Suchergebnisse

AbstractOn January 7, 1994, the disabled tank barge Morris J. Berman ran aground spilling 750,000 gallons of heavy‐grade fuel oil on the beaches of San Juan, Puerto Rico. The spill impacted a variety of resources and temporarily shut down a portion of the tourist industry during the height of the winter season. The spill is noteworthy as the first major incident in U.S. coastal waters following passage of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA 90). A landmark provision passed as a result of the 1989 Exxon Valdez catastrophe. The Berman spill provides a test case for assessing the robustness of policy mandates incorporated in the OPA 90. Mandates that compelled the oil transportation and response network to assume high‐reliability organization characteristics. The study finds that although high‐reliability characteristics were seemingly adopted their implementation during the Berman spill evidenced a significant number of shortcomings.

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In the fall of 2001, letters containing anthrax spores were mailed to news media personnel and congressional officials, leading to the first cases of anthrax infection related to an intentional release of anthrax in the United States. Outbreaks of anthrax infection were concentrated in six locations, or epicenters, in the country. An examination of the public health response to the anthrax incidents provides an important opportunity to apply lessons learned from that experience to enhance the nation's preparedness for bioterrorism. Because of its interest in bioterrorism preparedness, Congress asked GAO to review the public health response to the anthrax incidents. Specifically, GAO determined (1) what was learned from the experience that could help improve public health preparedness at the local and state levels and (2) what was learned that could help improve public health preparedness at the federal level and what steps have been taken to make those improvements."

Police response to domestic violence (DV) has continued to change and expand over the past several decades. Although DV was originally considered a private matter, it now represents one of the most common calls for service received by police agencies. While police response to DV incidents has improved substantially, intervention when children are present remains an undeveloped area of research and practice. The present study examined 345 police reports from an agency in the Northwestern United States to explore police response to DV incidents when children are present. Regression analyses indicated that child presence was a statistically significant predictor of victim-directed intervention, victim-directed follow-up, and arrest although in differing directions. While child presence increased the odds of victim-directed intervention and victim-directed follow-up, it decreased the odds of arrest. Findings further indicated that the frequency of police interaction with children present at DV incidents was minimal. Based on these findings, recommendations for policy and practice are discussed.

AbstractBackgroundThe issue of violence in secure services has long been recognized both in the UK and worldwide. However, there is currently scarce literature available about violence within learning disability (LD) secure settings.MethodsSecondary data analysis was conducted on violent incidents, using information routinely collected by the staff over a 1‐year period.ResultsPhysical assaults were the most frequent type of incident, and the distribution in terms of days or months was homogenous and incidents were concentrated in the corridors, lounges and dining rooms of secure facilities. Antipsychotic medication was not regularly prescribed. Generalized linear modelling analyses revealed significant predictors that increased the chances of seclusion and physical restraint, such as being female or directing the violence towards staff.ConclusionsThese findings can inform staff training on violence prevention and suggest that increased ward‐based supervision and enhanced use of psychological formulations may help in reducing violence within this service context.