Privatization of Municipal Wastewater Treatment

Privatization of wastewater treatment facilities was encouraged by changes in the law and in the attitude of government officials during the early 1980s The idea was for localities to benefit from the efficiency gains expected when operations were transferred from municipal administration to a profit-making organization. However, significant differences between the ideal and reality often existed, particularly when contracts all but eliminated the profit motive.     

Zur Mikrosoziologie von Massentötungen bei Amokläufen

Spectacular but very rare violent events such as mass killings by habitual non-criminals cannot be explained by factors which are very widespread, such as possession of firearms, being a victim of bullying, an introvert, or a career failure. A stronger clue is clandestine preparation of attack by one or two individuals, against randomly chosen representatives of a hated collective identity. The mass killer chooses a setting, costume and timing to establish emotional dominance as precursor to physical casualties; such killers typically amass far more weapons than they actually use, and rely on them both for intimidation and for their own symbolic-emotional support. Mass killings end surprisingly often by surrendering, or committing suicide, once confronted by firm resistance. Mass killers develop a deep back-stage, obsessed with planning their attack, overcoming social inferiority and isolation by an emotion of clandestine excitement. Their actions might be described as mental illness, except that the clinical label adds no further explanatory power – their violent mental illness is socially constructed by just these processes.     

Applying Rasch modeling to the validity of a control balance scale

Classical test theory approaches to measurement are based upon a number of fairly restrictive assumptions. The nature of these assumptions is such that scales designed to operationalize latent constructs are treated with little regard for the interaction between the human subject and the items that compose the measurement scale. A competing measurement approach, the Rasch model, has been advanced to improve upon the limitations of classical test theory. In this article, the Rasch model was applied to a scale designed to measure Tittle's control balance ratio. Analysis suggests that the original scale and response category options do not meet fundamental measurement. In particular, several items exhibited misfit (and were thus removed from the scale), response category options were reduced from eleven to four, and the scales that form the control balance ratio exhibited very little gender bias. An alternative control balance scale that retains the original items is presented, but this scale no longer summarizes the control balance ratio as one overall score. The implications of these results are addressed.     

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.