Can Managerial Turnover Be a Good Thing? The Impact of City Manager Change on Local Fiscal Outcomes

A long line of private sector research outlines the positive and negative impacts of employee and managerial turnover on organizations. However, public administration scholars often treat turnover as a phenomenon to be avoided and focus more on the antecedents of managerial turnover than on its consequences for public organizations. Within the context of local government, the impact of city manager turnover on organizational outcomes is unclear. This article identifies how city manager turnover influenced local fiscal outcomes during the Great Recession. Analysis of 165 council‐manager municipalities in California, more than one‐third of which experienced turnover during the height of the recession, allows for empirical examination of the impact of turnover during the test period of 2008–11 on local fiscal outcomes in 2011 and 2012, specifically the degree and incidence of budget deficit spending. The results demonstrate that managerial turnover may lead to better fiscal outcomes, conditional on how long the new manager has held the position. This suggests that while cities that hired new managers during the recession did better than those that did not, the earlier in the recession a manager was hired, the better.     

Private and public voices: Does family group conferencing privilege the voice of children and families in child welfare?

This article examines the use of family group conferencing in child protection and considers its ability to privilege the voice of children and families who reach the attention of statutory child protection services. The family group conference (FGC) is a process of family decision-making in child protection, originally developed in Aotearoa New Zealand, and now practised in many countries including the UK. Examining the literature and research relating to the FGC it considers whether the approach provides a genuine context of participation and partnership, or whether it has become an instrumental professionally led practice as families are charged with greater responsibilities for children at risk.     

Outcomes in a low secure unit: pre-admission and post-discharge comparisons

Empirical research seldom reports on clinical outcomes within low secure services. By comparing outcome measures prior to admission and following discharge this study aimed to investigate the care pathways of patients admitted to a low secure unit (LSU). The study was conducted in an LSU and consisted of 70 patients (54 male, 16 female). Data were collected retrospectively and analysed in relation to placement security (upon admission and discharge) and admissions to hospital. Results revealed that admissions to hospital and time spent in hospital decreased post-discharge in comparison with pre-admission. Forensic patients were found to have fewer admissions than civil patients prior to LSU admission. Some differences were also observed within gender and Mental Health Act (MHA) section status for placement security. The findings demonstrated that following treatment in a LSU, care pathways may be less restrictive than prior to admission. Further, more robust research on the outcomes of LSUs is required.     

Medicine in Africa as I have seen It

This address by Dr. Smith was given before a joint meeting ofthe Royal African Society and the Royal Empire Society withLt.-Col. Sir Stewart Symes in the chair. Dr. Smith is May Readerin Medicine at Oxford University and Physician-in-Charge ofthe tuberculous Meningitis Unit at the United Oxford Hospitals.She formerly worked with Sir Hugh Cairns at the Radcliffe Infirmary,and was associated with him in starting certain research projectsin Africa concerned with various aspects of tuberculosis.     

Suicide by air rifle and shotgun

We report the case of a 39-year old white male who committed suicide by shooting himself with an air rifle and a shotgun. The ballistics of air guns and rifles, with particular reference to the Sheridan air rifle, are reviewed. Only two cases of multiple firearm suicide have been reported; both involved simultaneously fired handguns. Ours is the first case, to our knowledge, of an air rifle and a shotgun used in sequence to commit suicide.     

Adolescents Online: The Importance of Internet Activity Choices to Salient Relationships

The purpose of this study was to determine whether using the Internet for different activities affects the quality of close adolescent relationships (i.e., best friendships and romantic relationships). In a one-year longitudinal study of 884 adolescents (Mean age = 15, 46% male), we examined whether visiting chat rooms, using ICQ, using the Internet for general entertainment, or participating in online gaming predicted changes in the quality of best friendships and romantic relationships. Multiple regression analyses indicated that Internet activity choice influenced later relationship quality in both best friendships and romantic relationships. Using instant messaging (ICQ) was positively associated with most aspects of romantic relationship and best friendship quality. In contrast, visiting chat rooms was negatively related to best friendship quality. Using the Internet to play games and for general entertainment predicted decreases in relationship quality with best friends and with romantic partners. These findings reflect the important and complex functions of online socialization for the development and maintenance of relationships in adolescence.