The unionization of professionals: A case study

In 1999 the U.S. economy concluded its ninth year of expansion, and the GDP increased by 4.3 percent while the rate of unemployment remained at 4.1 percent, its lowest level in thirty years. However, there has not been a corresponding expansion in the rate of unionization. Recognizing that they can no longer depend on their traditional base of members, unions have targeted the rapidly expanding area of professional employment as a potential growth area. If unions can adapt to the needs of these workers and achieve organizing successes in nontraditional areas, rapid growth of the union movement could occur. Utilizing the case study methodology, I explore the motivations of a group of professional employees to turn to union representation to address their dissatisfaction with the workplace.     

CALGARY FAMILY INTERVENTION MODEL: ONE WAY TO THINK ABOUT CHANGE

This article defines and describes the Calgary Family Intervention Model (CFIM). CFIM is an organizing framework conceptualizing the intersect between a particular domain (i.e., cognitive, affective, or behavioral) of family functioning and a specific intervention offered by a health professional. Examples and discussion of interventions such as storying the illness experience, encouraging respite, and asking interventive questions are presented. CFIM is one way that health professionals can conceptualize about change.     

Direct and Indirect Causal Effects via Potential Outcomes*

Abstract. The use of the concept of ‘direct’ versus ‘indirect’ causal effects is common, not only in statistics but also in many areas of social and economic sciences. The related terms of ‘biomarkers’ and ‘surrogates’ are common in pharmacological and biomedical sciences. Sometimes this concept is represented by graphical displays of various kinds. The view here is that there is a great deal of imprecise discussion surrounding this topic and, moreover, that the most straightforward way to clarify the situation is by using potential outcomes to define causal effects. In particular, I suggest that the use of principal stratification is key to understanding the meaning of direct and indirect causal effects. A current study of anthrax vaccine will be used to illustrate ideas.     

Trade-Offs Between Formal Home Health Care and Informal Family CareGiving

Using 1994 National Long Term Care Survey data, we estimated logistic regressions of formal and informal home health care use and hours. Home health care use and intensity were differentially impacted by chronic conditions, are higher for Medicaid enrollees and rural or small town residents, but lower for HMO enrollees. Decreases in the probability of home health care use increased informal instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) support four hours and decreased informal activities of daily living (ADL) support eight hours weekly. IADL caregiving substituted for formal care, but ADL caregiving declined with reductions in formal care. Public policy reducing formal home health care access may reduce informal ADL caregiving and increase informal IADL caregiving, producing net declines in support.     

International Charity: For the Poor?

We show how international charity leads to reduced self-help, exacerbated internal income inequality, and less charity for needy countries when international funds transfer is costly and there are information asymmetries. Mechanism design techniques are used to analyze international income transfer programs in the context of moral hazard, principal-agent, and adverse selection problems. We show that the burden of information asymmetry is borne by the most needy even when charities design incentive contracts which limit informational rents.     

Highly Skilled and Business Migrants: Information Processes and Settlement Outcomes

This paper reports on a research programme that has investigated the migration experiences of highly skilled professional and business migrants to New Zealand. Over a four‐year period, five separate studies have been conducted on the stages in the process of migration. The paper sets out a model of the stages of the migration process and the data and analysis which it has guided. Of particular interest are the information sources available to potential migrants and employers, the cultural sensitivity of settlement processes and the migrants' subsequent ease of access to the labour market. The paper analyses information flows available to migrants at crucial phases in the migration process based on a stages model of the migration process. The model indicates some of the critical steps, interactions, and decisions in the migration process from the individual's point of view. Crucial information gaps are identified and implications are drawn for actors involved at the different stages.