License Type Research Articles

A Critical Review of Visual Standards for Drivers in N.S.W.

A review of the visual standards applicable to the various types of drivers and riders licences in N.S.W. is made and evldence is presented which indicates that the present interval between supervi...

Licensing the driver with alterations of consciousness.

THE US Public Health Service has recently prepared a monograph ( Driver Licensing Guidelines for Medical Advisory Boards ) giving recommendations concerning the licensing of medically impaired motor vehicle operators. The information is designed as a guideline for state medical advisory boards to use in their role as consultants to the motor vehicle administrators. The alteration of consciousness section is presented here so that neurologists and others interested in this area are aware of the criteria and classification being used and thus able to better counsel their patients. The criteria outlined in this guide have been developed along functional and symptomatic lines, rather than along pathologic and anatomic classifications because it is the functional and symptomatic limitations of illness that directly affect driving capability. 1-3 Groups of medically impaired drivers are defined according to the severity of their functional impairment and are also classified by the type of vehicle license

The Changing Economics of the Pacific Northwest Forest Products Industry

W E FEEL that those underlying economics which are key elements governing the earnings trends for the major owners and converters of timber in the Pacific Northwest have changed appreciably in the past couple of years in a manner which favors such companies. Furthermore, the direction and pace of this change is likely to continue recent trends. Because of these changes, we feel that major owners of timberlands and manufacturers of wood products have improved earnings prospects which will command higher earnings multiples. The long-run demand for wood fiber in all of its forms is felt to be very attractive as a result of rising world-wide usage of paper and paper products, plus the shelter demands that are extant throughout the world. The United States, Canada, and Scandinavia represent the three major wood resource centers of the free world. Russia has a large, and apparently untapped, forest resource, but to date they have not chosen to export wood or converted wood products in any appreciable volume. That factor could change in the future, but so far the major wood deficit countries of the world have been relying on North America and Scandinavia for their wood fiber. The Scandinavians are reported to be moving gradually toward maximum utilization of their forest resource on a long-range basis, which shifts the world's demand increasingly toward North America. The major private and public owners of timber in the United States have operated under the sustained yield principle of forestry for a number of years, and in fact the companies have undoubtedly been growing more timber than they have been removing during this time span. More recent scientific measurements of the amount of timber available and its rate of growth have indicated to some companies, notably Weyerhaeuser, that a significantly larger amount of wood could be removed from fee timberlands while still hewing to the sustained yield principle. At some point out ahead, perhaps in ten or fifteen years, it is expected that the supply/demand trend lines for old-growth timber will cross, and that the Pacific Northwest will go to what is called a second growth timber economy. In Canada, and particularly in British Columbia, vast new areas of timberlands have been opened up by the governments involved in order to stimulate economic growth and increase exports of converted wood products in all forms. With the bulk of the timberlands in Canada controlled by national or provincial governments, companies operate under various types of licenses or rights to use and remove the timber, again usually on some type of sustained use basis. The opening up of the interior of British Columbia has now pretty well run its course, and most of the major timber awards have been consummated. In addition, many of the pulp and paper mills scheduled to use these wood resources have been constructed or are under way. Thus, in the course of the next ten years or so, we should witness optimum utilization of the resources of North America on a sustained yield basis. The most tangible evidence of the improvement in the supply/demand patterns for wood has been the startling appetite for wood in its various forms which the Japanese have evidenced. It is estimated that possibly two billion of the 14-15 billion board feet of logs removed from Pacific Northwest timberlands in 1967 ended up in Japan. The Japanese have been heavy buyers of JOHN R. FLANAGAN is a partner on the research staff of Stein Roe & Farnham, Investment Counsel, in Chicago.

Techniques for Estimating Non-Statistical Bias in Big Game Harvest Surveys

Two sources of bias in mail questionnaire surveys to determine game harvests are response bias and non-response bias. Response bias was tested in a 3-year survey of deer hunters whose perform- ance was known. In the survey years, net error in estimating total deer harvest was 7.6 percent, with 9.1 percent of unsuccessful hunters reporting a kill and 4.5 percent of the successful hunters reporting no kill. Non-response bias was tested using intensive follow-up mailings and personal contact in a single year. A significant non-response bias toward overestimation was demonstrated in one of the four hunt- ing license types (Resident Big Game) and a correction factor of 8.0 percent was suggested for this license type. Results of both surveys suggest that the mail questionnaire method of estimating deer harvest provides reasonable estimates of total harvest. Two major sources of bias can be noted in the sample surveys traditionally con- ducted by many state Fish and Game De- partments to determine the extent of har- vest. These are: (1) response bias, that is, the bias introduced by respondents who incorrectly report their hunting activity (either by mistake or by design), and (2) non-response bias, that is, differences in hunting activity or performance between those who respond to the mailed question- naires and those who do not respond. This paper will set forth techniques used by the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish to estimate and to adjust for these sources of error in deer harvest surveys.

Implications of Water Rights for Engineers

Water and water rights laws may have implications for engineers in connection with any project that affects water or will be affected by it. Such laws reflect the diverse interests of the federal government, states, municipalities, and private parties. Conflicts among these interests must be resolved in the light of complex constitutional, statutory, and common law principles. Applicable legal rules may affect the economic feasibility of a project in several ways. The feasibility of a federal project may depend in part on whether adversely affected private water rights will have to be paid for. In the case of a private project, compensation for such rights will generally be required. In addition, various types of licenses, permits and other rights may have to be obtained, and this should be done promptly to avoid possible additional or useless planning and construction costs. Engineers can serve their clients or employers by recognizing the possibility of legal problems and advising that timely legal counsel be obtained to solve them.

Local and State Action against Organized Crime

Organized crime is a major problem but not a major concern. The public is interested but not alarmed. The traditional structure of relationships between local, state, and federal levels of government places obstacles in the way of effective assault on the national problem of organized crime. To combat organized crime, good government is required, dedicated to good law enforcement, at all levels. Specific suggestions for local and state action concern: mechanisms for co-ordination of investigative efforts and findings; minimum standards for operations and personnel; correction, with a view to co-ordination and professionalization, of the fragmen tation of law enforcement into inadequate and obsolete units; specialist criminal-intelligence units to collect information on a wide scale, to assimilate and co-ordinate on a narrow scale, and to disseminate findings broadly and take direct action; several legal requirements; disposition of cases in lower crimi nal courts; some types of licensing and regulatory activities; improvement of information; general upgrading of police- personnel training, career incentives, supervision, administra tion, and salary. In addition to these substantive efforts, strong public support is necessary for a meaningful and effec tive campaign against organized crime.

A Comparison of Provisionally Certified and Permanently Certified Elementary School Teachers in Selected School Districts in New York State

FOR THE past fifteen years, since WorldWar E, the problem of finding competent, well qualified teaching personnel has grown increasingly acute. There have been many suggestions offered, and many plans tried. Perhaps the most widely used of these, is the granting of provisional certification to people who do not meet educational requirements as established by the S ta te Education Department of the State of New York. This study represents an effort to determine whether the provisionally certified elementary school teacher in the first, second and third year of classroom experience is as successful as the permanently certified elementary schoolteacher in the same years. It could serve as a gauge to meas ure the value of provisional certification and its place in our school systems. The teachers studied were from one hundred and twenty elementary schools in the State of New York. Of these one hundred and twenty elementary schools, sixty-four elementary schools were from residential areas, thirty-four elementary schools were from agricultural areas, twenty-two elemen tary schools were from industrial areas. Two hun dred and forty teachers who were in their first, second and third years of classroom experience participated in the study. The two hundred and forty teachers were comprised of the following: f or ty provisionally certified elementary school teachers and forty permanently certified elementary school teachers were in the first year, forty provisionally certified elementary school teachers and forty per manently certified elementary school teachers were in the second year, and forty provisionally certified elementary school teachers and forty permanently * 7 Locust Road certified elementary school teachers were in the third year. The study used the questionnaire-inquiry tech nique. Sixty statements providing a basis for ratings from poor to superior were included in this instru ment grouped under the following seven major areas considered important to teacher effectiveness: hu man relations, preparation, planning and manage ment, subject matter, instruction, parent-teacher relations, pupil-teacher relations and evaluation. The elementary school principals in participating schools rated one provisionally certified elementary school teacher and one permanently certified ele mentary school teacher on a one-to-one basis. The data were analyzed with respect to four variables, namely: (a) total population of more or less than 5000 in villages, towns and cities from which the questionnaire was returned, (b) the num ber of years, either more or less than seven years, of administrative experience of the rater completing the questionnaire, (c) the number of years, either one, two or three, of teaching experience of the teachers being evaluated, and (d) the type of license, either provisional or permanent, the teacher held. The statistical design of this investigation m a y be described as 2x2x3x2 complex factorial design in which correlation for one variable was present. Some of the more significant conclusions and recommendations derived from an analysis and in terpretation of the data are summarized.