Boater training, drinking and boating, and other unsafe boating practices

OBJECTIVES: Identify associations between lack of formal boater training, drinking and boating, and other unsafe boating practices. METHODS: A telephone survey queried respondents (age 16 or older in continental United States) about boating experience, type of boat used, and training. RESULTS: Of the 3,042 boaters surveyed (70% response), most had no formal training (73%). Boaters with formal training failed to use PFDs about as often as those without formal training and were equally or more likely to use alcohol while boating. CONCLUSIONS: The unexpected association between formal training and unsafe boating practices is probably due to reduced risk perception and inadequacies of boater training programs. Such programs seldom mention the risks of alcohol use while boating. Decisions to mandate formal training should be informed by these results; if mandated, training should address the risks of alcohol use while boating, and should be renewed frequently enough to offset reductions in risk perception.     

Psychopathology and behavioral problems in mental retardation

1. The lack of psychiatric services for the mentally retarded is of particular concern for advanced practice nurses in psychiatry. 2. Prevalence of psychopathology and behavioral problems in the mentally retarded appears to be significant. 3. For purposes of diagnostic clarity, a thorough mental status and neurological examination specifically devised for the mentally retarded population must be utilized.     

Technology and managing people:

conclusion The Information Age has revolutionized the workplace. While it is possible to purchase or copy machines and technology, their very interchangeability means they fail to cre-ate a sustained competitive advantage for an organization (Barney, 1991). The research directions this paper offers are intended to develop firm knowledge that allows creation of inimitable human resources. Importantly, in the rush to embrace new information technologies, organizations must remember the fundamental principle that workers will invest in firm goals in the presence of shared values and a commitment by the firm to make their well-being a priority. We urge continued attention to fulfillment of the psy-chological contract, and to the "people issues" that frequently seem less critical than issues of hardware or technology.     

Profiles of refugee and non-refugee Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza

Relying on demographic and labour surveys which the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics collected in 1995, this article investigates the profile of West Bank and Gaza refugees. Refugees are better educated and have higher fertility than non-refugee Palestinians, but the difference is small. However, they have a significantly lower participation rate, a higher unemployment rate and a higher incidence of arrests and work stoppage than the corresponding rates among non-refugee Palestinians. A smaller proportion of Palestinians commute to work into the Israeli labour market and refugees earn lower wages than non-refugees. Returns to investment in education are small for both groups. High fertility among refugees imposes a future challenge for policy makers in terms of resources required for the provision of appropriate education and health facilities. Employing future labour market entrants is another serious policy challenge.     

Mapping child maltreatment: looking at neighborhoods in a suburban county

This study used administrative data, census data, and geographic information system (GIS) technology to map and analyze the rates and distribution of child physical abuse, sexual abuse, and neglect at the neighborhood level in a suburban jurisdiction. The results provide an example of how administrative data, census data, and GIS technology can give child protective services and community-based agencies a visual tool to help identify and target neighborhoods in which children may be at high risk for maltreatment.     

Receiving shadows: governance and liminality in the night-time economy

This paper focuses upon the emergence of the night-time economy both materially and culturally as a powerful manifestation of post-industrial society. This emergence features two key processes: firstly a shift in economic development from the industrial to the post-industrial; secondly a significant orientation of urban governance involving a move away from the traditional managerial functions of local service provision, towards an entrepreneurial stance primarily focused on the facilitation of economic growth. Central to this new economic era is the identification and promotion of liminality. The State's apparent inability to control these new leisure zones constitutes the creation of an urban frontier that is governed by commercial imperatives.     

A productivity study in a chemical plant

This paper describes a case study in the application of a productivity analysis model in a plant producing industrial gases. Although the process is a relatively simple one, several inputs (labour, electricity, capital and some materials) and several outputs (liquid and gaseous oxygen, gaseous nitrogen, argon and a hydrogen-nitrogen mixture) are involved. The case study demonstrates how measures of total input and total output can be applied and analyses the performance of the plant over a 15-month period in terms of a variety of managerial control ratios.     

"Conflict management" and "conflict resolution" are not synonymous terms

Robbins sees functional conflict as an absolute necessity within organizations and explicitly encourages it. He explains: "Survival can result only when an organization is able to adapt to constant changes in the environment. Adaption is possible only through change, and change is stimulated by conflict." Robbins cites evidence indicating that conflict can be related to increased productivity and that critical thinking encourages well-developed decisions. He admits, however, that not all conflicts are good for the organization. Their functional or dysfunctional nature is determined by the impact of the conflict on the objectives of the organization. The author identifies several factors underlying the need for conflict stimulation: (1) managers who are surrounded by "yes men"; (2) subordinates who are afraid to admit ignorance or uncertainty; (3) decision-makers' excessive concern about hurting the feelings of others; or (4) an environment where new ideas are slow in coming forth. He suggests techniques for stimulating conflict; manipulating the communication channels (i.e., repression of information); changing the organizational structure (i.e., changes in size or position); and altering personal behavior factors (i.e., role incongruence). Robbins stresses that the actual method to be used in either resolving or stimulating conflict must be appropriate to the situation.