Ropes course training for youth in a rural setting: “At first I thought it was going to be boring ...”

Outdoor structured activities, such as Ropes Challenge Courses, are typically utilized as interventions for youth coming from urban settings. Evaluation of such programs is scanty at best. In this instance, the course experience is used as a prevention tool for high risk youth in a remote, rural setting of high unemployment, alcohol problems, and low income. The authors discuss the effectiveness of this approach, and the intended and unintended consequences for the rural community at large. The evaluation design relies on extensive qualitative methodology as well as quantitative methods to capture the unique nature of this rural project.     

The model of place utility revisited

"The purpose of this paper...is twofold: first, to specify a way of calculating place utility so that potential migrants could move to the place where overall place utility is maximized; and second, which is more important, to reveal how decision-makers in the real world, who are acting within 'bounded rationalities'...,make their decisions on where to migrate. This study is supported by an empirical survey of recent Chinese immigrants to Edmonton [Canada].... The findings reveal that when people evaluate different places, they do not necessarily look for the one that generates the highest overall value or utility across all properties.... The study further indicates that the assumption underlying most microeconomic models (that maximizing utility or benefit is the ultimate rule for choosing one location out of several) has not been verified." (SUMMARY IN FRE AND SPA)     

Women's legal knowledge: a case study of Mexican urban dwellers

In Mexico, the nongovernmental organization Sevisio, Desarrollo y Paz, A.C. (SEDEPAC) is helping poor women acquire legal knowledge in an economic climate characterized by the increased feminization of poverty brought about by the Structural Adjustment Program. The Mexican legal system is grounded in a patriarchal tradition, and the codified laws continue to favor men. Women were not granted full citizenship until 1953, and discrimination against women was not addressed in Mexican law until 1974 as the country prepared to host the First UN International Women's Conference. However, legal advances are not being applied in the family or in larger society where men remain in power. Mexico also distinguishes between private law and public law. Because domestic violence falls in the realm of private law, authorities are loathe to follow-up on women's complaints in this area. Since its founding in 1983, SEDEPAC has applied a gender perspective to its activities and programs. SEDEPAC held its first women's legal workshop in 1987 and realized that most poor women have no knowledge of existing laws or their rights, that alternative legal services for women are scarce, that existing laws must be changed, and that the authoritarian and conservative legal system helps maintain cultural stereotypes. Since then, SEDEPAC has held annual workshops, follow-up meetings, and training sessions and has provided counseling. The main topics addressed are women's social conditions; violence and the penal code; civil rights, power, and dependency; women's bodies and reproductive rights; and women's organization and leadership. The workshops use techniques of popular education such as group participation and use of gossip as a communication tool. The workshops have changed participants' lives and led to the formation of an independent Popular Defenders' Coordination.     

Corporate compliance programs: risk management for the future

The Department of Justice has estimated that the government loses $100 billion annually in health care fraud. Consequently, the government's health care fraud enforcement activities with respect to all health care providers and suppliers continue to grow. Last year alone, the government collected more than $8 billion in settlements, fines, and penalties involving health care fraud. Recent settlements with the government have begun to include corporate compliance programs that require continued government oversight of the health care organization as an essential part of the settlement. The first section of this article describes the legal significance of health care companies' having corporate compliance programs. The second section provides a sample list of topics that should be included in any corporate compliance program. Finally, we describe various issues related to the creation and implementation of corporate compliance programs.     

A hospital protocol to resolve complaints against staff physicians

Complaints of discrimination or harassment in the workplace have become almost commonplace in recent years, increasing in both frequency and variety. In the hospital setting, this trend is manifested in allegations against members of the medical staff by hospital employees as well as by patients or their families. Whether real or fancied, such allegations are reflective of a potentially disruptive undercurrent of organizational tensions. Left unresolved, they can erode the essential partnership between staff physicians and other members of the health care delivery team. Unsatisfactory patient experiences may also damage the reputation of the institution and thereby undermine its viability. With either group of complainants, allegations of malfeasance that are not resolved at the source in a timely manner are far more likely to result in expensive, time-consuming, and potentially damaging litigation.     

Stimulating high performance in frontline staff

When the author of this article found herself in need of emergency medical help, her role reversed from physician to patient. Unlike many patients who are traumatized by an emergency department visit, Dr. Blumberg was pleased with her treatment. However, in later reviewing the experience with her nonphysician husband, she was amazed to learn that he was left with negative feelings about how he was treated by the frontline staff and about the appearance of the facility. As a result, Dr. Blumberg wrote this article detailing the importance of frontline staff performance and exploring ways staff can be motivated to gain maximum job and patient satisfaction.     

A cultural economy perspective on service sector migration in the global city: the case of Hong Kong

This article argues that in order to fully understand the geography of labour migration to global cities, it is necessary to consider economic forces in conjunction with mediating socio-cultural influences. Support for this argument is based on an examination of the pattern of migration to Hong Kong, a city which plays a significant role in the world economy.
Reported here are the results of an analysis of recently released 1996 by-census data, and the authors' interviews with foreign domestic workers in Hong Kong. These findings have shown that highly skilled immigrant workers were drawn largely from developed countries, the main sources of inward investment in this city, while less skilled immigrants were drawn from less developed neighbouring labour markets.
While the geographical pattern of immigration followed broadly that predicted from Hong Kong's position in the world economy, the results have revealed that cultural influences such as language and social networks are also important in shaping the economic roles of migrant workers.