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Objective: The aim was to identify hospital and county characteristics associated with variation in breadth and depth of hospital partnerships with a broad range of organizations to improve population health. Data Sources: The American Hospital Association Annual Survey provided data on hospital partnerships to improve population health for the years 2017-2019. Design: The study adopts the dimensional publicness theory and social capital framework to examine hospital and county characteristics that facilitate hospital population health partnerships. The two dependent variables were number of local community organizations that hospitals partner with (breadth) and level of engagement with the partners (depth) to improve population health. The independent variables include three dimensions of publicness: Regulative, Normative and Cultural-cognitive measured by various hospital factors and presence of social capital present at county level. Covariates in the multivariate analysis included hospital factors such as bed-size and system membership. Methods: We used hierarchical linear regression models to assess various hospital and county factors associated with breadth and depth of hospital-community partnerships, adjusting for covariates. Principal Findings: Nonprofit and public hospitals provided a greater breadth (coefficient, 1.61; SE, 0.11; p < 0.001 and coefficient, 0.95; SE, 0.14; p < 0.001) and depth (coefficient, 0.26, SE, 0.04; p < 0.001 & coefficient, 0.13; SE, 0.05; p < 0.05) of partnerships than their for-profit counterparts, partially supporting regulative dimension of publicness. At a county level, we found community social capital positively associated with breadth of partnerships (coefficient, 0.13; SE, 0.08; p < 0.001). Conclusions: An environment that promotes collaboration between hospitals and organizations to improve population health may impact the health of the community by identifying health needs of the community, targeting social determinants of health, or by addressing patient social needs. However, findings suggest that publicness dimensions at an organizational level, which involves a culture of public value, maybe more important than county factors to achieve community building through partnerships. KEYWORDS hospital-community partnerships, population health, public value outcomes, publicness theory, social capital What is known on this topic * Prior work on hospital population health partnerships has focused on the individual partnerships of hospitals, rather than the breadth and engagement (depth) of those partnerships. * Hospital partnerships with higher level of engagement have the potential to improve population health by addressing social determinants of health at the community level or social needs at an individual level. What this study adds * This study explores various organizational and county level factors associated with variation in breadth and engagement of hospital population health partnerships. * This is one of the first studies to add a measure of engagement in hospital partnerships with community organizations in health-care literature. * This study advances publicness theory and highlight the role of organizational factors rather than county factors to explain variation in breadth and depth of hospital partnerships., 1 | INTRODUCTION The idea of population health management has gained traction among policymakers and health-care leaders in recent decades and was strengthened with the implementation of the Affordable Care [...]

THERE must be something in the soil at Point Farm in Warren, Rhode Island. On this land, Steve Clark has reaped everything from traditional dories to C-class catamarans to International [...]

Wendy Goodwin had been so busy running Cape Cod Shipbuilding, the 122-year-old family business, she didn't have time to have a family of her own. Then the pandemic hit, the [...]

The growing global competition in which knowledge is a prime factor for economic growth is increasingly shaping policies and setting the agenda for the future of European higher education. With its aim to become the world's leading knowledge economy, the European Union is concerned about its performance in the knowledge sector, in particular in the nexus of research, higher education institutions, and innovation. A major concern is to solve the "European paradox": whereby Europe has the necessary knowledge and research, but fails to transfer this into innovation and enhanced productivity and economic growth. Further complicating the matter, policy responses are formulated and implemented at different levels within the EU: at the European-wide level, the national, regional, and institutional levels. Moreover, the formulation of policies are often underpinned by different perceptions of the meaning of globalization, the nature of global competition for the higher education sector, and by differences in the current ability of institutions to effectively promote innovation in the private sector. This paper offers an overview of relevant European higher education policies and responses to global competition, and considers how global competitiveness can best be stimulated and achieved; what role competition and cooperation-based strategies at the national and European level play in this respect, and what is the best mix. (Contains 3 tables.)

In the fall of 2020, two-time Rolex Yachtsman of the Year Jud Smith looked over the horizon and didn't like what he saw. Almost all sailing activities had been canceled [...]

Consumers can use automated prediction algorithms, like navigation apps and recommendation systems, to forecast the outcome of to-be-determined events like how long a drive will take or how much they will enjoy a movie. However, little is known about what drives consumers’ preferences for prediction algorithms. The authors propose that consumers prefer prediction algorithms that replicate the event being predicted by going through the same process that generates event outcomes. In seven studies, the authors find that consumers like replicative prediction algorithms, even when they may lead to worse performance. Furthermore, the authors find that consumers shift toward choosing better performing algorithms after receiving performance feedback but still prefer replicative algorithms holding performance constant. These findings suggest that marketers can increase adoption of prediction algorithms by framing them as replicating (or designing them to replicate) the process that generates event outcomes.

Artificial intelligence (AI) and related technologies are transforming many consumption activities, powering breakthroughs that expand the human experience by enhancing human capabilities, performance, and creativity. While this explains the consumer enthusiasm and rapid adoption of these technologies, AI systems can also have the opposite effect: reducing and constraining the range of experiences that are available to consumers. This article examines the mechanisms through which AI can constrain the human experience, considering individual, interpersonal, and societal processes. Our analysis uncovers a complex interplay between the advantages of AI and its inadvertent negative repercussions, which potentially restrict human autonomy, self-identity, relational dynamics, and social behavior. In this article, we propose three different mechanisms at the core of these constraining forces: parametric reductionism, agency transference, and regulated expression. Our exploration of these mechanisms highlights the risks connected to system design and points to questions and implications for future researchers and policymakers.

Multisector collaboration is critical for improving population health. Improving alignment between nonprofit hospitals and local health departments is one promising approach to achieving health improvement, and a number of states are exploring policies to facilitate such collaboration. Using public documents, we evaluated the alignment between Ohio nonprofit hospitals and local health departments in the community health needs they identify and those they prioritize. The top three needs identified by hospitals and health departments were mental health, substance use, and obesity. Alignment across organizations was high among the top needs, but it varied more among less commonly identified needs. Alignment related to social determinants of health was low, with health departments being more responsive to social determinants than hospitals. Given the different strengths and capacities of hospitals and health departments, this divergence may be in the best interests of the communities they serve. Community benefit policies should consider how to promote collaboration between hospitals and health departments while also encouraging organizations to use their own expertise to meet community needs.

We prospectively analyzed clinical and laboratory characteristics associated with cardiac involvement and severe presentation in multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children. Of 146 patients, 66 (45.2%) had cardiac dysfunction and 26 (17.8%) had coronary artery abnormalities. Lower serum albumin levels, absolute lymphocyte and platelet counts, and elevated ferritin, fibrinogen, d-dimer and interleukin-6 levels were associated with cardiac dysfunction. Possible treatment complications were identified.

* Kathleen Tocke is curled up in the bottom of the Snipe, thinking she might die, fearful she might not. The supercrew had a bad reaction to seafood, and to [...]

This document consists of four issues of a quarterly newsletter to communicate the major developments within each sector of the child and youth indicators field. The newsletters feature regular sections on the community, state, and national scenes, and include sections of resources and data. The Spring 2001 issue includes articles on the results of the Youth Tobacco Survey; social assets and vulnerabilities indicators for central Indiana; and indicators of positive psychological well-being. The Summer 2001 issue includes articles on the National Conference on Child and Youth Indicators; a report on human exposure to environmental chemicals; and the International Child Well-Being Project list of indicators. The Fall 2001 newsletter contains articles on using the 2000 Census supplementary survey to illuminate child well-being; the micro-level census data available through IPUMS (Integrated Public Use Microdata Series); the Neighborhood Change Database; the Programme for International Student Assessment; and work to improve indicators on disabled children and youth. The Winter 2001 issue includes articles on state-level indicators of maternal, infant, and child health; the Monitoring the Future Survey; basic training in the use of social indicators; and a federal agency meeting to improve measures of marriage and family structure. (KB)

Changes in work and the workplace are transforming the kinds of knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed for successful work performance. Educators and school reformers are updating curricula and redesigning school programs to ensure that, in addition to academics, young people have opportunities to learn work-related skills and attitudes. A situative study of workplace skills that included case studies of students involved in building a transportation system and caring for patients at home demonstrated how worksite observation experiences enable students to learn needed job skills, "generic" skills, and work-related dispositions within the context of specific work cultures. The case studies demonstrated how skills become multi-dimensional when learned within the context of actual work and how contextualized learning promotes the ability to use information drawn from a range of academic disciplines to perform tasks and solve unique problems. Research has established the essential components for framing high school courses and/or programs around authentic tasks and apprenticeship methods and around teaching the following: complex reasoning skills, work-related attitudes, cooperative skills, job-specific knowledge, and academic knowledge. Contextualized learning requires that teachers do the following: become master practitioners among student apprentices; gain exposure to the world of work; and adapt their teaching to support authentic learning. (MN)

Integration of academic and vocational curricula is missing from most American classrooms because integration that is rigorous, authentic, and sustained is much more difficult than most advocates imagine. The difficulty arises because teachers must do the following: keep integration sharply focused on clear, well-defined educational objectives; find legitimate applications that really excite students; and be able to meet the demands of time, expertise, and resources that are beyond the reach of most teachers. Academic and vocational curriculum should be integrated to increase student achievement, especially for those students who have not fared well in the traditional curriculum, and to benefit all students. Whatever form integration takes, it should begin by clearly specifying the educational goals: clearly targeted, well-defined educational objectives; use of academic and industry skill standards to direct integrated learning; and teachers who remain focused on primary learning objectives, so that any decisions to temporarily diverge from these aims are made consciously, explicitly, and with a better understanding of the costs of the benefits. Requiring increasing degrees of planning, coordination, and commitment, the four different forms of integration for teachers to consider are as follows: course-level integration, cross-curriculum integration, programmatic integration through career clusters and industry majors, and schoolwide integration, such as academies and other models. (Contains 25 references.) (YLB)

Much about designing learning experiences and supporting environments has been learned from the New Designs for Learning process. Looking at the history of education in the United States and high school change initiatives in other countries, project staff have found that designing schools for the future is a learning process in which staff, students, community, and designers work together to discover new ways to design a school's learning experiences and environment. The project staff had several goals for the characteristics and features of the learning experience and school design when the project, New Designs for the Comprehensive High School, was initiated. Goals included: (1) representing the leading edge of a new breed of schools that would create some new "space" in which to think about the operation of high schools; (2) promising the idea of a common set of learner outcomes for all graduates; (3) relating learner expectations to the challenges and opportunities in work, family, community, and personal life; (4) operating the high school more as a learning community; (5) more closely aligning learner expectations, the learning process, the learning organization, and the learning environment; (6) drawing more attention to learning in contrast to teaching; (7) having a positive special character that gives more focus, coherence, and spirit to learning; and (8) wanting schools that don't cost any more to build or operate than existing schools. The design-down process has 12 learning elements: context, audience, signature, expectations, process, organization, partnerships, staff and staff development, environment, celebration, finance, and accountability. Lessons for gaining agreement on decisions include looking inside and outside the school for design group members; involving those members from the beginning; using a clear and powerful process; relying on more than one way; and thinking comprehensively and long-term. (YLB)

Many more of the nation's youths deserve the opportunity to make the transition from school to college, casting the net of postsecondary education more widely and equitably. The necessity of encouraging more youths to participate in rigorous academics so they are ready to make a smooth transition to college has been recognized for some time. In the late 1960s, some states began to integrate academic and vocational education as a means of facilitating secondary-to-postsecondary transition. Reinforcing these ideas, federal vocational education legislation since 1972 has consistently emphasized secondary and postsecondary linkages, along with applied academics. Fundamental components of successful transition programs are as follows: (1) rigorous and engaging learning; (2) formal articulation strategies; (3) implementation of articulation agreements; (4) local partnerships and advanced skills articulation; (5) meaningful linkages between theory and practice; (6) outcomes-focused curriculum; (7) identification of the primary outcomes; (8) exploration of new forms of assessment; (9) access and opportunity for all; (10) longevity through collaboration; and (11) accountability and quality in future transition initiatives. Enhanced school-to-college transition can create valuable educational opportunities for all students. (The publication includes a list of quality indicators recommended by the National Association of Tech Prep Leadership for five integral components of a tech prep program. The document contains 39 references.) (YLB)

This monograph provides a status report on issues related to accountability, including standards and assessments, data systems, and the role of incentives for schools, teachers, and students in improving student achievement. Using information gathered from the literature and interviews with state administrators of vocational education, this paper provides a picture of the progress made to date and points to future challenges. It was discovered that, despite some initial trepidation about the 1990 Carl D. Perkins Vocational-Technical Act (Perkins II) accountability requirements, each state has developed its own system of performance measures and standards and devised some sort of implementation plan. All but two states have gone well beyond the Perkins II requirements for accountability in vocational education at the secondary and postsecondary levels. The public's demand for excellence for all students has been the driving force behind standards-based, systemic reform. However, reaching consensus around what defines excellence has been difficult from state to state, much less nationally. In recent years, the development of student standards has extended beyond traditional academic areas to areas such as general workplace readiness, industry core, and job-specific skills. The research on accountability has established the importance of the following items in developing standards-driven assessment in academic, vocational-technical, and work readiness programs: broad public engagement in the design and implementation of assessments; strong political leadership; and incentives for students, teachers, and schools. More research and development in the area of incentives and consequences are needed. (Contains 20 references.) (MN)

High public expectations of the educational and workforce development systems are the force behind the shifting roles of education and training and efforts to create more coherent and effective systems of work force preparation. The result of pulling and tugging by citizens, policymakers, and educators is a system of widespread access, considerable transparency, and variation. Like the federal government, states have a plethora of programs, some state initiated and funded, others largely federal. Complaints about the system of federal and state programs--some justified, others exaggerated--are as follows: limited information, inadequate access, inefficiency, and duplication; barriers to local system coordination embedded in the basic purposes and structure of different programs; and suspect program effectiveness. States have become increasingly active in defining and coordinating their work force development programs through the dominant state strategy and institutional and market-like mechanisms. At the local level, one-stop centers and Workforce Investment Councils have been created. Although the Workforce Investment Act should enhance development of coherent systems, greater reliance on Individual Training Accounts may undermine it. Strong community colleges have become the linchpin of state systems. In a coherent system, education and training could learn from each other and provide more comprehensive and effective services; some outcomes are possible only within an integrated system. (Contains 11 references.) (YLB)

Teachers must be at the center of any effort to improve education, but how can teachers be prepared to meet the educational challenges of the future? Unlike traditional inservice training, today's professional development is designed with teacher input and builds teachers' capacities for working in teams to educate children. Three promising professional development approaches are work-based learning, the mini-sabbatical, and the case study method. Teacher roles are changing as they relate to two main areas, integration and school-to-work. Successful integration programs include changes involving cooperative efforts, curriculum strategies, instructional strategies, and administrative practices and procedures. Teacher efforts in school-to-work include serving as ambassadors for school-to-work programs, establishing and maintaining relationships with the workplace, and having first-hand knowledge of the workplace. In order for schools to overcome barriers and resistance to implementing these educational reforms, they must create a vision of the future, the highest levels of authority must subscribe to the vision, and administrator commitment to the vision must be reflected through actual support at the teacher level. (18 references) (KC)

Work-based learning (WBL) differs from work experiences gained in regular youth jobs because WBL is intentionally structured to promote learning by linking work with school. Five main purposes of WBL have been identified: enhancing students' motivation and academic achievement; increasing personal and social competence related to work in general; fostering a broad understanding of an occupation or industry; providing career exploration and planning; and imparting knowledge or skills related to employment in particular occupations or more generic work competencies. The key structural dimensions for delivering WBL are as follows: location (on campus or off); supervision (teachers or employers); time (during or after school hours); compensation (pay or school credit); and participation (individually or in groups). A recent study of students' WBL experiences outlined three aspects of the workplace learning environment that should be considered when assessing the quality of teaching and learning at work: types of tasks students perform and the social context in which those tasks are established, accomplished, and processed; influence of the community of practice (how it teaches students what they need to know and how it defines the student's role); and worksite pedagogy (the training philosophy and practices for promoting learning at work). (Contains 33 references) (MN)

Inside Building No. 5 at Safe Harbor New England Boatworks, Jocko Alpress stands on Running Tide's new deck. When the boatyard is quiet, he can hear voices from the boat's [...]

Community partnerships can increase the effectiveness of school-to-work programs. By working together, each partner organization can work smarter, share important information, build a collective set of resources, and keep its focus on its clients, the youth. Another issue pertaining to the creation of partnerships is change and why businesses would be willing to partner with schools. In terms of readiness for change, urgency about change, and accountability structures that make change essential, businesspeople are more prepared to try something new than is the public sector. Communities are reluctant to create partnerships if leaders do not understand all that a partnership can accomplish and do not believe the effort will be well spent. Elements essential to creation and operation of an effective partnership are as follows: everyone relevant to the problem must come to the table; participants must accept partnerships are essential to effective service delivery, feel a sense of urgency, have a shared vision of the desired outcomes, understand what the term collaboration means, talk about their responsibilities and authority in their own organizations, identify their self interest, consider partnership activities part of their job, and accept that they cannot accomplish the goals of the partnership alone. The work of a partnership includes: establishing contracts with its members, sharing information that enhances the members' individual work, and building systems. Facilitation of partnerships requires an "honest broker," flexibility, and staff commitment. (YLB)

A study adopted a sociocultural perspective to examine work-based learning (WBL) in different types of programs in Los Angeles that served similar populations of mostly minority students. The programs were a transportation career academy, a medical magnet high school, and a school-based enterprise. To understand workplaces as learning environments, the study attended to the social context for learning and working and examined certain characteristics of WBL. First, it focused on the social means by which tasks are initiated, accomplished, and processed, for this is when the process of education is set in motion. Second, it examined students' relationship to the existing community of practice in the work setting that is often responsible for learning and establishes important norms of behavior and performance standards in the workplace. Third, it studied the organization's own philosophy toward learning and training that can influence the types of learning opportunities provided to students. Fourth, it studied the connections between school and work that are meant to enhance students' learning. Analysis of workplaces as learning environments showed the social context varied markedly across the programs studied. Findings indicated the following: understanding the social context of work was important; schooling may undermine learning at work; WBL sites varied with respect to teaching strategies and expertise; and school and work were often only loosely connected and any connection was difficult to establish. (YLB)

In order to expand career guidance and counseling in elementary and middle schools, the availability of resources and materials that support career development activity was investigated and exemplary career guidance and counseling programs were identified. Results of the study revealed the following characteristics of effective programs: (1) exposure to career awareness and exploration is provided early; (2) students are assisted in identifying their interests and aptitudes and choosing their school courses; (3) career paths are viewed as a broad range of options; (4) a structured program helps students understand the world of work; (5) students have an opportunity to work or volunteer in business; and (6) curriculum is challenging and relevant. The study also found that the most effective career development programs are systemic (developmental, embedded in the curriculum, and accessible to all students). Leading curricular reform are schools involved in the Southern Regional Educational Board's "High Schools that Work" and the "New American Schools" project. A "Career Guidance Resource Guide for Elementary and Middle/Junior High School Educators" will be published in 1998 by the American Vocational Association and the American School Counselors Association. (KC)

Four career guidance programs that have proved successful in assisting students in their career development have been selected for national recognition. The programs were selected on the basis of three research-based criteria: leadership and support given the career guidance and counseling program by the institution; delivery of program activities; and collaborative and articulation efforts. The career counseling program at Kuna High School in Kuna, Idaho, is an exploratory and preparatory program with ongoing emphasis on planning for future education and careers. All students have at least 32 contact hours for purposes of career counseling, career exploration activities in language arts class, and individual interviews. The Career Planning and Employment Services at Parkland College in Champaign, Illinois, provide career guidance services to Parkland's students and to local citizens, business, industry, and agriculture. Zapata High School in Zapata, Texas, has a comprehensive career guidance and counseling program in which guidance staff coordinate the program and each teacher assumes responsibility for 13-17 students in a unique advocacy program. The Career Connections Planning system of the Volusia County Schools in DeLand, Florida, is a comprehensive school-to-work system for elementary through high school students that blends school-to-work, tech prep, and other initiatives. (MN)

Work-Based Learning (WBL) has been at the heart of school-to-work initiatives in the 1990s. Local partnerships funded by the 1994 School-to-Work Opportunities Act are placing high priority on developing WBL opportunities for students. However, there is still controversy about whether work really contributes to students' education, and results of research has been mixed. Students seem to reap economic rewards, but they sometimes pay an educational price. Connecting students' work to classroom learning could mitigate this tradeoff, though it is difficult to do. Expected benefits of work experience, which have been substantiated in some cases, include the following: (1) acquisition of knowledge or skill related to employment in particular occupations or industries; (2) career exploration and planning; (3) learning all aspects of an industry; (4) increasing personal and social competence related to work in general; and (5) enhancing students' motivation and academic achievement. It is necessary to look for more definitive evidence for these benefits, however, and to involve academic teachers if WBL is to be successful. If this can be done, WBL can offer a promising approach for preparing students for work and for life. (Contains 41 references) (KC)

This report highlights four urban comprehensive secondary schools that are developing, implementing, and evaluating reform initiatives that include vocational and technical education as a key component of these efforts. Efforts of these four high schools are described: Bryan High School, Omaha, Nebraska; Humboldt Secondary Complex, St. Paul, Minnesota; Mayfield High School, Las Cruces, New Mexico; and West Charlotte High School, Charlotte, North Carolina. Each description provides information on the school, restructuring initiatives, initiating the change process, and restructuring facilitators and barriers. Types of restructuring initiatives include the following: tech prep, advisement, block scheduling, integration of vocational and academic courses, and a career planning portfolio. Late start days, teacher meetings, and teamwork are the initiation methods discussed. These facilitators are identified: administrator support, teamwork, teacher-driven action, and partnerships with universities and colleges. The following barriers are cited: loss of momentum, inservice programs, evaluation, lack of inservice training and common planning, scheduling, lack of involvement from outside groups, and lack of consistent leadership. A final section provides a summary of implications for leaders of school reforms. Conclusions about successful restructuring are as follows: it takes time, requires collaborative teamwork from all stakeholders, occurs from both internal and external pressure and motives, and is an ongoing process. (YLB)

Courses in the arts should be part of the vocational curriculum. Not only is knowledge of the arts basic to what it means to be an educated person, but the way arts courses are taught also has a natural synergy with vocational education. Arts education naturally embraces methods that are characteristic of high-performance schools. For example, art departments often accept and evaluate students on the basis of portfolios and auditioned performances. In addition, coaching and assessing progress are done continuously in the midst of practice, performance, or critiques. Arts education can help prepare young people in vocational education to become tomorrow's employees and entrepreneurs. A postindustrial society increasingly requires that workers at all levels be creative thinkers, problem solvers, able to work well with others as well as independently, and arts education offers possibilities to complement and supplement training in these skills. The inclusion of arts in education can help to impart the knowledge, insights, and ways of learning that children need to become whole human beings and compete effectively in the world economy. (KC)

The case can be made that school-to-work programs can be a college preparatory strategy because they can teach academic skills as well as and possibly even better than more traditional approaches. The skepticism about its potential as a means of preparing students for college is based on misconceptions about its characteristics. Its three basic elements--authentic teaching and learning, out-of-class experience, and career and interest exploration--support all types of learning. Authentic teaching and learning requires students to develop in-depth understanding and apply academic learning to important, realistic problems. Experiences outside the classroom strengthen and increase the amount of knowledge learned, understood, and retained. Systematic exploration of student interests and career goals can stimulate interest in academic learning. Some of the most highly regarded school-to-work programs are explicitly designed for college-bound students. Empirical evidence shows many school-to-work programs have high college attendance rates and the use of authentic pedagogy leads to gains in both traditional test scores and in measures of authentic learning. Reformers have taken three broad approaches to reduce the conflict between participation in school-to-work activities and admission to selective colleges: accommodation of the school-to-work program within the existing college admission system, communication between individual schools and colleges, and reform of assessment and college admissions procedures. (Contains 10 references.) (YLB)