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In this paper, we examine the implications of managing for sustained yield in a world characterized by growing risk and uncertainty. We review the history of sustained yield (SY) forestry in North America, with an emphasis on economic benefits and the persistence of the SY paradigm today, despite a publicized shift towards managing for a wider range of forest values called sustainable forest management (SFM). We show that current forest management goals around sustainability as well as SFM indicators are still predicated on maximizing harvest levels and timber flows. We build a simple model to explore the implications of SY under extreme (fat-tailed) risk assumptions to show that maximizing a level of harvest without adequately accounting for risk leads towards the depletion of the forest stock with a corresponding decline in the forest economy. We discuss these results in relation to real-world events such as the increase in catastrophic fires and pest outbreaks like the mountain pine beetle in Western Canada. We then examine the theoretical and practical implications that flow from this model and analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Trust is important to the institutions that make societies successful. Globally, Indigenous peoples are actively building institutions for self‐governance, but there remains little empirical work on trust in this context. To address this gap, we use a mixed methods approach to explore three levels of trust among individual members from three related, but politically distinct First Nations (Indigenous peoples) in British Columbia, Canada. British Columbia offers a unique and dynamic context to explore trust and its relationship with the diverse institutional choices among First Nations. Survey results show that trust is low among respondents and individual variables predictive of trust in mainstream contexts, like education and employment, are not determinative. However, interpersonal trust and political trust were highest in the First Nation most active in institution building, and who linked this with a cultural revitalization narrative. Interviews suggested a bidirectional relationship between individual and collective drivers of trust in this context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many Indigenous communities in Canada have established economic development corporations (EDCs) to support economic development that meets community goals. Indigenous EDCs, like social enterprises, typically prioritize multiple socio‐economic goals and may be used to limit political influence on business operations; however, complete separation can be detrimental to success. This article explores formal mechanisms used by Indigenous EDCs to maintain accountability between levels of governance and ensure Indigenous community‐owned businesses remain focused on community objectives. A literature review, interviews and document analysis were used to identify formal mechanisms to maintain accountability in the context of Indigenous community‐owned forestry businesses in British Columbia, Canada. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In commenting on our review about barriers to climate change adaptation and mitigation (Williamson and Nelson 2017, Can. J. For Res. 47(12): 1567–1576, doi:10.1139/cjfr-2017-0252), Wellstead et al. (2018, Can. J. For. Res. 48(10), doi:10.1139/cjfr-2017-0465) argue that the "functionalist assumptions" underlying barriers analysis in general and our paper in particular are problematic. They also argue that barriers analysis — a method widely employed both in scholarly climate change adaptation research and in national and international climate change assessments — should be replaced by approaches that remain untested in the context of climate change adaptation research, particularly in forestry adaptation and mitigation research. We believe that neither the scholarly research on adaptation and mitigation barriers nor our review have characteristics of functionalism or imply functionalist assumptions. Moreover, we disagree that barriers analysis can be replaced by the methodologies that they propose because these latter approaches address different aspects and features of processes supporting movement toward comprehensive and integrated adaptation and mitigation in forest management. We do agree that there are knowledge gaps relative to examinations and explanations of causal mechanisms to explain decision-making and policy process outcomes that have already occurred, and we encourage research to address these gaps. Ultimately, this aspect of social science research is complementary to, not a substitute for, barriers research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forests are sensitive to the effects of climate change and play a significant role in carbon cycles. This duality has important implications for forest management in terms of requirements for enhanced and integrated adaptation and mitigation interventions. Two ideal conceptual level changes could provide the means for implementation. First, the incorporation of climate change considerations into definitions of sustainable forest management (SFM) would provide mandates for enhanced approaches. Second, the mainstreaming of enhanced SFM would facilitate implementation. There are, however, factors that may impede implementation. Identifying and evaluating these factors informs our understanding of requirements for adaptation and mitigation mainstreaming. This study reviews, organizes, and interprets the literature for the purposes of identifying and evaluating potential impediments. Harmonization barriers pertain to differences between adaptation and mitigation in pre-existing frames and beliefs. Enabling barriers are psychological and institutional in nature. Implementation barriers include capacity deficits (e.g., funding limits, science and knowledge deficits regarding benefits, trade-offs, and synergies between adaptation and mitigation) and governance issues. Barriers are interrelated, dynamic, and subjective. Addressing barriers requires a holistic approach that recognizes the complex and dynamic nature of forest management policy change processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study develops a multidisciplinary framework composed of a range of determinants of adaptive capacity to climate change found in economic, sociological, political, geographical and psychological literature. The framework is then used to carry out a survey of community managed forest organisations to measure their adaptive capacity and establish the characteristics that enable their adaptation. The research finds that adaptive organisations spend a substantial amount of time on community consultation and involvement, and prioritize environmental considerations over other aspects of their organisation. The effort invested in creating and maintaining links with the wider community by adaptive organisations may give them a legitimacy which enables adaptive changes to be made with community support. Reflecting calls for values based approaches to climate change, the article discusses the role that different values play in adaptation, and the 'transcendent' values that adaptive organisations tend to hold. The article concludes by suggesting that a deeper understanding of community adaptation to climate change could be derived from an exploration of the role of human values in adaptation across the disciplines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Commercial forestry has played an important role in the Canadian economy. Yet, First Nations (FNs) communities have not shared equitably in the benefits. Since 2002, the government of British Columbia (BC) has actively sought to address this inequity by increasing the volume of forest harvesting tenures to FNs. The rationale is that rights to harvest will also enhance economic and then social outcomes, as well as address broader legal and political disputes. However, whether these rights can translate into the expected benefits has received little attention. This paper seeks to help address this knowledge gap by interviewing FNs experts and forestry professionals in BC to understand the long-term goals of FNs in forestry, to strategically evaluate how (and if) opportunities from forestry arise, and to identify institutional factors that influence successful participation in forestry. What we found is that forest tenure can promote economic outcomes, but it often comes at the expense of other intrinsic forest values. We conclude that a rights-based approach alone will not achieve the diverse outcomes related to forestry without effective governance by FNs to evaluate and capitalize on the opportunity in ways that are legitimate to the individual community's values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We explore how forest resource managers can respond to a potential outbreak of mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins, 1902) by assessing how well different forest management strategies achieve various management objectives over time. Strategies include targeting at-risk stands as well as increasing harvest levels. Outcomes are evaluated on the basis of volume flows, net revenues, and the age class structure of the ending inventory. We use a spatially and temporally explicit model to simulate forest management outcomes and consider two different scenarios, one in which the attack occurs early and one where it is delayed. The model utilizes a planning with recourse approach in which the firm can reevaluate its harvesting schedule following the attack. We use company data from west-central Alberta for a 40-year planning exercise. The timing of the attack resulted in small differences in timber supply. However, most strategies performed better financially under an early attack, which limits the harvest of marginal stands. Increasing harvest levels performed better in economic terms but resulted in a very young growing stock with little old forest. The success of any strategy is linked to the timing of the attack and how it affects the growing stock, subsequently impacting timber and revenue flows. Nous examinons de quelle façon les gestionnaires des ressources pourraient réagir à une épidémie du dendroctone du pin ponderosa (Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins, 1902) en évaluant dans quelle mesure différentes stratégies d’aménagement forestier permettent d’atteindre différents objectifs d’aménagement avec le temps. Parmi les stratégies qui sont évaluées, on peut cibler les peuplements à risque aussi bien qu’augmenter le volume de récolte. Les résultats sont évalués sur la base des flux de volume, des revenus nets et de la structure des classes d’âge du stock final. Nous utilisons un modèle explicite dans le temps et l’espace pour simuler les résultats de l’aménagement forestier et examiner deux scénarios différents : un scénario selon lequel l’attaque survient tôt et l’autre selon lequel elle est retardée. Le modèle utilise une planification avec une approche de recours qui permet à l’entreprise de réévaluer son calendrier de coupe à la suite d’une attaque. Nous utilisons des données de compagnies du centre ouest de l’Alberta pour un exercice de planification de 40 ans. Le moment de l’attaque a entraîné de petites différences dans les stocks de bois. Cependant, la plupart des stratégies ont mieux performé financièrement dans le cas d’une attaque hâtive qui limite la récolte des peuplements marginaux. L’augmentation du volume de récolte a mieux performé du point de vue économique mais a laissé un matériel sur pied très jeune et peu de vieilles forêts. Peu importe la stratégie, son succès est lié au moment de l’attaque et à la façon dont elle affecte le matériel sur pied, ce qui a subséquemment un impact sur les flux de bois et de revenus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses survey information to examine several common assertions about the institutional prerequisites for successful profitability when a First Nation enters an economic enterprise either independently or in joint effort with an outside firm. In the winter of 2004–2005, we interviewed managers on both the First Nations and private sides of joint ventures and other business alliances in Canada, to determine what affected their recent profitability experience. We gathered information on the ages, sizes, and activities of the firms. We also gathered information about the firms’ management structures and relationship with the First Nation, and the characteristics of the government of the First Nation. With a sample size of 40 firms that responded, we found that several institutional characteristics affected profit positively: strong separation of management from band governance, participation in management planning, and the use of staggered terms in band council elections. We found that the likelihood of profitability decreased if the band had been in third party management as well as if there was formal participation of elders or hereditary chiefs in decision making. We offer interpretations of these results. Cet article utilise les données d’un sondage réalisé au cours de l’hiver 2004–2005 afin d’examiner plusieurs assertions courantes au sujet des préalables institutionnels requis pour atteindre la profitabilité des entreprises initiées par des Premières nations agissant seules ou en partenariat avec des acteurs privés. Nous avons interviewé des gestionnaires impliqués dans de tels partenariats d’affaires au Canada et provenant tant des Premières nations que du secteur privé. Nous voulions déterminer ce qui affectait la profitabilité qu’ils avaient connue récemment. Nous avons rassemblé de l’information sur l’âge, la taille et les activités des entreprises. Nous avons aussi recueilli des données sur la structure de gestion des entreprises, les relations avec les Premières nations et les caractéristiques de la gouvernance en vigueur dans les communautés d’accueil. Un échantillon, regroupant les quarante entreprises qui ont répondu, nous permet d’observer que plusieurs caractéristiques institutionnelles, comme la séparation claire entre la gestion des projets et la gouvernance des communautés, la participation dans la planification managériale et le recours à des mandats échelonnés lors des élections au conseil de bande, affectent positivement les profits. Nous avons aussi remarqué que les chances de profitabilité diminuent si les conseils de bandes jouent un rôle en tant que de tierce partie dans la gestion des entreprises et si les aînés ou les chefs héréditaires participent formellement au processus décisionnel. Nous tentons d’interpréter ces résultats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we investigate the impact of various socioeconomic conditions on the value of timber tenures in the province of British Columbia. Two timber tenure models were created, one for short-term timber sale licenses and the other for longer term forest licenses. The short-term model revealed that timber sales that were awarded according to a combination of employment, revenue, and manufacturing criteria yielded $8.63/m3 less revenue than timber sales awarded based on revenue alone. Similarly, the long-term model indicates that manufacturing and employment conditions significantly reduce the bid on forest licenses. In both instances, we suggest that such conditions distort the use of timber, labour, and capital. Therefore, we conclude that recent forest policy changes in the province that removed several of these conditions greatly improved economic efficiency. Nevertheless, distribution impacts are likely to be important because resource rents have potentially been redistributed away from rural communities to the provincial government. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

“[a]n epidemic of catastrophic proportions”⋖Larry Pedersen, Chief Forester in 2003, in describing the impact of the outbreak. What factors are responsible for the introduction of new policies (especially those involving substantive change) is a phenomenon that is still poorly understood. Researchers have identified policy windows where a confluence of events, such as a change in government, the emergence of a new issue, and ongoing policy processes, come together to create the opportunity for new policy development. Natural disasters can open such policy windows by drawing attention to an issue and mobilizing political will. Yet at the same time, even if policy windows do open, they may not result in effective policy development. The institutional setting in which such policies are developed also plays a key role. In the case of the Canadian forest sector, the combination of public resources and private capital make policy development especially challenging. Although the scale of the Mountain Pine Beetle epidemic in British Columbia is unprecedented, and will change the nature of the forest resource (and by extension the industry and communities that rely upon it), the policy response has been limited to short-term measures. Although some policy reform was introduced, policy makers have yet to address the question of whether more fundamental changes are required in order to address the full consequences of the epidemic. La détermination des facteurs responsables de l’introduction de nouvelles politiques (particulièrement celles qui comportent des changements substantiels) demeurent un phénomène mal compris. Des chercheurs ont déterminé des fenêtres d’opportunité politique où divers événements, tels qu’un changement de gouvernement, l’émergence d’une nouvelle préoccupation et des processus politiques continus, convergent pour créer l’occasion d’élaborer de nouvelles politiques. Les catastrophes naturelles peuvent créer ces fenêtres d’opportunité politique en attirant l’attention sur une préoccupation et en mobilisant la volonté politique. Pourtant, même si des fenêtres d’opportunité politique s’ouvrent, elles peuvent ne pas se solder par l’élaboration de politiques efficaces. Le cadre institutionnel dans lequel ces politiques sont élaborées joue aussi un rôle important. Dans le cas du secteur forestier canadien, la combinaison de ressources publiques et de capitaux privés rend l’élaboration de politiques particulièrement délicate. Bien que l’étendue de l’épidémie de dendroctone du pin ponderosa en Colombie-Britannique soit sans précédent et modifiera la nature de la ressource forestière (et par extension, l’industrie et les collectivités qui en dépendent), la réaction politique s’est limitée à des mesures à court terme. Malgré une certaine réforme des politiques, les décideurs doivent s’interroger sur la nécessité d’apporter ou non des changements fondamentaux supplémentaires pour surmonter les conséquences de l’épidémie. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The police shooting of Kumunjayi Walker in Yuendumu in November 2019 instigated an immediate and determined response from Warlpiri families who were shocked and saddened by the death of a loved one in the prime of his life and enraged by this latest event in a long string of colonial injustices. This article collates perspectives as expressed in interviews and public statements from Warlpiri spokespeople who have been on the frontline of the fight for Justice for Walker. Incorporating the initial responses in the days after the shooting, the links to the Coniston massacre in Warlpiri and neighbouring country in 1928, the ongoing horror of Aboriginal deaths in custody and the escalating energy behind the Black Lives Matter campaigns across the world, this article illustrates, through Warlpiri voices, the ways in which people from Yuendumu have expertly used the techniques of activist campaigns in their resolute fight for justice for Walker, for all Aboriginal people across Australia and for Black and First Nations people world‐wide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reports on counts made of the number of triangles of modular sums (TMS) of orders 2 through 15, using a computer. Relation of TMS to triangles of absolute differences; Underlying mathematics of aspects of the counting procedure; Solutions composed of N copies of M consecutive integers.

Reports that Los Angeles County administrators in California are considering closing the University of Southern California Medical Center and four regional health centers. Closures as a means of reducing the area's budget deficit; Elimination of jobs for county health workers.

Reports that voters in California will be asked to decide whether they favor making their state the first in the world with a law specifically authorizing doctors to end the lives of patients with terminal illness who ask them to do so. Proposition 161 or the Death with Dignity Act; Results of a survey by the American Society of Internal Medicine; More.

States that the American College of Physicians proposed a plan to restructure the health-care system by setting up an annual health budget, limiting doctor and hospital fees, and providing uniform comprehensive benefits for all public and private patients. Details of the proposal.

Discusses a new draft of an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) report that concludes that passive smoking causes 2500 to 3300 lung-cancer deaths a year among non-smokers in the United States; Reaction from Tobacco Institute representatives; Conclusions about respiratory tract infections in infants and children; More.

Reports that the US Congress has directed the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to create a new Office on Unconventional Medical Practices to evaluate a broad range of unorthodox therapies. Cancer as the office's initial focus; Gerson and Kelly of the National Cancer Institute and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases; More.

Provides information from a United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) report, `Progress of Nations 1997,' which highlighted the dangers of inadequate sanitation for 3 billion people on the earth. Adequate sanitation as a possible for all at the cost of 1% of the world's military budget; Statistics; Violence against women as the most pervasive violation of human rights in the world; South and West Asia, China, and North Africa as particularly abusive areas.

Informs on work by UNICEF and other international agencies who are attempting to iodize salt in 118 countries where 1.5 billion people are at risk of iodine-deficiency disorders (IDD). Information about the World Summit for Children; The view of UNICEF that IDD is the largest preventable cause of mental retardation; Statistics about cretinism and goiter; Delay of a bill in Ghana which would mandate that all salt be iodized.

Reports that the California Medical Association overturned its policy regarding mandatory reporting to county health officers of persons who test positive for HIV. The legislation which the policy supported; The mandatory reporting seen as a disincentive to get tested and as a disruption in the AIDS education process; States which require reporting of AIDS and HIV.

Recounts evidence that a new protease inhibitor still under investigation can prolong life and reduce complications in AIDS patients, as was reported at the Third Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections. Results of studies using ritonavir and indinavir protease inhibitors; Assessment of performance; Side effects of drugs; The Food and Drug Administrations plans to review clinical results in late February and March of 1996. INSET: Resistance to protease inhibitors..

Reports on a dispute between the Thailand Ministry of Public Health and tobacco companies over proposals from Thailand. Information on proposals; Protection of trade secrets; Where Clinton administration stands.

Looks at Jeffrey Wigand, tobacco industry critic, and his involvement in a Mississippi court case. Subpoenaed of Wigand; Reason for court case.

Looks at the ruling by a federal judge on California's controversial anti-immigration law. Ruling made by Judge Mariana R Pfaelzer; Details of ruling.

Reports on the recommendation of fast track licensing to Invirase (saquinavir, Hoffman-LaRoche) by the United States Food and Drug Administration's antiviral advisory committee. Details of recommendation.

Presents information on hospital service expenditures in California between 1980 and 1991. Relations with United States average; Study by economists; Statistics; Comments from Glenn A Melnick, Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Jack Zwanziger.

Reports on the impact of a $364 million bailout by the federal government on Los Angeles County, California's budget crisis. County's need to restructure its public health delivery system; Presentation of a plan to reduce costs with emphasis on prevention and community health.

Reports on the granting of a preliminary injunction halting the diversion of tobacco-tax funds to purposes other than research on tobacco-related illnesses and antismoking education. California's tobacco control research program; Proposition 99; Breast Cancer Research Program (BCRP); BCRP's four priority issues; Scientists Nam Woo Kim's and Darryl Shibata's use of the enzyme telomerase on breast cancer detection tests.

Reports that three small Long Island, New York-based anesthesiology groups are suing Aetna Life and Casualty Co. for allegedly violating antitrust laws. Insurance company's refusal to negotiate in terms of its managed-care contract, thus endangering the quality of medical care; Terms of Aetna's take-it-or-leave-it contract; Response from Aetna officials.

Reports on the rejection of the California legislature's attempt to help balance a state budget deficit by diverting tobacco tax funds mandated for research and antismoking education. Provisions under the Proposition 99; Restraining order received by lung, cancer and heart organizations prohibiting the use of funds.

Reports on the Health Crisis Task Force in Los Angeles, Calif.'s call for the closure of walk-in clinics health centers and clinics instead of the County-University of Southern California Medical Center. Suggested appointment of a health czar to manage the area's health system.

Highlights the battle between the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (FAHCA) and the Florida tobacco industry. Suits and counter-suits concerning on the reimbursement of Medicaid treatment for smoking-related illnesses; Effect of circuit judge ruling on the unconstitutional structure of the FAHCA.

Reports on the founding of a physician-owned managed-care plan called the California Advantage (CA) planned by physicians in California. Reason; Qualifications; Coverage; Cost; Difference from other managed-care plans.

Reports on the US Senate's refusal to give national legislative protection to research pharmaceutical companies against punitive damages in product liability lawsuits involving drugs that have been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Determination of liability laws according to state; Vulnerability of contraceptives and drugs involving reproductive health to punitive damages.

Focuses on the need to reexamine drug-abuse treatment programs in the United States. Laying out of new goals that emphasize public health policy solutions; Definition of successful treatment; Failure of previous programs to link drug-abuse treatment programs with those for AIDS patients; Shortage of programs capable of providing required comprehensive care.

Reports on the US Justice Department's notification of 200 Pennsylvania hospitals for alleged Medicare double-billing. Fines to be collected under the false-claims provision of the law; Discovery of double-billing practices for diagnostic tests in inpatient and outpatient services. INSET: ...and in Australia..

Reports on a California court's ruling which prohibits the use of tobacco tax money to fund the University of California's Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program (TRDRP). State voter-initiated law which stipulates the utilization of the tax fund for prevention and tobacco-related research; State Legislature's appropriation of a portion of the TRDRP's annual budget for a medical-care program for the poor.

Reports on the California Medical Association's decision to commission a study comparing a single-payer with the traditional multi-payer system in health care. Implications of the decision for the passage of legislation for single-payer system in the state; High density of health maintenance organizations and intermediaries in the state; Grievances of state doctors against the health care system in existence.

Reports on suits filed against tobacco companies in several states. Class-action suit in Louisiana; Claims of compensation for the treatment of Medicaid patients with smoking-related illnesses in Florida; Suit in Mississippi to a juryless court; Tobacco companies' move against the suit.

Reports on the assessment of overall health-plan performance in the United States. Measurement of individual physician performance; Establishment of national standard for managed care; Increasing comprehensiveness of report cards; Survey of consumer response.

Reports that some health insurance companies have paid for surgical procedures though yet experimental because the oncology community has no agreement on whether the treatment is better than standard procedures. Payment for the cost of high-dose chemotherapy with autologous bone-marrow transplant for selected participants in medical research-based programs.

Report on the introduction of epidemiology in Aga Khan University in Karachi, Pakistan as scientific tool for achieving its goal of training primary-care physicians. Provision of basic health-care services; Career option for specialty training among most medical graduates; Identification and prevention of health problems; Organization of village into a problem-solving group.

Reports on Blue Cross of California's (BCC) agreement to make a charity payment to settle a dispute with lawmakers. Payment as compensation for tax-exempt status of BCC prior to for-profit status conversion; Bill authored by Assemblyman Philip Isenberg that would have forced BBC to make contributions.

Reports on a respiratory disease dubbed unknown respiratory distress syndrome (URDS). Hantavirus as the possible cause; Presenting symptoms; Vectors and infectivity.

Reports on the insurer Blue Cross of California's (BCC) imposition of cuts on specialists who serve more than 1 million members of the Prudent Buyer Plan, a professional provider organization. Justifications; Counter action by the California Medical Association; BCC's transfer of assets to WellPoint Health Network Incorporated; Federal government's reduction of Medicare service payments.

Informs that Glaxo Inc. has charged that California employed `underground regulations' in its drug selection process that has resulted in cancellation of the current contract for purchase of Zantac (ranitidine) for patients on Medicaid. Details of the lawsuit filed in Sacramento Superior Court; Response of Medi-Cal officials; More.

Reports that tuberculosis (TB) experts and hospital officials are rejecting a proposal by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health that health workers exposed to TB patients be required to wear more effective personal protective respirators. Guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) issued in December, 1990; Details.