Review and evaluation of the officer next door program

This research report was commissioned to assess and evaluate the criminal justice and business case for the Officer Next Door (OND) program. Since its establishment in 1998, the OND program has sought to provide Housing Tasmania residents with a reassurance policing approach based on early intervention in criminal and anti-social behaviour on Housing Tasmania broadacre estates. Despite its perceived success, the OND program has not been subject to a critical review or evaluation over the ten years of its operation. As such, the tenth anniversary of the program marks a timely occasion for establishing whether it represents a best practice model for promotion across other jurisdictions

Providing Services to Family Caregivers at Home: Challenges and Recommendations for Health and Human Service Professions

The home represents a relatively new arena for practice for most service providers, especially those working with families of persons with dementia. This article describes four key factors to consider when working with caregivers of persons with dementia in their homes. The authors also discuss seven common challenges of service provision in the home and recommend strategies for addressing these challenges

Point of decision signs and stair use in a university worksite setting: General versus specific messages

Point-of-decision signs to promote stair use have been found to be effective in various environments. However, these signs have been more consistently successful in public access settings that use escalators, such as shopping centers and transportation stations, compared to worksite settings, which are more likely to contain elevators that are not directly adjacent to the stairs. Therefore, this study tested the effectiveness of two point-of-decision sign prompts to increase stair use in a university worksite setting. Also, this study investigated the importance of the message content of the signs. One sign displayed a general health promotion message, while the other sign presented more specific information. Overall, this project examined whether the presence of the point-of-decision signs increases stair use. In addition, this research determined whether the general or specific sign promotes greater stair use. Inconspicuous observers measured stair use both before the signs were present and while they were posted. The study setting was the University of Texas School of Nursing, and the target population was anyone who entered the building, including employees, students, and visitors. The study was conducted over six weeks and included two weeks of baseline measurement, two weeks with the general sign posted, and two weeks with the specific sign posted. Each sign was displayed on a stand in the decision point area near the stairs and the elevator. Logistic regression was used to analyze the data. After adjustment for covariates, the odds of stair use were significantly greater during the intervention period than the baseline period. Furthermore, the specific sign period showed significantly greater odds of stair use than the general sign period. These results indicate that a point-of-decision sign intervention can be effective at promoting stair use in a university worksite setting and that a sign with a specific health information message may be more effective at promoting stair use than a sign with a general health promotion message. These findings can be considered when planning future worksite and university based stair promotion interventions

Effect of <i>Leptographium terebrantis</i> on Foliage, New Root Dynamics, and Stemwood Growth in a Loblolly Pine (<i>Pinus taeda</i> L.) Plantation

The course of the bark beetle-vectored fungus, Leptographium terebrantis S. J. Barras and T. J. Perry, in stemwood growth loss of declining pines in the southeastern United States was assessed in a 13-year-old loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) plantation near Eufaula, Alabama, U.S.A. Using stem inoculation as a surrogate for root infection, we hypothesized that L. terebrantis infection impairs sapwood function and thus limits the tree leaf area (AL), new root production, and stemwood growth. Sterile toothpicks colonized by L. terebrantis at varying inoculum densities was used to elicit host growth responses. In the third year after inoculation, the root pathogen reduced the foliage moisture content, whole-tree leaf area (AL), the ratio of AL to tree sapwood area (AS), and stemwood growth in trees receiving the high inoculation treatment relative to those receiving the low or medium inoculation treatments, or the wound or control treatments after seven months of water deficit. The absence of a similar response to water deficit among trees that were noninoculated, wounded, or inoculated at the low or medium densities suggests that, in the loblolly pine–L. terebrantis pathosystem at our study site, the physiological stress caused by water deficit and the high inoculum density was required for the pathogen to elicit a stemwood growth loss. Thus, in loblolly pine forests of the southeastern United States, where climate and soil conditions yield prolonged periods of physiological stress, the presence of L. terebrantis has the potential to reduce stand volume and widen the gap between the predicted and actual stemwood production