The relative effects of craft-level strikes: The case of airlines

One aspect of bargaining power is the ability of unions to impose losses on firms by striking. Using stock market data from 1963 through 1986, this study tests whether strikes by different crafts have resulted in different losses for airlines. The evidence indicates that strikes by pilots and mechanics initially reduced the share value of struck airlines and that strikes by airline workers in other jobs did not result in significant share value losses. There is no evidence that strikes have imposed permanent losses on air carriers. The authors thank Gordon Karels, David Rosenbaum, and Hendrik Van Den Berg for their helpful comments and thoughtful suggestions. We also thank Jerrold Glass of the Airline Industrial Relations Conference for providing the data on airline strikes.     

The governance of nonprofit organizations: Law and public policy

Who should have the right to set the objectives of nonprofit organizations, hire their managers, set compensation standards, and in general control these organizations? Current law and public policy do not provide answers to these questions. Often, nonprofit organizations are controlled by managers and members of the boards of directors or trustees (many of whom are appointed by management). The goals of these individuals may not best serve the interests of those who support the operation of nonprofit organizations. This article proposes a legal and policy framework for empowering consumers, donors, and sponsors—those who have an economic demand for the nonprofit form of organization. The framework establishes a formal status of membership, accords standing in the court of law to members, enhances direct information dissemination by nonprofit organizations, and empowers state-sponsored agencies to support and oversee nonprofit organizations.     

Labor force participation and fertility: a social analysis of their antecedents and simultaneity.

The nature of the relationship between labor force participation and fertility is examined for 172 families residing in the Chicago metropolitan area. The sample represents a marriage cohort. The data was collected during the 6th year of marriage (1978). The average age of the wife was 27, that of the husband 29. About 15% of the sample was black, the rest white. The median years of schooling completed was 13 for the wife and 14 for the husband. Median family income (less wife's earnings) was US$15,000; approximately 96% of the husbands and 53% of the wives were employed. The hypothesis is that family decisions are socially constructed through husband and wife interactions wherein individual needs and desires of the spouses are resolved by means of give-and-take and mutual influence. Economic factors, societal forces, group pressures and physiological concerns are presumed to work through the psychological characteristics of the spouses and the social interactions transpiring between them. The is, the exogenous determinants are assumed to constitute the setting or context for individual and social decision making. They either enter as inputs to joint decision making or else shape the needs, desires, or other psychological reactions of spouse prior to decision making. In this study, the specific phenomena to be explained are wife's labor force participation and family size. Also tested is the effect of psychological investment in these 2 issues and the impact of the role relationship between the spouses. The hypotheses are scrutinized at 2 levels of analysis: the individual spouses and the husband-wife dyad. Comparisons are made among social psychological models, wherein either the husband of wife provides information as they perceive their relationship and a sociological model wherein group constructs are formed with the husband and wife acting as informants on the pattern of norms guiding their relation. A A strutural equation methodology is employed to better model measurement error and errors in equations imultaneously. The results show that labor force participation of wife and fertility do not appear to be causally related. Rather, social forces within the family function as common antecedents, thereby producing a spurious observed bivariate association. This implies that labor force participation and fertility decision entail joint decision making and influence. Another implication is that the decision process seems to be neither atomistic nor necessarily sequential. The present study also differs from previous efforts in the methodology employed. Variables were operationalized in concert with sociological theory--social variables were used to explain social outcomes.     

On the use of diagnostic biplots in model screening for genotype by environment tables

Popular rank-2 and rank-3 models for two-way tables have geometrical properties which can be used as diagnostic keys in screening for an appropriate model. Row and column levels of two-way tables are represented by points in two or three dimensional space, whereupon collinearity and coplanarity of row and column points provide diagnostic keys for informal model choice. Coordinates are obtained from a factorization of the two-way table Y in the matrix product UV ^T. The rows of U then contain row-point coordinates and the rows of V column-point coordinates. Illustrations of applications of diagnostic biplots in the literature were restricted to data from chemistry and physics with little or no noise. In plant breeding, two-way tables containing substantial amounts of noise regularly arise in the form of genotype by environment tables. To investigate the usefulness of diagnostic biplots for model screening for genotype by environment tables, data tables were generated from a range of two-way models under the addition of various amounts of noise. Chances for correct diagnosis of the generating model depended on the type of model. Diagnostic biplots on their own do not seem to provide a sufficient means for model selection for genotype by environment tables, but in combination with other methods they certainly can provide extra insight into the structure of the data.     

Effects of Spousal Economic and Cultural Factors on Dutch Marital Satisfaction

Using panel data of Dutch first marriages with children (N _{Time 1}=646, N _{Time 2}=386), the relevance of economic and cultural factors in understanding marital satisfaction is examined. The sample was middle-aged and the average marital duration was 17 years (at Time 1). Besides, couples mainly represent single earner and main-earner households. Our results demonstrate that both economic and cultural factors are valid in understanding marital satisfaction. However, whereas cultural characteristics are more important explaining spousal marital satisfaction at Time 1, economic indicators are important predicting change in marital satisfaction. An interaction effect between cultural and economic factors was found as well. Husbands’ familialism moderates the effect of women’s employment on women’s marital satisfaction at Time 1.Ann Van den Troost, Center for Population and Family Research, Department of Sociology, Catholic University of Leuven, Van Evenstraat 2B, 3000 Leuven, Belgium; e-mail: ann.vandentroost@soc.kuleuven.ac.beAd A. Vermulst, Institute of Family and Child Care Studies, Radboud University, Nijmegen, P.O. Box 9104, 6500 HR, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; e-mail: A. Vermulst@12move.nlJan R.M. Gerris, Institute of Family and Child Care Studies, Radboud University, Nijmegen, P.O. Box 9104, 6500 HR, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; e-mail: jan.geris@ped.kun.nlKoen Matthijs, Center for Population and Family Research, Department of Sociology, Catholic University of Leuven, Van Evenstraat 2B, 3000 Leuven, Belgium; e-mail: koen.matthijs@soc.kuleuven.ac.beJerry Welkenhuysen-Gybels, Business & Decision Brussels, Belgium; e-mail: jwelkenhuysen@businessdecision.com     

Demographic Characteristics as Predictors of Quality of Life in a Population of Psychiatric Outpatients

Studies examining relationships between demographic variables in a general population of psychiatric outpatients and quality of life (QOL), in which QOL was assessed according to current recommendations, have not been performed yet. The aim of this study was to examine one particular aspect of this relationship: the question to what extent QOL scores can be predicted by demographic variables. In a sample of adult Dutch psychiatric outpatients (n=495), demographics were recorded and the participants completed a questionnaire for measuring QOL (WHOQOL-100). The relationships of the demographic variables with the WHOQOL-100 domains Social Relationships and Environment, were stronger than those with the domains Physical Health and Psychological Health. The latter had only significant relationships with educational level and sick leave, which explain little of the variance of the concerning QOL domain. In general, the demographic characteristics used, explained only a relatively small part of the variance in QOL scores. An exception was sick leave, which, in participants with a job, explained an extensive part (27.4%) of the variance of scores on the domain Physical Health.     

Developing a corporate planning model for a small company

This article describes the development and implementation of a corporate simulation model for a medium-sized New Zealand firm producing a range of medium density fiberboard products. Problems associated with the design and implementation of a planning model in a relatively young, capital-intensive company are highlighted in terms of changing objectives and model requirements. An assessment of costs and benefits is included.     

Utilizing fuzzy compatibility of skill sets for team selection in multi-phase projects

In this paper, a model is developed for the selection of personnel for a multiple phase project which takes into account the match between the skills possessed by each individual, the skills needed for each phase, and rather flexible budget considerations. The algorithm uses the fuzzy construct of compatibility to measure the fit of a person’s skill set to the goal set for each project phase. Based on the individual fuzzy compatibility measures, the team is formed from combined levels of compatibility and acceptable levels of quality defined for the goal set. 1 and 2 present the background information necessary to an understanding of project management phases and compatibility of skills. The development of the model and subsequent algorithm in 3 and 4, respectively rely on fuzzy measures of compatibility. Finally, an application is presented in Section 4 with conclusions stated in Section 5.