Independent Service Organizations and Economic Efficiency

Following the Supreme Court's Kodak decision, numerous antitrust cases have revolved around practices of manufacturers which deter independent service organizations (ISOs) from servicing the manufacturer's equipment. Such practices include tying equipment sales to service, tying service sales to other "aftermarket" products, and refusing to sell replacement parts to ISOs. We show that interbrand systems competition without ISOs curbs service and equipment price distortions and, under plausible conditions, confers greater benefits to users of durable equipment than intrabrand service competition with ISOs. Hence, the effect of manufacturers' practices that foreclose ISOs from service aftermarkets can be efficiency promoting rather than anticompetitive.     

Urban Risks of Truck Transport of Radioactive Material

Truck transport of radioactive material (RAM), e.g., spent nuclear fuel (SNF), normally maximizes use of Interstate highways, which are safer and more efficient for truck transport in general. In the estimation of transportation risks, population bordering a route is a direct factor in determining consequences and an indirect factor in determining exposure times, accident probabilities and severities, and other parameters. Proposals to transport RAM may draw intense resistance from "stakeholders" based on concern for population concentrations along urban segments but the length of a route segment is also a determinative factor in estimating the transport risks. To quantify the relative importance of these two factors, a potential route for transport of SNF (strict use of Interstate highways) was selected and compared with a modified version that bypassed urban areas. The results suggest that emphasis on Interstate highways minimizes total route and urban segment risks.     

An investigation of the needs of grandparents who are raising grandchildren

Evidence suggests that children in out‐of‐home care function better when placed in kinship compared with foster care. Less is known about the functioning of children in the unique form of kinship care where grandparents are caring full‐time for their grandchildren in informal care arrangements. As grandparent carers are increasingly taking on this role, it is timely to investigate the functioning of the children in this form of care and the characteristics of the grandparents themselves. We compared the functioning of children in the two types of care. We also investigated carer characteristics, including the relationship between child functioning, social support and daily hassles on carer stress. One hundred fourteen cares and 180 children were assessed on a range of demographic and clinical measures. Children in grandparent care were displaying better behavioural and adaptive functioning than children living with foster carers. Grandparent carers reported higher levels of distress in the carer role. Predictors of carer stress included severity of child behaviour problems and daily hassles. Both group of carers and the children in their care would benefit from increased support from treatment services.     

The "X component" in Shanghai's social security reforms

In 2003, the Shanghai Bureau of Labour and Social Security launched the zhenbao (town insurance) programme, now widely known as 25 plus X. This scheme is regarded as an important experiment in social security reform and has been lauded for extending social security to areas where previously only segments of the population had mandatory coverage. Using data from 103,000 individuals enrolled in 25 plus X, we examine the extent to which the scheme represents an extension in social security coverage. Our analysis suggests that while it does represent an extension of benefits for some, for many it represents a considerable dilution in benefits.     

Call centres: A decade of research

Call centres have, over the past decade, become a central element in the way information services are produced and delivered to the public. Much as automobile factories or textile mills were treated as both objects of curiosity and as metaphors for their age, call centres have garnered attention both in their own right as a new means of organizing particular types of work and as an important venue from which to undertake the study of other elements of management practice, including human resource management. This paper critically examines all aspects of research that has been undertaken on call centres, from the publication of the first novel pieces of research up to the most recent contributions. A good deal of effort has gone into classifying call centres, comparing the organization of work in them with other types of work and considering the extent of variation between call centres. Depending upon the theoretical lens that is used (e.g. labour process theory, high‐performance work systems theory, HR perspectives, gender theory, etc.) different aspects of call‐centre work are emphasized and different conclusions regarding call‐centre employment and its possibilities are reached. These contrasting results are compared and evaluated in this review. It is also the case that the study of call centres invites critical reflection upon theories of management, and this is also entered into in this paper. Additionally, the continuous spread of call centres into new realms of professional work activity and into new spaces of the global economy throws up challenges that are brought to the reader's attention for our understanding of this approach to managing informational work.     

Emotional processes following disclosure of an extramarital affair

In-depth interviews with individuals who had experienced marital infidelity revealed a three-stage process following disclosure of an affair. The process starts with an "emotional roller coaster" and moves through a "moratorium" before efforts at trust building are recognized. Implications for the literature on forgiveness and the process of change in couples therapy are discussed as well as implications for future research and for practice.     

Leader‐member exchanges and board performance of voluntary sport organizations

Using leader‐member exchange theory developed by Dansereau, Graen, and Haga (1975), this chapter analyzes the dyadic relationship between leaders (board chairs and paid executives) and members (volunteer board members) within the boards of Australian voluntary sport organizations. The chapter specifically examines the quality of leader‐member exchanges that exist within a sample of thirty‐four Queensland State Sporting Organizations and their relationship with board performance. It was found that board chairs and executives perceived the quality of their leader‐member exchanges to be higher than their respective relationships with board members, and that higher‐quality leader‐member exchanges among all three possible pairings of executives, board chairs, and board members were positively related to higher levels of board performance. The chapter discusses implications and directions for further research into leader‐member exchanges within voluntary sports organizations.