Application of Correspondence Analysis in the Assessment of Mine Tailings Dam Breakage Risk in the Mediterranean Region

A new statistical approach for preliminary risk evaluation of breakage in tailings dam is presented and illustrated by a case study regarding the Mediterranean region. The objective of the proposed method is to establish an empirical scale of risk, from which guidelines for prioritizing the collection of further specific information can be derived. The method relies on a historical database containing, in essence, two sets of qualitative data: the first set concerns the variables that are observable before the disaster (e.g., type and size of the dam, its location, and state of activity), and the second refers to the consequences of the disaster (e.g., failure type, sludge characteristics, fatalities categorization, and downstream range of damage). Based on a modified form of correspondence analysis, where the second set of attributes are projected as "supplementary variables" onto the axes provided by the eigenvalue decomposition of the matrix referring to the first set, a "qualitative regression" is performed, relating the variables to be predicted (contained in the second set) with the "predictors" (the observable variables). On the grounds of the previously derived relationship, the risk of breakage in a new case can be evaluated, given observable variables. The method was applied in a case study regarding a set of 13 test sites where the ranking of risk obtained was validated by expert knowledge. Once validated, the procedure was included in the final output of the e-EcoRisk UE project (A Regional Enterprise Network Decision-Support System for Environmental Risk and Disaster Management of Large-Scale Industrial Spills), allowing for a dynamic historical database updating and providing a prompt rough risk evaluation for a new case. The aim of this section of the global project is to provide a quantified context where failure cases occurred in the past for supporting analogue reasoning in preventing similar situations.     

Some New Estimators for Small-Area Means With Application to the Assessment of Farmland Values

Regression models that account for main state effects and nested county effects are considered for the assessment of farmland values. Empirical predictors obtained by replacing the unknown variances in the formulas of the optimal predictors by maximum likelihood estimates are presented. The computations are carried out by simple iterations between two SAS procedures. Estimators for the prediction variances are derived, and a modification to secure the robustness of the predictors is proposed. The procedure is applied to data on nonirrigated cropland in the Corn Belt states and is shown to yield predictors with considerably lower prediction mean squared errors than the survey estimators and other regression-type estimators.     

Hidden in Plain Sight: Human Trafficking in the United States

In examining human trafficking in 25 nations throughout the world we discovered that each country has its own environmental factors that create a unique set of anti-trafficking issues and obstacles. For example, in India you can’t address the issue of trafficking without also discussing the caste system. In the US you can’t properly address the post-trafficking experience of victims without mentioning the hot button issue of immigration. Despite nation-specific differences, the characteristics of human trafficking are remarkably similar worldwide. Such common characteristics are fraudulent recruitment, exorbitant travel and recruitment fees, the withholding of the victim’s visas and other identifying documentation, controlling and limiting the victim’s movements, threatening deportation, threatening to harm the victim or his/her family, and physically harming the victim. These frequent traits of the trafficking experience can be seen in any nation regardless of geographical location or whether the nation is considered first, second, or third world. What makes identifying each nation’s unique anti-trafficking issues and obstacles critical is not only to recognize potential victims but also to point to common practices or even national objectives that may be in direct conflict with the specific nation’s own anti-trafficking efforts. This article not only describes the precise picture of human trafficking in the US but also illustrates that no nation, including the US, is exempt.     

Female board directors' resilience against gender discrimination

Despite regulatory efforts to promote gender diversity on boards, women are still severely underrepresented in board leadership in the UK, beyond FTSE 100 companies. Evidence suggests that women, when poorly represented in the workplace, are more likely to suffer discrimination. In this study, we report the first-hand experiences of gender discrimination suffered by female directors and present the process of how they build resilience through developing coping strategies. Such resilience-building processes seem to vary with the length of board experience of female directors. At the outset of their board journey, they adopt avoidant coping strategies of denial and disengagement. However, with experience in boards, they gain the confidence to pursue the active coping strategy of seeking and extending support. This qualitative study is based on 42 elite interviews of board directors and is guided by the resilience theory, in the context of top FTSE boards. The article also discusses the contribution of the study to theory, praxis, and policy.     

Networking Modes and Performance in Israel's Nonprofit Organizations

The present article examines the relationship between networking modes and performance for 138 nonprofits in Israel. We draw upon the bridging and bonding concepts and social exchange theory and introduce the sharing and consulting networking modes to predict performance in terms of organizational growth in resources. We suggest that differences in networking modes (1) reflect variations in organizational size and age and (2) affect organizational growth in resources. We show that (1) the consulting networking mode is more frequent among managers of smaller and younger nonprofits, (2) sharing is characteristic of managers in older and larger nonprofits, (3) sharing has a strong effect on organizational growth, and (4) the sharing and consulting modes are better predictors of organizational performance than those of bonding and bridging. The results indicate that nonprofit growth in organizational resources is possible with networking when managers aspire to higher involvement in the networking process due to the scope and extent of goals.     

Economic,Social, and Cultural Contexts for Market and Product Diversification of the Lithuanian Tourism Sector

Lithuania has shown a 7% or greater increase in gross domestic product since joining the European Union, an increasing employment rate, and in part because of the greater incorporation of older people, especially females, a numerical increase in the employed; yet its population is declining because of both a low birth rate and migration. Both domestic and inbound tourism are rising. Yet because of the greater population in the Vilnius–Kaunas corridor, and because many people have left other counties to work there, tourist income in less developed parts of the country would help correct income disparities and foster sustainable regional development. While tourism attracts limited foreign direct investment, tourist infrastructure (boutique hotels, upgraded houses in the countryside, local restaurants, culture and language tourism) would be a good investment for smaller investors if strategically placed alongside a designated publicity campaign, in tandem with other eastern Baltic states or sponsored by EC delegations outside the EU, to attract small investors (including Lithuanians resident abroad) to the less developed regions of the country.      

Women against the state: Political opportunities and collective action frames in chile's transition to democracy

While transitions to democracy have been hailed as the most important phenomena of this century, few scholars understand the role that women have played in these metamorphoses. This article uses an historical in-depth case study to examine how and why women mobilized against the state in Chile. Previous social movement theories have not attended adequately to cultural and ideational elements (e.g., gender ideology), much less these factors in the Third World and authoritarian context. In contrast, the present study modifies and extends the concepts of political opportunity structure and collective action frames, suggesting that the manner in which ideology and cultural themes are framed may provide opportunities for protest, especially in the authoritarian context. Specifically, the rise and fall of broader mobilizational frames or master frames shapes how movement-specific frames compete, decay, and transform, as some master frames create space for certain ideas (e.g., feminism) while others do not. New hypotheses regarding the use of collective action frames in a nondemocratic setting are offered.This article was presented at the American Sociological Association annual meeting, Miami, Florida, August 1993.