Contingent and Non-Contingent Working in Local Government: Contrasting Psychological Contracts

Given that the contingent worker is likely to be a familiar presence in the public service workplace of the future, this paper explores the consequences of contingent work arrangements on the attitudes and behaviour of employees using the psychological contract as a framework for analysis. Drawing upon survey evidence from a sample of permanent, fixed term and temporary staff employed in a British local authority, our results suggest that contract status plays an important role in how individuals view the exchange relationship with their employer and how they respond to the inducements received from that relationship. Specifically, contingent employees are less committed to the organization and engage in organizational citizenship behaviour (OCB) to a lesser degree than their permanent counterparts. However, contrary to our hypothesis, the relationship between the inducements provided by the employer and OCB is stronger for contingent employees. Such findings have implications for the treatment of contingent and non-contingent employees in the public services.     

The Effects of Community Policing on Complaints Against Officers

Between 1982 and 1989, the Houston Police Department was committed toforming partnerships with the community as part of its strategy to improvepolice service to the city. Using complaint data from the Internal AffairsDivisions of the Houston Police Department, this research examines whetherofficers assigned to areas of the city that implemented community policinghave fewer complaints than other officers. The results showed that officersworking in areas where community policing had been implemented receivedsignificantly fewer complaints than officers working in other areas. Anexception was complaints for criminal behavior, which increased. The resultssuggest that models of community policing that focus on creating communitypartnerships have the potential to reduce tension between the police and thepublic.     

A Preliminary Validation of the Brief Spousal Assault Form for the Evaluation of Risk (B-SAFER) in Hong Kong

The present study attempted a preliminary validation of the Brief Spousal Assault Form for the Evaluation of Risk (B-SAFER) in Hong Kong. In-depth assessment was conducted on 43 identified batterers and 46 control male subjects. Results suggested that the B-SAFER could correctly classify 95% of the cases. Scores relating to the current situation were found to be particularly important in predicting intimate partner violence. The concurrent validity of the B-SAFER was demonstrated by its correlation with the Conflict Tactics Scale scores. Findings were discussed in the context of developing screening tool in the community setting with the guided clinical approach.     

Periadventitial extracranial vertebral artery hemorrhage in a case of shaken baby syndrome

We report a case of a two-month-old boy who became unresponsive in the sole custody of his father. Resuscitation efforts on route to the hospital were able to restore the infant's heart beat. However, neurologic function never recovered. Autopsy revealed massive cerebral edema, recent subdural, and subarachnoid hemorrhages, bilateral retinal hemorrhages, and cervical spine ligament hemorrhages. Separation of individual cervical vertebrae showed extensive, bilateral, periadventitial vertebral artery hemorrhages between C1 and C4, with corresponding luminal compression of the vertebral arteries. The importance of this previously unreported phenomena of periadventitial vertebral artery hemorrhage in the setting of shaken baby syndrome is discussed.     

What About Syria?

The following is the edited text of the presentations at the September 30, 1999, meeting of the Sadat Forum at Brookings, cohosted by Richard Haass, vice-president and director of Foreign Policy Studies at the Brookings Institution, and Shibley Telhami, the Anwar Sadat Chairfor Peace and Development at the University of Maryland.