To Cut and Control: Institutional Preservation and the Sterilization of Mentally Retarded People in the United States, 1892–1947

Abstract Between 1892 and 1947, American institutional superintendents argued three distinct, though overlapping, cases for sterilizing mentally retarded people: sterilization to maintain institutional order, sterilization for eugenic control, and sterilization for controlling the growth of institutional populations. Departing from recent critics who see sterilization as a debate between 'segregation or sterilization' and who link this debate principally to the eugenics movement, I argue that superintendents drew on the above rationales to preserve their institutions in the face of several external factors, not merely eugenics. As such, sterilization became a 'medical' procedure constructed not so much for its explicit purpose - stopping procreation, but to maintain institutional stability and preserve professional prerogative.     

Performance improvement in aircraft maintenance

This study examined the use of utility theory to improve the performance of an aircraft maintenance organization. A utility model was developed and used as an aid in decision making by one large maintenance organization. The results indicated that utility analyses may provide a viable approach to improving effectiveness in organizations having a large number of competing factors. The chief of maintenance provided the output results and the attribute measures. Three team leaders were also interviewed and their views confirmed the views of the chief.     

DIRECT TESTS OF INDIVIDUAL PREFERENCES FOR EFFICIENCY AND EQUITY

Departures from “economic man” behavior in many games in which fairness is a salient characteristic are now well documented in the experimental economics literature. These data have inspired the development of models of social preferences that assume agents have preferences for equity and efficiency as well as their own material payoffs. Empirical failure of the economic man model comes from experiments that provide direct tests of its distinguishing characteristic: indifference to the payoffs of others. This paper reports an experiment that subjects popular social preferences models to the same type of empirical challenge. We report direct tests of the distinguishing characteristics of these models: preference for allocations that have higher efficiency and greater equity. (JEL A12, A13, B49, C70, C91, D63)     

HAVE EFFORTS TO REDUCE SMOKING REALLY CONTRIBUTED TO THE OBESITY EPIDEMIC?

Two of the most notable trends in public health over the past 30 yr are the reductions in smoking rates and the rapid rise in obesity rates. Several studies have investigated the relationship between these trends but have drawn different conclusions. In this article, we revisit this issue, attempting to clarify the prior discrepant results. Overall, we find no support for the claim that rising cigarette taxes have significantly contributed to rising obesity rates. Instead, we find only a moderately sized effect among former smokers . ( JEL I12)     

Decoding the Signal Effects of Job Candidate Attraction to Corporate Social Practices

This article seeks to go beyond the implied assumption from previous research that job candidate attraction to corporate social practices is equivalent across individuals. To this end, we propose a framework for categorizing individuals' attraction to different corporate social performance profiles. Our framework is grounded in relational models theory and Mitroff's model of managers' “ideal organizations.” An inductive approach was used to elaborate upon the model and assess the extent to which candidates preferences vary. Data were collected from prospective job seekers regarding their attraction to social practices that benefit or harm various stakeholders, and these responses were used to develop profiles of job candidates' attraction to distinct profiles of organizations' social practices. The results provide a guide for managers who wish to improve the likelihood that an organization's social practices reflect what is best about its culture.