The Legalities of Caring for Homeless Youth

Presented to the Faculty of the University of Alaska Anchorage in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF SCIENCEHomelessness is an ever-present social and economic issue worldwide that affects the healthcare field. The United States Housing and Urban Development (U.S. HUD) (2015) reported that there were 578,424 homeless people in the United States during the 2014 Point in Time count. Almost one quarter of that number was children under the age of 18 and 10% were ages 18-24 years (National Alliance to End Homelessness (NAEH), 2015). Alaska has a higher rate of homelessness at 24.3 per 10,000 people compared to the national average of 18.3 per 10,000 people (NAEH, 2015). Although there is a decreasing rate of homelessness in the United States, Alaska has experienced an increase of 1.73% from 2012-2013 and a 4.06% increase from 2013-2014 (NAEH, 2013 & 2014). Homeless youth were reported to be 10.9% of the Alaskan homeless population (NAEH, 2015). The purpose of this project was to educate Alaskan healthcare providers on the legalities of caring for homeless youth. A webinar, with continuing education units, was developed and made available online to Alaskan healthcare providers. The focus of the educational presentation was on common situations healthcare providers are confronted with when seeing homeless youth in a clinic and if parental or guardian consent should be obtained. Evaluation was conducted via pre and post webinar testing to measure knowledge change. The pre and post webinar testing showed that all participants had an increase in knowledge and interpretation of healthcare situations that involved the minor consent law.Signature Page / Title Page / Abstract / Table of Contents / List of Tables / List of Appendices / Background and Significance / Literature Review / Purpose/Objectives / Methods / Rights of Human Subjects / Findings / Discussion / Dissemination / Conclusions / References / Appendice

FACTORS AND CHALLENGES OF REGIONALIZATION IN THE WATER AND WASTEWATER SECTOR

This paper investigates some general issues related to the opportunity of regionalization, involving the aggregation of several towns for the provision of drinking water and wastewater services, as well as some particular features and challenges of the process in Romania. The main driver for the aggregation/regionalization of utilities is usually the potential to realize economies of scale by providing services to a larger customer base and at a lower cost, also increasing the size and efficiency of new investments by sharing infrastructure projects and accessing international funding.Regionalization, aggregation, water supply and wastewater services

ISSUES OF EFFICIENCY FOR PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS IN THE WATER SECTOR

The water resources are critical for the economic development in a country or region, since the pollution and depletion of the waters are raising concerns for the environmental and economic efficiency of their management. This outlook calls for analysis on economic and financial issues and risks associated with specific investment projects in water supply and sanitation infrastructure WSS. In previous research outcomes we have shown successful models of Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) used to manage and mitigate the risks and improve performance in providing the public services of Water Supply and Sanitation (WSS). The main objective of this paper is to reiterate the PPP as an efficient business model for the water sector, by employing several methodologies: literature review, case studies, performance indicators, analysis and synthesis. Some features and experiences of PPP in the water sector are resumed and analysed, considering recent developments and leading to conclusions and recommendations on their opportunity and efficiency in Romania

A cross-national study on the antecedents of work–life balance from the fit and balance perspective

Drawing on the perceived work–family fit and balance perspective, this study investigates demands and resources as antecedents of work–life balance (WLB) across four countries (New Zealand, France, Italy and Spain), so as to provide empirical cross-national evidence. Using structural equation modelling analysis on a sample of 870 full time employees, we found that work demands, hours worked and family demands were negatively related to WLB, while job autonomy and supervisor support were positively related to WLB. We also found evidence that resources (job autonomy and supervisor support) moderated the relationships between demands and work–life balance, with high resources consistently buffering any detrimental influence of demands on WLB. Furthermore, our study identified additional predictors of WLB that were unique to some national contexts. For example, in France and Italy, overtime hours worked were negatively associated with WLB, while parental status was positively associated with WLB. Overall, the implications for theory and practice are discussed.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Work-Related Mental Health and Job Performance: Can Mindfulness Help?

Work-related mental health issues such as work-related stress and addiction to work impose a significant health and economic burden to the employee, the employing organization, and the country of work more generally. Interventions that can be empirically shown to improve levels of work-related mental health – especially those with the potential to concurrently improve employee levels of work performance – are of particular interest to occupational stakeholders. One such broad-application interventional approach currently of interest to occupational stakeholders in this respect is mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs). Following a brief explication of the mindfulness construct, this paper critically discusses current research directions in the utilization of mindfulness in workplace settings and assesses its suitability for operationalization as an organization-level work-related mental health intervention. By effecting a perceptual-shift in the mode of responding and relating to sensory and cognitive-affective stimuli, employees that undergo mindfulness training may be able to transfer the locus of control for stress from external work conditions to internal metacognitive and attentional resources. Therefore, MBIs may constitute cost-effective organization-level interventions due to not actually requiring any modifications to human resource management systems and practises. Based on preliminary empirical findings and on the outcomes of MBI studies with clinical populations, it is concluded that MBIs appear to be viable interventional options for organizations wishing to improve the mental health of their employees

Essential Micro-foundations for Contemporary Business Operations: Top Management Tangible Competencies, Relationship-based Business Networks and Environmental Sustainability

Although various studies have emphasized linkages between firm competencies, networks and sustainability at organizational level, the links between top management tangible competencies (e.g., contemporary relevant quantitative-focused education such as big data analytics and data-driven applications linked with the internet of things, relevant experience and analytical business applications), relationship-based business networks (RBNs) and environmental sustainability have not been well established at micro-level, and there is a literature gap in terms of investigating these relationships. This study examines these links based on the unique data collected from 175 top management representatives (chief executive officers and managing directors) working in food import and export firms headquartered in the UK and New Zealand. Our results from structural equation modelling indicate that top management tangible competencies (TMTCs) are the key determinants for building RBNs, mediating the correlation between TMTCs and environmental sustainability. Directly, the competencies also play a vital role towards environmental practices. The findings further depict that relationship-oriented firms perform better compared to those which focus less on such networks. Consequently, our findings provide a deeper understanding of the micro-foundations of environmental sustainability based on TMTCs rooted in the resource-based view and RBNs entrenched in the social network theory. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of our findings, and we provide suggestions for future research

Proactivity directed toward the team and organization : the role of leadership, commitment and role-breadth self-efficacy

Employees' proactive behaviour is increasingly important for organizations seeking to adapt in uncertain economic environments. This study examined the link between leadership and proactive behaviour. We differentiated between organizational leadership and team leadership and proposed that transformational leadership by team leaders would enhance commitment to the team, which would predict team member proactivity. In contrast, transformational leadership by leaders of the organization would enhance commitment to the organization, which we expected to predict organization member proactivity. Transformational leadership on both levels was expected to increase employees' role-breadth self-efficacy, the confidence necessary to engage in proactive behaviour. Our results demonstrate the importance of leadership as an antecedent of proactive work behaviour and suggest that leadership at different levels influences proactivity via different mediators. Transformational team leaders seem to facilitate proactivity by increasing employees' confidence to initiate change. Transformational organizational leaders on the other hand increase proactivity by enhancing employees' commitment to the organization

Social support moderates the relationship between stressors and task performance through self-efficacy

This study examined the relationship between social support and objective task performance in a field setting. A sample of 197 participants, mean age 23.13 years (SD 3.56) completed measures of stressors, social support, and self-efficacy prior to performance. Moderated hierarchical regression analysis revealed significant(p < .05) main effects for stressors (R2 = .12) and social support (ΔR2 = .14) in relation to performance, in the hypothesized directions. A significant interaction (ΔR2 = .06) suggested that social support moderated (buffered) the relationship between stressors and task performance. Moderated mediation analysis demonstrated that social support was associated with increases in self-efficacy, and self-efficacy was associated with enhanced performance, but that this effect was only salient at moderate to high levels of stressors

CIRCULAR ECONOMY IN ROMANIA: AN INDUSTRIAL SYNERGY IN THE AGRI-FOOD SECTOR

As a feature of the green economy, circular economy proposes the re-use of resources used in products whose shelf life has come to an end or which have lost their usefulness to construct new objects, the same quality or even better. The circular economy model may be the ideal solution for relaunching sustainably the European economy which has suffered in recent years (2008-2012). In the circular economy, the value of products, materials and resources is maintained in the economy for as long as possible and the generation of waste minimised. In this paper we shall stress on issues of eco-innovation promoting the circular economy in Romania. One of the most important concepts for the new paradigm of circular economy and resource efficiency improvements is the industrial symbiosis, implemented in eco-innovation parks (EInvP) developed to optimize economic and environmental efficiency of the involved companies and communities. In practice using industrial synergy as an approach to commercial operations – using, recovering and redirecting resources for reuse – means resources remain in productive use in the economy for longer. We analyse here a successful good practice of industrial synergy in the agri-food sector implemented within the ECOREG EInvP of Suceava County. The conclusions point to the important economic, social and environmental benefits to raise awareness for regional eco-innovation and circular economy prospects in Romania

GREEN PUBLIC PROCUREMENT AS A CIRCULAR ECONOMY POLICY

Promoting the circular economy (CE) is a fundamental prerequisite of the proposed 'European Green Deal' and the transition to the CE is a strategic objective of the European Union. Cohesion policy and other established public policies are taking a new approach, being adapted to the requirements of sustainable development. This research aims to highlight that green public procurement in combination with circular procurement is an effective tool through which public authorities can stimulate the circular economy transition. The methodology is based on the literature review, outcomes from the own previous research, the processing for analysis of data with tables and graphs, and the analysis and synthesis of recent strategic documents from the EU and Romania. The conclusions and recommendations refer to the premises and prospects of green public procurement for the promotion of the circular economy, also with reference to the agro-industrial field as a priority sector