The Influence of Agency Staffing on Quality of Care in Nursing Homes

ABSTRACT

Data from a large sample of nursing homes were used to examine the cross-sectional association between use of agency staff, regular staff, and quality. Agency use data came from a survey conducted in 2003 (N?=?1071 nursing homes). The agency and regular staff measures were for nurse aides, licensed practical nurses, and registered nurses. We used a single quality factor constructed from the 14 quality measures in Nursing Home Compare. More agency nurse aides resulted in a smaller increase in quality, compared to the use of an equivalent number of regular nurse aides. Agency registered nurse staff were associated with better quality factor scores, especially in the presence of high levels of regular licensed practical nurses. Our results have policy and practice implications, the most significant of which is that agency registered nurses may be beneficial in a wide variety of circumstances, whereas agency nurse aides and licensed practical nurses should be used with caution.     

Impact of Absolute and Relative Commute Time on Work–Family Conflict: Work Schedule Control,Child Care Hours,and Life Satisfaction

Journal of Family and Economic Issues - Flexibility is crucial when employees manage their work and family demands and their commute between home and work. The current study examined...     

Skewness and mixtures of normal distributions

The effect of skewness on hypothesis tests for the existence of a mixture of univariate and bivariate normal distributions is examined through a Monte Carlo study. A likelihood ratio test based on results of the simultaneous estimation of skewness parameters, derived from power transformations, with mixture parameters is proposed. This procedure detects the difference between inherent distributional skewness and the apparent skewness which is a manifestation of the mixture of several distributions. The properties of this test are explored through a simulation study.     

Understanding the antecedents of aggressive behavior in Persian Gulf War veterans within individual,interpersonal, and community contexts

ABSTRACT

The present study applies the social-ecological framework to examine multiple level correlates of aggressive behavior of veterans of the first Gulf War in 1991. Data were collected from the VA‘s Persian Gulf Family Support Programs (PGFSP), and the sample includes 1,519 veterans who participated in the PGFSP. At the individual level, the study finds that younger and female veterans and those with higher self-esteem were less likely to report displaying aggressive behavior. At the interpersonal level, veterans who displayed misconduct in the home are more likely to display aggressive behavior. At the community level, veterans who were in the Air Force was less likely, while those in the Marines were more likely to be aggressive. Implications for practice are discussed.     

‘English… it's part of our blood’: Ideologies of language and nation in United States Congressional discourse

Utilizing a combination of corpus linguistics and critical discourse analysis, the article describes ideologies of United States (U.S.) national identity based in civic and ethnic nationalisms. These ideologies circulated during debates and hearings in the U.S. Congress concerning the 2006 reauthorization of provisions of the Voting Rights Act requiring that multilingual voting materials be made available for language minorities in certain jurisdictions. The article argues that although those legislators supporting the use of multilingual voting materials construct an ideology of civic nationalism that promotes inclusion of language minorities, they are still greatly influenced by the dominant language ideology. Those opposing multilingual voting materials construct a U.S. national identity that places stringent requirements on newcomers to assimilate and learn English. These legislators simultaneously attempt to avoid the suspicion of ethnic nationalist ideologies by arguing that English is a neutral entity, detaching it from its dominant linguistic community. The findings suggest that despite Congressional support for multilingual voting materials, the language ideologies present in Congress are not necessarily favorable to the rights of language minorities. These findings have language policy implications in that they suggest opposition to a right to language for linguistic minorities in the U.S.     

The gendered dimensions of bushfire in changing rural landscapes in Australia

This paper examines gender differences in awareness, preparedness and attitudes towards bushfire amongst landholders in rural landscapes affected by amenity-led in-migration in southeast Australia. It considers the potential of conceptualising bushfire not as a gender-neutral natural phenomenon but as an important means by which traditional gender roles and power relations within rural landscapes are maintained. Landholders were found to uphold conventional views of bushfire management as “men’s business” despite changing social circumstances. Consequently, key gender differences exist within landholders’ bushfire risk awareness, bushfire knowledge, the perceived need for bushfire preparedness measures, the willingness to perform certain tasks, and the belief in personal capacity to act. We argue that covert and less visible as well as overt gender roles and traditions are important factors in understanding landholders’ engagement with bushfire management. When gendered dimensions of bushfire are investigated in the context of hegemony, a paradox emerges between women choosing not to take control of their own bushfire safety and women being denied the opportunity to take control. The complex and contradictory actions and attitudes to bushfire that materialise through an analysis of gendered social experiences complicate attempts to create more gender-sensitive frameworks for bushfire management. The tenacious and embedded nature of gender role divisions within both public and private spheres was furthermore found to act as economic, social and political stumbling blocks for empowerment opportunities. Using a mixed-methods research approach, this paper maps out gendered dimensions of bushfire through landholders’ narratives and actions. The implications of these dimensions for bushfire management have direct relevance to recent international discussions of the vulnerability of the growing number of people living in bushfire-prone rural–urban interface areas.