Dilemmas when working with substance abusers with multiple and complex problems: the case manager's perspective

Since the 1990s, case management has been implemented in the USA and Canada – and recently also in various European countries – to support substance abusers with multiple and complex needs. Although this intervention is often presented as a set of standardised functions, its application is often a subjective task involving various dilemmas, which may influence case management outcomes significantly. Based on a comparison of case managers' experiences in Denmark and Belgium, we focus on several core dilemmas in case management for substance abusers with complex problems. Case management practices vary from one project to the next and even within the same project. Such differences are apparently related to the way in which case managers approach dilemmas such as those existing between control versus self-determination, or between systematic versus ad-hoc planning. The conclusion is that it is vital to discuss these dilemmas during training courses and supervision meetings in order to ensure that the intended form of intervention is actually delivered on the ground.     

Trust in Risk Regulation: Cause or Consequence of the Acceptability of GM Food?

Although there is ample empirical evidence that trust in risk regulation is strongly related to the perception and acceptability of risk, it is less clear what the direction of this relationship is. This article explores the nature of the relationship, using three separate data sets on perceptions of genetically modified (GM) food among the British public. The article has two discrete but closely interrelated objectives. First, it compares two models of trust. More specifically, it investigates whether trust is the cause (causal chain account) or the consequence (associationist view) of the acceptability of GM food. Second, this study explores whether the affect heuristic can be applied to a wider number of risk-relevant concepts than just perceived risk and benefit. The results suggest that, rather than a determinant, trust is an expression or indicator of the acceptability of GM food. In addition, and as predicted, "affect" accounts for a large portion of the variance between perceived risk, perceived benefit, trust in risk regulation, and acceptability. Overall, the results support the associationist view that specific risk judgments are driven by more general evaluative judgments The implications of these results for risk communication and policy are discussed.     

The Governance Structure and Performance of Large European Corporations

This article first describes the governance structure ofgroups of large European corporations, viz. the Anglo-Saxon, theGermanic and the Latinic types of firms. It then discussesperformance criteria of which four are used: productivity or netvalue added per employee, growth, employment and total compensationto shareholders. It is found that Continental corporations have aperformance which is equal to or better than that of the Anglo-Saxongroup. Combining the structural and performance outcomes, theexplanation seems to be that the dominance of capital markets andthe market for corporate control force Anglo-Saxon managements tomaximize returns on capital, whereas Continental firms have a widerrange of options.     

Adjustment of issue positions based on network strategies in an election campaign: A two-mode network autoregression model with cross-nested random effects

During election campaigns, political parties deliver statements on salient issues in the news media, which are called issue positions. This article conceptualizes issue positions as a valued and longitudinal two-mode network of parties by issues. The network is valued because parties pronounce pro or con positions on issues in more or less extreme ways. It is longitudinal because the media report new statements of parties on issues each new day.     

The planning of cycle trips in the province of East Flanders

Traditional route planners assist in finding the shortest or fastest route from one place to another. This paper presents a novel approach to path finding in a directed graph, namely a target distance, motivated by the problem that a recreational cyclist deals with when searching a nice route of a certain length. The problem is defined as a variant of the arc orienteering problem (AOP), a new combinatorial optimisation problem in which the score of a route in a directed graph has to be maximised by visiting arcs, while each arc can be visited at most once and the total cost of the route should not exceed a predefined cost. The contribution of this paper is threefold: (1) a mathematical model of the AOP is provided, (2) a metaheuristic method that solves AOP instances to near optimality in 1 s of execution time, is proposed and evaluated, and (3) two real-life applications of the method are presented. An on-line cycle route planning application offers personalised cycle routes based on user preferences, and an SMS service provides cyclists “in the field” with routes on demand.     

The impact of tax-financed pensions on poverty reduction in Latin America: Evidence from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica and Uruguay

In many Latin American countries, tax-financed pensions (TFPs) have expanded, mainly resulting from growing informalization of employment and stagnating or declining pension insurance coverage. In the five countries examined in this article, TFPs have generally been effective in reducing poverty and indigence. In Brazil rural social assistance pensions cut the incidence of destitution among poor older people by 95 per cent. In Chile TFPs considerably improved their poverty reduction effectiveness between 1990 and 2000. Tax-financed pensions have therefore been seen as an instrument to supplement contributory pension coverage and boost overall social security coverage. A key challenge is to increase pension insurance coverage through existing statutory pension insurance or special contributory schemes targeted on workers in the informal economy. Otherwise, TFPs could become financially and socially unsustainable in the future. There are also various ways to improve the financing, administration and eligibility criteria of TFPs, particularly because it is necessary to define consistent structure and benefit policies between these and contributory schemes.     

Heterogeneity,Aggregate Uncertainty,and the Short-Term Interest Rate

This article analyzes the relationship between the short-term interest rate and diversity (i.e., the number of types) in models with heterogeneous agents and incomplete markets. The number of types needed to approximate a continuum varies across examples. In all cases, however, the number of types has little effect on the average interest rate and consumption variability. In these models, the set of state variables is large because the equilibrium law of motion depends on the cross-sectional wealth distribution. The article shows how to solve these models numerically by approximating the distribution using moments or percentiles.     

Adoption of Individual Flood Damage Mitigation Measures in New York City: An Extension of Protection Motivation Theory

This study offers insights into factors of influence on the implementation of flood damage mitigation measures by more than 1,000 homeowners who live in flood‐prone areas in New York City. Our theoretical basis for explaining flood preparedness decisions is protection motivation theory, which we extend using a variety of other variables that can have an important influence on individual decision making under risk, such as risk attitudes, time preferences, social norms, trust, and local flood risk management policies. Our results in relation to our main hypothesis are as follows. Individuals who live in high flood risk zones take more flood‐proofing measures in their home than individuals in low‐risk zones, which suggests the former group has a high threat appraisal. With regard to coping appraisal variables, we find that a high response efficacy and a high self‐efficacy play an important role in taking flood damage mitigation measures, while perceived response cost does not. In addition, a variety of behavioral characteristics influence individual decisions to flood‐proof homes, such as risk attitudes, time preferences, and private values of being well prepared for flooding. Investments in elevating one's home are mainly influenced by building code regulations and are negatively related with expectations of receiving federal disaster relief. We discuss a variety of policy recommendations to improve individual flood preparedness decisions, including incentives for risk reduction through flood insurance, and communication campaigns focused on coping appraisals and informing people about flood risk they face over long time horizons.     

Comparative Human Health Impact Assessment of Engineered Nanomaterials in the Framework of Life Cycle Assessment

For safe innovation, knowledge on potential human health impacts is essential. Ideally, these impacts are considered within a larger life‐cycle‐based context to support sustainable development of new applications and products. A methodological framework that accounts for human health impacts caused by inhalation of engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) in an indoor air environment has been previously developed. The objectives of this study are as follows: (i) evaluate the feasibility of applying the CF framework for NP exposure in the workplace based on currently available data; and (ii) supplement any resulting knowledge gaps with methods and data from the li fe c ycle a pproach and human r isk a ssessment (LICARA) project to develop a modified case‐specific version of the framework that will enable near‐term inclusion of NP human health impacts in life cycle assessment (LCA) using a case study involving nanoscale titanium dioxide (nanoTiO₂). The intent is to enhance typical LCA with elements of regulatory risk assessment, including its more detailed measure of uncertainty. The proof‐of‐principle demonstration of the framework highlighted the lack of available data for both the workplace emissions and human health effects of ENMs that is needed to calculate generalizable characterization factors using common human health impact assessment practices in LCA. The alternative approach of using intake fractions derived from workplace air concentration measurements and effect factors based on best‐available toxicity data supported the current case‐by‐case approach for assessing the human health life cycle impacts of ENMs. Ultimately, the proposed framework and calculations demonstrate the potential utility of integrating elements of risk assessment with LCA for ENMs once the data are available.