Launching chat service during the pandemic: inaugurating a new public service under emergency conditions

PurposeThis article details the implementation of a live online chat service which was suddenly necessitated by the worldwide coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The approaches used to train chat operators during this time inform both current and future training initiatives toward continuous improvement in this academic library setting.Design/methodology/approachChat transcripts from the period of March 2020–April 2021 serve as the dataset for this study.FindingsIn bringing a live chat service online during a global pandemic, chat transcripts from this period reveal 19.3% of all chat interactions related directly to COVID-19. The transcripts also reveal the types of questions, whether reference or directional, and these, combined with staffing patterns, indicate that staff were addressing reference questions more often than librarians. In addition, 25.2% of all transactions, whether by staff or librarians, resulted in tickets or referrals to hand off the question to a subject or functional specialist. These findings help to inform targeted face-to-face refresher training for chat operators.Originality/valueWhile bringing a live chat service online is certainly not novel, the impetus behind the quick setup was. This unusual circumstance allowed for an in-depth look at the nature of chat and its training requirements and limitations due to campus stay-at-home orders. It also provided a new understanding that influenced subsequent face-to-face trainings.

Clinical Research in the Hospital During the Pandemic: What’s Worked and Not Worked?

Under normal conditions, the hospital setting presents multiple challenges to research with persons with dementia and their care partners. This presentation describes the additional barriers posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the strategies to meet those challenges, in a cluster randomized controlled trial that examines the efficacy of a nurse-family partnership to promote functional recovery of persons with dementia. In response to research restrictions, the research team altered their plan for recruitment, implementation of the intervention, data collection, and analytic approach. This presentation describes these alterations and discusses the plan to meet the aims of the project while meeting the requirements of the Institutional Review Board, accountability to the funder, and university regulations. Modifications in staffing patterns, staff training, and procedures will also be discussed, as well as the study timeline. Finally, strategies to maintain a positive attitude and productivity within the team will be discussed.

Change and Continuity in White House Staffing: The Trump Factor

Early assessments of Trump’s White House portrayed an organization riven by personality disputes and administrative chaos. But in many ways, Trump’s White House staff descriptively bears a strong resemblance to its predecessors, as we demonstrate by drawing on more than 50 years of data on presidential staff composition. In terms of size, structure, and the distributions of functions, the Trump White House represents not a break with the past so much as its continuation. Trump’s staffing patterns departed from precedent more in the areas of staff turnover and recruitment; however, it is not clear just how significant those changes are.

Strength and Conditioning Facilities in Texas High Schools: A Quantitative Analysis

The health and athletic performance benefits of strength training for adolescents have increased the demand for the development and use of strength and conditioning facilities (SCFs) within the high school setting. Despite the growing prevalence of these facilities, research on high school SCFs is limited. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the space, equipment, usage, and staffing patterns of SCFs in the state of Texas. This examination provided descriptive data on SCFs’ space, equipment, usage, and staffing patterns based upon the state athletic governing body’s six-tier classification level. Significant differences in SCFs’ size and available equipment were determined; as well, facility usage for athletics (99.2%), physical education (24.5%), and community (30.6%) was determined. These results are indicative of the need for additional research on high school SCFs for the establishment of better school standards and best practices.

Congruence of Nurse Staffing and Activities with Patient Needs

This study aimed to discover the correlation between patient satisfaction with nursing care activities and staffing patterns. The research was conducted at the medical ward of a secondary care regional hospital in Slovenia over one month. Data was collected with regard to the following: (1) patients cared for daily and number of hours/patients day at the ward level, (2) patient needs (using a classification system), (3) nurse activities as observed at 10-minute intervals, and (4) the Patient Perception of Hospital Experience with Nursing tool. A total of 218 patients were involved, and their satisfaction with nursing care was found to be high. Patient satisfaction was negatively correlated with the number of patients cared for at the unit daily, but positively with the number of care hours per patient day, the proportion of registered nurses in the nursing team, the realized percentage of the registered nurse personnel requirements, and with some direct care activities. The correlation also revealed three process items (undivided attention, explanation, and things are done without asking) being the special strengths of nursing care activities. The results show that nurse-staffing and process patterns affect patient experience. It is thus recommended to increase the amount of nursing care offered by registered nurses, while nurses’ competences can affect the process of care, and thus patient satisfaction.

Increased Emergency Calls during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Saudi Arabia: A National Retrospective Study

The coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has a direct and indirect effect on the different healthcare systems around the world. In this study, we aim to describe the impact on the utilization of emergency medical services (EMS) in Saudi Arabia during the COVID-19 pandemic. We studied cumulative data from emergency calls collected from the SRCA. Data were separated into three periods: before COVID-19 (1 January–29 February 2020), during COVID-19 (1 March–23 April 2020), and during the Holy Month of Ramadan (24 April–23 May 2020). A marked increase of cases was handled during the COVID-19 period compared to the number before pandemic. Increases in all types of cases, except for those related to trauma, occurred during COVID-19, with all regions experiencing increased call volumes during COVID-19 compared with before pandemic. Demand for EMS significantly increased throughout Saudi Arabia during the pandemic period. Use of the mobile application ASAFNY to request an ambulance almost doubled during the pandemic but remained a small fraction of total calls. Altered weekly call patterns and increased call volume during the pandemic indicated not only a need for increased staff but an alteration in staffing patterns.

The Increasing Representativeness of International Organizations’ Secretariats: Evidence from the United Nations System, 1997–2015

Although international organizations (IOs) and their secretariats play important roles in international politics, we know surprisingly little about their staffing composition and the factors that shape it. What accounts for the national composition of the secretariats of IOs? We theorize that the national composition of international secretariats is shaped by three factors: the desire by powerful states for institutional control, a commonly shared interest in a secretariat's functional effectiveness, and, increasingly, a need for secretariats to be seen as legitimate by being representative of the global population. Building on recent constructivist literature, we argue that IOs face increasing normative pressure to be representative in their staffing patterns. Using panel regression, we assess our argument with a new dataset covering states’ representation in the secretariats of thirty-five United Nations system bodies from 1997 to 2015. The results indicate that while functional effectiveness plays a significant and stable role, international secretariats have become increasingly representative of the global population. Moreover, this has come primarily at the expense of the over-representation of powerful states. This shift from power to representation is particularly strong in large IOs with high political and societal visibility. When it comes to IO secretariats, representativeness (increasingly) matters.

The long march through the institutions: Emerging powers and the staffing of international organizations

How successful have emerging powers been at increasing their representation within the secretariats of international organizations (IOs)? We examine the representation of the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) in the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the United Nations (UN) System, including the UN Secretariat, over the last two decades. The analysis reveals four major findings. First, some redistribution of staff positions from established to emerging powers has taken place, but it has been relatively minor. Second, nationals from emerging powers are still strongly under-represented in international secretariats in comparison with those from established powers. Third, emerging powers’ representation at the IMF and WTO increased more than in the UN, where it actually declined. Fourth, there is strong variation between emerging powers: India appears to be the most successful emerging power in sending its nationals to the secretariats of IOs, Brazil’s and China’s records are mixed, and Russia has fared poorly. We interpret our findings in light of international relations theories and theories of institutional path dependence. The results suggest that staffing patterns are only loosely related to shifts in economic size and are subject to strong independent institutional dynamics.