bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Leaching behavior of metolachlor in soil
Authors: El-Nahhal Yasser
Published: May 2004

This work estimated the leaching behavior of metolachlor from montmorillonite-based and commercial emulsifiable concentrate (EC) formulations in soil columns and field plots by using bioassay and chemical techniques. A montmorillonite-based formulation of metolachlor was prepared by adsorbing metolachlor to montmorillonite–benzyltrimethylammonium (BTMA) complex from aqueous solution. Bioassay and gas chromatography (GC) techniques detected high metolachlor concentrations in the top soil layers (0–9 cm) in soil columns and field plots sprayed with montmorillonite–BTMA–metolachlor complex. These results were also evident by severe growth inhibition restricted to the top soil layers (0–9 cm) and normal growth at deeper layers in soil columns and field plots. A wider range of metolachlor concentrations were detected in soil layers in columns treated with EC formulation in both soil columns and field plots. Relatively higher metolachlor concentrations were detected in the soil layers in field plots than in soil columns. A bioassay technique was a more sensitive tool than chemical technique and detected diluted concentration of metolachlor at deeper layers. The different leaching behavior of metolachlor applied as montmorillonite–BTMA complex is due to the adsorption capacity of montmorillonite–BTMA complex. Key words: metolachlor, montmorillonite–BTMA, leaching, soil columns, field plots.
Regional haze in Wisconsin: sources and the spatial distribution
Authors: Kerr Sara C , Schauer James J , Rodger Bruce
Published: May 2004

The atmospheric fine particulate matter (PM2.5) chemical composition and the light scattering coefficient were measured at a rural air monitoring site in Wisconsin between September 2001 and August 2002 to understand the source of regional haze in the area. The average fine particle mass concentration, was 10.8 µg/m3 over this time period and was 27.2% organic material, 2.4% elemental carbon, 34.2% ammonium sulfate, 31.6% ammonium nitrate, 3.7% soil, and 1.8% non-soil trace elements. Ammonium sulfate, organic matter, and soil were highest during the summer period while ammonium nitrate was highest during the winter. Elemental carbon peaked in the fall while the trace elements did not vary significantly. These trends were also observed at an urban Milwaukee site. A comparison of spring 2002 data between sites distributed across Wisconsin revealed a similar relative chemical composition, though absolute concentrations varied significantly. The average measured light scattering coefficient (bsp) at the rural sampling site was 53 ± 1 Mm–1. The PM2.5 mass and the measured bsp showed good correlation with an R2 of 0.84. The average chemical composition of the particulate matter was used to calculate bsp and the resulting values agree well with the measured bsp, though not as well as the PM2.5 mass, giving a regression slope of 1.06 and an R2 of 0.72. Key words: PM2.5 chemical speciation, light scattering coefficient, visibility.
A PENALTY METHOD FOR SOLVING BILEVEL LINEAR FRACTIONAL/LINEAR PROGRAMMING PROBLEMS
Authors: CALVETE HERMINIA I. , GALÉ CARMEN
Published: May 2004

Bilevel programming involves two optimization problems where the constraint region of the first-level problem is implicitly determined by another optimization problem. This model has been applied to decentralized planning problems involving a decision process with a hierarchical structure. In this paper, we consider the bilevel linear fractional/linear programming problem, in which the objective function of the first-level is linear fractional, the objective function of the second level is linear, and the common constraint region is a polyhedron. For this problem, taking into account the relationship between the optimization problem of the second level and its dual, a global optimization approach is proposed that uses an exact penalty function based on the duality gap of the second-level problem.
A MORE PRECISE EXTRACTION OF |Vcb| IN HQEFT OF QCD
Authors: WANG W. Y. , WU Y. L. , YAN Y. A. , ZHONG M. , ZUO Y. B.
Published: May 2004

The more precise extraction for the CKM matrix element |Vcb| in the heavy quark effective field theory (HQEFT) of QCD is studied from both exclusive and inclusive semileptonic B decays. The values of relevant nonperturbative parameters up to order [Formula: see text] are estimated consistently in HQEFT of QCD. Using the most recent experimental data for B decay rates, |Vcb| is updated to be |Vcb|=0.0395±0.0011expt±0.0019theorfrom B→D*lν decay and |Vcb|=0.0434±0.0041expt±0.0020theorfrom B→Dlν decay as well as |Vcb|=0.0394±0.0010expt±0.0014theorfrom inclusive B→Xclν decay.
SURPRISES IN NONPERTURBATIVE DYNAMICS IN σ-MODEL AT FINITE DENSITY
Authors: GUSYNIN V. P. , MIRANSKY V. A. , SHOVKOVY I. A.
Published: May 2004

The linear SU (2)L× SU (2)R σ-model occupies a unique place in elementary particle physics and quantum field theory. It has been recently realized that when a chemical potential for hypercharge is added, it becomes a toy model for the description of the dynamics of the kaon condensate in high density QCD. We review recent results in nonperturbative dynamics obtained in the ungauged and gauged versions of this model.
PREDICTION OF PROTEIN SECONDARY STRUCTURE BASED ON RESIDUE PAIRS
Authors: LIU XIN , ZHANG LI-MEI , ZHENG WEI-MOU
Published: May 2004

The GOR program for predicting protein secondary structure is extended to include triple correlation. A score system for a residue pair to be at certain conformation state is derived from the conditional weight matrix describing amino acid frequencies at each position of a window flanking the pair under the condition for the pair to be at the fixed state. A program using this score system to predict protein secondary structure is established. After training the model with a learning set created from PDB_SELECT, the program is tested with two test sets. As a method using single sequence for predicting secondary structures, the approach achieves a high accuracy near 70%.
A Rapidly Deployable Operational Mesoscale Modeling System for Emergency-Response Applications
Authors: Warner Thomas T. , Bowers James F. , Swerdlin Scott P. , Beitler Brian A.
Published: May 2004

An operational mesoscale model–based forecasting system has been developed for use by U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Command meteorologists in their support of test-range operations. This paper reports on the adaptation of this system to permit its rapid deployment in support of a variety of civilian and military emergency-response applications. The innovation that allows for this rapid deployment is an intuitive graphical user interface that permits a non-expert to quickly configure the model for a new application, and launch the forecast system to produce operational products without further intervention. The graphical interface is Web based and can be run on a wireless laptop or a personal digital assistant in the field. The instructions for configuring the modeling system are transmitted to a compute engine [generally a personal computer (PC) cluster], and forecast products are placed on a Web site that can be accessed by emergency responders or other forecast users. This system has been used operationally for predicting the potential transport and dispersion of hazardous material during the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah, and during military operations in Afghanistan. It has also been used operationally to satisfy the rapidly evolving needs of wildfire managers. Continued use of the modeling system by non-experts will allow developers to refine the graphical interface and make the model and the interface more fault tolerant with respect to the decisions of model users.
Virtue Ethics, Dialogue, and “Reverence”
Authors: Richardson Frank C.
Published: May 2004

Contemporary theorizing about virtue in philosophy and social theory broadly includes not only virtue ethics but stimulating new perspectives on dialogue and fresh thinking about implacable human limitations. Taken together, these ideas outline a credible alternative to dogmatism, objectivism, and relativism in a pluralistic modern context. They also offer promising leads for rethinking social inquiry in such a context for an approach to inquiry that, in Alasdair Mac Intyre’s words, allows us to affirm “moral pluralism without moral relativism.”
The Role of Positivity and Connectivity in the Performance of Business Teams
Authors: Losada Marcial , Heaphy Emily
Published: May 2004

Connectivity, the control parameter in a nonlinear dynamics model of team performance is mathematically linked to the ratio of positivity to negativity (P/N) in team interaction. By knowing the P/N ratio it is possible to run the nonlinear dynamics model that will portray what types of dynamics are possible for a team. These dynamics are of three types: point attractor, limit cycle, and complexor (complex order, or “chaotic” in the mathematical sense). Low performance teams end up in point attractor dynamics, medium perfomance teams in limit cycle dynamics, and high performance teams in complexor dynamics.
Generating Dynamic Capabilities through a Humanistic Work Ideology
Authors: Wooten Lynn Perry , Crane Patricia
Published: May 2004

Strategic management research overlooks dynamic capabilities generated from the “humanistic side” of organizational life, such as relationships, compassion, virtuous actions, and honorable behavior. However, exploring these dynamic capabilities can provide the field of strategic management with a different viewpoint of how organizations create value through human processes. To examine this issue, the article presents results from a case study of a nurse-midwife practice within a large research hospital. The study explores how the humanistic work ideology of the nurse-midwife practice creates dynamic capabilities. Through theoretical analysis of the case study data, the authors develop a framework to explain the humanistic work ideology of the midwives and its linkages to human resource management and patient service capabilities. Last, the authors conclude with a discussion proposing that institutional pressures legitimize the humanistic work ideology of the midwifery practice.
Scandal and the Rise of Investigative Reporting in France
Authors: Chalaby Jean K.
Published: May 2004

Investigative reporting is a recent development in France, with the revelation of scandals becoming a legitimate practice for journalists only since the 1980s. To date, investigative reporting knows few practitioners and faces considerable obstacles. This article gives an account of its emergence and analyzes the reasons for its late development. The French journalistic tradition has long been influenced by literature and politics and therefore has not placed as much emphasis on the collection and exposition of facts as Anglo-American journalism. Until the 1980s, there was very little competition in the media field, acting as another disincentive for newspapers to seek out information. Until the beginning of the Fifth Republic, venality was widespread among French journalists, further hindering the revelation of scandals. Influential social theories prevented the personalization of politics, placing an emphasis on the systemic and collective causes of problems.
Outer Space as a Shared Frontier
Authors: Handberg Roger
Published: May 2004

Canada’s relationship with the United States in space activities has been a difficult one. This article explores the evolution of this duet and the changing international space policy context. For the United States, the relationship has been more marginal than for Canada, but other alternatives such as the European Space Agency have increased Canada’s degrees of freedom from American dominance.
American and Canadian Assessments of NAFTA
Authors: Bennett Scott
Published: May 2004

This article both analyzes the differences between Americans and Canadians with respect to their knowledge of NAFTA and their assessment of its benefits and tests models to assess what types of variables drive such knowledge and assessments. These variables include level of identification with the continent, acceptance of national disintegration, opinions about managing sovereignty, socioeconomic and demographic variables, and an indicator of political party spectrum preferences. Some of the more noteworthy simple findings are that Americans and Canadians differ in their knowledge of NAFTA, their assessment of its benefits, level of continental identification, acceptance of national disintegration, and the ways in which they approach the management of sovereignty. At a more complex level, multivariate models for the two countries show that assessments and knowledge of NAFTA are driven by different variables or by the same variables but in different directions. This has implications for the future evolution of continental policy.
Going It Alone
Authors: Oakley Christine K.
Published: May 2004

In 1993, Washington State passed its landmark Health Services Act designed to reorganize the state’s health care system. The crafters of the act acknowledged that having a strong public health system was essential to the achievement of health systems reform and therefore embedded public health reform into the act’s strategies for comprehensive change. Midterm elections resulted in legislative changes that spawned a repeal of most of the Health Services Act, except for mandates for public health reform. This study discusses the unintended consequences of enacting policies written as embedded components of larger reform processes. Findings suggest that under these unexpected conditions, attempting reform reveals how local public health jurisdictions strategically respond to the reinstitutionalization of that which defines public health as a unique institutional form. Without the original policy in place, there is no system wide mechanism to effectively influence the coupling dynamic that characterizes this loosely coupled system.
Explaining Social Movement Outcomes
Authors: Franceschet Susan
Published: May 2004

This article compares the outcomes of first- and second-wave feminism in Chile. The author argues that the double-militancy strategy of second-wave feminists emerged out of shifts in the political opportunity structure that led the movement to adapt its collective action frame. First-wave feminists had constructed a gender frame that depicted women as apolitical. In a context in which political parties were class based and saw little need to address women’s issues, neither the gender frame nor the political opportunity structure invited a double-militancy strategy. The context for second-wave activists was different. The politicization of women’s maternal identities altered the meaning of the maternal gender frame. Because the prodemocracy parties needed the support of women’s movements (and female voters), they invited women’s participation. Thus, the political opportunity structure and a more politicized gender frame encouraged a double-militancy strategy, ultimately leading to the realization of some of the movement’s goals.
Government Capacities and Policy Making by Decree in Latin America
Authors: Negretto Gabriel L.
Published: May 2004

What is the effect of constitutional decree authority (CDA) on the policy-making process of a presidential regime? Despite recent efforts to answer this question, there is still much uncertainty in the literature about the extent to which decree powers may allow presidents to control the legislative process. This article argues that in a separation-of-powers system, the existence of CDA effectively enhances executives’ ability to act as agenda setters. This capacity, however, is not uniform across all cases. Developing a simple spatial model of decree games, the author argues that the bargaining power of an executive to promote legal changes through decrees varies according to three interrelated factors: decree approval rules, the extent of the executive’s partisan support in the legislature, and the strength of the presidential veto. These propositions are supported by a comparative analysis of the process of constitutional design and the implementation of decrees in Brazil and Argentina, two cases presenting significant variation in each of the independent variables.
“Dining While Black”
Authors: Dirks Danielle , Rice Stephen K.
Published: May 2004

Recent studies suggest that black American diners tend to tip less than white American diners. Rather than address tipping directly, this study uses in-depth interviews of white restaurant workers to frame the issue of how restaurant workers view and respond to customers of color. The present research indicates that white American restaurant workers actively participate in derogatory stereotyping of black American customers, engaging in the use of racial code words and derogatory ethnic labels, while discriminating—both overtly and covertly—in their service interactions with black customers. Among other things, servers attempt to negotiate with other white employees to avoid having black parties seated in their sections and actively try to trade off such “undesirable” parties. Servers’ logic regarding tipping is self-perpetuating in the sense that they avoid serving parties of black customers because they anticipate poor tips. These results suggest that evidence of racial tipping differences needs to be viewed cautiously in the service context in which they exist and that the industry should take special care to ensure that when servers serve black Americans, they should provide service that justifies a good tip.
Does Victim Gender Increase Sentence Severity? Further Explorations of Gender Dynamics and Sentencing Outcomes
Authors: Curry Theodore R. , Lee Gang , Rodriguez S. Fernando
Published: May 2004

Theoretical and empirical research pertaining to the influence of gender on sentencing outcomes has focused almost exclusively on the gender of offenders. What this literature has not fully considered is how the gender of crime victims might affect sentencing outcomes. Using data for offenders convicted of three violent crimes in the seven largest metro counties in Texas in 1991, the authors find evidence that offenders who victimized females received substantially longer sentences than offenders who victimized males. Results also show that victim gender effects on sentence length are conditioned by offender gender, such that male offenders who victimize females received the longest sentence of any other victim gender/offender gender combination. However, whereas these effects are observed for sentence length, no victim gender effects are observed on whether offenders received an incarcerative or nonincarcerative sentence. The authors address the implications of their findings for theory and subsequent research.
Reliability of Arrest and Incarceration Questions on the Risk Behavior Assessment
Authors: Fisher Dennis G. , Reynolds Grace L. , Wood Michele M. , Johnson Mark E.
Published: May 2004

We examined 48-hour test-retest reliability of the arrest and incarceration questions on the Risk Behavior Assessment (RBA; National Institute on Drug Abuse, 1993). Participants were 229 street-drug users recruited in 11 cities throughout the United States. Results revealed that lifetime arrest and incarceration items demonstrated good to excellent reliability. The 30-day arrest and incarceration items provided such poor reliabilities that they would yield unreliable data with limited research or clinical use. Future research needs to identify alternative items that can yield reliable data regarding recent arrest history; until then, it is recommended that the recent arrest items be used with caution.
Five-Year Outcomes of Therapeutic Community Treatment of Drug-Involved Offenders after Release from Prison
Authors: Inciardi James A. , MartIn Steven S. , ButzIn Clifford A.
Published: May 2004

With growing numbers of drug-involved offenders, substance abuse treatment has become a critical part of corrections. A multistage therapeutic community implemented in the Delaware correctional system has as its centerpiece a residential treatment program during work release—the transition between prison and community. An evaluation of this program followed 690 individuals. At 5 years, those who participated in the program were significantly more likely to be drug and arrest free. Furthermore, treatment graduates with or without aftercare had significantly greater probabilities of remaining both arrest free and drug free than did ano treatment comparison group in regular work release. Dropouts also were significantly more likely to be drug free, although not significantly less likely to have a new arrest than those without treatment. These data show that the implementation of such programs could bring about significant reductions in both drug use and drug-related crime.
A Case Study Illustration of How a Critical Theorist and a Consummate Practitioner Meet on Common Ground
Authors: Hoffman Lauren P. , Burrello Leonard C.
Published: May 2004

This study illustrates Professor William P. Foster’s ideas about narratives of schooling, leadership, and community inherent in his critical theory of educational leadership. The case study explored how a superintendent of a regional educational agency, along with 10 district-level superintendents in the agency’s service area, shifted from schooling as economic utility to a focus on teaching and learning. The case was constructed from participant research. Results suggest that the superintendents, who demonstrated leadership that Foster recommended as critical, transformative, educative, and ethical, implemented schooling with equity for all students. In addition, an ethic of community emerged through the superintendents’ shared understanding of the purpose of their work and when they began to adjust their work between leadership and followership roles.
William P. Foster’s Promises for Educational Leadership: Critical Idealism in an Applied Field
Authors: Lindle Jane Clark
Published: May 2004

In 1986, William P. Foster added another measure of insight to the growing awareness that traditional approaches to explaining leadership phenomena in schooling had proven more illusion than illumination. With the publication of Paradigms and Promises: New Approaches to Educational Administration (1986), Foster’s scrutiny on market-bound and orthodox views of organizations challenged conventional scholarship on schooling and leadership. His promotion of a dialectically engaged and dynamic construction of education and educational leadership provided yet another impetus for the ensuing decades of reform in scholarship, preparation, and practices of the field. Upon the first anniversary of his death, Educational Administration Quarterly dedicates this edition to recognize and probe Foster’s scholarly legacy in addition to celebrating his generosity as a colleague and mentor.
A Meta-Analysis of Response Rates in Web- or Internet-Based Surveys
Authors: Cook Colleen , Heath Fred , Thompson Russel L.
Published: May 2004

Response representativeness is more important than response rate in survey research. However, response rate is important if it bears on representativeness. The present meta-analysis explores factors associated with higher response rates in electronic surveys reported in both published and unpublished research. The number of contacts, personalized contacts, and precontacts are the factors most associated with higher response rates in the Web studies that are analyzed.
Life Event Checklists: Revisiting the Social Readjustment Rating Scale after 30 Years
Authors: Scully Judith A. , Tosi Henry , Banning Kevin
Published: May 2004

Despite criticism, the Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS) is one of the most widely cited measurement instruments in the stress literature. This research assesses several criticisms of the SRRS after years of widespread use. Specifically, the authors evaluate content-related criticisms, including differential prediction of desirable relative to undesirable life events, controllable relative to uncontrollable life events, and contaminated relative to uncontaminated life event items. On balance, the authors find that the SRRS is a useful tool for stress researchers and practitioners.
Testing Repeated Measures Hypotheses When Covariance Matrices are Heterogeneous: Revisiting the Robustness of the Welch-James Test Again
Authors: Keselman H. J. , Algina James , Wilcox Rand R. , Kowa Rhonda K.
Published: May 2004

The Welch-James and Improved General Approximation tests were examined in between-subjects × within-subjects repeated measures designs for their rates of Type I error when data were nonnormal, nonspherical, and heterogeneous and when group sizes were unequal as well. The tests were computed with either least squares or robust estimators of central tendency and variability and assessed with critical values that were obtained either theoretically or through a bootstrapping method. Prior findings indicated that one could only obtain a robust test of the interaction effect with the Welch-James procedure when sample sizes were very large. This study’s results indicate that a robust test of the interaction effect can be obtained with reasonable sample sizes when the Welch-James test is computed with trimmed means and Winsorized covariance matrices.
The Development and Validation of the Goal Orientation and Learning Strategies Survey (Goals-S)
Authors: Dowson Martin , McInerney Dennis M.
Published: May 2004

This article outlines the construction and validation of the Goal Orientation and Learning Strategies Survey (GOALS-S). This 84-item survey was designed to measure students’ motivational goal orientations and their cognitive and metacognitive strategies. Results of first-order confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) supported the factorial validity of the GOALS-S scales measuring students’ goals and strategies (with goodness-of-fit indices in post-hoc models ranging from .908 to .981). In addition, higher order CFAs (HCFAs) support hierarchical structure of the GOALS-S scales (with goodness-of-fit indices ranging from .904 to .980). Finally, tests of invariance supported the factorial stability of the GOALS-S scales across gender groups (with goodness-of-fit indices ranging from .901 to .981).
Impact of Test Design, Item Quality, and Item Bank Size on the Psychometric Properties of Computer-Based Credentialing Examinations
Authors: Xing Dehui , Hambleton Ronald K.
Published: May 2004

Computer-based testing by credentialing agencies has become common; however, selecting a test design is difficult because several good ones are available—parallel forms, computer adaptive (CAT), and multistage (MST). In this study, three computerbased test designs under some common examination conditions were investigated. Item bank size and item quality had a practically significant impact on decision consistency and accuracy. Even in nearly ideal situations, the choice of test design was not a factor in the results. Two conclusions follow from the findings: (a) More time and resources should be committed to expanding the size and quality of item banks, and (b) designs that individualize an exam administration such as MST and CAT may not be helpful when the primary purpose of the examination is to make pass-fail decisions and conditions are present for using parallel forms with a target information function that can be centered on the passing score.
The Standardized Mean Difference within the Framework of Item Response Theory
Authors: Wang Wen-Chung , Chen Hsueh-Chu
Published: May 2004

As item response theory (IRT) becomes popular in educational and psychological testing, there is a need of reporting IRT-based effect size measures. In this study, we show how the standardized mean difference can be generalized into such a measure. A disattenuation procedure based on the IRT test reliability is proposed to correct the attenuation on the sampling variance due to measurement error. Simulations were conducted to investigate whether the direct generalization and the disattenuation procedure were appropriate. The independent variables were (a) item response model, (b) test length, (c) sample size, (d) effect size, and (e) test-person match. The dependent variable was the empirical effect size measure. The results indicated that the direct generalization of the standardized mean difference into the IRT context is applicable and the disattenuation procedure is appropriate. An empirical example about English assents for Taiwan students is given.
Values, Environmental Concern, and Environmental Behavior
Authors: Poortinga Wouter , Steg Linda , Vlek Charles
Published: May 2004

In this study, the role of values in the field of household energy use is investigated by using the concept of quality of life (QOL). Importance judgments on 22 QOL aspects could be summarized into seven clearly interpretable value dimensions. The seven value dimensions and general and specific environmental concern contributed significantly to the explanation of policy support for government regulation and for market strategies aimed at managing environmental problems as well as to the explanation of the acceptability of specific home and transport energy-saving measures. In line with earlier research, home and transport energy use were especially related to sociodemographic variables like income and household size. These results show that it is relevant to distinguish between different measures of environmental impact and different types of environmental intent. Moreover, the results suggest that using only attitudinal variables, such as values, may be too limited to explain all types of environmental behavior.
Outdoor Temperature, Climate Control, and Criminal Assault
Authors: Rotton James , Cohn Ellen G.
Published: May 2004

Based on the negative affect escape (NAE) model of heat and aggression, it was hypothesized that relationships between temperature and aggravated assaultswould be moderated by access to air conditioning. This hypothesis was tested by subjecting calls for service received by police in Dallas, Texas, to multivariate analyses of covariance that employed weather variables as predictors and controlled for the temporal variables of holidays, time of day, day of the week, and season of the year. As the NAE model predicts, assaults in probably climate-controlled settings were a linear function of temperature, whereas assaults in settings that probably lacked climate control declined after peaking at moderately high temperatures. The results are consistent with recent attempts to use the concept of social avoidance to integrate routine activity theory and psychological theories of aggression.
Do Both Negative and Positive Environmental Scenes Elicit Rapid Affective Processing?
Authors: Hietanen Jari K. , Korpela Kalevi M.
Published: May 2004

A priming paradigm was used to investigate the automatic affective reaction triggered by perception of environmental scenes. Grayscale pictures of environmental scenes differing in the level of restorativeness and preference (low, medium, high) were presented as prime stimuli. The prime stimuli were followed by presentations of human facial expressions of happiness and anger as to-be-recognized target stimuli. The results showed that response times to angry faces were shorter after the presentation of negative scenes compared to positive. A reverse pattern of results was true for the response times to happy faces. As compared to the response times after baseline primers (scenes with medium restorativeness/preference), only negative scenes seemed to result in facilitation of responses to facial expressions of anger. No such facilitation was observed for expressions of happiness after positive environmental primers. The results provide preliminary support for the view that only negative environmental scenes elicit an automatic evaluative reaction.
Psychological Similarity in Work-Based Relationships and the Development of Self-Efficacy Beliefs
Authors: Jaina Joe , Tyson Shaun
Published: May 2004

The subject of work-based relationships as a source of support, feedback and development has centrality in much of the research into management development. Specifically, work dealing with manager/subordinate and peer relationships, as well as more formally defined developmental relationships such as that of the mentor, coach or counsellor, are of interest to the management researcher. This article examines the concept of psychological similarity through shared meanings, in relation to the maintenance and development of self-efficacy beliefs. This examination is carried out through comparative case studies in two very different organizational settings; the corporate and the not-for-profit sector. It was found that in work-based relationships in which the parties are psychologically similar, such relationships are more likely to support the maintenance and development of self-efficacy beliefs.
UN Reform through Coordination by the ACC: The Continuing Saga of the King and the Barons
Authors: McLaren Robert
Published: May 2004

The struggle between the king and the barons is the great recurrent theme in the domestic politics of medieval England. Sometimes the barons are up and the king is down (Stephen, John, Edward II); sometimes it is the king who is on top and the barons who are repressed or quiescent (Henry I, Henry II, Edward I). There was a time when I found it puzzling that England should have bouts of tearing itself to pieces in domestic strife, even when there were great dangers threatening (or great opportunities beckoning) from outside her borders. After all, they were all part of the same kingdom, weren’t they? Surely they could see the advantages of all pitching in together? (Jay, 1967: 35)
Britain’s‘5 Percent’ Local Government Revolution: The faltering Impact of New Labour’s Modernization Agenda
Authors: Game Chris
Published: May 2004

Tony Blair’s New Labour Party came to power in 1997 committed to ‘modernizing’ and rejuvenating a local government system that it considered had been weakened and emasculated by the Thatcher and Major Conservative governments. Written immediately following Labour’s overwhelming re-election in June 2001, this article is an interim review of some of the key policies in the government’s modernization agenda for local government. The first sections deal with the indisputably radical political management reforms imposed on local councils and the attempt to introduce, for the first time in UK local government, directly elected executive mayors. Later sections focus on the replacement of compulsory competitive tendering with a ‘best value’ service regime, and the government’s more hesitant approach to finance reform. The overall conclusion of the review is that in all three policy spheres, though in differing ways, the government has so far fallen short of its ambitious and radical rhetoric. The idea of elected mayors is enthusing neither the public nor elected councillors. Best value is seen as excessively bureaucratic, prescriptive and centralist. And modest reform proposals leave largely unaddressed the most serious financial weaknesses of UK local authorities.
Managing through Measurement or Meaning? Lessons from Experience with New Zealand’s Public Sector Performance Management Systems
Authors: Norman Richard
Published: May 2004

Comprehensive adoption of systems for managing for results as an alternative to procedure-based bureaucracy has earned the New Zealand public sector a reputation as the ‘world’s most advanced performance system’ (Kettl, 2000: 7). Research with a cross-section of users of this system, now nearly 15 years old, reveals a variety of responses. True Believers support a current focus on measurement and think that more effort should be put into creating clearer, more observable measures that emphasise outcomes. Pragmatic Sceptics see reported measures as part of a new game of public management and at best a starting point for asking about the substance behind the form. Active Doubters believe that too much emphasis on measurement gets in the way of the ‘real work’ of developing relationship-based work in a political environment. Issues of meaning are seen to be more important than measurement for the further development of the system.
Recent Developments in the Laws Governing Local Public Services in France
Authors: Douence Jean Claude
Published: May 2004

Following major reforms between 1982 and 1986, the local government system continued to develop with successive touches on the helm, but with no strong guiding hand. Apart from an energy policy encouraging intermunicipal co-operation, which met with considerable success over a short time, regional structures and competencies barely changed. Modernization of local administration made patchy progress. Certain major reforms were successfully introduced (local accounting, laws governing public tenders, public service delegation contracts, local authority regulations, etc.), but others languished. The general system of controls remains almost unchanged but benefits from regular increases in the powers of judges, thanks largely to general laws (reform of emergency procedures before administrative judges). However, the modernization project is generating new problems that need to be resolved.
Developing Reflexive Practitioners through Collaborative Inquiry: A Case Study of the UK Civil Service
Authors: Kakabadse Nada K. , Kakabadse Andrew
Published: May 2004

This article examines how a collaborative inquiry (ci) intervention has been effectively used to enhance change within central government organizations. The experience and learning from a 15-month ci process with a group of 12 senior managers from various departments/agencies within the UK civil service, is presented. The purpose of the inquiry was to assist public servants to meaningfully promote the ‘Modernizing Government’ agenda. Various participatory forms of inquiry and discourse dedicated to grasping cultural meaning from within the public service are explored as well as the requirements necessary for the creation of meaningful change. This article illustrates how harnessing diverse opinions through mutual inquiry can be a more fruitful form of pursuing change than the top-down rational approach or the more confrontational rhetorical models of debate. It concludes that the collaborative qualities of participation and democratic dialogue are especially pertinent to individual and organizational development as emphasis is placed on the contextual relevance of experiential knowledge, group and community development and the need to involve all participants in the task of defining the aims of change and creating meaningful futures. The impact of this inquiry is now being positively felt within the UK’s civil service as the members of the inquiry community apply their learning within their own departments.
Governance and Diversity within the Public Service in Canada: Towards a Viable and Sustainable Representation of Designated Groups (Employment Equity)
Authors: Benhamadi Bey
Published: May 2004

The Canadian Government is constantly seeking to set up thorough-going, responsible administrative practices. Representation is one of the main bases on which the mandate of the federal public service stands. Without this operating principle, a government agency cannot fully and faithfully reflect the concerns of the people it is called to serve. In order to be fair and inclusive, political action must manage diversity on a vast scale, embracing such differences as race, gender, age, language, ethnic origin, religion and disability. Canada’s population is one of the most diversified in the world. Aboriginal peoples and highly varied sustained immigration are just two factors contributing to its diversity and attributes.

The political authorities have been totally committed to the question of diversity for several decades. As a consequence, a vast legislative framework has been set up including the 1982 Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The aim of this article is to introduce the Canadian example with reference to the management of diversity in the public service and, more particularly, the efforts made to achieve fairness in matters of employment. The approach consists first of reviewing the development of the issues of diversity from a general historical and political viewpoint, with special focus on employment equity (ee), and, second, of describing and examining the latest results obtained in terms of representation and its characteristics within the Canadian federal machine. Finally, the importance of identifying challenges for the public service, with a view to responsible governance, is examined within a global discussion of the obstacles identified, the programmes in place and the new approach to be developed.
Citizens’ Safety, Business Trust and Greek Police
Authors: Lambropoulou Effi
Published: May 2004

This article examines the possibilities for the Greek police to use performance measurement. The article first presents the context from which the monopoly of the state police began to be questioned. It briefly describes the development and essential trends in this type of evaluation for police forces in Great Britain, the initiator of quality reforms in the public sector in Europe and where considerable experience has been accrued. In the second part, the concepts of security and trust are explored and used as the theoretical background for a small-scale empirical study. It examines whether testing the effectiveness of policing can help in developing the necessary sense of security and trust required by small businesses to expand their enterprises. Furthermore, it examines whether such knowledge could motivate security companies to offer a more economic service to a larger number of households and private enterprises by cooperating with the state police and if such measurement would prove useful for them and their customers. Finally, some conclusions are formulated in reference to safety, police culture and organization, as well as to the quality of reform in Greece.
Garveyism in Idlewild, 1927 to 1936
Authors: Stephens Ronald J.
Published: May 2004

Although the scholarship on Garveyism and the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League (UNIA-ACL) is well documented, there is a continuing need to learn more information about Garveyism in the United States. Because the current literature on the UNIA-ACL at the local level is rather scant, this article explores the origins and development of Garveyism in the Idlewild community to determine the extent to which other Michigan divisions, including the Detroit chapter, worked collectively for the general welfare of preserving the Idlewild community. This article concentrates on two significant stages of UNIA history in Idlewild in an attempt to rescue and reconstruct the community’s identity. First, it focuses on the role small groups of Black middle-class residents played in organizing the division during the second decade of the community’s history from 1927 to 1929. Second, it discusses the many challenges and successes the division encountered from 1929 to 1936.
A Place of Gathering
Authors: Gentry Cynthia S.
Published: May 2004

A drink house is a residential home open for the illegal sale of alcohol by the drink. This is a long-standing and widespread tradition in Southern Black communities. Based on interviews, several types of these establishments are described. In addition, the functions, both positive and negative, of drink houses are explored. Although associated with a number of social problems, the drink house functions primarily to reflect and perpetuate a sense of neighborhood and community.
The Effectiveness of South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission
Authors: Vora Jay A. , Vora Erika
Published: May 2004

This article empirically assesses the effectiveness of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) of South Africa as perceived by three ethnic groups in South Africa, namely, Xhosa, Afrikaners, and English. It examines whether the participants of each ethnic group viewed the TRC to be effective in bringing out the truth and bringing about reconciliation. The article also examines whether the TRCwas viewed as having had a positive effect on South Africa’s society, economy, politics, and image in the world. In addition, the perceived overall success of the TRC is assessed. The Afrikaner participants perceived the TRC to be less effective than the English participants and much less effective than the Xhosa participants. Finally, the article discusses potential future benefits that may be gained from the experiences of South Africa’s TRC to manage ethnic and racial conflicts in other parts of the world.
Racial Differences on Organizational Attachment?
Authors: Kashefi Mahmoud
Published: May 2004

This study examines and explains differences between White and Black employees in organizational attachment. Previous studies on racial inequality assumed that the relative failure of Black employees in the labor market is partially related to their work habits and lower organizational attachment. This study, following the structural theory of the labor market, suggests that any racial difference in organizational attachment is explained by the structural features of jobs held by racial groups rather than by race or other variables identified in the culture of poverty or human capital theories. Using 1991 General Social Survey data, the findings are strongly consistent with the structural explanation of organizational attachment; the difference of average organizational attachment between Black and White employees is minor but significant. However, race displays a nonsignificant coefficient with organizational attachment when the structural features of jobs were kept constant. Concluding remarks on the theoretical significance of the findings and their implication in policy/practice are given.
Dynamic Compressive Response and Failure Behavior of an Epoxy Syntactic Foam
Authors: Song Bo , Chen Weinong , Frew Danny J.
Published: May 2004

The high-strain-rate compressive behavior of an epoxy syntactic foam is examined in this study. A pulse-shaped split Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB), modified for low-impedance material testing, was used to ensure that the samples deformed under dynamic equilibrium and at a nearly constant strain-rate. Dynamic stress equilibrium in the specimen was monitored for each experiment using piezoelectric force transducers mounted close to the specimen end-faces. Quasi-static experiments were also conducted to demonstrate rate effects of the foam, as well as to study its failure behavior. It was determined that the compressive strength of the foam increased with strain rate up to a transition strain rate of between 550 and 1030 s 1. For experiments conducted at strain rates above this transition range, strain-rate-induced damage caused the compressive strength of the foam to decrease. Based on the experimental results, a constitutive model with strain-rate and damage effects was developed, which described the test data well.