Relationship Dynamics,Emotion State,and Domestic Violence: A Stress and Masculinities Perspective

We draw on the burgeoning masculinities literature to develop a framework for understanding how emotional reactions to stress may be associated with domestic violence. We conducted a daily diary study of 22 men with a history of domestic violence and a matched comparison group of 23 men with no known history of domestic violence. Each day, respondents completed a daily diary questionnaire on relationship dynamics, stress, and emotion state. This research design allowed us to examine relationship dynamics and emotion state as they unfolded over a 14‐day period. We find a difference between the two groups in the links between stress, relationship dynamics, and emotion state: Nonviolent men are more emotionally reactive to stress and relationship dynamics than are violent men. Among men with a history of domestic violence, it is as if the link between personal circumstances and emotion state has been disconnected. These findings support the idea that the demonstration of masculinity through repression of emotion and violent behavior may be linked.     

Marital status, marital transitions, and health: a gendered life course perspective

We work from a life course perspective to assess the impact of marital status and marital transitions on subsequent changes in the self-assessed physical health of men and women. Our results suggest three central conclusions regarding the association of marital status and marital transitions with self-assessed health. First, marital status differences in health appear to reflect the strains of marital dissolution more than they reflect any benefits of marriage. Second, the strains of marital dissolution undermine the self-assessed health of men but not women. Finally, life course stage is as important as gender in moderating the effects of marital status and marital transitions on health.     

Opportunities and Challenges for Studying Disaster Survivors

Studying survivors of natural disasters and traumatic events provides a unique opportunity to address some of the important and difficult questions in psychology and other social sciences. However, such an opportunity does not come without challenges. Several methodological challenges to studying survivors of natural disasters are discussed, including recruiting participants, choosing appropriate procedures, and the safety of data collectors. Several ethical issues are also presented, such as the ability of participants to make decisions, the impact of participating, and the importance of informed consent. In addition, approaches are suggested that help to deal with these methodological and ethical challenges. We conclude that while attention must be focused on methodological and ethical considerations, research stemming from natural disasters should be employed to answer important basic and applied conceptual questions and address issues of practice and policy, while assuring that steps have been taken to protect participants and that the potential risks are minimal.     

MODEL FORMULATION FOR FLEET SIZE ANALYSIS OF A UNIVERSITY MOTOR POOL

A GPSS/360 model was developed to investigate the behavior of a university's motor pool dispatch fleet. Time-series data were collected and frequency distributions were constructed for vehicle request patterns and trip-duration times. Regression analysis was performed to formulate trip mileage generators as functions of service time. Appropriate statistical goodness-of-fit tests were conducted to ascertain the extent of congruence between actual system behavior and expectations based on a number of theoretical distributions. Analysis of simulated response variables indicates that the model's internal structure reproduces reality to a high degree. Fifteen years of simulated experience were generated for six alternative fleet size configurations; results suggest that reductions in existing fleet capacity could be realized without effecting undue impairment in service levels.     

Enterprise risk management for automation in correctional facilities with pandemic and other stressors

Real-time tracking of tool and equipment inventories is a critical function of many organizations and sectors. For prisons and correctional facilities, tracking and monitoring of assets such as cookware, hardware, keys, janitorial equipment, vocational/technical specialty tools, etc., is essential for safety, security, trust, efficiency, education, etc. The performance of automated systems for this purpose can be diminished by a variety of emergent and future sociotechnical factors alone and in combination. This article introduces a methodology for contractor evaluation and selection in acquisition of innovative asset management systems, with an emphasis on evolving system requirements under uncertainty. The methodology features a scenario-based preferences analysis of emergent and future conditions that are disruptive to the performance of the asset-control system. The conditions are across technologies, operating environments, regulations, workforce behaviors, offender behaviors, prices and markets, organizations, cyber threats, etc. The methodology addresses the influence and interaction of the conditions to disrupt system priorities. Examples include: (i) infectious disease disrupting priorities among requirements and (ii)  radio-frequency identification (RFID) and wireless-technology innovations disrupting priorities among stakeholders. The combinations of conditions that most and least matter for the system acquisition are characterized. The methodology constitutes a risk register for monitoring sources of risk to project performance, schedule, and cost throughout the system lifecycle. The results will be of interest to both practitioners and scholars engaged in systems acquisition as the pandemic interacts with other factors to affect risk, uncertainty, and resilience of organizational missions and operations.     

Evaluation of error across natural gas pipeline incidents

This paper demonstrates how qualitative analysis can be a novel means of investigating theories of error and causation in natural gas pipeline incidents. Qualitative analysis offers unique opportunities to understand process, interactions, and the role of context in identifying active error and latent conditions in incident causation. Through the coding of text from 24 onshore natural gas pipeline incident reports on leaks and explosions in the United States and Canada, our findings reveal a proportion of active and latent errors consistent with other hazardous infrastructure contexts (roughly 3:1 latent-active ratio across 817 coded errors). These findings underscore the robustness of extant error theory and support the argument for documenting multiple, connected causes of disaster in aggregate. Conclusions highlight the utility of in-depth case analyses and critique present pipeline incident database aggregation. Our interpretation provides a means to convey complex causation in aggregate form thus enabling more nuanced future qualitative and qualitative analyses.