I-O Psychology in Aotearoa, New Zealand: A world away?

Industrial-organizational psychology has had a fairly long history in this country, dating back to around the 1920s (Jamieson & Paterson, 1993). To a large extent the field developed initially within universities, although the focus of I-O psychologists’ activities in this country has always been very applied. Inclusion of I-O psychology in university curricula originally started at the University of Canterbury (in the south island) and then Massey University (in the north island); now two other universities (University of Auckland and University of Waikato, both in the north island) also provide training programs in the field. There are about a dozen academics in psychology departments who would consider themselves to be I-O psychologists, and a small handful in management or HRM departments. Clearly the number of academics specializing in this field is very small. Although this poses challenges for the development of I-O psychology in Aotearoa New Zealand, at the same time it helps communication among us

A Penalty Method for the Numerical Solution of Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman (HJB) Equations in Finance

We present a simple and easy to implement method for the numerical solution of a rather general class of Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman (HJB) equations. In many cases, the considered problems have only a viscosity solution, to which, fortunately, many intuitive (e.g. finite difference based) discretisations can be shown to converge. However, especially when using fully implicit time stepping schemes with their desirable stability properties, one is still faced with the considerable task of solving the resulting nonlinear discrete system. In this paper, we introduce a penalty method which approximates the nonlinear discrete system to first order in the penalty parameter, and we show that an iterative scheme can be used to solve the penalised discrete problem in finitely many steps. We include a number of examples from mathematical finance for which the described approach yields a rigorous numerical scheme and present numerical results.Comment: 18 Pages, 4 Figures. This updated version has a slightly more detailed introduction. In the current form, the paper will appear in SIAM Journal on Numerical Analysi

Analyses of Victorian hog deer (axis porcinus) checking station data: demographics, body condition and time of harvest

This report looks into the sustainability and health of deer within Victoria\u27s regional areas. Hog Deer (Axis porcinus) are a popular and highly valued game species in Victoria, with licensed hunters permitted to harvest one male and one female during an annual hunting season during the month of April. All harvested deer must be tagged and presented at a checking station within 24 hours of harvest. A variety of morphological and biological data are recorded for each harvested animal during inspection at the checking stations. The objectives of this study were to (i) summarise biological data collected for all Hog Deer inspected at the four mainland checking stations during 1997–2011 (i.e. excluding Sunday Island, which is owned and managed by the Para Park Co-operative Game Reserve Limited), and (ii) provide recommendations for improving the usefulness of future data collection. A total of 1122 deer were presented at the mainland checking stations (70.4% male; 29.6% female) during 1997–2011, with annual totals ranging from 38 in 1999 to 111 in 2011. There was little evidence that the number or sex ratio of deer harvested annually changed substantially over the course of the study period. The overall percentages of deer harvested on public (52%) and private (48%) land also did not show any discernable trend during the study period. The ages of deer (estimated by molar eruption and tooth wear) ranged from 1 to 12 years for females and males. Although the age structures differed slightly for females and males, there was no evidence that this changed over the study period, although inconsistent recording of ages limited the opportunity for quantitative analyses of these data

Evaluating Special Events: Merging Two Essential Approaches

In special event evaluation, given the shift away from standard economic impact analysis based on input–output modeling, increased attention is being paid to the roles that computable general equilibrium modeling (CGE) and cost–benefit analysis (CBA) can play in event evaluation. This article analyzes the strengths and limitations of CGE and CBA in the context of event assessment. A "hybrid" approach is outlined which includes a role for the advantages of both techniques to be included in the evaluation process. The issues addressed are theoretically important for both impact and benefit estimation, while having significant practical implications for event assessment

Older and wiser? Men’s and women’s accounts of drinking in early mid-life

Most qualitative research on alcohol focuses on younger rather than older adults. To explore older people’s relationship with alcohol, we conducted eight focus groups with 36 men and women aged 35 to 50 years in Scotland, UK. Initially, respondents suggested that older drinkers consume less alcohol, no longer drink to become drunk and are sociable drinkers more interested in the taste than the effects of alcohol. However, as discussions progressed, respondents collectively recounted recent drunken escapades, challenged accounts of moderate drinking, and suggested there was still peer pressure to drink. Some described how their drinking had increased in mid-life but worked hard discursively to emphasise that it was age and stage appropriate (i.e. they still met their responsibilities as workers and parents). Women presented themselves as staying in control of their drinking while men described going out with the intention of getting drunk (although still claiming to meet their responsibilities). While women experienced peer pressure to drink, they seemed to have more options for socialising without alcohol than did men. Choosing not to drink alcohol is a behaviour that still requires explanation in early mid-life. Harm reduction strategies should pay more attention to drinking in this age group

International Cultural Property Trusts: One Response to Burden of Proof Challenges in Stolen Antiquities Litigation

The futility of trying to prove ownership by only one country when antiquities were created by a culture whose boundaries span multiple modern states was exhibited in Peru v Johnson, in which the court found that Peru could not succeed in claiming artifacts that could have come from Ecuador or Bolivia. The outcome in this case strongly suggests that modern countries sharing such ancient cultural boundaries would benefit by executing multilateral agreements to create 1CPTs that delegate their international litigation claims to a single agent. The creation of multilateral ICPTs that encompass ancient cultural footprints would yield more fair and just repatriation results and increased success of repatriation claims brought in the courts of market countries, particularly the United States. Rather than source countries losing in court because of competing ownership claims, the ICPT would need only prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the object is owned by one of the ICPT\u27s member countries or by the ICPT itself. This Article discusses (i) the shortcomings of the current framework; (ii) the need for a unified claim in American courts by modern states that share ancient cultural boundaries; and (iii) how ICPTs would lead to more just outcomes for the stewardship of antiquities. Indeed, an ICPT established by modern states that share ancient cultural boundaries would serve as a deterrent for looting of sites and yield increased scholarship, stronger and more effective stewardship, and enhanced educational opportunities for all citizens of the world. [CONT

Laser power conversion system analysis, volume 2

The orbit-to-ground laser power conversion system analysis investigated the feasibility and cost effectiveness of converting solar energy into laser energy in space, and transmitting the laser energy to earth for conversion to electrical energy. The analysis included space laser systems with electrical outputs on the ground ranging from 100 to 10,000 MW. The space laser power system was shown to be feasible and a viable alternate to the microwave solar power satellite. The narrow laser beam provides many options and alternatives not attainable with a microwave beam

Laser power conversion system analysis, volume 1

The orbit-to-orbit laser energy conversion system analysis established a mission model of satellites with various orbital parameters and average electrical power requirements ranging from 1 to 300 kW. The system analysis evaluated various conversion techniques, power system deployment parameters, power system electrical supplies and other critical supplies and other critical subsystems relative to various combinations of the mission model. The analysis show that the laser power system would not be competitive with current satellite power systems from weight, cost and development risk standpoints

Isospin Splitting in the Baryon Octet and Decuplet

Baryon mass splittings are analyzed in terms of a simple model with general pairwise interactions. At present, the $\Delta$ masses are poorly known from experiments. Improvement of these data would provide an opportunity to make a significant test of our understanding of electromagnetic and quark-mass contributions to hadronic masses. The problem of determining resonance masses from scattering and production data is discussed.Comment: 9 pages, LATEX inc. 2 LATEX "pictures", CMU-HEP91-24-R9

Pharmacist intervention in primary care to improve outcomes in patients with left ventricular systolic dysfunction

<b>Background</b> Meta-analysis of small trials suggests that pharmacist-led collaborative review and revision of medical treatment may improve outcomes in heart failure.<p></p> <b>Methods and results</b> We studied patients with left ventricular systolic dysfunction in a cluster-randomized controlled, event driven, trial in primary care. We allocated 87 practices (1090 patients) to pharmacist intervention and 87 practices (1074 patients) to usual care. The intervention was delivered by non-specialist pharmacists working with family doctors to optimize medical treatment. The primary outcome was a composite of death or hospital admission for worsening heart failure. This trial is registered, number ISRCTN70118765. The median follow-up was 4.7 years. At baseline, 86% of patients in both groups were treated with an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor or an angiotensin receptor blocker. In patients not receiving one or other of these medications, or receiving less than the recommended dose, treatment was started, or the dose increased, in 33.1% of patients in the intervention group and in 18.5% of the usual care group [odds ratio (OR) 2.26, 95% CI 1.64–3.10; P< 0.001]. At baseline, 62% of each group were treated with a β-blocker and the proportions starting or having an increase in the dose were 17.9% in the intervention group and 11.1% in the usual care group (OR 1.76, 95% CI 1.31–2.35; P< 0.001). The primary outcome occurred in 35.8% of patients in the intervention group and 35.4% in the usual care group (hazard ratio 0.97, 95% CI 0.83–1.14; P = 0.72). There was no difference in any secondary outcome.<p></p> <b>Conclusion</b> A low-intensity, pharmacist-led collaborative intervention in primary care resulted in modest improvements in prescribing of disease-modifying medications but did not improve clinical outcomes in a population that was relatively well treated at baseline