Latest news with #responsibilities
Forbes
10 hours ago
- Business
- Forbes
Raymond Grand
While MCAs may be a helpful tool when used strategically, like any financial product, they come with responsibilities and must be approached with caution.
Channel Post MEA
11 hours ago
- Health
- Channel Post MEA
NTT Data: Healthcare Organizations Struggle To Create Cohesion Between GenAI Ambitions And Strategies
Research by NTT DATA reveals that healthcare organizations are struggling to create cohesion between their GenAI ambitions and strategies. More than 80% of healthcare organization leaders surveyed said they have a well-defined GenAl strategy, but only 40% agreed their GenAl strategy strongly aligns with their business strategy. Only 54% classified their GenAI capability as high performing. GenAI already is transforming healthcare through enhanced quality of patient and provider experiences as well as better financial outcomes. Yet even greater improvements and return on investment are hindered by challenges in data security, privacy, ethics and regulatory compliance. These findings are among the highlights of NTT DATA's new executive insight report, GenAI: The Care Plan for Powering Positive Health Outcomes. The report is based on responses from 425 decision makers and influencers from healthcare organizations across 33 countries. Key Findings 94% of respondents say GenAI accelerates R&D to enable faster access to new treatments, improved diagnostics, predictive analytics and task automation. 95% believe cloud-based solutions are the most practical and cost-effective option for their GenAI technology needs. 75% acknowledge a lack of necessary skills to work with GenAI effectively, while 93% are addressing GenAI's impact on employee roles and responsibilities. 'To achieve GenAI's full potential in healthcare, organizations must align the technology to their business strategies, develop comprehensive workforce training, and implement multilayered governance strategies that prioritize people and keep humans in the loop,' said Sundar Srinivasan, Head of Healthcare, NTT DATA North America. 'It's vital to transparently show how the technology benefits patients by complementing human workers.' Human-centric GenAI solutions enable clinicians and administrative staff to work more efficiently while maintaining a safe, patient-centered approach to healthcare. For instance, GenAI technology can predict chronic diseases to enable early intervention and can also reduce handling time for prior authorization inquiries. In another example, NTT DATA and Duke Health are using GenAI to create an advanced interactive model for home care to improve outcomes while reducing workloads and stress for clinicians, hospitals and patients. Improved compliance and process adherence are among top outcomes from current GenAI investments, yet a massive 91% of healthcare executives are fearful of privacy violations and potential misuse of Protected Health Information (PHI). Just 42% strongly agree their existing cybersecurity controls effectively protect current GenAI applications. That said, 87% of respondents agree the existing benefits and long-term potential of GenAI outweigh security and legal risks. 59% plan significant GenAI investments over the next two years. Other challenges for rapid and responsible GenAI implementation in healthcare include outdated technology infrastructure and data readiness. 91% say legacy infrastructure greatly affects their ability to use GenAI, while 44% strongly agree they have sufficiently invested in data storage and processing capabilities for GenAI workloads. Only 48% have assessed the GenAI readiness of their data and platforms. 'In addition to clearly supporting operating objectives, AI systems also must be aligned with regulatory and clinical guidelines,' Srinivasan said. 'Success hinges on high data quality and establishing collaborative decision-making teams.'
NZ Herald
17 hours ago
- Business
- NZ Herald
Mayor Mahé Drysdale's call for council review backed by LGNZ
It comes after Drysdale called for 'tough' amalgamation conversations between Bay of Plenty councils. He said the remit passing showed everyone was aware that change was happening in local government. '[We] want to be proactive around designing the system that will work for our people and work for us as local government.' The remit called for a review of current functions and governance arrangements of councils. Councils weren't as efficient and effective as they could be, he said. The sector needed to look at what services should be delivered nationally, regionally, and locally, then design a system that would best deliver those services, Drysdale said. Having a national IT system for all councils and regional roading networks were some ideas the sector could discuss, he said. Mahé Drysdale said councils could have a national IT system for service like rates. Photo / 123rf When talking about efficiency, people 'jump to amalgamation', Drysdale said, but it was only one of the solutions. 'It may not be the solution that comes out of it. We've got to keep a really open mind.' He said he was not trying to 'ram through amalgamation'. 'The intent of this is getting all the local authorities with LGNZ and central government working together to design a system that works for the country.' New Zealand has 78 councils: 11 regional, 11 city, 50 district, and six unitary authorities (regional and city/district combined). Changes to how councils managed water through Local Water Done Well and Resource Management Act (RMA) reform meant the functions of councils was changing, so councils needed to change their form, Drysdale said. LGNZ was in the 'perfect position' to co-ordinate the remit, but buy-in was needed from central Government and the other councils, he said. Plenty of reviews had been done, but action was needed, Drysdale said. 'Let's make sure we've done this thoroughly and we know what the best system is, but then we've actually got to implement it.' Local Government Minister Simon Watts. Photo / Alex Burton Local Government Minister Simon Watts said opportunities for efficiency included working alongside the sector. The new legislation that would replace the RMA included provisions about the roles, responsibilities, and processes of local government, he said. This included proposals that differed from the status quo, Watts said. 'I am keen to look at how the reorganisation process for local government can be made simpler and expect to receive advice on this.' Local Government New Zealand chief executive Susan Freeman-Greene. Photo / Mark Tantrum LGNZ chief executive Susan Freeman-Greene said local government needed to be proactive and lead the changes required. 'The current sector arrangements are a legacy, and do not always reflect how communities have expanded and how modern services are delivered. 'With key Government legislation changes now under way, it'll require an agile and well-planned response by the sector,' she said in a statement. 'It's also important we retain local decision-making in the work we do and the decisions we make, particularly when it comes to the delivery of infrastructure and services for the community.' The LGNZ national council would consider next steps on the remit in the coming months. After the October election, the organisation would engage with councils in a member-driven process, an LGNZ spokesperson said. Outgoing Bay of Plenty Regional Council chairman Doug Leeder said councils needed to be prepared to question their structure and functions. 'The structure of local government hasn't meaningfully changed since 1989. In that time, our communities, demographics, and challenges have changed dramatically,' he said in a statement. 'We need to be brave enough to question how we deliver services and what functions sit best at which level - national, regional, or local.' The remit had the support of metro councils before it was presented to LGNZ. The metro councils would provide support and resources to work on the programme established, the remit said. - LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
NZ Herald
3 days ago
- Business
- NZ Herald
Government can't be the de facto insurer of property after weather events
For example, the communities of Port Waikato and Bluecliffs have seen properties irreparably impacted by coastal erosion and sea level rise but have been treated differently to the properties impacted by single destructive events such as Cyclone Gabrielle and the Auckland Anniversary flooding in 2023. Not having a clear policy on the Government's response after an event has created this unfairness in outcomes. Buyouts of properties most affected by Cyclone Gabrielle and the Auckland Anniversary flooding cost central and local government billions of dollars. The future liability of the reactive approach from these weather events is large and growing, as development continues to happen in places that will be affected by the physical impacts of climate change. It is not sustainable for the Government and local government to be the de facto subsidised insurer of property values after significant weather events. This approach is effectively a subsidy encouraging people to stay in harm's way. We all need to be thinking about the impacts of climate change as we make decisions about how and where we live. We need clear and consistent information regarding the hazards and risk scenarios our properties face. We also need to know what plans are being made to address the hazards and risks. This is where clarity of roles and responsibilities comes in: local and regional authorities must be able to prepare adaptation plans, and many already are. To do this, they will use the Para framework – examining options under the different headings protect, accommodate, retreat and avoid. The relevant authorities will need to prioritise the proposed adaptation activities and determine how they will be funded. The question of how to fund preventive risk reduction is particularly challenging. This will require a mix of central and local government and property and infrastructure owners. We are proposing that contributions to funding investments in risk reduction broadly reflect those who get the most benefit from it. This must be subject always to consideration of ability to pay, so that those who can't contribute aren't simply left to their own devices. The Government's historical approach to property owners affected by a significant event should change. After a long transition period (20 years), hardship should be alleviated with reference to need rather than to property values. That is, there would be no buyouts following an extreme weather event that has damaged property. The Government would retain its role in alleviating hardship. The point is that this can be achieved in different ways than underwriting pre-event property values. One option, for example, would see a beachfront mansion owner and an owner of a small house in a flood-prone area be assisted according to need. If that need is established then they would receive the same capped amount rather than a payment based on the respective value of their properties. This has no impact on the role of central and local government during and immediately after an event, in terms of the emergency response. This proposal also doesn't represent an abrupt shift in policy today – it goes hand-in-hand with a long transition. This period enables the creation and ongoing update of hazard and risk information, and a timeframe over which people can make decisions in the knowledge of the future state that will apply. Banks and insurers are already starting to take these hazards and risks into account. Banks have the bigger challenge – typical mortgages are 20-25 years, while insurance contracts are annual. Insurers can decide each year the level of risk they are willing to take on and the price at which they will provide the insurance, whereas banks make a lending decision for a much longer period. Changes in lending and insurance practices will likely be the first way that people will experience the impact of climate change on property markets. A bank may require a much larger deposit or decline to lend at all on a particular property; or your insurance premium skyrockets; or the most significant hazard facing your property, flood risk, is excluded from your policy following a significant event. The numbers involved are large. A recent assessment of climate change and flooding problems in South Dunedin illustrates the scale of the potential problem. Seven potential adaptation futures were reviewed in detail, ranging from continuing as is to large-scale retreat. The different plans affect some 5800 properties and estimated costs of the different scenarios ranged from $2 billion to $7.1b – that's $345,000 to $1.2 million per house. For context, the current Dunedin City Council capital delivery budget is $200m annually for the entire city. Climate change adaptation involves hard questions for which there are no easy answers. That we are now having this conversation is a great start. The water lapping at the door doesn't care what we believe, and transparency of information regarding hazards and risks does not change those hazards and risks – events will occur and losses will be felt whether we understand that information or not. The fact that some who receive that information will have difficulty responding to it is not a good reason for not providing it. The approach we take needs to be enduring beyond election cycles. We have limited resources as a nation; we need to make sure we are using those resources effectively and not wasting them on short-term measures when we are dealing with a long-term problem. It is inevitable that people will have different views of the level of risk, and some may choose to buy, or stay, at a place despite the knowledge of the hazards and estimates of the risk. That's entirely up to them, but that shouldn't require the country to underwrite that decision. The reflexive response from those unhappy with this approach essentially says: a person buying, or choosing to stay in, a property today with the knowledge that it is at a higher risk of the physical impacts of climate change should expect to be made whole by the Government (ie the whole community) in 20 years' time, if those risks come to pass. To which it's worth asking: why?
Straits Times
5 days ago
- Business
- Straits Times
Why hiring more teachers makes sense, even with falling student numbers
Find out what's new on ST website and app. The teaching workforce – like the rest of Singapore's working population – is growing older. SINGAPORE - With fewer students, why do we need more teachers? It's a fair question. On July 9, Education Minister Desmond Lee announced that his ministry will raise annual teacher recruitment to 1,000 – a significant jump from the recent average of 650 new hires a year since 2019. The number of teachers across primary schools, secondary schools and junior colleges dropped from 31,834 in 2021 to 30,396 in 2023. Figures for 2024 are not yet available. Despite falling student cohort sizes – from 428,600 in 2021 to 422,342 in 2023 – boosting the supply of teachers is not just timely, it is critical. It is no longer enough to be a classroom teacher, a subject expert with little knowledge of how the real world works. As educators support students beyond academics and prepare them for an increasingly uncertain world, their workloads have grown, along with the complexity of their responsibilities. A better-staffed workforce could help give teachers some breathing space to meet these demands. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Mindef, SAF units among those dealing with attack on S'pore's critical information infrastructure Singapore Bukit Panjang LRT disruption: Train service resumes after power fault affects 13-station line Asia Autogate glitch causes chaos at KLIA and Johor checkpoints, foreign passport holders affected Singapore A deadly cocktail: Easy access, lax attitudes driving Kpod scourge in S'pore Singapore 'I thought it was an April Fool's joke': Teen addicted to Kpods on news that friend died Singapore Who decides when you can't? A guide on planning for end-of-life care Singapore S'pore sees no baby boom in Year of the Dragon despite slight rise in births in 2024 Singapore New auto pet wash service in Buona Vista draws flak, but company stands by its safety Throughout the school day, and sometimes beyond, they wear multiple 'hats' apart from their formal teacher role – mediator, counsellor, disciplinarian, tech support and coach, among others. They design lesson materials and assessments to cater to students who learn at a slower or faster pace, plan activities to help their charges form friendships and learn in groups, and help them navigate online lessons. They are required, to some extent, to be well-versed with digital tools and artificial intelligence, and ensure students are using digital devices responsibly for learning, without getting distracted. More attention is also being placed on students' mental and emotional well-being, said Associate Professor Jason Tan from the National Institute of Education. Another important aspect of the job of an educator today is partnering parents, especially for families with more needs. With recent moves like full subject-based banding – where students can take subjects at different levels based on their ability – and the removal of mid-year examinations, teachers have more on their plate. Full subject-based banding could result in more teachers being deployed to teach, as one class now has students taking one subject at three different levels. And the removal of mid-year exams means that lessons go on as per usual for all teachers, instead of only a few teachers being deployed as exam invigilators. All these added roles have expanded what it means to be an educator today. Mr Mike Thiruman, general secretary of the Singapore Teachers' Union, said that with more teachers, schools will have more flexibility to spread out work and can implement the ministry's reforms more meaningfully. Just by having one fewer lesson, a teacher could use the freed-up time for professional development, said Mr Thiruman. This could mean engaging in online courses to help them hone teaching skills, or using that time to complete school or department projects. 'There are plenty of training opportunities that MOE has created, but it's whether teachers have time to partake in all of this,' he said. An older workforce; teachers on reduced workloads New teachers are needed to replace those who will retire in the near future. The teaching workforce – like the rest of Singapore's working population – is growing older. The median age of teachers was 43 as at December 2024, with about 11 per cent aged 55 and above. In 2019, the median age was 38. While hiring more teachers is on the right track, Mr Thiruman said it is not just about replacing teachers who retire. 'There are different schemes in service now, with teachers going on no-pay leave, taking breaks from service and doing flexi-adjunct work as well,' he said, and added that Singapore will need to recruit even more than 1,000 annually in the future. Flexi-adjunct teachers are typically assigned fewer teaching hours and may not have the same administrative or CCA responsibilities as full-time teachers. Currently, part-time and flexi-adjunct teachers likely make up a small proportion of the workforce, but if more choose to switch to such schemes to reduce their workload, it could put added strain on the profession. A boost for teaching digital literacy In the years ahead, teachers will be expected to use technology more meaningfully. Younger hires might have an edge over more senior teachers, who may not be as well-versed with digital tools. Students need to be equipped with digital skills, particularly in AI literacy – one of the areas of focus for the future. From 2021, all Secondary 1 students have received personal learning devices like tablets or laptops, underscoring this shift. Since then, more of classroom learning has shifted online. Students use online apps like Padlet and Google Classroom to learn with others and complete exercises on the Singapore Student Learning Space, an online portal with resources and tools that can give students targeted feedback. To guide students, teachers must first be comfortable with learning how to use such tools and platforms, which often falls outside the scope of their subject expertise. Hence, the news that more teachers are in the pipeline is welcome for a profession that is reckoning with growing demands and expectations. This is rightly so, as the task of preparing students for an ever-changing world has never been more crucial.
