Charles C. Broz and Rhonda K. Hammond
The purpose of this study was to survey current culinary, hospitality and nutrition students to determine their level of knowledge about dysphagia, or swallowing impairment, and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study was to survey current culinary, hospitality and nutrition students to determine their level of knowledge about dysphagia, or swallowing impairment, and the dysphagia diet. In addition, the study provided a means by which to gauge current students’ awareness of health-care foodservice as a career option.
Design/methodology/approach
A pilot study conducted in 2009 indicated that health-care foodservice workers were unaware of many of the risks associated with the dysphagia diet. A second study was conducted in 2012 to obtain an idea of the perceptions and knowledge levels of culinary, hospitality and nutrition students about dysphagia. Subjects included students across the three disciplines at two large universities in the Midwestern USA, and a private culinary school on the east coast of the USA. The instrument consisted of a traditional paper survey containing 18 questions. A total sample size of n = 139 surveys was collected and analyzed.
Findings
Results of the survey suggests that current university students are lacking in some areas of knowledge concerning dysphagia patients and their dietary needs. Education and training are indicated, as the number of patients suffering from some degree of dysphagia is only going to increase as the US population ages. Findings also indicate that many introductory-level students are unaware of health-care foodservice as a viable career choice in industry.
Research limitations/implications
The primary limitations to this research were the relatively small sample size, and the fact that most students surveyed were not interested or aware of health-care foodservice as a viable industry career choice. This study would be greatly enhanced by contacting professors/instructors at several universities representing the Northeast, Midwest, and east and west coasts of the USA. Educating future foodservice professionals at the introductory level would allow industry leaders to make students aware of this large and necessary sector of the foodservice industry. Likewise, there is no doubt that food preparers, food deliverers and foodservice managers in health care will come in contact with a patient with some level of dysphagia as our population ages. More research to strengthen this body of data is indicated, as are similar studies across broader ranges of the population.
Practical implications
The occurrence of dysphagia is growing as the US population ages. That fairly little research has been done is somewhat alarming. There is a need for standardization of recipe formulas, benchmarking viscosities of dietary liquids and solids and training of food preparers. The symptom is found in very large populations in the USA, as well as in Europe. Also, the fact that dysphagia has so many potential causes makes the symptom that much more of a health issue. More research is certainly called for to better prepare potential institutional foodservice employees for the next 20 years.
Originality/value
Millions of Americans currently suffer from at least some degree of dysphagia. This number is expected to increase as the Baby Boomer generation reaches retirement age. The USA will be populated by more elderly people than ever before, and will thus host more individuals suffering from swallowing impairment. Health-care foodservice, including hospital and long-term care foodservice will certainly become a viable career choice for current students of culinary arts, nutrition and hospitality.
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Janice Boyce, Charles C. Broz and Margaret Binkley
A consumer focus group was conducted in West Texas, to discuss consumer opinion about desired features in take‐out containers or packaging, and perceptions related to food safety…
Abstract
Purpose
A consumer focus group was conducted in West Texas, to discuss consumer opinion about desired features in take‐out containers or packaging, and perceptions related to food safety practices.
Findings
The results of this qualitative case study indicated that the majority of take‐out food was purchased for personal consumption, and that location, convenience and time are the primary factors influencing the decision for purchase. The main features considered desirable in take‐out containers were these: the ability to insulate food, to contain product without spillage, and to keep individual foods separate within the same package.
Practical implications
As the desirability for take‐out food continues to increase, risks emerge surrounding the lack of handling instructions on most take‐out packaging, and the scarcity of consumer food safety knowledge. Though most participants in this study claimed to return home quickly with take‐out food after purchase, and consume the food as soon as possible, a good number admitted to not being as knowledgeable about food safety and handling as they would like.
Research limitations/implications
Though data were collected from a diverse group of panelists, the small scope of this research could not be said to represent the USA as a whole. Future studies would need to include multiple focus group studies in metropolitan regions across the nation.
Originality/value
The paper adds to the body of knowledge on take‐out food and customer attitudes to food safety.
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The purpose of this paper is to survey current nutrition/foodservice‐related healthcare professionals to determine their level of knowledge about dysphagia, and their perceptions…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to survey current nutrition/foodservice‐related healthcare professionals to determine their level of knowledge about dysphagia, and their perceptions of dysphagic patients and their needs.
Design/methodology/approach
A data collection instrument in the form of a questionnaire was developed to obtain an idea of the perceptions and knowledge‐level of diet/foodservice‐related healthcare workers about dysphagia. Subjects included foodservice workers, including food preparers and food deliverers at a large healthcare facility in the Southwestern United States. A total sample size of n=51 surveys was collected and analyzed.
Findings
Given the means from this sample group, healthcare foodservice workers are lacking in some areas of knowledge concerning dysphagia patients, and their dietary needs. Education and training seem indicated, as the number of patients suffering from some degree of dysphagia is only going to increase as the US population ages.
Originality/value
Millions of Americans currently suffer from at least some degree of dysphagia. This number is expected to increase as the Baby Boomer generation reaches retirement age. The USA will be populated by more elderly people than ever before, and will thus host more individuals suffering from swallowing impairment. This paper adds insights to the subject.
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Ludek Broz and Tereza Stöckelová
The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the body of knowledge on how research evaluation in different national and organisational contexts affects, often in unintended ways…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the body of knowledge on how research evaluation in different national and organisational contexts affects, often in unintended ways, research and publication practices. In particular, it looks at the development of book publication in the social sciences and humanities (SSH) in the Czech Republic since 2004, when a performance-based system of evaluation was introduced, up to the present.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper builds upon ethnographic research complemented by the analysis of Czech science policy documents, data available in the governmental database “Information Register of R&D results” and formal and informal interviews with expert evaluators and other stakeholders in the research system. It further draws on the authors’ own experience as scholars, who have also over the years participated in a number of evaluation procedures as peers and experts.
Findings
The number of books published by researchers in SSH based at Czech institutions has risen considerably in reaction to the pressure for productivity that is inscribed into the evaluation methodology and has resulted in the rise of in-house publishing by researchers’ own research institution, “fake internationalisation” using foreign low-quality presses as the publication venue, and the development of a culture of orphaned books that have no readers.
Practical implications
In the Czech Republic robust and internationally harmonised bibliometric data regarding books would definitely help to create a form of research evaluation that would stimulate meaningful scholarly book production. At the same time, better-resourced and better-designed peer review evaluation is needed.
Originality/value
This is the first attempt to analyse in detail the conditions and consequences the Czech performance-based research evaluation system has for SSH book publication. The paper demonstrates that often discussed harming of SSH and book-writing in particular by performance-based IF-centred research evaluation does not necessarily manifest in declining numbers of publications. On the contrary, the number of books published may increase at the cost of producing more texts of questionable scholarly quality.
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Charles Broz, Kalynn Baldock and Beth Blind
Research on the efficiency of non‐traditional cookware is limited. Manufacturers claim that plastic egg cooking pods (Eggies™) are easy to use, offer a non‐stick product release…
Abstract
Purpose
Research on the efficiency of non‐traditional cookware is limited. Manufacturers claim that plastic egg cooking pods (Eggies™) are easy to use, offer a non‐stick product release, and create the perfect hard‐cooked egg. This study attempted to replicate consumer cooking conditions through a comparison of eggs cooked in the cooking pods to eggs cooked in a traditional fashion.
Design/methodology/approach
Using two consumer range tops and stainless pans, controlled tests were performed. The results of the tests indicated that egg cooking pods did not produce a better product; they were difficult to use, had poor product release, and were difficult to clean. The products were compared by their visual appeal, and their texture. The pods were then washed and tested for protein residue that could lead to bacterial growth, and potential food‐borne illness in a consumer kitchen.
Findings
The cooked products were placed on clean plates and analyzed by the researcher for visual quality and textural quality, then photographed. Overall, the pod‐cooked egg was an inferior product that was unappealing visually as well as texturally. Optical density (OD) data were utilized to determine the presence of protein residue in the treatments. These data indicate the presence of egg protein remaining on the sterilized O‐rings, male threads, and female threads of the egg pods. Difficulty of use, inability to clean, and harboring of dangerous levels of protein residue negate the viability of this product as tested by the researcher. Despite poor value for consumers, the truly alarming aspect of these studies is the quite real danger of salmonella spp. associated with raw poultry and shell eggs.
Social implications
Salmonella spp. are transmitted through contact with the feces of an infected animal, and shell eggs were identified as a carrier of salmonella in 1988. This fact would appear pertinent to this study. As eggs must pass through a hen's intestinal tract, they are equally susceptible to salmonella spp. as well.
Originality/value
The paper finds that, sold as convenience products that will make consumers' lives easier, these devices rarely deliver an adequate performance. Much as the silicone products listed above, the plastic egg pods failed to release their cooked product. In addition, the non‐traditionally cooked products in all of the studies were inferior to those cooked traditionally.
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Pattarapong Burusnukul and Charles Christopher Broz
A study was conducted at a small university in the American Southwest. The purpose of the study was to determine the efficacy of a four-year campaign implemented by the…
Abstract
Purpose
A study was conducted at a small university in the American Southwest. The purpose of the study was to determine the efficacy of a four-year campaign implemented by the university's health services department. The campaign consisted of posting signs in lavatories across campus, reminding students, faculty, and staff to wash their hands after using the facilities.
Design/methodology/approach
In 2012, researchers conducted a traditional online survey embedded in a university-wide weekly electronic newsletter. Both students and employees at the participating university were recruited for the study. The sample represented members of the community with potential exposure to the handwashing promotion campaign as described above, as well as to the health risks associated with varying practices of sanitation behaviors among members of a public institution.
Findings
Results indicated participants generally believed in the positive outcomes of handwashing practices. Further, they did not agree that handwashing practices would result in negative outcomes. As for self-reported hand sanitization practices, participants relied more on handwashing than using alcohol-based sanitizer to sanitize hands in all instances.
Originality/value
Members of the institution reported having positive beliefs and attitude toward handwashing provide a strong basis for an effective handwashing promotion campaign. The emphasis on positive outcomes of adequate and proper handwashing, however, still needs to continue. Therefore, continuing education for the institution's members on the positive outcomes of handwashing can further enhance their attitude and the sense of responsibility to wash their hands as frequently as needed.
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Before it was fully nationalized in 1945, the Banque de France was a listed company that distributed dividends to its shareholders and was listed on the Paris stock exchange. By…
Abstract
Before it was fully nationalized in 1945, the Banque de France was a listed company that distributed dividends to its shareholders and was listed on the Paris stock exchange. By comparing with other stocks and indexes, I show that, in spite of large earnings, Banque de France’s stock was a lackluster but popular investment. By examining the distribution of profits between the state and ordinary shareholders, I show that the state began to exert an influence over the Bank well before its nationalization, in the nineteenth century, amounting to a stealthy takeover. I then go on to analyze the Bank’s formal governance framework and the power of its regents (directors). Using a novel method to compute the shareholders’ statistical distribution, I conclude that small new shareholders who were less sophisticated bought predominantly shares from old larger shareholders. Eventually, most of the shareholders were “petit-bourgeois” passive rentiers who accepted the mediocre performance and kept reelecting the regents. I conclude by saying that the power of the 200 largest shareholders (“200 families”) was a political myth with little foundation in reality.
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By the beginning of the nineteenth century, British public debt, accumulated over the eighteenth century and during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars (1793–1815), had attained…
Abstract
By the beginning of the nineteenth century, British public debt, accumulated over the eighteenth century and during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars (1793–1815), had attained extremely high levels, at times even reaching 200% of the gross national product (GNP). This increase in debt paradoxically coexisted with the early progression of the industrial revolution.
In this chapter, we explain this concomitance by the effective policies of sovereign debt management put in place by the State and the Bank of England (BoE). First, the State put in place measures to lower its risk of default by funding its debt with tax revenue that would allow it to honour due payments. Second, following the suspension in 1797 of cash payments for pounds sterling, the BoE, in addition to its role in financing the State, followed an active policy of sovereign debt management, promoting both bank liquidity and market liquidity.
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The nineties of the 20th century were marked by wars at the breakup of Yugoslavia, by a generation of children whose lives turned overnight. Many had to leave their homes and…
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The nineties of the 20th century were marked by wars at the breakup of Yugoslavia, by a generation of children whose lives turned overnight. Many had to leave their homes and become refugees. What was a reality for many children is also reflected in literature whose protagonists are coming-of-age children. The novels Ukulele Jam by Alen Mešković and Hotel Zagorje by Ivana Simić Bodrožić as a primary motive take European tragedy whose consequences still resonate today. There are two ways in which youth literature represents war – as the scenery or as the central theme of a story. War is a political and social event whose effects are transmitted to everyone regardless of gender, age, or social status. As the portrayal of literary heroes strives to be as believable and authentic as possible, the lives of literary characters trapped in the vortex of war reflect the same characteristics. Life routines change; there is often a school dropout, lack of food, children’s play changes, and children, in addition to the general poverty and chaos, also face the loss of friends, family members, violence, and home. The environment often begins to reject them. In the formerly known world, they appear as aliens who need to be removed or adapted to the new society. The transition from the socialist to the capitalist socio-economic system was based on repeated repatriarchalization, in particular in strengthening the old public and private dichotomies and reviving conservative ideologies on the family and gender.