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Between October 29, 1979, and November ,15, 1979, the South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs and the 0ffice of the Attorney General for the State of South Carolina conducted twelve public hearings throughout the State with respect to automobile repairs and maintenance. This paper addresses those hearings.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to analyse service quality in the automobile maintenance and repair industry. A conceptual structural model is developed to investigate the impact of service quality, perceived service fairness and convenience on customer service satisfaction. The impact of service satisfaction and brand trust on word of mouth (WOM) is also explored, and the study assesses the mediating effect of customer service satisfaction on the relationship between service quality and WOM.Design/methodology/approachData from a questionnaire-based survey of 259 users of automobile maintenance and repair centres were analysed using covariance-based structural equation modelling.FindingsThe findings indicate that service quality dimensions (reliability, responsiveness and empathy), perceived service fairness and convenience are positively associated with customer service satisfaction, and that service satisfaction and trust positively influence WOM. The findings support the mediating effect of service satisfaction on the relationship between reliability and responsiveness and WOM.Research limitations/implicationsThe study's main limitation is the cross-sectional design, which limits the generalisability of the findings.Practical implicationsTo ensure customer satisfaction and generate trust and WOM, automobile maintenance and repair service centres should improve reliability, responsiveness and empathy, as well as perceived service fairness and convenience.Originality/valueThe study demonstrates that the reliability and responsiveness dimensions of service quality are the most significant predictors of customer service satisfaction in the automobile maintenance and repair industry.

"Supersedes AFM 52-11, 4 January 1960." ; Mode of access: Internet.

In 1997, the General Assembly passed the most comprehensive automobile insurance reform since 1974. Most of the legislative changes will become effective on March 1, 1999 and will profoundly change the way automobile insurance is handled in South Carolina. The purpose of this brochure is to compare the new system with the old one, point out the most important changes and inform you of your rights and responsibilities under the new system.

Joseph Brevard, a South Carolina judge, observed in 1814 that "the laws of a country form the most instructive portion of its history." Certainly the successive printed collections of state statutes are among the most reliable and readily available sources for early American legal history. While statutes on their face do not reveal the extent to which they proved effective, the fact remains that to a unique degree statute law, as the product of the legislative process, mirrors the considered values and ideals of a society. Yet the legal history of South Carolina, and indeed that of most southern states, remains largely unexplored. This study attempts to fill part of the gap with an analysis of South Carolina statutory law in the immediate post-Revolutionary era, between the British evacuation of Charleston in December of 1782 and the ratification of the Constitution of the United States in 1788. An investigation of the statutes governing the state during these years should furnish some insight into the impact of the Revolution upon the status of the law as well as the functioning of South Carolina society in the Critical Period. These crucial and unsettled years would see Carolinians follow their victory in the Revolution with the restoration of civil government.

"Small businesses may not have safety and health professionals on staff, yet they can reduce injury and illness risks by obtaining safety and health information and adopting recommended practices. Most trade associations, franchisors, workers' compensation insurance groups and state health or labor departments are excellent resources for safety and health program materials. Comprehensive injury and illness prevention programs are recommended to reduce the risks for occupational injury, illness and death. You can: 1) Identify and evaluate hazards and adopt effective hazard controls and safe work practices to prevent work-related injuries and illnesses. 2) Lead a work group to address priority issues to help inform employers and policy makers about hazards and successful interventions. 3) Assist in the design of an effective system to track occupational injuries and illnesses in the automotive repair/maintenance industry. 4) Represent a partner organization to work on a goal implementation plan. Provide input to the NORA Coordinator on the implementation of goals (noracoordinator@cdc.gov) and suggest important issues to consider for future goals. 5) Promote the development of comprehensive occupational safety and health programs for automotive repair and maintenance establishments. 6) Evaluate potential exposures to hazardous materials in automotive repair and maintenance facilities. 7) Develop and evaluate effective training materials that assist employers and employees in the recognition and control of hazardous materials in automotive repair and maintenance facilities." - NIOSHTIC-2 ; At head of title: "Services sector: Occupational safety and health needs for the next decade of NORA." ; "12/5/2011" - date from document properties of .pdf file ; "The National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA) is a partnership program to promote innovative research and improve workplace practices. Unveiled in 1996, NORA is a framework for guiding occupational safety and health research and interventions throughout the Nation. NORA stakeholders collaborate to identify critical workplace issues in industry sectors. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) convened a number of these partners to develop the National Services Agenda, which includes safety and health goals for the Automotive Repair industry. Groups such as employers, employee organizations, government agencies, and automotive repair/maintenance associations can build partnerships to implement these goals and help ensure that automotive repair and maintenance work environments are safe for all employees." - p. [1] ; Also available via the World Wide Web as an Acrobat .pdf file (744 KB, 2 p.). ; Includes bibliographical references.

We identified legislation (1989–2005) relating to breast and cervical cancer in Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina and examined its impact on screening rates for these cancers and on Black-White disparities in screening rates. Legislation was identi-fied using the National Cancer Institute's (NCI) State Cancer Legislative Database (SCLD) Program. Screening rates were identified using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. Georgia and North Carolina enacted more laws on breast and cervical cancer than did South Carolina. The laws specifically intended to increase breast and cervical cancer screening were mandates requiring that insurance policies cover such screening; Georgia and North Carolina enacted such laws, but South Carolina did not. However, we were unable to demonstrate an effect of these laws on either screening rates or disparities. This may reinforce the importance of evidence-based health promotion programs to increase screening.

In a departure from car-centered analyses of the automobility systems, this article highlights the importance of motorcycles and motorcycling in the mobility practices of socialist countries. For at least half of the existence of socialist mobility systems, and especially during the 1950s and 1960s, there were more motorcycles on the roads than cars. Motorcycling was important in commuting, for the mobility of lower-ranking administrative personnel in the countryside, and for mass tourism and leisure. Although in that era maintenance and repair practices were equally central to motorcycling and car-driving, the distinction between user-owner and mechanic was much more fluid in the case of motorcyclists. As a result, the centrality of maintenance and repair to socialist-era motorcycling offers an ideal opportunity to enrich current interdisciplinary conversations about breakdown, maintenance, and repair. Building on the car-centered research into maintenance and repair activities, I add additional material on the nature, types, and complexity of such practices for motorcycling. I outline nine forms of material engagement with motorcycles that reference, but transcend, the current dichotomies between necessity and pleasure, the formal and the informal, the technical and the aesthetic, and the repair of existing objects and the creation of new ones.