Ethnic Conflict and Healthcare: Cultural Dimensions of the Healthcare Delivery Crisis in Mostar, Bosnia-Herzegovina

The internecine conflict that erupted in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1992 was only one episode in hundreds of years of ethnic tension that also produced culturally rich communities. The city of Mostar once known for its interethnic tolerance is now torn between Croatians and Muslims living together in what has been described as an armed truce. This is especially well demonstrated in the failure to rebuild the regional healthcare system, even as the health status of the population continues to deteriorate. Nonetheless this failure provides an opportunity to begin a dialogue that can lead to well being through both improved healthcare and enhanced civility.     

The emergence of Dutch casinos: A case study of mismarketing?

Ostensibly, the approval of legalized casino type gambling in the Netherlands was intended to combat illegal and uncontrolled gambling. Very early on, however, the plan conceived and implemented by the Netherlands Parliament demonstrated serious mismarketing strategies and tactics. The new legal casinos were appealing to people other than those engaged in illegal gambling, in particular foreign tourists and local high rollers. This paper attempts to analyze the ultimate process of goal displacement, as the state casino industry allowed economic objectives to supplant desires to utilize legal casinos primarily as controls over illegal gambling.     

AP(E)L as a guidance and support mechanism in the Diploma in Social Work

In order to contextualize the multi-interpretative paradigms that characterize the present HE, we propose a model in which the Assessment of Prior and Experiential Learning, AP(E)L, focuses more on assessment and less on accreditation, with a four phase application of the interrelationship between AP(E)L and Learning Development for pre-entry, entry, on-programme and exit of a student's time within a programme of study. In turn, this brings into focus the way experience has now become a contested space that reflects paradigm shifts in the focus of learning and the way learning is to be acknowledged in the new universities. This account details the application of this model within the social work subject area at the University of East London. In many ways, this reflects not only the pre-supposition, central to the AP(E)L policy, that learning should be recognized wherever it takes place, but also the shift from interior intellectual systems to a more open epistemology that has been shaped by the relationship of knowledge producers and knowledge users in specific markets.     

Drawing the Line: The Development of a Comprehensive Assessment of Infidelity Judgments

Infidelity is a leading cause of relationship discord and dissolution, and couples generally report expectations to maintain monogamy. However, a majority of men and women report engaging in some form of infidelity at least once in their lives. Research assessing judgments of the behaviors that constitute infidelity is lacking. The three studies reported here advanced the literature by developing and validating the Definitions of Infidelity Questionnaire (DIQ), a comprehensive measure examining infidelity judgments. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses indicated four factors to the scale: sexual/explicit behaviors, technology/online behaviors, emotional/affectionate behaviors, and solitary behaviors. Investigation of the psychometric properties demonstrated the DIQ to be reliable and valid. Participants agreed that sexual/explicit behaviors comprised infidelity to the largest extent, whereas other types of behaviors (technology/online behaviors, emotional/affectionate behaviors, and solitary behaviors) were judged as comprising infidelity to a lesser extent. Men reported more permissive judgments than did women. This study provides insights regarding operationalizing infidelity and identifying areas of ambiguity and consensus. Implications of the findings for educators and practitioners working with individuals in intimate relationships are discussed.     

Meta-analysis using multilevel models with an application to the study of class size effects

Meta-analysis is formulated as a special case of a multilevel (hierarchical data) model in which the highest level is that of the study and the lowest level that of an observation on an individual respondent. Studies can be combined within a single model where the responses occur at different levels of the data hierarchy and efficient estimates are obtained. An example is given from studies of class sizes and achievement in schools, where study data are available at the aggregate level in terms of overall mean values for classes of different sizes, and also at the student level.     

The Impact of Organizational Structure and Supervisory Listening Indicators on Subordinate Support,Trust, Intrinsic Motivation,and Performance

A field study of a tool manufacturing organization examined the impact of supervisory listening indicators on subordinate perceptions of support, trust, and intrinsic motivation and on subordinate performance (productivity and absenteeism). The moderating impact of organizational structure was also investigated. The results indicated that the impact of supervisory listening indicators was very different dependent upon whether the structure of the organizational work group was more mechanistic or more organic. Within the more organic portions of the organization, supportive listening indicators were positively related to production and negatively related to absenteeism. The opposite occurred within the mechanistic levels. At all levels, perceived listening increased supportiveness, trust, and intrinsic motivation, although listening for accuracy had the strongest impact.