The road to economic self‐sufficiency: Job quality and job transition patterns after welfare reform

This paper analyzes the relationships of schooling, the skill content of work experience, and different types of employment patterns with less‐skilled women's job quality outcomes. Survey data from employers and longitudinal data from former and current welfare recipients are used for the period 1997 to early 2002. The analysis of job quality is broadened beyond employment rates and wages measured at a point in time by including non‐wage attributes of compensation and aspects of jobs that affect future earnings potential. This study shows the extent to which lack of employment stability, job skills, and occupation‐specific experience impedes welfare recipients' abilities to obtain a “good job” or to transition into one from a “bad job.” The business cycle downturn has significantly negatively affected the job quality and job transition patterns of former and current recipients. © 2003 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management.     

Rapid search and quantitative analysis of gunshot residue particles in the SEM

Automated scanning electron microscopy coupled with image analysis and X-ray micro analysis was used to characterize a variety of gunshot residue (GSR) samples. More than 500 rounds of commercially available ammunition and six different types of hand gulls were used in the study of 17 GSR and 19 reference specimens. The individual particle X-ray composition was determined for 12 different elements. Elemental composition of GSR particles was highly variable but consistent with compounds mixed into or associated with a barium oxide matrix. When present in a specimen, GSR could be adequately characterized with automated procedures in less than an hour by restricting analyses to features larger than 2 microm. In "clean" samples, a higher resolution particle search was required to avoid reporting false negatives. Careful control of the back scattered electron signal strength threshold, by reference to a standard, was needed to ensure both time-efficient and accurate analyses. Samples collected from non-shooting subjects. active in a physical environment which contained firearms discharge residue were seen to be easily contaminated by sub-micron GSR particles.     

Psychiatric Disorders Associated with the Onset and Persistence of Bulimia Nervosa and Binge Eating Disorder During Adolescence

A prospective longitudinal study was conducted to investigate whether anxiety, depressive, personality, or substance use disorders increase risk for onset of bulimia nervosa (BN) or binge eating disorder (BED) during adolescence. Axis I and II psychiatric disorders were assessed in a primary care sample of 201 adolescents. Axis I disorders were reassessed 10 months later. Youths with dysthymic disorder were at elevated risk for the onset or recurrence of BN or BED after preexisting psychiatric disorders were controlled statistically. Problems with depression or anxiety tended to precede the onset of eating problems. In addition, youths with eating disorder symptoms were at elevated risk for the onset or recurrence of depressive disorders. These findings suggest that adolescents with chronic depressive symptoms may be at elevated risk for the development of BN or BED, and that adolescents with eating disorder symptoms may be at elevated risk for the development of depressive disorders.     

A Critical Analysis of the MND Criteria for Feigned Cognitive Impairment: Implications for Forensic Practice and Research

Forensic neuropsychology continues to grapple with critical determinations of response styles, including the assessment of malingering. The development of the Malingered Neurocognitive Dysfunction (MND) model has been highly influential for both feigning research and neuropsychological practice. In striving to be a comprehensive model of malingering, MND proposes complex criteria for ascertaining possible, probable, and definite levels. In its critical review, this article suggests the possibility of an MND bias towards the over-classification of malingering. It also examines the limits of MND research to adequately test the MND model. The conceptual and empirical limitations of MND are discussed with reference to theory and neuropsychological practice.     

Protest: tradition and change

Analyses of political development in colonial Africa have largely concentrated on the role of the educated elite in the emergence of nationalist movements. In recent years some attempt has been made to fill out this one-dimensional view through the study of early and more broadly based protest movements in various colonial territories. This paper takes as its subject matter the records of riots which occurred on the Gold Coast between 1890 and 1920. These disturbances are taken as an index of non-elite protest while an analysis of case-studies indicates their significance for political developments leading to the emergence of nationalist parties.     

The quiet crisis and the emergence of La Relève: A study of crisis perception and executive leadership within the Canadian federal public service, 1997–2002

Abstract: In 1997, then‐clerk of the Privy Council Jocelyne Bourgon reported to Prime Minister Jean Chrétien that a “quiet crisis” existed within the ranks of the federal public service. After years of restraint, privatization, deregulation, downsizing, pay freezes, salary cutbacks, hiring moratoriums and staff reductions, the clerk reported that the members of the public service were suffering from a crisis of identity and purpose. To address this problem, the Privy Council Office launched La Relève, a program of crisis management designed to resolve the immediate tensions faced by the public service and to promote the renewal and rejuvenation of the public service at the beginning of the 21st century as it dealt with a variety of mega‐trends affecting public‐service delivery. La Relève marked the beginning of a decade of close attention to human resource management within the federal public service. But was there actually a crisis within the federal government in 1997? Using in‐depth interviews with a wide variety of senior public‐service insiders, this article explores three schools of thought found in Ottawa respecting “the crisis” and assesses the use of crisis management in this case for framing public‐sector modernization policy. Sommaire: En 1997, Jocelyne Bourgon, alors greffière du Conseil privé, signalait au Premier ministre Jean Chrétien qu'il existait une «crise silencieuse» au sein de la fonction publique fédérale. Après des années de restriction, de privatisation, de déréglementation, de compression d'effectifs, de gel des salaires, de réductions de salaires, de suspension du recrutement et de réductions d'effectifs, la greffière signalait que les membres de la fonction publique souffraient d'une crise d'identité et de raison d'être. Pour s'attaquer à ce problème, le Bureau du Conseil privé a lancé La Relève, programme de gestion de crise conçu pour résoudre les tensions immédiates auxquelles faisait face la fonction publique et pour promouvoir le renouveau et le rajeunissement de cette dernière au début du XXI^e siècle alors qu'elle subissait diverses tendances majeures qui exerçaient une influence sur la prestation des services publics. La Relève a marqué le début d'une décennie au cours de laquelle on a porté une grande attention à la gestion des ressources humaines au sein de la fonction publique fédérale. Mais est‐ce qu'une crise régnait véritablement au sein du gouvernement fédéral en 1997? Grâce à des entrevues approfondies avec une grande variété de hauts fonctionnaires, le présent article examine trois écoles de pensée prévalant à Ottawa au sujet de «la crise», et évalue l'utilisation de la gestion de crise dans ce cas pour formuler une politique de modernisation du secteur public.     

Implementing Community obligations in the realms of intellectual property

Legal context. The various Acts of Parliament governing UK intellectualproperty law have been significantly amended to give effectto Community law. This article discusses the powers used bythe Secretary of State to implement Community obligations andthe Court of Appeal's recent clarification of the scope of thosepowers. Key points. This article describes the concerns expressed bysome commentators on the scope of the powers under the EuropeanCommunities Act 1972 and the key cases on that scope, includingOakley v Animal. The article uses the implementation of performers'moral rights as an example of where going beyond strict Communityobligations is necessary. Practical significance. The article will be useful to anyoneconsidering the validity of the changes made to domestic law,including amendments to primary legislation, to implement Directivesor other Community obligations.