An epidemiological model applied to planning and evaluation of local health department services

Utilizing epidemiological methods in the planning process, the Georgia Department of Human Resources, Division of Public Health, focuses on community-based and patient-based standards. These standards are identified and applied in the evaluation of local health department programs. Emphasis is first on prevention, taking into consideration life style, environment, health systems, and biological factors, in developing objectives from which these standards are derived. The evaluation process is based on sampling techniques to obtain patient data and vital statistics for community data. The success of this model is a function of decentralization.     

An application of social choice theory to U.S.D.A. forest service decision making

To meet the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, the U.S.D.A. Forest Service has changed the way forest plans are developed. The focus of this paper is to address the group-decision problem using social choice theory, specifically the voting models of Condorcet and Borda. The elements of a social choice problem are voters, alternatives, preferences, and aggregation. A case study from the Shoshone National Forest is used to demonstrate the use of the voting models from social choice theory. The solutions derived from the analysis are strategy and coalitional strategy proof implying that behaviors intended to influence the outcome, such as vote trading, would be unsuccessful.     

Old fashioned families as an endangered species

Changes in a typology of family structures incorporating household size and female labor force participation are decomposed using the 1969–78 years of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics. Among other things, racial, cohort, and educational differences result in: (1) a decline in large families regardless of mother's work status, due principally to racial effects; (2) a slight rise in the labor force entry of women from older cohorts; and (3) a substantial rise in the number of non-working mothers in small families, mainly from the younger cohorts. The discussion focuses on the advantages and implications of the use of the family rather than the individual as the unit of analysis in this type of research.     

An experimental analysis of discriminability and bias in eye-gaze judgment

Following signal detection theory, the gazing of a videotaped confederate was judged by 12 subjects under four combinations of distance from the monitor and picture brightness. Separate measures of discriminability and judgment criterion, or bias, were derived. Eye gaze discriminability declined with both distance and brightness. Overestimation of the amount of eye gaze increased with distance and declining brightness, supporting Stephenson and Rutter's hypothesis that increased difficulty in discrimination will produce such a guessing bias.Thanks to Maureen Mc Carry for serving as the gazer. This project was partially supported by the Boystown Center for the Study of Youth Development at Catholic University.     

Making Shared Print Management Happen: A Project of Five Canadian Academic Libraries

ABSTRACT

Five academic libraries in Ontario (Canada) are collaborating in a shared last print copy repository project. The project, called Keep@Downsview, aims to consolidate and rationalize low-use print materials held by the partner libraries and ensure long-term preservation of these important scholarly materials in Ontario while still providing access via document delivery and ILL. In doing so, each of the partner institutions demonstrates its commitment to the stewardship of print collections for future generations while repurposing valuable space on campus. This article describes the background, rationale, challenges, and lessons learned for this unique Canadian project--which leveraged funding from the province of Ontario and the University of Toronto's high-density preservation facility at Downsview--and the commitment of all partners to preserve the scholarly record in Ontario.     

Taking a Chance? The Risks Associated with Going Missing from Substitute Care

This paper reports on a study of over 200 young people going missing from residential and foster care in four local authorities. The proportion of young people missing from residential care was high, ranging from 25 to 71% of all 11 – 16‐year‐olds in mainstream children’s homes. Two types of absence were identified: the ‘runaways’ profile (those who ran away or stayed out) and the ‘friends’ profile (those missing to be with friends). There were variations in levels of risk for different sub‐groups within the sample. Risks included immediate risks of victimization, sexual exploitation (including prostitution), offending and substance misuse. A longer‐term risk of detachment was identified among those going missing often, involving high levels of non‐school attendance, detachment from carers and involvement in offending and in substance misuse. Difficulties in the assessment of risk are discussed and approaches to managing risk for young people who go missing from substitute care are explored. Copyright 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Good, the Bad, and the Social: On Living as an Answerable Agent

This article describes answerability, a fundamental component of social reason and action. "Holding answerable" and "being answerable" are characterized in terms of their roles in the drama of human relations, and our general tendency to anticipate answerable, rather than ethical, behavior in situations that are ethically problematic is discussed.