Leverage and Alcohol Addiction

This paper confronts the question of whether messages can be diluted or even contradicted by the format in which they are delivered through a textual analysis of the TNT procedural drama Leverage, examining the portrayal of alcoholism in the program. The procedural drama, which often focuses on figures in law and order occupations, is characterized by close-ended episodes that often feature happy endings. Alcohol addiction has been a staple of many television programs, but these programs were mostly comedies or serial dramas. Leverage, a procedural drama with a light touch, is a modern day Robin Hood tale focused on five thieves led by an alcoholic protagonist. This paper finds that main character displays the expected negative effects of alcohol addiction but also displays positive qualities not often seen when the character is sober. The paper also examines the reactions of the protagonist’s closest colleagues to his addiction, and finds that these reactions, while prominent in the program’s first two seasons, are treated inconsistently in later seasons. The inconsistent treatment of this alcoholism in later seasons, the fantastical and often humorous nature of the program, and the procedural expectation of positive resolution to conflicts begun at the beginning of an episode often undercuts the program’s message about the dangers of alcoholism. This paper briefly contrasts the portrayal of substance abuse addiction in House, M.D., another program characterized by close-ended episodes and happy endings, with Leverage’s depiction of alcoholism. Leverage’s relative failure to accurately depict alcoholism raises questions about whether the procedural drama is the appropriate vehicle for portraying serious internal issues such as addiction

Exploratory study of the antecedents of psychological contract breach

This research presents a systematic review of literature focusing on the Human Resource Management concept of the Psychological Contract between an employee and their organisation. An initial overview of research on the broader topic is outlined to identify key themes in the field and to identify areas of research to be reviewed in greater detail. The major themes explored at this stage are the basic definition of the concept, the contents of the psychological contract, viewing the concept as a mental model or schema, the current methods used in existing research, how the agreement can be breached, the link to various employee outcomes and how the concept can be managed. The systematic review methodology is then set out to identify the causes or antecedents of breach, the differing ontological perspectives on the psychological contract concept and existing research which integrates the psychological contract with the related concept of employee engagement. 34 studies are examined and results are presented in the form of a narrative synthesis. Results suggest that the empirical evidence base of antecedents to breach is limited and that numerous potential antecedents to breach have not been fully tested due to limitations in existing research designs. Secondly, a new ontological perspective based on the Critical Realist perspective of Harré (2002) is proposed to develop existing work on the basic definition of the psychological contract concept. Finally, the lack of existing work which integrates both the psychological contract and employee engagement is highlighted with a recommendation for additional research on the ontology of the engagement concept

Total Rural Capital: A Model to Engage Extension Faculty and the Public in Rural Community Development

Rural community development is challenging work. This article introduces a tool that is useful for scholarship and for working with people in rural communities. Total rural capital is a multi-disciplinary model that can help faculty develop scholarship from their work while helping the public to better understand the complexity of community development

Decision-Making Styles: An Exploration of Preferences of On- and Off-Campus Faculty

Collaboration between off-campus agents and on-campus specialists is often strained. We hypothesized that the strain relates to the groups having different styles of decision making. We administered a variation of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator to on-campus specialists and off-campus agents in Utah. Although the groups share many MBTI preferences, there was a highly significant different on preference in the judging function, with 72% of the specialists indicating a Thinking preference and 60% of agents indicating a Feeling preference. This suggests major communication challenges when working together. We offer that the solution is in understanding the differences and using them as an asset

Biometric surveillance in schools : cause for concern or case for curriculum?

This article critically examines the draft consultation paper issued by the Scottish Government to local authorities on the use of biometric technologies in schools in September 2008 (see http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2008/09/08135019/0). Coming at a time when a number of schools are considering using biometric systems to register and confirm the identity of pupils in a number of settings (cashless catering systems, automated registration of pupils' arrival in school and school library automation), this guidance is undoubtedly welcome. The present focus seems to be on using fingerprints, but as the guidance acknowledges, the debate in future may encompass iris prints, voice prints and facial recognition systems, which are already in use in non-educational settings. The article notes broader developments in school surveillance in Scotland and in the rest of the UK and argues that serious attention must be given to the educational considerations which arise. Schools must prepare pupils for life in the newly emergent 'surveillance society', not by uncritically habituating them to the surveillance systems installed in their schools, but by critically engaging them in thought about the way surveillance technologies work in the wider world, the various rationales given to them, and the implications - in terms of privacy, safety and inclusion - of being a 'surveilled subject'

Decision-Making Styles: A Comparison of Extension Faculty and the Public

We hypothesized that Extension faculty, both on-campus specialists and off-campus agents, have different decision-making preferences than the public. We drew upon data from a previous study and from a national sample to compare the faculty groups and the public. We found agents to be much more like the public in the judging function. We also found both groups of faculty to have a very strong orientation to the S and J preferences. This suggests faculty may be so engaged in data gathering and management that they are unaware of public interests in intuitions, feelings, and action. We posit that faculty should be sufficiently fluent with the MBTI to recognize and work with people having different preferences

Danube Détente

La nature terrible des événements dans l’ancienne Yougoslavie ont masqué une vieille querelle entre la Roumanie et la Hongrie qui a renforcé les forces nationalistes dans les deux pays. La dispute roumano-hongroise représente, sous de multiples formes, le paradigme des rivalités interthniques en Europe de l’Est.Néanmoins, les deux pays ont signé un traité d’amitié, dont on espère qu’il inaugure une longue période de stabilité entre deux rivaux historiques. L’auteur analyse les changements de conditions qui ont permis à deux anciens voisins intraitables de mettre de côté leurs querelles. Il passe en revue les obstacles devant être surmontés avant qu’un processus de réconciliation puisse être consolidé. Les relations roumano-hongroises, interétatiques et intercommunautaires, n’en demeurent pas moins instables.The terrible nature of events in the former Yugoslavia have obscured a long-running quarrel between Romania and Hungary which strengthened the forces of radical nationalism in both countries. In many ways, the Romanian-Hungarian dispute is the paradigm case of an inter-ethnic dispute in Eastern Europe. Nonetheless, Romania and Hungary have signed a treaty of friendship which it is hoped will inaugurate a period of lasting stability between two historic rivals. The author analyses the changing conditions which have enabled two formerly intractable neighbours to put aside their quarrels and it examines the obstacles that need to be overcome before a process of reconciliation can hope to be consolidated. Romanian-Hungarian relations at inter-state and inter-communal level are still at the mercy of shifting events

Extension\u27s Role in Responding to Community Crisis: Lessons from Klamath Falls, Oregon

Extension has a long history of support for communities, primarily through programs such as agriculture and 4-H. When an entire community faces a crisis, however, the needs of the community can expand beyond the goals of a specific program. In the summer of 2001, Klamath Falls, Oregon experienced a crisis when a federal decision eliminated irrigation water to over 1200 families farming more than 220,000 acres. The Klamath County Extension Office recognized the role they could play and organized and facilitated three countywide meetings to identify needs and strategies for action. The actions that evolved from the meetings were substantial, and the Extension office learned several key lessons about responding to crisis

Selecting Evaluation Indices for Cleaner Production of Plantation Logging in Southern China with Fuzzy Clustering Methods

Over the years, China has shown a significant reduction in natural forest resources, while the increasing area of plantations has made greater contributions to the huge demand for wood. In southern China, these new plantations have produced some problems such as environmental hazards of logging operations and the most reasonable use of forest resources. A new management process called »cleaner production« is defined as reducing pollution from its source, increasing the rate of utilization of resources, and preventing the generation of pollutants in the production of services and products. In recent years, cleaner production has been widely applied to industrial processes such as agriculture and other environmental industries. In order to make rational use of plantation resources, to achieve maximum economic efficiency and to reduce or remove the environmental hazards of logging operations, it is necessary to carry out an in-depth study of cleaner production on the process of logging operations. This paper aims to establish an index system for cleaner production evaluation of plantation logging. The fuzzy clustering method was used to initially screen twenty-nine indices. After screening by the fuzzy clustering method, six first-grade indices and twelve second-grade important indices were selected as formal evaluation indices. The six first-grade indices are 1) cutting area design index, 2) logging operation techniques index, 3) ecological environmental impact index, 4) utilization of resource and energy index, 5) sustainable development index, and 6) safety production management and protection index. A maximum and minimum matrix method and a correlation coefficient matrix method were used to establish the similar matrix in the fuzzy clustering method. The screening results were then compared. The comparison shows that out of the twelve second-grade indices, ten are similar and two are different. The results suggest that the fuzzy clustering method is reliable for screening indices

Foil Depression Factors for Disc-shaped Detectors

The generalized data which are presented in this thesis are the culmination of the determination of the foil depression factor using oblate spheroidal coordinates