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A Historical Perspective On The Holcomb Fire: Differences And Similarities To The Covid-19 Situation And Other Significant Market Events, Elliott James Dennis

Extension Farm and Ranch Management News

Copyright 2020, the author. Used by permission.

Psychological Contract Breach, Dana Hollinshead, Megan Paul

Umbrella Summaries

What is psychological contract breach?

A psychological contract is defined as “individual beliefs, shaped by the organization, regarding terms of an exchange agreement between individuals and their organization” (Rousseau, 1995, p. 9, as cited in Zhao, Wayne, Glibkowski, & Bravo, 2007, p. 649). Psychological contracts do not necessarily involve legal contracts; they reflect promissory expectations that are the upshot of perceived implicit or explicit promises by one’s employer (Robinson, Kraatz, & Rousseau, 1996, p. 575). By extension, a psychological contract breach is an employee’s perception that their employer has failed to fulfill promises or expectations (Zhao et al., 2007). A …

Financial Health Of Grain Operations After Adding A Hog Barn, Elliott James Dennis

Extension Farm and Ranch Management News

There is strong local and national interest in adding hog barns to existing row crop operations. Declining on farm income over the past several years has accelerated this interest. Grain operations cite diversifying farm income, adding another family to the farm operation, and/or replace commercial fertilizer expense as the primary reasons for adding a hog barn.

While there is industry demand to increase hog contract growing, these agreements can possess significant benefits and risks to producers. This is the second of a four part series which will discuss some financial and legal implications of adding a hog barn to an …

Hog Barn Density And Location In U.S. And Nebraska, Elliott James Dennis

Extension Farm and Ranch Management News

There is strong local and national interest in adding hog barns to existing row crop operations. Declining on farm income over the past several years has accelerated this interest. Grain operations cite diversifying farm income, adding another family to the farm operation, and/or replace commercial fertilizer expense as the primary reasons for adding a hog barn.

While there is industry demand to increase hog contract growing, these agreements can possess significant benefits and risks to producers. This is the first of a four part series which will discuss some financial and legal implications of adding a hog barn to an …

Organizational Socialization, Martin Hall, Megan Paul

Umbrella Summaries

What is organizational socialization?

Organizational socialization—also referred to as onboarding—is “…the process by which newcomers make the transition from being organizational outsiders to being insiders” (Bauer, Bodner, Erdogan, Truxillo, & Tucker, 2007, p. 707). The overall goal of organizational socialization is to facilitate newcomer adjustment (Bauer & Erdogan, 2011). Specifically, adjustment means that new employees understand the key tasks of their job (i.e., role clarity), have confidence in their ability to perform the key tasks of their job (i.e., self-efficacy), feel like they are an accepted member of the organization (i.e., social acceptance), and understand the organization’s culture (e.g., goals, …

How Can Our Mission Be Fully Accomplished By Staff That Are Experiencing Secondary Trauma And Burnout?, Stephanie Reau

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My name is Stephanie Reau and I am a training supervisor at Summit County Children Services. We are an agency of 350 employees with a focus on recruiting and maintaining diverse staff committed to serving all children and families. Summit County strives to attract and retain wellqualified staff, but like many child welfare agencies in Ohio, this has been a difficult task to accomplish. The overwhelming pressures of the job cause secondary trauma, burnout and ultimately staff turnover. Staff turnover impacts the morale of the agency, is costly, and, most importantly, it negatively impacts the families we serve. Our mission …

What Are Total Export Commitments Telling Us About Beef’S Potential In 2020: Positive Signs?, Elliott James Dennis

Extension Farm and Ranch Management News

Overarching Market Conditions

The recent cattle on feed report suggests that cattle feedlots are coming closer to sorting through much of the backlog associated with plant closures and shutdowns as a result of plant workers testing positive for COVID-19 and plants implementing CDC and OSHA worker health recommendations. For example, the number of cattle on feed over 90 days has dipped below 2019 levels for the first time since April. However, cattle on feed over 120 days is still about 10% higher than 2019. The result of cattle being on feed longer is sustained record level dressed weights for both …

Drought Decisions: Profit Maximizing Decisions During And After Drought Conditions, Robert Tigner, Elliott James Dennis

Extension Farm and Ranch Management News

In summary, using available price risk management tools can effectively reduce some of the market price risk variability that is inherent in agricultural production that are caused by either production or price risk.

Want To Improve Organizational Outcomes? Consider People Analytics, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

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People analytics has been around for more than 20 years. However, it continues to be viewed as an emerging area of study. People analytics shows the contribution that the workforce makes to organizational success and provides insight to maximize that contribution. It is an evidence-based practice that allows human resources (HR) staff to evaluate practice for the purpose of improving outcomes for employees, and to communicate with the workforce the effectiveness of personnel management and HR practice. People data, when used appropriately, may improve trust and transparency within organizations. There is evidence that organizations are not using the people and …

Nebraska Monthly Economic Indicators: August 26, 2020, Eric Thompson

Leading Economic Indicator Reports

The LEI-N rose by 0.59% during July of 2020. July marked the third consecutive increase in the leading indicator after sharp declines in March and April. The July result indicates that the Nebraska economy will grow over the next 6 months, continuing a steady recovery from large economic losses in March and April. Five of the six components of the leading indicator improved during July. Airline passenger enplanements continued a steady rebound, and there was a modest increase in building permits for single-family homes. There also was a slight drop in initial claims for unemployment insurance and a drop in …

Sneak Peek- Eastern Band Of Cherokee Indians' (Ebci) Onboarding Manuals For Employees And Supervisors, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

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The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) Family Safety Program (FSP) developed a new 5-week onboarding process for new social workers. Drawing upon available research and best practice, the QIC-WD worked with FSP to create the multipronged onboarding program that includes written materials, videos, supervisor supports, tours, and shadowing. Weeks 1 and 2 orient new workers to the organizational structure, mission, purpose, philosophy, and practice of FSP and provide an introduction to Cherokee culture through various activities. Weeks 3 through 5 involve learning about each of the team units within FSP by reading and answering questions about relevant sections of …

Introduction To Workforce Analytics, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

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The Quality Improvement Center for Workforce Development created the Child Welfare Workforce Analytics Institute (the Institute). The goals of the Institute are to: 1. inspire and motivate child welfare leaders and human resources (HR) staff to work together to use data analytics to address child welfare workforce challenges, 2. provide opportunities for initiating and strengthening connections between child welfare and HR leaders, 3. build awareness, knowledge, and/or understanding around data analytics, and 4. support agencies to initiate plans to use HR data to address child welfare workforce challenges. This blog post provides an overview of workforce analytics as presented to …

Learning From Workforce Studies That Cut Across Social Services, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

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Sometimes researchers, administrators and practitioners miss studies that cut across social service fields but that include child welfare workers in their samples. For example, a Canadian study by Graham, Shier, & Nicholas (2016), Workplace Congruence and Occupational Outcomes Among Social Services Workers, has relevant implications for the child welfare field. This study found that when a job setting matches an employee’s expectations regarding workload, autonomy, the working environment, and the values of the organization, there is likely to be a lower intention to leave the job and greater life satisfaction. This finding implies it is important to help new child …

The Scarlet Aims To Capture Nebraska In A Night’S Stay, Kate Engel

Nebraska Innovation Campus Materials

The hotel being built at Nebraska Innovation Campus will be named TheScarlet, it was revealed during an Aug. 18 event. The name and brand package for the 154-room Marriott Tribute property was created by Archrival, a Lincoln creative agency. “While the majority of our work is around the country, we take the greatest pride when there is an opportunity to do a brand that represents our home, Nebraska,” said Clint! Runge, Archrival managing director. “We are thrilled to create a meaningful brand that continues the growth of NIC and further cements Lincoln as a welcome surprise.” Runge described The Scarlet …

Accountability In A Virtual Work Environment, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

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With the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, many child welfare supervisors suddenly were managing a virtual team with little or no preparation. Maintaining accountability when staff telework (i.e., work from home) poses challenges in defining and measuring productivity. These challenges can feel different from managing performance in an office environment. Supervisors needed to navigate between emphasizing process (how the work is done) and the achievement of specific outcomes (what gets done). Some agencies may require daily activity logs to help supervisors manage their team, which emphasizes process. An over emphasis on process can lead to workers feeling micro-managed. Keeping track …

What Are Best Practices For Conducting Hiring Interviews?, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

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When it comes to conducting hiring interviews, many managers rely more on their gut instincts regarding what questions to ask and how to evaluate candidates’ responses in order to decide who to hire. Given the importance of hiring for achieving agency outcomes, it makes sense to invest time and attention into planning how to conduct your interviews. The QIC-WD reviewed the research on hiring interviews and found evidence of a number of factors that can improve the effectiveness of your interview practice. • Plan ahead. As with many things in life, advance preparation will yield the best results when you …

Resilience In Nonmetropolitan Nebraska: Capacity To Overcome Disasters And Hardships, 2020 Nebraska Rural Poll Results, Rebecca Vogt, Cheryl Burkhart-Kriesel, Brad Lubben, L.J. Mcelravy, Timothy Meyer, Steve Schulz, Jason L. Weigle

Rural Futures Institute: Publications

The definition of resilience is the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties. Synonyms include toughness, perseverance and grit. Last spring’s severe weather events and this year’s ongoing COVID-19 pandemic are likely testing the resilience of rural Nebraskans. Given that, how do rural Nebraskans rate their communities on dimensions that measure their resiliency? How confident are they that the federal government or local emergency management authorities can contain infectious disease outbreaks? How do they rate their ability to help their community handle adversities? How prepared are rural Nebraskans to deal with financial emergencies? This paper provides a detailed analysis of these …

Does Your Agency Embrace Evidence -Based Management Practices?, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

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Child welfare agencies are encouraged to use evidencebased practices in all aspects of their work to try to improve outcomes for children and families. The child welfare field has made improvements in using data, research, and evaluation to inform practice and decision-making, but still has a ways to go. The primary goal of the Quality Improvement Center for Workforce Development (QIC-WD) is to build the evidence base regarding strategies to strengthen the child welfare workforce. One means of practicing evidence-based management for improving workforce outcomes is using workforce analytics. As part of the Child Welfare Workforce Analytics Institute, the QIC-WD …

Louisiana Progress Update- Redesigning The Child Welfare Worker Position, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

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When there is a high workload, there is often a lot of turnover and when there is a lot of turnover the remaining workforce has an even greater workload. The Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) was all too familiar with this negative cycle and the impact it was having on its child welfare workforce. When DCFS became a Quality Improvement Center for Workforce Development (QIC-WD) site, they were ready to make a significant change to their workforce operations. After a thorough needs assessment, DCFS decided to work with the QIC-WD on a job redesign project to strengthen …

Informal Learning Behaviors, Megan Paul, Robert Blagg

Umbrella Summaries

What are informal learning behaviors?

Informal learning behaviors (ILBs) are self-directed, intentional activities to acquire knowledge and skill outside of formal learning environments (Cerasoli, Alliger, Donsbach, Mathieu, Tannenbaum, & Orvis, 2017). Informal learning is distinct from learning that is externally imposed or required, involves structured content or processes, or occurs accidentally (Cerasoli et al., 2017). It is the day-to-day, on-the-job learning that occurs in the workplace. ILBs include things like observing, asking questions, seeking information, and practicing (Cerasoli et al., 2017). A highly related behavior is seeking feedback, which is sometimes described as a form of informal learning but has …

Hand Sanitizer Production Pauses After 200k Gallons, Jon Wilson

Nebraska Innovation Campus Materials

After manufacturing and donating more than 200,000 gallons of hand sanitizer at Nebraska Innovation Campus, production and distribution will cease on July 31. This will be the final date for external entities to place or pick up any orders at NIC . All college or department orders will remain available through UNL Marketplace (https://news.unl.edu/newsrooms/today/article/hand-sanitizer-production-pauses-after-200k-gallons/marketplace.unl.edu) , as there is inventory reserved for use at Nebraska. The university set up the temporary production just over four months ago to assist the state’s medical, educational and business communities during the COVID -19 pandemic. The project was first conceived by Hunter Flodman, associate professor …

Virginia Progress Update - The Timely Implementation Of A Technology Solution, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

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The pandemic is pushing the U.S. workforce to adapt and seek mobile solutions to carry out key tasks. Virginia’s child welfare workforce strengthening effort, supported by the Quality Improvement Center for Workforce Development (QIC-WD), includes a transcription service and a mobile solution (an application or app) on iPads to help the workforce manage their administrative and family engagement tasks out of the office. The effort began in 2017 but demand has been heightened by the pandemic. This post summarizes what the Virginia Department of Social Services (VDSS) has accomplished and learned as they roll out new technology to thousands of …

Feeder Cattle Future Price Spreads: Opportunities To Hedge?, Elliott James Dennis

Extension Farm and Ranch Management News

First paragraph:

Feeder cattle future price spreads across all months have recovered to near pre-COVID-19 levels as quarantine restrictions and packing plant capacity issues have been mostly sorted out. For example, for the week of July 17, 2010 [sic], prices reached levels not seen since the beginning of March 2020. Pasture and corn progress are two factors that have the potential to push prices lower in the next coming months. Given current market conditions, producers have some options to lock in a margin.

Nebraska Monthly Economic Indicators: July 24, 2020, Eric Thompson

Leading Economic Indicator Reports

The LEI-N rose by 1.72% during June of 2020. The June increase followed sharp declines in March and April. The June result indicates that the Nebraska economy will grow over the next 6 months, continuing the steady recovery from large economic losses in March and April. All six components of the leading indicator improved during June. The slow rebound in airline passenger enplanements continued, and manufacturing hours-worked increased. There also was a slight drop in initial claims for unemployment insurance and a drop in the value of the U.S. dollar in June. A lower U.S. dollar improves competitive conditions for …

Workplace Supports For Lgbt Employees, Toby Burnham, Megan Paul

Umbrella Summaries

What are workplace supports for LGBT employees?

Workplace supports for LGBT employees are organizational policies and practices that are thought to improve the work experiences of LGBT employees and foster diversity within an organization. Although there isn’t one set of specific workplace supports for LGBT employees, one way of summarizing the contextual supports in the workplace is to categorize them as (a) formal LGBT-supportive policies and practices, (b) LGBT-supportive climates, and (c) supportive workplace relationships (Webster, Adams, Maranto, Sawyer, & Thoroughgood, 2017). Formal policies and practices that are supportive of LGBT employees include things like same-sex benefits coverage, LGBT resource …

Perspectives From A Prevention Team, Jaqueta Taylor, Rynika Polk, Jackie Gooch

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Louisiana’s redesign includes the creation of prevention teams. The prevention teams include one supervisor, three child protective services (CPS) workers, two family services (FS) workers, and one child welfare team specialist. Over the course of the past year each team was established, trained, and worked together to build a cohesive unit. Team members expressed a mix of excitement and concern about their new roles. The redesign meant the supervisor was managing new team members, workers were delegating tasks they were previously responsible for, and team specialists were new to the team and had to establish trust with their coworkers. The …

My Experience With Cfs Strong, Lana Sayre

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I am a child and family services specialist supervisor with the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services. A few years ago, I volunteered to take over for another member of the workforce retention team that was working with the QIC-WD to develop/select an intervention that Nebraska could implement to reduce employee turnover among child and family services specialists (CFSS), our frontline worker position. Employee retention is a constant, ongoing challenge. Our work is challenging and very stressful. You have to be an expert in child safety and have a broad understanding of all of the issues which affect the …

Presenteeism, Megan Paul

Umbrella Summaries

What is presenteeism?

Presenteeism is not simply a matter of attending, or being physically present, at work. Rather, it refers to going to work while ill and, in some cases, also includes the concept of lost productivity as a result (Johns, 2010; McGregor, Sharma, Magee, Caputi, & Iverson, 2017). Unlike absenteeism, which can be measured through personnel records, presenteeism is measured by employee self-report via surveys or interviews. For the more limited definition (going to work ill), employees are asked whether or how often in the past they showed up to work when they were sick and should have taken …

Grit, Maggie Thompson, Megan Paul

Umbrella Summaries

What is grit?

Grit is a personality trait that is defined as “perseverance and passion for long-term goals” (Duckworth, Peterson, Matthews, & Kelly, 2007, p. 1087) and as “… not just resilience in the face of failure, but also having deep commitments that you remain loyal to over many years” (Perkins-Gough, 2013, p. 14). It has been conceptualized as a higher-order trait comprised of two lower order facets: perseverance of effort (the tendency to work hard even in the face of setbacks) and consistency of interest (the tendency to not frequently change goals and interests). The two primary self-report measures …

Diversity Training, Megan Paul

Umbrella Summaries

What is diversity training?

Diversity training refers to a “distinct set of instructional programs aimed at facilitating positive intergroup interactions, reducing prejudice and discrimination, and enhancing the skills, knowledge, and motivation of participants to interact with diverse others” (Bezrukova, Spell, Perry, & Jehn, 2016, p. 1,228). In the absence of a standard approach, there has been significant variation in the design and context of diversity training.

The following characteristics have been identified as differing across trainings reported in the research literature (Bezrukova et al., 2016):

► Content Focus: Group-specific training focuses on learning about one or more specific groups (e.g., …