Genets in the city: community observations and perceptions of large-spotted genets (Genetta tigrina) in an urban environment

Urban Ecosystems - The global increase in urbanization has resulted in exclusion of many carnivore species from human-altered landscapes due to a variety of anthropogenic impacts. However, despite...     

Fishermens blues: Factors related to accidents and safety among Newfoundland fishermen

Abstract

The fisheries is one of the most dangerous industries in Canada. Possible contributory causes of the high rate of injuries are a fatalistic attitude to accidents and safety, and a high level of anxiety and worry among fishermen. These characteristics would be expected to lead to less attention to safety procedures and a consequent greater risk of accidents. The purpose of this study was to explore fishermen's levels of fatalism and anxiety; to consider the relationship of these factors to the frequency of accidents and extent of safety precautions; and to explore fishermen's explanations of and suggested solutions to the high rate of injuries at sea. The study was conducted among a sample of inshore fishermen who fished in the waters around Newfoundland. Fifty-five fishermen completed a questionnaire that requested basic demographic details, information on injuries obtained, safety precautions taken, perceived locus of control over accidents, anxiety, worries and explanations for accidents and possible measures to reduce them. Analysis of their replies revealed that the fishermen reported a high level of anxiety and that those who reported most anxiety reported more injuries and fewer safety precautions.     

Does Welfare Participation Affect Women's Wages?*

Objectives. This study examines how welfare participation and employment affect women's wages. Methods. We use longitudinal data from the 1996 Survey of Income and Program Participation and fixed‐effects regression models to test our hypotheses. Results. Our results indicate that time spent on welfare while unemployed results in a wage penalty that is similar to the penalty associated with nonwelfare work breaks. Time spent on welfare while employed has no effect on wages, unlike the strong positive impact of nonwelfare work periods. Conclusions. Working while on welfare does appear to prevent further wage deterioration, but does not lead to substantial wage growth.     

Effects of dog leash laws and habitat type on avian and small mammal communities in urban parks

Remnant natural areas within urban settings can act as important refuges for wildlife, substantially increasing local biodiversity. However, habitat suitability for these species is potentially affected by human recreational activities including the presence of free-running dogs. To compare the diversity and abundance of songbird and small mammal communities between areas with bylaws that require, or do not require, dogs to be leashed, point counts and live-trapping surveys were conducted in three habitat types (deciduous, coniferous, and meadow) in the river valley parks of Edmonton, Alberta. Among birds, there was no difference between areas with different leashing bylaws in species diversity for any of the three habitat types. Similarly, there was no difference in bird diversity for a subset of species that were plausibly breeding at these sites. However, higher bird diversity was recorded in deciduous and coniferous sites than in meadow sites, regardless of leash designation, probably as a function of the horticultural practice of mowing meadows. Among both birds and small mammals, there was no difference in the abundance of individuals as a function of leashing bylaws. Our results suggest that off-leash dogs have no effect on the diversity or abundance of birds and small mammals in urban parks, but it is also possible that other factors, such as leash law compliance, reduced or obscured the effects of off-leash dogs in this study.     

The Role of Society in Engineering Risk Analysis: A Capabilities-Based Approach

This article proposes a new conceptual framework in engineering risk analysis to account for the net impact of hazards on individuals in a society. It analyzes four limitations of prevailing approaches to risk analysis and suggests a way to overcome them. These limitations are a result of how societal impacts are characteristically accounted for and valued. Prevailing approaches typically focus too narrowly on the consequences of natural or man-made hazards, not accounting for the broader societal impacts of such hazards. Such approaches lack a uniform and consistent metric for accounting for the impact of the nonquantifiable consequences (like psychological trauma or societal impacts) and rely upon implicit and potentially inaccurate value judgments when evaluating risks. To overcome these limitations, we propose an alternative, Capabilities-Based Approach to the treatment of society in risk analysis. A similar approach is currently used by the United Nations to quantitatively measure the degree of development in countries around the world. In a Capabilities-Based Approach, the potential benefits and losses due to a hazard are measured and compared in a uniform way by using individual capabilities (functionings individuals are able, still able, or unable to achieve) as a metric. This Capabilities-Based Approach provides a foundation for identifying and quantifying the broader, complex societal consequences of hazards and is based on explicit, value judgments. The Capabilities-Based Approach can accommodate different methods or techniques for risk determination and for risk evaluation and can be used in assessing risk in diverse types of hazards (natural or man-made) and different magnitudes that range from minor to catastrophic. In addition, implementing a Capabilities-Based Approach contributes to the development of a single standard for public policy decision making, since a Capabilities-Based Approach is already in use in development economics and policy.     

Support Network Connectedness in the Lives of Community-Dwelling Rural Elders and Their Families

Rural elders face challenges when accessing assistance from family, neighbors, and paid helpers. This support is essential to allow them to remain community dwelling as they develop physical challenges that limit their ability to care for themselves. This qualitative study followed a group of 16 rural elders with physical limitations for 1 year. In-depth interviews were conducted with them and eight members of their support networks, including five family members, to explore how rural older adults create and maintain support networks that allow them to remain community dwelling despite physical challenges that limit their self-care. The research question is, “How do members of the support network connect with each other to maximize the effectiveness of the network?” Family members coordinated assistance to maximize the abilities and availability of various network members. In addition, family members worked together with other family members, neighbors, and paid helpers to assist the elder. These strategies enhanced the ability of the network to assist the rural elder and also lessened the burden of care by dispersing it among network members.     

Responding to remediation and gatekeeping challenges in supervision

Thirty faculty in randomly selected Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education (COAMFTE) programs representing four geographical regions of the United States were asked to respond to a survey that included seven brief vignettes depicting gatekeeping and remediation challenges supervisors may face when working with therapists-in-training. Research participants were asked to select from among a range of 17 response options and were also asked to provide a rationale for the selection of their responses. The response rate for the mailed survey was 34%. Telephone interviews were conducted with three respondents who had provided especially detailed responses to the open-ended portions of the mailed survey and who also volunteered to be questioned regarding how supervision decisions are made. Results support the conclusion that COAMFTE faculty take their gatekeeping function seriously as they balance commitments to multiple stakeholders. When presented with hypothetical "bare-bones" vignettes, the supervisors in our study consistently recommended talking with the student in order to more fully understand the context of the student's performance problem before deciding how to proceed. Supervisors recommended a variety of remediation efforts, but reserved the most severe consequences, such as probation, dismissal, and filing an ethics complaint, for the vignette involving dishonesty and lack of personal integrity.     

The Efficacy of the Social Norms Approach to Substance Abuse Prevention Applied to Fraternity Men

Abstract

Students tend to overestimate the amount of alcohol consumed among their peers and often drink to that imaginary level. The social norms strategy, designed to correct norm misperceptions, has been correlated with a decrease in reported consumption in the general college population. However, it has had little or no impact among Greek students, the group that consumes the most alcohol. The authors investigated and subsequently found three possible flaws in the application of the social norms strategy that may account for the failure to decrease binge drinking among fraternity men: there is no predominant, healthy drinking norm in this population; students are influenced more by people within their network(s) than by others; and binge drinking is the norm in this group and may serve to perpetuate the problem. The findings, though preliminary, provide the first step in developing interventions beyond the social norms approach to address binge drinking among fraternity men.     

Working and nursing: navigating job and breastfeeding demands at work

Breastfeeding is a sex-specific, work–family issue for women. Yet, there is relatively little sociological research on the breastfeeding-work interface. What challenges do breastfeeding women face during the workday? (How) Are some more successful than others at merging breastfeeding and work? We conducted interviews with 22 US women as part of a case study of workplace breastfeeding support. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act [PPACA] (2010) includes breastfeeding provisions, but primarily address hourly workers. Most women in our study were not covered by the PPACA but had access to a workplace Breastfeeding Support Initiative. Despite this, women faced several challenges: different degrees of schedule control, unequal access to space, and unexpected breastfeeding demands. Women also had differential access to workplace resources to cope with demands. Control over both time and space was a cross-cutting theme. Research needs to better address work conditions that are conducive to breastfeeding rather than simply asking if work and breastfeeding are incompatible. Furthermore, workplace support initiatives will succeed only to the extent that they can directly address work conditions, even if on a temporary basis.