‘Does the doormat influence the boot?’: critical thoughts on UK NGOs and international advocacy

Most UK development NGOs engage in advocacy work at the international level in an attempt to reduce the constraints imposed on grassroots development by global economics and the actions of the official aid agencies. Thus far, their record has been disappointing, and this article explores some of the reasons which lie behind the failure of NGOs to fulfil their potential in this field. Four strategic weaknesses are identified: an overall absence of clear strategy, a failure to build strong alliances, a failure to develop alternatives to current orthodoxies, and the dilemma of relations with donors. Each weakness is analysed with reference to practical examples, and appropriate conclusions drawn.     

Here today, gone tomorrow, back again the next day: Antecedents of correctional absenteeism

Correctional agencies are labor intensive, and many of the posts in a prison cannot be vacated, often leading to mandatory overtime. Despite the high costs and inconvenience associated with absenteeism in prisons, little empirical work was conducted on the antecedents of sick leave use by correctional workers. From self-reported data of workers in federal prisons in 1994, the results of this study indicated that decisions to use sick leave were independent of the culture of the prisons, and that many of the variables found to be associated with sick leave use in other settings also applied to correctional settings. In particular, the authors found that job satisfaction, organizational commitment, job stress, and personal characteristics were associated with the use of sick leave. Surprisingly, tobacco use was not.     

Sudden death as the initial manifestation of primary pulmonary hypertension. Report of four cases

Four autopsy cases are presented in which sudden death was the initial manifestation of primary pulmonary hypertension. The arteriopathy was plexogenic in two cases (a 3-year-old girl and a 16-year-old boy) and was thrombotic in two other cases (55- and 59-year-old women). The diagnosis of primary pulmonary hypertension, particularly in forensic cases, requires that the pathologist be especially aware of the possibility and that a careful evaluation of multiple sections of lung be performed. Determination of the histopathologic type also is important because some forms of the disease may be familial and may be treatable in other family members if they are detected early.