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The flexural strength of brittle materials has been found to follow the two-parameter Weibull distribution. This paper describes a simple method of estimating the Weibull modulus and characteristic strength that allows for the computation of confidence intervals that will contain the true values within a specifiable level of confidence. The sample size needed to meet the experimenter's precision requirements is determined. A sample of flexural strength data from the literature is used to illustrate all of the computations. The precision of the method is compared to that of the method of maximum likelihood. It is found to be inferior to maximum likelihood for estimating the Weibull modulus but quite comparable for estimating the scale parameter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As nursing staff turnover rates increase and the shortage worsens, strategies to attract and retain nurses are essential. Three instruments useful for measuring effectiveness of these strategies are Perspectives toward Caring for Older Patients (PCOP), toward Job Situation (PJS), and toward Interdisciplinary Teams (PIT). This study examined the psychometric properties of these scales in a sample of hospital nurses (n= 162). Principal component analysis (PCA) for the PCOP scale supported a single factor structure and 17 items, (a=.89). PCA also found the PJS scale to have 1 factor, 13 items (a=.80) and the PIT scale to have 1 factor, 15 items (a=.82). All except the PIT were cross-validated in an independent sample. Correlations between the scales were PCOP-PJS (r=.46), PCOP-PIT (r=.34), PIT-PJS (r=.35), (all at p

Issue Addressed: Despite the established risks associated with smoking, 21% of New Zealand adults smoke. Prevalence among Māori (indigenous) and Pacific Island New Zealanders is disproportionately high. Prevention of smoking initiation is a key component of tobacco control. Keeping Kids Smokefree--a quasi-experimental trial--aimed to do this by changing parental smoking behaviour and attitudes. However, little is known about parents' attitudes to smoking in comparison with other concerns.Method: Parents of 4,144 children attending five urban schools in a high smoking prevalence population in Auckland, New Zealand, were asked to rank seven concerns on a paper-based questionnaire, including smoking, alcohol and bullying, from most to least serious.Results: Methamphetamine and other illicit 'hard' drugs were ranked as most serious followed by marijuana smoking, alcohol drinking, bullying, cigarette smoking, sex and obesity. Never smokers ranked cigarette smoking as more serious than current or ex-smokers.Conclusion: Parents' under-estimation of the serious nature of tobacco smoking relative to other drugs could partly explain low participation rates in parent-focused smoking initiation prevention programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Issue Addressed: New Zealand's (NZ) smokefree legislation, implemented on 1 January 2004, requires that all school and early childhood centre buildings and grounds are 100% smokefree; one aim being to prevent young people being influenced by seeing people (including teachers) smoke there. This study, conducted in 2008, investigated teachers'smoking behaviour and perceived adherence to the legislation.Methods: A national NZ cross-sectional survey of 2,004 teachers (oversampling Māori), who were randomly selected from the electoral roll of registered voters and sent postal invitations to complete an anonymous survey.Results: The response rate was 70%. Current smokers numbered 7%, and proportionately more Maori and Pacific Island teachers (12% each) smoked than European/Other teachers (7%). Of current smokers, 37% smoked non-daily. Smokers smoked less on work than non-work days. Introducing smokefree legislation was associated with teachers changing when they smoked, cutting down, quitting or trying to quit. Perceived compliance with the legislation was high, although 30% of teachers reported seeing staff smoking. Proportionately, significantly more teachers from low than from high socioeconomic schools perceived poor compliance and staff visibly smoking.Conclusions: Smokefree legislation affects people's smoking behaviour. Smoking in NZ is becoming confined to population subgroups defined by socioeconomic status and ethnicity. Our findings argue for supporting cessation among those who work with children and young people, and for targeting support at school communities in areas of low socioeconomic status or with large populations of Māori or Pacific peoples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]