Computer-based scheduling of technical resources

This paper considers the design of a Scheduling Sub-System which could be attached to an existing computerised data processing system in order to enhance its overall operation. It draws heavily on the experience of the authors in designing a system to assist in the scheduling of video tape machines within BBC Television.     

Job tenure as a moderator of stressor–strain relations: A comparison of experienced and new-start teachers

Abstract

Few studies have investigated the extent to which the effects of work stressors on strain change over the duration of employees’ job incumbencies. Drawing on Karasek's (1979) job demands-control-support model, the current study examined the moderating influence of job tenure (experienced versus novice worker status) on stressor-strain relations. Using a sample of 422 experienced and 248 beginning schoolteachers in Australia, job factors and job strain were assessed on two occasions, 8 months apart. Analyses revealed that the three job factors were each correlated with strain as predicted, although the (elusive) demands×control interaction effect was evidenced amongst “new-start” teachers only. The findings provide mixed support for Karasek's model, and draw attention to the need to consider the role of job tenure and career stage in studies of work stress, as work stressor-strain effects may be routinely underestimated in research that ignores these factors.     

Book reviews and books received

Abstract

Occupational medicine: Principles and Practical Applications, Edited by Carl Zenz, Chicago, Year Book Medical Publishers Inc., 2nd edn, (1988). [Pp. xxiii + 1273.] £ 94. ISBN 0-8151-9865-5.

Working Lives in Catering, By Yiannis Gabriel, London, Routledge & Kegan Paul (1988). [Pp. viii + 190.] £ 19.95. ISBN 0-7102-0923-1.

Stress and Breast Cancer, Edited by Cary L. Cooper, Chichester, Wiley (1988). [Pp. x + 219.] £ 22.50. ISBN 0-471-91744-3.

Managing organisational change: human factors and automation, By Fred Fallik, London, Taylor & Francis (1988). [Pp. xiv + 157.] £ 28.00, ISBN 0-85066-363-6 (hardback); £ 14.00, ISBN 0-850366-363-8 (paperback).

Managing organisational change: human factors and automation, By Fred Fallik, London, Taylor & Francis (1988). [Pp. xiv + 157.] £ 28.00, ISBN 0-85066-363-6 (hardback); £ 14.00, ISBN 0-850366-363-8 (paperback).

The Indebted Society. Credit and default in the 1980s, By Janet Ford, London, Routledge 81 Kegan Paul, (1988). [Pp. xi + 208.] £ 12.95. ISBN 0-415-00757-7.     

Reducing the Risk of Injury from Table Saw Use: The Potential Benefits and Costs of Automatic Protection

The use of table saws in the United States is associated with approximately 28,000 emergency department (ED) visits and 2,000 cases of finger amputation per year. This article provides a quantitative estimate of the economic benefits of automatic protection systems that could be designed into new table saw products. Benefits are defined as reduced health‐care costs, enhanced production at work, and diminished pain and suffering. The present value of the benefits of automatic protection over the life of the table saw are interpreted as the switch‐point cost value, the maximum investment in automatic protection that can be justified by benefit‐cost comparison. Using two alternative methods for monetizing pain and suffering, the study finds switch‐point cost values of $753 and $561 per saw. These point estimates are sensitive to the values of inputs, especially the average cost of injury. The various switch‐point cost values are substantially higher than rough estimates of the incremental cost of automatic protection systems. Uncertainties and future research needs are discussed.     

Identifying Social Interactions Through Conditional Variance Restrictions

This paper proposes a new method for identifying social interactions using conditional variance restrictions. The method provides a consistent estimate of the social multiplier when social interactions take the “linear‐in‐means” form (Manski (1993)). When social interactions are not of the linear‐in‐means form, the estimator, under certain conditions, continues to form the basis of a consistent test of the no social interactions null with correct large sample size. The methods are illustrated using data from the Tennessee class size reduction experiment Project STAR. The application suggests that differences in peer group quality were an important source of individual‐level variation in the academic achievement of Project STAR kindergarten students.     

Navigating the Transition to Multi‐Ethnic Urban High Schools: Changing Ethnic Congruence and Adolescents' School‐Related Affect

This short‐term longitudinal study investigated 918 students' school‐related affect across the transition to high school. The study focused specifically on the moderating effect of change in student ethnic congruence from middle to high school. Results indicate that students experiencing more ethnic incongruence from middle to high school, in particular African American and male students, reported declining feelings of school belonging over time. Moreover, students experiencing ethnic incongruence also had increasing worries about their academic success. These results suggest that the changing school demographics from middle school to high school may negatively impact students' school‐related affect, especially if they move to high schools which include fewer students who are ethnically similar to themselves.