching as a stepping stone for better paying professions. According to Peltzer, et al. (2005, p.35) “around 21 000 educators were leaving the system annually, although up to 30% of these were temporary teachers.” South Africa faces challenges with its pool of available educators. One of these challenges is that of attracting new educators into the teaching profession and another is the challenge of how to retain those already in the system (DoE, 2005 p.13). In the event that there are teacher shortage in the system the DoE is using the available educators to teach larger classes than they are capable. This causes problems when these teachers have to teach outside their areas of specialization. These consequences include the fact that educators are teaching more than six classes a day, and educators are overloaded; they do not have sufficient time to provide individual attention to the learners, mark leaner assessments, provide feedback on time, or do remedial work. The study also revealed that most educators are suffering from burnout and stress due to too much workload. The study has also shown that educators work even on Saturdays and holidays to try to finish the syllabus. As a result, there are very few young stars who aspire to making education their career. More educators are changing their careers because they know that life is about improved standards of living. The question is: What is the use of having all the good policies aimed at improving the quality of teaching and learning if there are insufficient implementers (educators) of these policies in schools. The policies include School Based Assessment (SBA), Annual National Assessment (ANA), Systemic Evaluation, Common Tasks for Assessments (CATs), Whole School Evaluation (WSE) and the Integrated Quality Management Systems (IQMS). Recommendations have been proposed on the strategies that the DoE may employ to address the educator shortage in schools and the quality of education.

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<p> The issue of "nursing shortages" is not new, as it is often discussed by both the media and nursing journals. The emphasis of this research paper is to establish the presence or absence of a nursing shortage in Hamilton. The primary concern is to present strategies for recruitment and retention that have been implemented by area nursing employers. This survey's attention was focused on the registered nurse population in hospital and community clinical areas. </p> <p> The majority of those interviewed, with one exception, believed that Hamilton was not experiencing a nursing shortage at this time, especially when statistics are compared with those of Toronto. Many suggestions were put forth regarding recruitment strategies. Among them have been the establishment of the Hamilton Recruitment Group. Co-operative programs for high-school students have been limited to a small number, but this strategy has had some success. Strategies for retention of nursing staff include education opportunities, changes in work schedules and improvements in communication consisting of involvement in policy decisions. </p> / Thesis / Bachelor of Arts (BA)

Shortage of timber input for processing industries is the main issue facing the Malaysian forest sector. The need to implement policies which will ease the pressure on timber shortage and induce the expansion of forest sector industry, development of rubberwood sector in Malaysia is becoming increasingly urgent. The Malaysian government has announced and implemented three main policies: timber market restriction, encourage utilisation of rubberwood and promotion of lesser-known timber species (LKS). Application of timber market restriction policies has a considerable dispute; firstly because of widespread disagreement over the effect on efficiency of utilisation of timber that lead to timber harvest and deforestation and secondly it will undermine the government effort to promote utilisation of rubberwood and lesser known species. In this thesis, an attempt has been made to enlarge the available empirical knowledge of such effect through a. multi-sectoral forest - rubberwood sector model simulation. An analytical framework is developed, focusing on three major product of the forest sector; log, sawnWood and plywood, and two major products of rubberwood sector; rubberwood log and sawn rubberwood. The framework is used to developed an empirical model of forest-rubberwood and analysed the effect of market restriction policy on forest harvest behaviour, sawnwood and plywood development, rubberwood sector development and change in forest cover. The production, consumption and export of timber, sawnwood, plywood, rubberwood and sawn rubberwood, and change in forest cover have been examined in relation to a number of market policies: export taxes, export ban and import ban, and other alternative policies; royalty, exchange rate, wood utilisation efficiency and subsidies. A series of simulations was undertaken to describe the effect of these policies. The analysis suggests that export restriction on processed timber product will reduced the timber harvest and improved the forest cover but will hinder or distort the development of rubberwood sector and utilisation of less timber species. Related to the deforestation, the notion of environmental Kuznets curve is also examined. The results does not support the existence of this notion for Malaysia. In addition to sectoral analysis, an extended analysis using species harvest was undertaken, as a new approach to investigate efficiency of utilisation of wood resource and forest cover. The results show that promotion of species utilisation will not be achieved with the implementation of market restriction policy on forest products. Species analysis also indicate that in the absence of full data on the quantity of forest harvest, species harvest data would be a good alternative to estimate the effect of policies on forest cover.

During this time of nursing shortages, hospitals that want to maintain the competitive edge must seek ways to recruit and retain a competent nursing staff. This study was conducted in a large hospital that strives to be the primary health care provider and employer of choice in its geographic region. The purpose of the study was to assess new nurses' perceptions of nursing practice and their expectations for meeting professional goals. Sixty-seven new nurses from 13 hospital departments were interviewed. Comprehensive orientation, continuing education, and mentoring were important values identified by this group of nurses. Communication with physicians and fear of causing accidental harm to patients were expressed concerns. Data from this survey will be used by the organization to change orientation policies to better meet the needs of the nursing staff and improve recruitment and retention of nurses.

Introduction and Background: A widespread issue that is affecting patients and nurses alike is the ongoing prevalence of registered nurse shortages in the field of healthcare. This obstacle has jeopardized exceptional patient care for many years and research suggests there is a need for interventions to combat the growing shortage. Purpose Statement: This research aimed to investigate how the lack of acceptable nursing staff levels affected patients’ quality of care, safety, and outcomes in various healthcare settings. It also emphasizes the need for interventions that would focus on the supply and retention of nursing staff in order to combat the bleak outlook that nursing shortages have in relation to the goal of patient centered care. Literature Review: Journal articles were found utilizing subscription of the East Tennessee State University Library’s database to access peer reviewed articles using keywords such as shortage, missed care, safety, and registered nurse. The most used database was PubMed. A total of 5 articles were selected after excluding those conducted before 2018 to maintain relevancy. Findings: The findings of this research suggest that the nursing shortage negatively effects patients in hospitals, long term care facilities, and those requiring at-home nursing, resulting in care omissions, higher mortality rates, and increased negative perceptions of nurses. Conclusion: While there is more research needed to indicate the cause of nursing staff shortages, it is evidenced to be an international issue that jeopardizes patients and requires further attention in order to ensure that patient safety and satisfaction is invariably achieved.

The purpose of this thesis is to look into the relationship between relative wage and labor shortage in the Swedish labor market. This relationship is expected to be positive since wage increases are often used as a mechanism to counter shortages. To look into this relationship the seemingly unrelated regression model (SUR), as well as the random effects model are introduced. The results indicate that there exists a positive relationship between relative wage and shortage for occupations with higher degree of shortage and a negative relationship for occupations with no or low degree of shortage. From the results, the evidence suggests that relative wage is a good mechanism for countering shortages, but not a sufficient one.

The purpose of the study was to determine students’ and faculty members’perceptions of the accelerated nursing programs at two colleges in the Mississippi Delta, Coahoma and Mississippi Delta Community College. The study centered on whether the age, race or gender of the students affected their perceptions of program support, key issues and challenges, and program limitations. The study explored differences in faculty and students’ perceptions of the accelerated nursing program in regards to local support, nursing faculty, most complicated areas of the program (which were clinical and exams), and barriers. A quantitative research design was used for this study. The survey was themethodological framework that was employed in this investigation to collect the data. The participants consisted of 13 faculty members and 33 students of the accelerated nursing program at two community colleges. The procedure to gather data for this study was two surveys developed by the researcher. The data in this study were obtained by using an Independent t-test, ANOVA and descriptive statistics. The following were findings of this study. No significant differences found in students’ perceptions of the accelerated nursing program by age or gender. Significant differences were found in students’ perceptions of the accelerated nursing program by race. The differences found were that Caucasians had a more positive perception than African Americans of salary attracting them to stay and work in the Mississippi Delta. Caucasians also had a more positive perception than African Americans that clinical is the most complicated area of the nursing program. In addition, Caucasians had a more positive perception than African Americans that transportation was a program barrier. Overall, faculty perceptions of the accelerated nursing program varied. Significant differences were found when students; and faculty perceptions were compared. The differences found were that students felt positive about the exams being the most complicated area of the program and the faculty disagreed. The other difference found was that faculty had a negative feeling toward their college lacking financial support from the local area, while students had a positive feeling.