A Deliberative Method for Ranking Risks (I): Overview and Test Bed Development

Risk ranking offers a potentially powerful means for gathering public input to help set risk-management priorities. In most rankings conducted to date, the categories and attributes used to describe the risks have varied widely, the materials and procedures have not been designed to facilitate comparisons among risks on all important attributes, and the validity and reproducibility of the resulting rankings have not been assessed. To address these needs, a risk-ranking method was developed in which risk experts define and categorize the risks to be ranked, identify the relevant risk attributes, and characterize the risks in a set of standardized risk summary sheets, which are then used by lay or other groups in structured ranking exercises. To evaluate this method, a test bed involving 22 health and safety risks in a fictitious middle school was created. This article provides an overview of the risk-ranking method and describes the challenges faced in designing the middle school test bed. A companion article in this issue reports on the validity of the ranking procedures and the level of agreement among risk managers regarding ranking of risks and attributes.     

Stress at sea: A review of working conditions in the offshore oil and fishing industries

Abstract

This paper reviews the literature available on the psychosocial aspects of the offshore oil and fishing industries. Both work sectors present unique problems for their employees and these are discussed with reference to risk and safety, accidents and injuries, occupational stressors, marriage and family life, noise, alcohol and drug abuse and personality. The paper concludes that although both occupations are intrinsically different, some psychosocial similarities can be observed.     

Generosity vs. Altruism: Philanthropy and Charity in the United States and United Kingdom

This paper presents a comparative analysis of giving ethos and behavior in the United States and the United Kingdom, in particular the relationship of giving to civic life. Obvious disparities between the two countries exist when overall levels of giving are considered. In the United States, individual giving as a percentage of gross national or domestic product has consistently hovered around 2% of Gross Domestic Product. By contrast, charitable giving in the United Kingdom has yet to reach 1% of GDP. The paper identifies the differences in giving ethos and behavior in the two countries in relation to the complexity of the differences between the political structures, social attitudes, and the role of charitable giving in the two countries. In particular, the paper postulates a set of models—generosity and altruism—for explaining the differences.     

Client Psychological Distress: An Important Factor in Career Counseling

The authors explored client psychological distress as a variable in career counseling. Forty‐two clients in a naturalistic setting were seen for a total of 290 sessions by 21 counselors‐in‐training. The results indicated that (a) 60% of the clients were psychologically distressed, (b) clients' scores decreased significantly from pretest to posttest on psychological distress variables, (c) significant linear growth occurred in the clients' perception of the working alliance across sessions, and (d) the psychological distress outcome variables were significantly related to both the first session level of the working alliance and its linear growth.     

Surveying the “Post‐Industrial” Landscape: Information Technologies and Labour Market Polarization in Canada*

Dans le cours des débats récents concernant l'effet des technologies nouvelles sur le travail, une question touche la polarisation des «bons» et des «mauvais» emplois dans l'économie postindustrielle. Les compétences et les gains figurent au centre des préoccupations. À partir de données tirées de l'Enquête sociale générale de 1994, nous avons examiné l'utilisation de l'informatique au Canada, et nous avons analysé l'incidence de cet usage sur les compétences et les gains liés aux emplois. Nos conclusions n'appuient pas une explication du phénomène de la polarisation fondée sur la technologie dans le marché du travail. Les caractéristiques des travailleurs et les modalités professionnelles sont beaucoup plus importantes, bien qu'il existe des differences rattachées aux competences en infor‐matique dans des regroupements semblables de professions. A key issue in recent debates over the impact of new technologies on work is the polarization of “good” and “bad” jobs within the “post‐industrial” economy. Two dimensions—skill and earnings—have been of central concern. Drawing on the 1994 General Social Survey, we examine computer use in Canada, and analyze its impact on job earnings and skill. Our findings do not support a technology‐based explanation of polarization within the labour market as a whole. Instead, worker characteristics and occupational conditions are far more important, although there is some evidence of computer‐related skill differences within similar groupings of occupations.     

Employment services for persons with serious mental illness in northeastern Ontario: The case for partnerships

Objective: To better understand why employment success is low, a case study was conducted to examine the influence of place on access to employment for persons with serious mental illness (SMI) residing in two northeastern Ontario communities (Rebeiro, in progress). Methods: Community-based participatory research methods were used to engage persons who experience SMI, decision-makers and providers in the research. Forty-six interviews were conducted, complemented by primary and secondary quantitative data sources.Results: While most consumers consider employment to be a key element of their recovery, employment rates for persons with SMI remain limited in northeastern Ontario, Canada. The findings of this case study reveal the importance of collaborative partnerships to fostering better employment outcomes in northeastern Ontario. Conclusion: The challenges of collaboration due to rural and northern tensions, as well as various jurisdictional and funding tensions existing at the level of community support the case for partnerships in the provision of employment services in northern and rural places.     

Transitions to work for persons with serious mental illness in northeastern Ontario, Canada: examining barriers to employment

This paper considers the importance of place in the conceptualization of transitions to work for persons with serious mental illness (SMI). A qualitative case study was conducted to explore the influence of place on access to employment for persons with SMI. In-depth interviews, focus groups, and demographic data collected from urban and rural residing individuals who experience SMI, mental health and vocational service providers, and decision makers across northeastern Ontario inform this paper. The results highlight the primary theme, stuck in the mud, which explains how people with SMI, service providers and decision makers are stuck regarding employment. Ultimately, their being stuck creates a variety of place-related tensions and a tendency to settle for less in the area of employment for persons with SMI. The condition of being stuck in the mud is expressed as a metaphor depicting the existing tensions between ideas which govern provincial employment policy for persons with SMI and the mainstream or dominant discourse governing local organizations, programs and practices in the case communities and supports the need to consider place in policy implementation.