California’s experience with non-adversary divorce

California's Family Law Act of 1969, effective January 1, 1970, instituted non-adversary proceedings for divorce, suggested a more equal division of community property and reduced the minimum waiting time for a final divorce decree. A rapid increase in the number of divorces granted in California followed. Analysis revealed that the 1969 Law did not lead to any real increase in marital dissolution among Californians or produce any significant changes in the characteristics of the population filing for divorce. What was seen were certain modifications in behavior on the part of divorcing persons to take advantage of the Law's new provisions.     

The Economic Impacts of a Terrorist Attack on the U.S. Commercial Aviation System

We use data on air passenger travel expenditures per passenger as well as statistical analysis of the air traffic lost for the two-year aftermath of the September 11, 2001, attacks to estimate direct demand losses for air transportation services. These are used along with a national input-output model to assess the full costs of these losses. Depending on assumptions made, the full losses to the U.S. economy were between $214.3 and $420.5 billion. These estimates are similar to those from other studies of such an event, and suggest that the high costs of effective countermeasures may be justified.     

Work and religious faith: How people of faith relate to their employers

This article focuses on the connection between the religious faith of employees and their relationships with employers. There are two models for how religionists understand their role in the world: they can either try to model behavior not common in a secular world or infiltrate the structures of society in the hope of bringing about social change. Most employees tend to be infiltrators. Further, employees tend to internalize the values of their employers. But it may well be that the moral and religious beliefs of employees can benefit employers by providing the latter with access to different perspectives. In particular, the long-range perspective common to religionists may be helpful to corporations that tend to focus on short-term considerations.     

Expert Judgment in Risk Analysis and Management: Process, Context, and Pitfalls

The regulation and management of hazardous industrial activities increasingly rely on formal expert judgment processes to provide wisdom in areas of science and technology where traditional "good science" is, in practice, unable to supply unambiguous "facts." Expert judgment has always played a significant, if often unrecognized, role in analysis; however, recent trends are to make it formal, explicit, and documented so it can be identified and reviewed by others. We propose four categories of expert judgment and present three case studies which illustrate some of the pitfalls commonly encountered in its use. We conclude that there will be an expanding policy role for formal expert judgment and that the openness, transparency, and documentation that it requires have implications for enhanced public involvement in scientific and technical affairs.     

History, accomplishments, issues and prospects of supportive service programs in Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities in new York State: lessons learned

Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities (NORCs) provide unique settings for the delivery of a variety of supportive services to the elderly. New York State's experience with the development of supportive service programs within NORCs provides valuable information for community planners and practitioners in terms of factors that contribute to the evolution and shaping of supportive service programs and lessons learned from existing programs.