Mean-preserving changes in risk with tail-dominance

In this paper, we consider a class of mean preserving increases in risk such that all risk-averse decision makers respond to an increase in risk by reducing the level of their risky activities. The type of increase in risk that we consider is based on the notion of tail dominance which generalizes other cases previously discussed in the literature.L. Eeckhoudt is Professor of Economics at the Catholic Faculties of Mons (Belgium) and Lille (France). P. Hansen is Professor of Operations Research at Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales, Montréal. Both authors have benefited from comments by P. Caperaa, G. Dionne, J. Meyer and H. Varian. They also thank A. Coopman who carefully reviewed and improved the English style.     

Aesthetic leadership

We introduce aesthetic leadership as a promising approach in leadership studies. Two current movements in leadership research, the inclusion of followers in leadership models and the exploration of subjective leadership qualities, make taking an aesthetic perspective in leadership especially attractive and timely. Aesthetics relates to felt meaning generated from sensory perceptions, and involves subjective, tacit knowledge rooted in feeling and emotion. We believe the aesthetics of leadership is an important, but little understood, aspect of organizational life. For example, while we know followers must attribute leadership qualities such as charisma and authenticity to leaders to allow for social influence, we know little about how these processes operate. We propose that followers use their aesthetic senses in making these assessments. We relate aesthetic leadership to several current topics in leadership research, and outline the assumptions and methods of aesthetic leadership.     

The economy of risk and respect: Accounts by Puerto Rican sex workers of HIV risk taking

Three‐hundred eleven female drug‐using sex workers in urban Puerto Rico were asked to describe their last negotiation with a client. They described efforts to protect themselves from many hazards of sex work, including violence, illness, and drug withdrawal. They also described efforts to minimize the stigma and marginalization of sex work by cultivating relationships with clients, distinguishing between types of clients, and prioritizing their role as mothers. Sex workers adopted alternating gender roles to leverage autonomy and respect from clients. Their narratives suggest that sex workers negotiate a world in which HIV is relative to other risks, and in which sexual practices which are incomprehensible from an HIV‐prevention perspective are actually rooted in a local cultural logic. Future HIV prevention efforts should frame condom use and other self‐protective acts in terms that build upon sex workers' own strategies for understanding their options and modifying their risks.     

Grief and loss of religion: the experiences of four rural lesbians

The purpose of this four-person study was to discover the grief and loss experiences of rural lesbians using a phenomenological approach. A prominent theme that emerged from the interview data was grief and loss related to religion and a lesbian identity. Participants identified the need to modify their beliefs, the experience of rejection by church members or the church itself, and seeking acceptance.     

A five year retrospective analysis of occupational injuries and incidence reported at a research intensive Canadian university

Limited information of occupational injury statistics within academic settings exists. Universities and colleges are an important and insightful work environment due to the varied nature of the work performed by employee groups. The objective of this study was to describe occupational injuries for all work groups in a large research intensive university. A retrospective database analysis was conducted on 2029 employee incident reports over a five year period (2000-2004) to determine general and departmental prevalence of injury types, locations, and mechanisms. Demographic analysis revealed an average age of 42 years and 9 years of work experience. Overall, the most frequent injuries were to the hand (40%), were musculoskeletal in nature (42%), and resulted from being "struck or contacted by" (33%). The greatest number of incidents occurred in food services, followed by physical plant and staff services. Closer examination of incidents reported by food services indicated 53% of injuries occurred to the hand and 72% required first aid. Notable too was that 19% of physical plant injuries occurred to the back, but these reports accounted for 40% of total back injuries and 50% of all lost time claims in the total database. Further epidemiological research in academic institutions is needed to better understand the inherent injury risk in this work sector.     

Adolescent Gambling and Problem Gambling: Does the Total Consumption Model Apply?

This study describes the extent and distribution of gambling among Norwegian adolescents. The study assesses whether gambling frequency and expenditures and prevalence of problem gambling are associated both at the individual and aggregate (school) level, and in particular whether the total consumption model applies to gambling behaviour. Data comprised a national representative sample of 11,637 13- to 19-year-old students in 73 schools (response rate 92.3%). The Lie/Bet Questionnaire and an additional DSM-criterion on chasing the losses were applied to assess problem gambling. A majority (78.5%) had gambled during the last year and 3.1% met all three criteria for problem gambling. Gambling frequency and expenditures were much higher among problem gamblers and increased proportionally with the degree of problem gambling. The 6.1% who scored on both Lie/Bet items accounted for 59% of all gambling expenditures on slot machines. Positive and significant correlations between various indicators of problem gambling and the overall amount of gambling at the aggregate (school) level imply that the higher the overall amount of gambling and gambling expenditures are, the higher the prevalence of problem gambling, which indicates that the total consumption model also applies to gambling behaviour among adolescents.     

Tests for Parameter Instability in Regressions with 1(1) Processes

This article derives the large-sample distributions of Lagrange multiplier (LM) tests for parameter instability against several alternatives of interest in the context of cointegrated regression models. The fully modified estimator of Phillips and Hansen is extended to cover general models with stochastic and deterministic trends. The test statistics considered include the SupF test of Quandt, as well as the LM tests of Nyblom and of Nabeya and Tanaka. It is found that the asymptotic distributions depend on the nature of the regressor processes—that is, if the regressors are stochastic or deterministic trends. The distributions are noticeably different from the distributions when the data are weakly dependent. It is also found that the lack of cointegration is a special case of the alternative hypothesis considered (an unstable intercept), so the tests proposed here may also be viewed as a test of the null of cointegration against the alternative of no cointegration. The tests are applied to three data sets—an aggregate consumption function, a present value model of stock prices and dividends, and the term structure of interest rates.     

Factors relevant to a return to work: a multivariate approach

This paper contributes to the understanding of the factors that are significant for returning to work, and identifies factors that might be used early on in a period of sick leave to discern whether people are likely to work again. In the design, the multivariate Partial Least Squares (PLS) of Latent Structures method was used to analyse information from a questionnaire containing socio-demographic items, and information on symptoms, consequences on daily life, expectations and psychosocial factors. Data about the incidence of sickness over a four-year period was included. 121 adults aged 18-64 years on sick leave participated, irrespective of their diagnoses. A reliable prediction of a return to work required the combination of many factors: individual psychosocial instruments are not useful when considered in isolation. The strongest predictive factors for a return to work concern the individuals' expectations, the number of days of sick leave taken in the past, somatic disorders, and a high level of life satisfaction and sense of coherence. Many factors influence the outcome for people on sick leave: PLS analysis demonstrated that a multivariate approach using this method could predict the long-term outcome early on in a period of sick leave.