OREGON TASK FORCE ON FAMILY LAW

Outlined in this article are the proposals of the oregon Task Force on Family Law. This interdisciplinary task force recommends early education in conflict resolution and preparation for marriage. Also recommended is a change of the language of divorce and a more streamlined, less adversarial system.     

Gender Differences Among Adolescents in Family,and Peer Influences on Body Dissatisfaction,Weight Loss,and Binge Eating Behaviors

The present study examined perceived family and peer influences on body dissatisfaction, weight loss, and binge eating behaviors in adolescents. Three hundred and six girls aged 11 to 17 years (M = 13.66, SD = 1.12) and 297 boys aged 11 to 18 years (M = 13.89, SD = 1.13) completed a questionnaire that examined the direct influence and quality of family and peer relationships on body dissatisfaction and disordered eating. Direct influences of family and peers, rather than the quality of these relationships, predicted body dissatisfaction and disordered eating in adolescent boys and girls. Interesting differences were found between girls and boys in the nature of the influences and in the way they were expressed. In particular, parental and peer discussion and encouragement of weight loss predicted disordered eating behaviors in girls, while maternal and peer encouragement predicted binge eating and weight loss behaviors in boys. Fathers played a salient role in the expression of more severe forms of eating problems, while siblings played a small yet significant role in cognitive restraint among girls. The findings highlight gender differences in the importance of significant others in the expression of body dissatisfaction and disordered eating in adolescence.     

Learning Organizations in the Public Sector? A Study of Police Agencies Employing Information and Technology to Advance Knowledge

In an attempt to reap the purported benefits that "knowledge workers" bring to organizations, many police departments have shifted to a community problem–oriented policing philosophy. Rather than focusing on enforcement and incarceration, this philosophy is based on the dissemination of information to promote a proactive, preventative approach to reduce crime and disorder. In keeping with much of the contemporary literature on the "learning organization" (sometimes called the "knowledge organization"), police departments hope to deter crime through the knowledge benefits that derive from information and its associated technologies. With goals to stimulate productivity, performance, and effectiveness, police departments across the country are employing information technology to turn police officers into problem solvers and to leverage their intellectual capital to preempt crime and neighborhood deterioration.
Many public and private organizations are striving to change their operations toward this same concept of the knowledge worker. Information technology is often touted as a vehicle for capturing, tracking, sorting, and providing information to advance knowledge, thus leading to improvements in service–delivery efforts. Based on an extensive study of police departments that have attempted to implement a knowledge–worker paradigm (supported by information technology initiatives), this research explores the feasibility, effectiveness, and limitations of information and technology in promoting the learning organization in the public sector.     

Effective child support policy for low‐income families: evidence from street level research

Since 1984, policymakers have increasingly turned their attention to reforming the child support system. Despite this attention, the child support system has often failed to increase the economic security of single‐parent families. This article analyzes findings from recent qualitative studies to explain why the child support system breaks down for so many low‐income families. This research suggests that parents often prefer informal arrangements of support and do not comply with child support regulations they perceive to be unfair, counterproductive, or punitive. It also suggests that there is a mismatch between the premises and goals of child support policy and what low‐income parents desire from the system. This mismatch impedes low‐income parents' willingness and ability to comply with existing policy, even when they wish to do so, and will make reform difficult. © 2001 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management.     

Modeling Temperature Variations Using Monte Carlo Simulation: Implications for Estimation of the Postmortem Interval Based on Insect Development Times*†

The association between insect development and temperature is well established. Thermal summation using accumulated degree-day measures is commonly used. However, the time at which evidence is collected is important in these estimates. The aim of this study was to provide a simulated model of the effect of temperatures on six dipteran species commonly associated with cadavers, from the death scene to the refrigerator, and finally at the time of autopsy. Temperatures measurements were sampled over a 16-month period from the external environment (external to the mortuary), within the mortuary refrigerator, and within the mortuary autopsy suite. Monte Carlo simulation using accumulated degree-days (ADD) was used to estimate the variations based on the mean and standard deviation of the temperature measurements. It was found that there was a negative correlation between the base temperature of the fly species (lowest temperature at which the flies will survive) and developmental likelihood. Species with high base temperatures (Chrysomya albiceps, Chrysomya chloropyga, and Musca domestica) were less likely to continue development in refrigerators than species with lower base temperatures (Lucilia sericata and Piophila casei). The findings of this study highlight the importance of recording temperature measurements and the period of refrigeration on PMI estimation especially when continued development occurs in spite of a period of cooling of the insect evidence.