Demographic change, macroeconomic conditions, and the murder rate: The case of the United States, 1934–2006

Fluctuations in aggregate crime rates contrary to recent shifts in the age distribution of the U.S. population have cast doubt on the predictive power of the age–crime hypothesis. By examining a longer time horizon, back to the early 1930s, we show that the percentage of the young population is a robust predictor of the observed large swings in the U.S. murder rate over time. However, changes in the misery index—the sum of the inflation and unemployment rates—significantly contribute to explaining changes in the murder rate. This applies, in particular, to those changes that are at odds with the long-run trend of the U.S. age distribution, such as the decline in the murder rate in the latter part of the 1970s or its increase starting around the middle of the 1980s.     

Correlates of load carriage and obstacle course performance among women

To examine correlates of the speed at which female soldiers carrying loads could cover 3.2 km on foot and traverse an obstacle course, 12 volunteers (mean +/- SD: 25.3 +/- 6 years, 166 +/- 7 cm, 61.3 +/- 7 kg) were timed over 3.2 km while carrying loads of 14, 27, and 41 kg, and while traversing an obstacle course with the two lighter loads. Pearson correlations showed that absolute VO_[2 max] and 3.2 km run time without a load were the best predictors of 3.2 km load carriage time for all loads. Also, larger subjects with greater muscle mass were able to carry the heaviest load faster than smaller, less muscular subjects, likely because the 41 kg load represented a smaller percentage of the former's bodyweight. Maximum number of sit-ups and push-ups, composite score of the Army Physical Fitness Test as well as body height were positively correlated with the speed at which some course segments were traversed.     

Family,marital, and occupational satisfaction for recovering pathological gamblers

This paper describes the efforts of a private gambling treatment program to conduct a retrospective study of pathological gamblers treated in a publicly supported residential program. The Johns Hopkins Center for Pathological Gambling treated approximately 100 pathological gamblers nationwide from 1979 to 1983 in its residential component. Twenty-six gamblers were assessed regarding their recovery status with specific focus on family, marital status and occupational satisfaction. It was hypothesized that the more satisfied patients would display lower frequencies of gambling and that gambling frequency was dependent upon the level of satisfaction. Thirty-one percent of these gamblers reported abstinence. Regression analyses indicated that the recovery of pathological gamblers as measured by frequency of gambling is significantly influenced by job satisfaction, and moderately influenced by marital status and family life satisfaction. Consequently, these factors should be addressed by mental health professionals in research and treatment of pathological gambling.     

How Does Public Management Affect Government Performance? Findings from International Research

Despite the growing importance of public management reform aroundthe world, relatively little scholarship evaluates the contributionsof public management to government performance, that is, tothe character and consequences of service provision by publicagencies. One study (Hill and Lynn 2005) evaluated over eighthundred American empirical studies that address issues of publicmanagement effectiveness in a wide variety of fields, subfields,and disciplines. In this article we employ the analytic frameworkof Hill and Lynn—a polycentric "logic of governance"—toevaluate 193 research articles published in English that usenon-American, or what we will term international, empiricalevidence. Our evaluation reveals more similarities in Americanand non-American public management research, and in the determinantsof government performance, than one might expect, given thedistinctiveness of the American politico-administrative system.These similarities may be deceptive, however. Internationalinvestigators exhibit somewhat different modeling strategies,tending, for example, to favor more linear managerialist hypotheses—changesin structure lead to changes outcomes, for example—thanAmerican research, which is more concerned with intragovernmentalcomplexities. The fact that the use of a polycentric logic ofgovernance revealed highly suggestive similarities and differencesin the determinants of performance in public organizations suggeststhe potential value of this kind of analytic strategy in bothsingle investigations and in meta-analyses of public managementreform.     

Coping With Stress as an LGBTQ+ Health Care Professional

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and other sexual/gender minority (LGBTQ+) health care providers face both general work-related stresses and working in heteronormative settings with ill-informed or hostile coworkers and patients, yet there has been little study of whether the coping strategies are specific to LGBTQ+ stress. We analyzed qualitative data from 277 health care professionals. Sources of stress included religiously and politically conservative coworkers, coworker/patient lack of knowledge, stresses of being closeted, and concerns about being out to patients. Consequences of being out as LGBTQ+ included lack of promotions, gossip, refusals of tenure, and anti-LGBTQ+ comments and behaviors in the workplace. Respondents showed mostly positive coping strategies to deal with stress, including becoming educators/advocates and self-care activities. Self-care options were common in rural areas with few LGBTQ+ social resources. Negative coping strategies were reported by 18% of respondents. The study highlights the extra burden of stress on LGBTQ+ health care providers.     

Teaching Personnel System Design: Manpower Utilization

This paper focuses upon how the resources and technology available to an organization can be organized and structured to accomplish program goals. A systems model is offered whereby emphasis upon self-control, communication, and feedback is applied to agency performance rather than effort. A growing use of different kinds of manpower and increasing specialization in social welfare agencies requires consideration of both the individual and the work environment. The way in which work is organized and structured may increasingly determine the kind and quality of services an agency provides to its clients.     

Slavery: A Supplementary Teaching Bibliography

This study will argue that from 1916 to 1935 Emperor Haile Selassie I adopted a two-pronged strategy of supporting the gradual abolition of slavery while taking steps towards its immediate abolition. Emperor Haile Selassie I was compelled to adopt a policy of gradual abolition due to the deposition of Iyasu V, the institutional nature of Ethiopian slavery and the agricultural primacy of the Ethiopian economy. This article will also contend that Emperor Haile Selassie I sought the immediate abolition of slavery because he wanted to improve the international image of Ethiopia, stave off a European invasion and/or partition, and prevent Ethiopia from becoming a mandate of the League of Nations.     

The Impact of Elder Abuse Education on Young Adults

The present study examined the effectiveness of educational interventions in altering tolerance for and behavioral intentions of elder abuse among college student young adults. Participants were 225 undergraduates who were assigned to one of four educational groups: Elder Abuse Education, Aging Education, Family Education, and a Pre- and Posttest only condition. While the Elder Abuse Education group reported less tolerance and intentions for elder abuse compared to the other groups at the immediate posttest, a decrement in such positive changes at 1-month follow-up was observed in such persons. These mixed findings suggest that while specific interventions may reduce elder abuse tolerance, supplemental educational efforts over time may be necessary to maintain intervention-specific gains in intentions and behaviors particular to elder abuse.