Why Do They Leave? Factors Associated With Job Termination Among Personal Assistant Workers in Home Care

Recruiting and retaining an adequate number of personal support workers in home care is both challenging and essential to allowing elders to age in place. A mixed-method, longitudinal study examined turnover in a sample of 261 personal support workers in Maine; 70 workers (26.8%) left their employment in the first year of the study. Logistic regression analysis indicated that younger age and lack of health insurance were significant predictors of turnover. Analysis of telephone interviews revealed three overarching themes related to termination: job not worthwhile, personal reasons, and burnout. Implications of study findings for gerontological social workers are outlined.     

Examining Reports and Policies on Cognitive Enhancement: Approaches,Rationale, and Recommendations

The phenomenon of cognitive enhancement is attracting attention in bioethics literature and beyond, in public policy. In response, three bodies—the British Medical Association (BMA); the Commission de l'éthique de la Science et de la technologie (CEST) du Québec; the American Academy of Neurology (AAN)—have produced reports and guidance on this topic. To gain insights into different public policy approaches, rationales, and recommendations on the topic, we analyzed these reports in depth. We found convergence on the definition (with the exception of the CEST) of cognitive enhancement. However, we noted a lack of critical reflection with respect to the underlying rationale for developing these reports, i.e., that cognitive enhancement practices are rampant and represent major social changes. As it currently stands, cognitive enhancement is constituted in a way that challenges the creation of coherent and effective policy recommendations. However, policy makers should not simply wait for definitional consensus and hope that on balance the benefits turn out to be greater than the risks. Some components of cognitive enhancement could be reduced down to clearly identified policy targets to be further examined. Then, if appropriate, policy should be created that is, amongst other criteria, beneficial to the majority of the population.     

The per-capita-income criterion and natality policies in poor countries

Discussions of birth rates in less developed countries (LDC’s) are almost always couched in terms of income per-capita or per-consumer-equivalent. A decrease in population growth rate is said to lead to a higher per-capita income (PCI) than would occur with a higher birth rate, and therefore a lower birth rate is advocated. This runs the danger of choosing a course of action that people really do not want. A static analysis of a PCI criterion leads to an optimum which is quite unacceptable. One can raise the PCI of any given group by getting rid of all small sub-groups that have a lower PCI. Static analysis is not directly relevant to those problems of LDC’s, because the relevant control variable is the birth rate. This paper explores some of the ramifications of different birth rates. The general conclusion is that per-capita income alone cannot be a satisfactory criterion for a rational national natality policy. At best it can be but one factor to be taken into consideration in such a policy decision.     

The effect of income on fertility

Abstract Cross-sectional data and long-period time series data have generally shown an inverse relationship between income and fertility. But short-period time series data over the business cycle have shown a direct relationship. The first part of this paper resolves this apparent paradox by showing that it arises from a statistical illusion-specification bias due to omitted lagged variables. The second part of the paper then considers the likely unconditional effect of income on fertility in several sorts of situations: (a) secular income increase in less developed countries; (b) cyclical income change in industrialized countries; (c) secular income increase in industrialized countries; and (d) incentive payments for higher and lower fertility.     

Depressive symptoms of caregiving women in midlife: the role of physical health

This research examined the relationships between providing assistance to aging family members, caregivers' age, caregivers' perceptions of their physical health, and caregivers' depressive symptoms. Several alternative hypotheses were examined. Longitudinal data from 1,898 women from the 1992 and 2000 waves of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) were used. Results indicate a reciprocal relationship between depression and physical health. These processes were examined using a path analysis. Although the evidence only supported one of the hypotheses, this study clearly demonstrated the importance of physical health for the psychological well-being of women in midlife.     

New perspectives on the governance of executive compensation: an examination of the role and effect of compensation consultants

We develop a multi-theoretic approach, drawing on economic, institutional, managerial power and social comparison literatures to explain the role of the external compensation consultant in the top management pay setting institutional field. Taking advantage of recent disclosure requirements in the UK, we collect data on compensation consultant use in 232 large companies. We show that consultants are a prevalent part of the CEO pay setting scene, and document evidence of all advisor use. Our econometric results show that consultant use is associated with firm size and the equity pay mix. We also show that CEO pay is positively associated with peer firms that share consultants, with higher board and consultant interlocks, and some evidence that where firms supply other business services to the firm, CEO pay is greater.     

Racial Identity–Related Differential Attributions of Inadequate Responses to Hurricane Katrina: A Social Identity Perspective

This study examines the attribution of responsibility for the problematic response to Hurricane Katrina in the fall of 2005. Based on social identity theory, the study compared the attribution with racism and non-racism factors (situational vs. dispositional attributions) between African American and European American students (n = 505). As hypothesized, African American identity was related to greater racism attribution, even after controlling for demographics, faith factors, and cognitive-emotional reactions to the hurricanes. European American identity was associated with more executive-responsibility attributions, but the effect vanished after adjusting other factors. The study underscores the importance of acknowledging group identity rather than an overarching American identity in exploring the race effect after a national collective trauma. The consequential implications for disaster planning, future research investigation, and social service delivery are discussed.     

How do actors shape social networks during the process of new product development?

Recent studies on new-idea generation and development have highlighted the role played by network structure in the genesis of new combinations or the process of selecting ideas. However, less attention has been paid to the factors that entice actors to shape social networks during the process of the development of new ideas.This research was conducted in an R&D facility of a semi-conductor company. We analysed the generation of five creative projects and their development over a four-year period. We used a longitudinal approach and collected data through interviews and observations to identify the creative contributions and the actors who were involved at different time periods for each project. We mapped the relationships between actors who contributed to the development of each idea through creative thinking and/or helped it to become accepted both internally and externally over three-year windows. This method generated data on network evolution.We also carried out a qualitative analysis and identified four main factors explaining why actors turn to others during the idea-development process: (1) to gain access to information; (2) to enhance credibility; (3) to exercise one’s influence; and (4) to gain access to knowledge through people or objects. We demonstrate that different types of ties or network structures are relied upon to reap different kinds of benefits. This may partially explain network evolution as an idea progresses through different development stages.     

Women's Occupational Trends in the Irish Economy: Moving towards High‐skilled Occupations or Evidence of Deskilling?

In recent years the increased participation of women in the Irish labour market and in tertiary education would appear to have placed them in an advantageous position to make use of the expanded opportunities in knowledge‐based occupations. Using occupational data from the 1996 and 2006 census this article examines the experience of women in high‐ and low‐skilled occupations. The data indicate that women are over‐represented in high‐skilled occupations relative to their overall participation rate in the labour force but there is also an increase in the proportion of women in low‐skilled occupations. The employment of women in high‐skilled occupations is substantially weaker in the private sector than the public sector. Public sector employment, we argue, is a crucial factor in the increased participation of women in high‐skilled occupations.