Piece rates and workplace injury: Does survey evidence support Adam Smith?

While piece rates are routinely associated with higher productivity and wages, they can also generate unanticipated effects. Using cross-country European data, we provide among the first general survey evidence of a strong link between piece rates and workplace injury. Despite controls for workplace hazards, job characteristics and worker effort, piece rates workers suffer a 5 percentage point greater likelihood of injury. This remains despite attempts to control for endogeneity and heterogeneity. As piece rate wage premium estimates rarely control for injury likelihood, this raises the specter that part of that premium reflects a compensating wage differential for risk of injury.     

LESSONS FOR RESEARCHERS AND FUNDING AGENCIES FROM HURRICANE KATRINA: A RESEARCH NOTE FROM MISSISSIPPI

We surveyed National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded research in Mississippi to determine the economic extent of research damage and delays due to Hurricane Katrina. While several facilities were physically damaged, we found that the largest effects were time delays and missed opportunities. While psychological factors were not part of the original economic impact study, it became clear that they played an important role. Specifically, the Principal Investigator's (PI's) attitude of “just another delay” was one cultural barrier to fully accounting for the cost of these research delays. We concluded that Principal Investigators, with the assistance of funding agencies, should be better trained to measure time and opportunity costs associated with their research, so future disaster recovery efforts can more fully address those needs.     

Time-on-task, technology and mathematics achievement

Information and communication technologies hold much promise for use in education in developing countries. This study reports on an evaluation conducted on the introduction of computers in the delivery of the mathematics curriculum in one of the provinces of South Africa. Although the request was for an outcome evaluation very early in the implementation of the program, it was tailored in such a way as to fulfill a more formative role. Despite substantial variability in implementation, and in most cases with very weak exposure of the learners to the intervention, sufficient evidence emerged to indicate that this mode of curriculum delivery may be effective. Improvement in mathematics performance was related to a range of variables: some concerned classroom teaching practices, some referred to social differences between the learners, and some to the specific intervention. The strongest of these predictors in the sample was the strength of the intervention: the more time learners spent on using the software to study mathematics, the more improvement they showed from 1 year to the next in their performance in the subject.     

New Governance and the Case of Activation Policies: Comparing Experiences in Denmark and the Netherlands

This article explores the importance of new forms of governance in active labour market policies (activation) in two countries: Denmark and the Netherlands. Drawing on research with key stakeholders in these countries, we analyse how new governance, and particularly processes of contracting-out and localization, have found expression in recent reforms to activation. We conclude that localization and contracting-out may have a future role to play in the development of more locally responsive and individually focused services. But both countries have encountered problems in promoting joined-up services through local jobcentres, while contracting-out has not always led to the tailored, individually focused services envisaged by policy-makers. In both countries, there are also concerns that the restriction of the Public Employment Service to a 'gatekeeping and signposting' role will lead to inconsistencies in the quality of services, exposing the most disadvantaged to greater social risk.     

Predicting susceptibility to short-term stress with the defence mechanism test

The defence mechanism test (DMT) has been of considerable value in identifying individuals who are likely to show badly impaired judgement in times of sudden stress, yet it is little known outside Scandinavia. The DMT is described in this paper and its rationale fully discussed. There follows a critical review of studies in which DMT scores are related to performance in diverse (non-clinical) applied settings, the outcomes of which are generally most encouraging. A number of theoretical and practical problems are discussed, and suggestions are made for future research.     

Using IT for competitive advantage at Thomson holidays

This article describes how information technology was used to improve productivity and customer services in the travel and package holidays business. Information plays a vital role in services businesses such as this one and its introduction and development had a dramatic impact on turnover. The author emphasises that IT strategy and investment cannot stand still, no matter how successful—and it must constantly be developing and extending to assimilate new technologies.     

Attempting to Work Co-operatively in Queensland

This paper reports the results of a search for groups attempting to work cooperatively in Queensland. Results indicate there is a small number of people attempting to work co-operatively but the initiatives are tiny operations dependent upon a lot of lowly paid hard work and external help from friends or the local community. Four types of co-operative efforts were identified: the traditional, the alternative life style, the welfare oriented and the idealist The growth of worker co-operatives in Queensland will be dependent upon a long process of development, education, research and dialogue, along with the tireless efforts of those committed to the co-operative philosophy.