This research article focuses on the coupling of geographic information system (GIS) technologies with ethnographic data, an approach we refer to as geo-ethnography. The data used here were gathered in an ongoing, multi-site study of low-income families and their children. Throughout our work, the goals have been to think creatively about how GIS can be used in welfare research, to stretch the technology, and to revise the methodologies we currently use. We specifically discuss the ways in which the ethnographic data on families and neighbourhoods have been integrated within a GIS and how these two methods, alone and in combination, help situate families' actions and experiences in time and space and enhance data analysis and interpretation. More specifically, we focus on conceptual and methodological issues we have faced in the process of this integration and on practical strategies for combining qualitative and quantitative research.

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Educators and non-educators alike commonly assume that online courses cannot match the effectiveness of their traditional, face-to-face counterparts. This article describes a comparative study of the performance and study habits of two groups of students in a course in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software programming and customization: one delivered online to adult professionals working asynchronously; the other delivered in a blended, online/face-to-face environment to upper-level undergraduates in residence. Course grades show that the undergraduate cohort underperformed in comparison to the online cohort, in spite of the fact that their version of the course included face-to-face lecture and lab time in addition to the online course materials. To explore differences in the study habits of the two groups, all students were asked to keep a diary of the time they devoted to coursework. Information from these diaries suggest that a student's ability to meet learning objectives is less dependent on the course content delivery mechanism than it is on the student's motivation, maturity and time management skills.

One element of hearing loss prevention that management often feels it cannot effectively control is worker's actions and responsibilities. The solution to this problem is the development and enforcement of effective management-backed employee policies covering each hearing conservation issue. It is absolutely vital that all such policies be in writing and that they be clear, reasonable, sensible, and enforceable. Principal program elements that need written policies are monitoring, engineering and administrative controls, personal hearing protection devices, training and education, audiometric testing, and supervisors' responsibilities in program administration. Under each program element, one or more specific policy objectives should be spelled out, with each objective followed by a detailed policy statement of the actions or behavior required to meet that objective. Numerous examples of policy objectives and statements were written for each of the principal program elements. Finally, for the policies to be enforceable, there must be in place a fair and consistent system of discipline. Properly written and enforced policies are not designed to restrict the individual, but to protect him by assuring him safe working conditions and equal treatment with his fellows.

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