Measuring living standards with proxy variables

Very few demographic surveys in developing countries have gathered information on household incomes or consumption expenditures. Researchers interested in living standards therefore have had little alternative but to rely on simple proxy indicators. The properties of these proxies have not been analyzed systematically. We ask what hypotheses can be tested using proxies, and compare these indicators with consumption expenditures per adult, our preferred measure of living standards. We find that the proxies employed in much demographic research are very weak predictors of consumption per adult. Nevertheless, hypothesis tests based on proxies are likely to be powerful enough to warrant consideration.     

Effectiveness of an educational intervention to increase knowledge and reduce use of risky behaviors associated with cumulative trauma in office workers

OBJECTIVE: This pilot project assessed the effectiveness of an intervention to increase knowledge and reduce risky behaviors related to cumulative trauma disorders (CTD) in office workers. STUDY DESIGN: All 124 employees from the administrative offices of a health maintenance organization were invited to participate. Subjects were followed across time using an identification number. Data were collected via questionnaire in June 1994 (pretest1) (N=84), August 1994 (pretest II) (N= 63) and September 1995 (posttest) (N=40). The yearlong intervention focused on functional activities to prevent CTD. RESULTS: of chi-square analyses for the 40 subjects who completed all surveys indicated this intervention significantly increased overall knowledge of CTD (p =.002). Significant changes in self-reported hand/wrist (p =.016) and neck/shoulder (p =.003) posture were also found. CONCLUSIONS: This study is a first step in identifying effective educational interventions to increase knowledge and reduce risk factors related to CTD in office workers.     

Urban forest cover of the Chicago region and its relation to household density and income

Urban forests and herbaceous open space play a vital role in the environmental and aesthetic health of cities, yet they are rarely identified in land-use inventories of urban areas. To provide information on urban forests and other vegetative land cover in Illinois cities, Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) data from June 27, 1988, were classified for the Chicago metropolitan region (9,717 km²). Ten land-cover classes were identified, including two types of forestland (occupying 5.8% of the total area), residential land with trees (14.6%) or without trees (7.8%), cropland (37.5%), two types of grassland (7.7%), urban with impervious surfaces (23.1%), water (1.6%), and miscellaneous vegetation (2.1%). Correlation analyses indicated that household income and household density are strongly related to land covers in the region, particularly those with tree cover and urbanized land. Population changes for 1980–1985 and 1985–2010 (projected) show a pattern of increasing density in the urbanized zone concurrent with continued urban sprawl, primarily into current cropland.     

Technology and social interaction: the emergence of 'workplace studies'

Despite the substantial body of literature concerned with the ways in which digital media are transforming contemporary society and institutional life, we have relatively little understanding of the ways in which new technologies feature in day to day organizational conduct and interaction. There is however a growing corpus of empirical research which places the situated and contingent character of new technologies at the heart of the analytic agenda, but as yet, these studies are relatively little known within sociology. They include ethnographies of command and control centres, financial institutions, the news media, and the construction industry. They address the ways in which tools and technologies, ranging from paper documents through to complex multimedia systems, feature in work and collaboration. In this paper, we discuss these so-called 'workplace studies' and consider their implications for our understanding of organizational conduct, social interaction and new technology.     

What Determines Trust in Information About Food-Related Risks? Underlying Psychological Constructs

Trust in risk information about food related-hazards may be an important determinant of public reactions to risk information. One of the central questions addressed by the risk communication literature is why some individuals and organizations are trusted as sources of risk information and others are not. Industry and government often lack public trust, whereas other sources (for example, consumer organizations, the quality media, medical doctors) are highly trusted. Problematically, previous surveys and questionnaire studies have utilized questions generated by the investigators themselves to assess public perceptions of trust in different sources. Furthermore, no account of the hazard domain was made. In the first study reported here, semistructured interviewing was used to elicit underpinning constructs determining trust and distrust in different sources providing food-related risk information ( n = 35). In the second study, the repertory grid method was used to elicit the terminology that respondents use to distinguish between different potential food-related information sources ( n = 35), the data being submitted to generalised Procrustes analysis. The results of the two studies were combined and validated in survey research ( n = 888) where factor analysis indicated that knowledge in itself does not lead to trust, but that trusted sources are seen to be characterised by multiple positive attributes. Contrary to previous research, complete freedom does not lead to trust—rather sources which possess moderate accountability are seen to be the most trusted.     

New Organizational Forms for Competing in Highly Dynamic Environments: the Network Paradigm

Turbulence and rapid change in the business environment have been associated for some time with the development of new network organizational forms which put various types of strategic alliance and other inter-organizational collaborations into effect. This paper traces the rationale for the formation of such networks and the associated vertical disaggregation of functions and implications for internal organizational design. This leads to the proposal of a classification framework for network forms. Using the dimensions of volatility of environmental change on the one hand, and the type of inter-organizational relationship involved (collaborative or transactional) on the other hand, network forms are classified as: hollow networks, flexible networks, value-added networks and virtual networks. In each case it is possible to identify the environmental and organizational contingencies most likely to be associated with the emergence and adoption of a particular type of network arrangement. This argument leads to the identification of a new research agenda which has the goals of developing more robust conceptualizations of network characteristics; better understanding the contingencies surrounding the emergence of network forms and their relative efficiencies and specifying some of the major implications of network formation for internal organizational design. In parallel the paper identifies a number of managerial implications for setting strategic priorities and developing appropriate management systems in these new organizational contexts.     

An environmental life cycle optimization model for the European pulp and paper industry

Will paper recycling reduce the environmental impact of the European pulp and paper sector? If so, is maximal paper recycling the best policy to optimize the life cycle of the pulp and paper sector? We explore these questions using an approach that combines materials accounting methods and optimization techniques. Environmental impact data are inputs for a linear programming network flow model to find optimal configurations for the sector. These configurations consist of a mix of different pulping technologies, a geographical distribution of pulp and paper production, and a level of recycling consistent with the lowest environmental impacts. We use the model to analyse scenarios with different recycling strategies. Recycling offers a reduction in environmental impact in regions with a high population and a large production of paper and board products. Regions with a large production of graphic products should focus on cleaner virgin pulp production with energy recovery. We conclude that relocation of paper production also offers a reduction in environmental impact. However, the severe effects on the economy make this policy less attractive than a combination of recycling, cleaner pulp production and energy recovery.     

A methodological strategy for a one-number census in the UK

As a result of lessons learnt from the 1991 census, a research programme was set up to seek improvements in census methodology. Underenumeration has been placed top of the agenda in this programme, and every effort is being made to achieve as high a coverage as possible in the 2001 census. In recognition, however, that 100% coverage will never be achieved, the one-number census (ONC) project was established to measure the degree of underenumeration in the 2001 census and, if possible, to adjust fully the outputs from the census for that undercount. A key component of this adjustment process is a census coverage survey (CCS). This paper presents an overview of the ONC project, focusing on the design and analysis methodology for the CCS. It also presents results that allow the reader to evaluate the robustness of this methodology.