Alternatives to NIMBY gridlock: voluntary approaches to radioactive waste facility siting in Canada and the United States

Abstract: Neither Canada nor the United States has sited a new radioactive waste management facility in more than two decades, despite the continuous generation of new waste and the paucity of reliable disposal capacity. Both nations have stirred up considerable political controversy in attempting to site such facilities, with aggressive local collective action consistently blocking proposals. Building on provincial experience in gaining public support for hazardous waste facility siting tlirough a voluntary, comprehensive process, both Ontario and Nebraska Show signs of devi?ting from the classic Not-in-My-Back-Yard (NIMBY) response for low-level radioactive waste. Through a variation of the process used successfully in Alberta and Manitoba for hazardous waste, Ontario and Nebraska have demonstrated the potential applicability of these alternative siting principles for radioactive waste. Sommaire: Ni le Canada, ni les États-Unis n'ont construit de nouvelles installations de gestion des déchets radioactifs depuis plus de deux décennies, malgré la production continuelie de déchets supplémentaires et malgré la faible capacité d'élimination fiable. Les deux nations ont déclenché des controverses politiques considérables en essayant de mettre en place de telles installations, et leurs propositions ont été bloquées systématiquement et agressivement par les collectivités locales. Forts de certaines expériences provinciales pour gagner le soutien du public ewers l'emplacement d'une installation de déchets dangereux grâce à un processus volontaire et extensif, l'Ontario et le Nebraska semblent dévier de la réaction classique “ pas dans ma cour ” en ce qui concerne les déchets faiblement radioactifs. Par l'entremise d'une variante du processus utilisé avec succès pour les déchets dnngereux en Alberta et au Manitoba, l'Ontario et le Nebraska ont démontré qu'on pourrait éventuellement appliqucr ces principes de rechanpe pour l'emplacement des installations traitant les déchets radioactifs.     

Local government decentralization and the health sector in Tanzania

An evaluation of primary-level healthcare undertaken in Tanzania 1989-91 found that district health managers felt powerless to address health care performance weaknesses, although the district is the unit to which government management functions have been decentralized. In order to understand the managers views, this article analyses the pattern of decentralization within the health system from their perspective. It reviews the hislorical development of government structures and the theory and practice of decentralization within Tanzania. The matrix of accountability for health care has become very confusing, with multiple and cross-cutting flows of authority within and between levels of the system. District health managers have limited authority to take management action, such as managing resources, in ways that would begin to address problems of inefficiency and poor quality of care within primary care. District health management also suffers from weak resource allocation and financial management piocedures. The main obstacles preventing more effective management are: resource constraints; conflicts between the demands for central control and local discretion; limited institutional capacity; and political and cultural influences over the implementation of decentralization. Evaluation of past experience suggests that future policy influencing the organizational structure of government health services must be developed cautiously, recognizing the critical importance of complementary action to develop both institutional capacity and political and economic support for the health system.     

Risks entailed in teenage intoxication as perceived by junior and senior high school students

In a survey of 1269 junior and senior high school students in a Massachusetts community, a large majority of the respondents indicated they recognized many immediate and long-term risks involved in getting drunk at their age. A considerable minority of the sample, however, did not believe that there were significant hazards associated with youthful intoxication. Implications of the study for educators, counselors, parents, and others concerned about the prevalence of teenage drunkenness are explored.Current research interest are occupational safety and health, and alcohol and youth.Current interests are statistical research and curriculum development.     

The Constitutional State and its Reform Requirements

In the first part, the author characterizes the fundamental contents (principles) of the constitutional state. In the second part, he describes the necessary reforms both at the level of the national constitutional state and at the global and humanity level. In the third part, he examines the methods and procedures of reform in the constitutional state, analysing: a) constitutional formation or complete revision; b) constitutional amendments or partial revision; c) parliamentary constitutional legislation; d) constitutional interpretation; e) government and non‐governmental “outlook” commissions. 1 Abstract by Giorgio Bongiovanni.
     

A. Reviews: general

i. The Arab Economy: Past Performance and Future Prospects. by Yusif A.Sayigh. Oxford University Press, 1982. pp. 175.

ii. The Arab Predicament: Arab Politics and Practice since 1967. By Fouad Ajami. Cambridge University Press, 1982. pp. 220. £4.95 (paperback of hardback edn., 1981).

iii. The Arabic Documents in the Archives of the British Political Agency Kuwait, 1904–1949 (IOR: R/15/5) ([ British Academy]Oriental Documents V). By Julia Ashtiany. London, India Office Library and Records (published under the auspices of the British Academy Oriental Documents Committee), 1982. pp.xxxi, 373, P1.4.

iv. Traditional Crafts of Saudi Arabia. By John Topham and others. London, Stacey International Publishers, 1982. pp.192, 275 illustrations (colour), 6 (black and white), 2 maps. £22.50.

v. Yemen: Political History, Social Structure and Legal System. By Isam Ghanem. London, Arthur Probsthain, pp.26. £4.00.

vi. Sidi Ameur: a Tunisian Village. By Nadia Abu Zahra. London, Ithaca Press, 1982. pp.238, 2 tables, 3 maps, 4 diagrams, 7 appendices. £11.50.

vii. Tchad/Lybie: La querelle des frontières. By Bernard Lanne. Paris, Editions Karthala, 1982. pp.251, 2 maps. FF 68.

viii. Women in Islam: Tradition and Transition in the Middle East. By Naila Minai. London, John Murray, 1981. pp.283. £8.95.

ix. Faith and Power: The Politics of Islam. By Edward Mortimer. London, Faber and Faber, 1982. pp.431. £10.50 (paperback £5.95).

xi. Pan‐Turkism in Turkey: A Study of Irredentism. By Jacob M.Landau. London, C.Hurst & Co., 1981. pp.219. £11.50.

xii. The Modernization of Turkey: From Atatürk to the Present Day. By Walter F. Weiker. New York & London, Holmes and Meier, 1981. pp.303.     

Lessons learned from large-scale comparative dental analysis following the South Asian tsunami of 2004

The aim of this study was to examine the quality of the ante-(AM) and postmortem (PM) dental data that were submitted for entry into the PLASS data system in Phuket, Thailand, following the Boxing Day (December 26) Tsunami, 2004. The investigators were two forensic odontologists who were part of the New Zealand Disaster Victim Identification team that worked at Wat Yang Yao morgue and at the Information Management Center in Phuket. Our findings underline the usefulness of dental data in human identification, but point to a number of significant sources of error. Of the 78 PM records received, only 68% of radiographs and 49% of photos confirmed the accompanying dental charting. This underlines the value, particularly of photographs of the dental arches, in quality control. It also points to a large error component, which may have been due to inexperience of the operators, fatigue, poor conditions in the temporary morgue, or the problem of tooth-colored fillings. Of the 106 AM records received, 62% were of unacceptable quality and 64% were either not accompanied by radiographs or had poor quality radiographs. These results indicate that AM data collection ideally needs to be collated and checked by a forensically trained dentist(s) in the country of origin.