Camera-Related Behaviors during Video Recorded Medical Interactions

Video recording provides an objective record of the content of medical interactions. However, there is concern that cameras may be reactive measurement devices that alter what normally transpires during interactions. This study addressed potential reactivity of cameras in medical interactions. Interactions between 45 patients and 14 medical oncologists were video recorded and coded for camera-related behaviors. Eleven of 45 patients performed none of the behaviors. Among the other patients, camera-related behaviors were infrequent and, on average, constituted about 0.1% (one-tenth of one percent) of total interaction time. Behaviors occurred most often in very early stages of interactions, and when physicians were absent from the room. Seven physicians showed camera-related behaviors, comprising less than 0.1% of the time they were in the interaction. Results suggest video recording can provide nonreactive means of studying medical interactions.

DYNAMIC INTERACTION OF PRICE AND DESIGN QUALITY FOR PRODUCTS WITH CONVEX PRODUCTION COSTS

Price and design quality define value for customers and are often used by firms to position products in the marketplace. Setting price and quality level on a new product for the first time and making appropriate changes over time to these variables to reflect changing conditions in the market requires careful coordination of design, manufacturing, and marketing variables. We present a control theoretic model to study the complex interaction among price, quality, and cost during the life cycle of a product. Our model considers the major design-manufacturing-marketing tradeoffs and helps determine optimal pricing, design quality, and production strategies in a dynamic environment with convex production costs.     

Family structure and income inequality in families with children, 1976 to 2000

Using 24 years of data from the March supplements to the Current Population Survey and detailed categories of family structure, including cohabiting unions, I assess the contribution of changes in family structure to the dramatic rise in family income inequality. Between 1976 and 2000, family structure shifts explain 41% of the increase in inequality, but the influence of family structure change is not uniform within this period or across racial-ethnic groups. In general, the estimated role of family structure change is inversely related to the magnitude of the changes in inequality. Furthermore, by including cohabitation, I find lower levels of total inequality and a weaker role for demographic shifts in family structure for trends in income inequality.