The Emerging Problems of Alcohol and Substance Abuse in Late Life

Treatment of substance abuse among older adults will become increasingly important as the number of aged Americans increases. The abuse of psychoactive substances is a major contributor to excess morbidity, mortality, and homelessness among persons of all ages and socioeconomic strata regardless of race or ethnicity. Alcohol and tobacco accountfor the majority of substance abuse-related death and disability in the United States; the former through cerebrovascular and hepatic disease, accidents and violence, the latter through chronic pulmonary disease and malignancy. Patterns of substance abuse in late life are substantially different from those observed among younger adults. However, treatment may be less challenging. Effective diagnosis and treatment requires a nonpunitive, supportive, but persistent approach. This means the capacity to collect a substance intake history and the ability to formulate a treatment plan or referral strategy to an addiction specialist or residential treatment setting. It is also important for the practitioner to manage negative feelings toward patients who decline treatment or who are chronic abusers.     

The effects of state-dependent human behavior on the design of a serial line

Most research on line design assumes that human operators perform independently from the status of the line. Recent empirical evidence is contradictory. Humans are likely to change their working speed if they might otherwise cause idle time (Schultz et al., Manage Sci 44(12):1595–1607, 1998). This peculiarity of worker behavior is observed in a variety of settings but little is still known about optimal line design that accounts for this more realistic modeling of worker behavior. Therefore, we analyze work allocation in a serial line with limited buffer capacity and adaptive human behavior. An extensive simulation study reveals that optimal work allocation in state-dependent models is different from classical state-independent models. A bowl-shaped work allocation might be suboptimal and design guidelines are more complicated. Depending on the extent of human reactions, a bowl-shaped, balanced, or reversed-bowl work allocation can be preferable.     

Understanding the Adoption Process of National Security Technology: An Integration of Diffusion of Innovations and Volitional Behavior Theories

After the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the U.S. government initiated several national security technology adoption programs. The American public, however, has been skeptical about these initiatives and adoption of national security technologies has been mandated, rather than voluntary. We propose and test a voluntary behavioral intention formation model for the adoption of one type of new security technology: portable radiation detectors. Portable radiation detectors are an efficient way of detecting radiological and nuclear threats and could potentially prevent loss of life and damage to individuals’ health. However, their functioning requires that a critical mass of individuals use them on a daily basis. We combine the explanatory advantages of diffusion of innovation with the predictive power of two volitional behavior frameworks: the theory of reasoned action and the health belief model. A large sample survey (N = 1,482) investigated the influence of factors identified in previous diffusion of innovation research on portable radiation detector adoption intention. Results indicated that nonfinancial incentives, as opposed to financial incentives, should be emphasized in persuasive communications aimed at fostering adoption. The research provides a new integration of diffusion of innovation elements with determinants of volitional behavior from persuasion literature, and offers recommendations on effective communication about new security technologies to motivate public adoption and enhance national safety.     

The social regulation of corporate social irresponsibility: Reviewing the contribution of corporate reputation

Whilst it is assumed that stakeholders penalize and deter corporate social irresponsibility (CSI), instances of CSI persist. Correspondingly, the literature on social regulation—which describes how non-governmental stakeholders exert their regulatory influence on organizations—remains fragmented. To act as a springboard for future studies, this review examines the contribution of corporate reputation to our understanding of how CSI is socially regulated. Our analysis of a large (n = 448 studies) multidisciplinary body of literature unearths a set of nuanced relationships between CSI and corporate reputation. We synthesize a conceptual framework in order to map the diverse landscape of literature and its contributions. We then highlight important gaps among—as well as between—research streams to present a future research agenda. Accordingly, this review contributes to closing ‘the loop’ between CSI, corporate reputation and social regulation, thereby opening up new pathways for future research.     

Does a Self-Affirmation Intervention Reduce Stereotype Threat in Black and Hispanic High Schools?

The risk of confirming negative stereotypes about one’s social group, known as stereotype threat, depresses academic achievement among students of color and contributes to racial gaps in achievement. Some work finds that stereotype threat may be alleviated through self-affirmation exercises, translating into improved performance among students vulnerable to threat. However, this work has been conducted primarily in settings where students of color represent a relatively small segment of the student population. The current study explores whether this intervention is efficacious in schools where students of color are the majority. Through a randomized controlled trial of 886 students in three high schools (one predominantly black, one predominantly Hispanic, and one mixed race school), we administered self-affirmation exercises over the course of an academic year. We find no clear evidence that self-affirmation promoted higher standardized test scores or higher grades within the sample. The null findings highlight the complex nature of academic challenges in segregated contexts and raise important questions about the nature of stereotype thereat in such contexts. Importantly, this suggests that solely enhancing self-integrity may not be sufficient to close academic race-based gaps.     

How does family health care use respond to economic shocks? realized and anticipated effects

Review of Economics of the Household - Using two-year panel data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) for 2004 to 2012, we examine how the intra-family allocation of health care...     

If you dare to ask: self-perceived possibilities of Spanish fathers to reduce work hours

Time scarcity is a reality for most mothers and fathers of young children who work full-time. Though the Spanish law recognizes a specific right to a reduced schedule for care reasons, fathers very rarely make use of this policy. Many of them simply think that, in their current employment circumstances, they ‘can’t’ cut down on work hours. This analysis focuses on the subjective perception that employees have of their difficulty to reduce work hours. Using a nationally representative sample of Spanish employees in charge of young children, and drawing on intersectionality perspectives, we propose that several stratification systems (e.g. gender and economic structure) overlap framing the subjective experience of how easy or difficult it is to adopt a reduced schedule. We confirm that fathers in middle-level service occupations (e.g. clerical workers) may be those most likely to be ‘undoing gender’ at work, as they differ significantly from other fathers in their perception that for them it would be easier to reduce their work hours.