What Do We Need To Do To Keep People Safer?

This paper explores what it might take to narrow the implementation gap between the evidence base and advice about what keeps people safe and the actual practice close to the patient and client. We describe what we have learnt about facilitating conversations with clinicians about times when their practice ‘fell short’ and how attention to the framing assumptions embedded in these stories can tell us more about what it takes to keep people safer.     

Regaining your competitive edge

The author maintains that the key to survival and growth in a world of rapid change, technological development and competitive challenge is ‘Management Effectiveness’. Regaining the competitive edge in difficult conditions means developing superb management skills and translating them into effective management action. He lists and describes eight key elements of Strategic Business Management and outlines the steps in General Motors strategic planning process.     

Reunions of Adoptees Who Have Met Both Birth Parents: Post-Reunion Relationships and Factors that Facilitate and Hinder the Reunion Process

Eighteen adoptees who had met both their birth mothers and birth fathers were surveyed in order to determine the types of post-reunion relationships they developed with each birth parent and the factors that facilitated or hindered their reunions. While adoptees were more likely to develop a personal rather than nonpersonal relationship with birth mothers, relationships with birth fathers were more evenly divided between personal and nonpersonal relationships. Thematic analysis revealed some similarities in the factors that influence reunions with each birth parent (e.g., birth parent characteristics, support from others), though some differences also emerged (e.g., reactions to pregnancy and relinquishment). Issues of kinship, identity, and family structure are discussed, along with implications for counseling.     

Food security in an era of economic volatility

This article analyzes international commodity price movements, assesses food policies in response to price fluctuations, and explores the food security implications of price volatility on low-income groups. It focuses specifically on measurements, causes, and consequences of recent food price trends, variability around those trends, and price spikes. Combining these three components of price dynamics shows that the variation in real prices post-2000 was substantially greater than that in the 1980s and 1990s, and was approximately equal to the extreme volatility in commodity prices that was experienced in the 1970s. Macro policy, exchange rates, and petroleum prices were important determinants of price variability over 2005–2010, highlighting the new linkages between the agriculture-energy and agriculture-finance markets that affect the world food economy today. These linkages contributed in large part to misguided expectations and uncertainty that drove prices to their peak in 2008. The article also argues that there is a long-lasting effect of price spikes on food policy around the world, often resulting in self-sufficiency policies that create even more volatility in international markets. The efforts by governments to stabilize prices frequently contribute to even greater food insecurity among poor households, most of which are in rural areas and survive on the margin of net consumption and net production. Events of 2008—and more recently in 2010—underscore the impact of price variability for food security and the need for refocused policy approaches to prevent and mitigate price spikes.     

A Mixed Methods Study of Recently Homeless Youth Efforts to Sustain Housing and Stability

This study examined the process of establishing post homeless lives among 51 recently homeless youth in two major urban centers in Canada. A mixed methods strategy was employed to characterize this process. Quantitatively, a range of mental health, community integration, and quality of life measures were employed four times over the course of 1 year to describe how these indicators of wellbeing shifted in this period. It was found that over the course of 1 year gains were not made in community integration, quality of life and mental health were highly variable, and hope declined significantly. Further, it was found that youth in supported housing arrangements experienced better mental health and community integration. Qualitatively, we identified three major stages in the process of exiting homelessness. These stages included a period of substantial fluctuation and instability, a period of gaining a basic level of stability but being demoralized due to difficulties making progress with life goals, and a period of making some gains with life goals which cultivated a sense of hope. Progress across these stages, which took place in a timeframe considerably longer than 1 year, was characterized by a range of setbacks, individual and systemic challenges, and trauma which were addressed through a persistent effort facilitated by youth resilience and key supports.     

The Conundrum of Low Saving Rates in Latin America

Despite extensive economic reforms during the late 1980s/early 1990s, Latin America's saving rates remain low. This article examines the saving behaviour of 18 Latin American countries in the 1976‐2000 period and compares it with that of 25 other developing countries. It finds that lower inflation, income growth and increased real interest rates on deposits have not had the expected effects on saving rates in Latin America. Instead, the determinants of saving behaviour appear to differ between the two groups of countries, and saving rates are affected by a degree of inertia. Although more research is needed, this indicates that the focus of the neoliberal economic reforms of the 1980s was misplaced.     

Experience with corporate simulation models—A survey

In this article the authors argue that if corporate simulation models are going to help management meet their objectives then changes are necessary. These changes require that (i) the models should be more user oriented, (ii) there should be more emphasis on production modelling, (iii) there will be an increased use of optimization techniques linked to corporate models, (iv) there will be an increased effort to integrate finance, marketing and production, (v) the more sophisticated application will be concerned with the external environment and (vi) model builders should become more aware of the importance of corporate politics.     

Comparison of a simulated versus work environment lifting task on L5/S1 compression forces

Since a patient's ability to perform simulated work activities guides return-to-work decisions, a significant question to address is whether the simulated work environment accurately reflects the actual work environment. Work hardening programs have been used extensively as a method of rehabilitating workers to return to their pre-injury functioning levels. Re-training workers to lift boxes is a common method used to simulate the work environment. Although very few boxes used in the real work environment have handles, boxes with handles are often used in the simulated work environment. The difference in compression forces at the L5/S1 joint while lifting boxes with and without handles was investigated. The Lift Trak Motion Analysis system was used to estimate lumbar isometric compression forces exerted while lifting a 20-pound (9.07-kg) box. The results indicated that estimates of compression forces when lifting a box without handles were significantly different (p < 0.01) than when lifting the same box with handles. Based on these results, it is recommended that work hardening professionals carefully re-evaluate the simulated work environments currently being used for treatment.     

The design of computer based planning and modeling systems

Today there are nearly 2000 corporations in North America and Europe either using, developing, or experimenting with some form of corporate planning model. With the emergence of this new and rather substantial interest in the methodology of corporate planning modeling, there appears to be a definite need for a conceptual framework which can be used to design and implement computer based planning and modeling systems.In this paper the authors describe a collection of elements which they believe to be of critical importance in designing a corporate planning model. Their objective is to develop a set of criteria for not only designing a planning and modeling system, but a set of criteria which can also be used to facilitate the evaluation and comparison of alternative planning and modeling systems.There are over 50 planning and modeling software packages on the market today. These include systems such as BUDPLAN, COMOS and SIMPLAN. This paper attempts to provide the reader with a convenient checklist of possible features to consider in either designing one's own system or selecting an appropriate software package.