Corporate Environmental Behaviors in Voluntary Programs: Does Timing Matter?*

Objective. Why do some firms participate in voluntary programs earlier than others? What conditions dictate whether firms participate in voluntary programs earlier rather than later? Current research on voluntary programs has not considered discrete processes in which corporate actors could have different motives and objectives in different time dimensions, that is, early versus late. Methods. We adopt a diffusion theory to disaggregate corporate voluntary participation behavior in the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sponsored Green Lights (GL) voluntary program. We focus on the GL participants during two periods—the early joiners in 1993–1994, and the late joiners in 1995–1996. Results. At the early diffusion stage, firms are more likely driven by the market motive that garners a “green” reputation, an important strategic asset to promote market competitiveness; at the late diffusion stage, firms are more driven by the institutional motive to improve their relationships with regulatory agencies and subsequently relieve regulatory pressures from them. Conclusion. We find that firms have different motives for GL participation at different diffusion stages. We suggest that policymakers who want to induce firms to join voluntary programs should pay more attention to program designs and implementation schemes that accommodate different corporate interests and objectives in different time orders of firms' participations in voluntary programs.     

Goodness-of-Fit Tests for the Additive Risk Model with (p > 2)-Dimensional Time-Invariant Covariates

This paper presents methods for checking the goodness-of-fit of the additive risk model with p(> 2)-dimensional time-invariant covariates. The procedures are an extension of Kim and Lee (1996) who developed a test to assess the additive risk assumption for two-sample censored data. We apply the proposed tests to survival data from South Wales nikel refinery workers. Simulation studies are carried out to investigate the performance of the proposed tests for practical sample sizes.     

Nonstationary panel data analysis: an overview of some recent developments

This paper overviews some recent developments in panel data asymptotics, concentrating on the nonstationary panel case and gives a new result for models with individual effects. Underlying recent theory are asymptotics for multi-indexed processes in which both indexes may pass to infinity. We review some of the new limit theory that has been developed, show how it can be applied and give a new interpretation of individual effects in nonstationary panel data. Fundamental to the interpretation of much of the asymptotics is the concept of a panel regression coefficient which measures the long run average relation across a section of the panel. This concept is analogous to the statistical interpretation of the coefficient in a classical regression relation. A variety of nonstationary panel data models are discussed and the paper reviews the asymptotic properties of estimators in these various models. Some recent developments in panel unit root tests and stationary dynamic panel regression models are also reviewed.     

Top–Down Eco-Systems of Social Bonding on Juvenile Violent Behavior: Gender Sensitive Analysis

The aim of this study is to test a multifaceted model across gender, consisting of bonding systems in relation to violent behaviors of youth and explaining the relationships among them. The National Survey on Drug Use and Health in 2006 was the source of data. This paper reports findings of a study examining gender-sensitive models with adolescent violent behavior, by testing multiple bonding systems in the adolescents’ environment simultaneously with use of (1) bi-variate statistical test, (2) t test, and (3) estimation of the structural equation modeling among all the concepts of violent behavior and bonding systems for the whole juvenile sample and separated sample of male and female juveniles. Both peer bonding and school bonding have an effect in decreasing violent behavior of both male and female youth. However, some different bonding systems were found to be effective only for a certain gender, community bonding for male youths and parental bonding for female youths. The satisfactory model fit was confirmed with whole, male-only, and female-only samples, along with new findings of several male-only and one female-only significant causal linkage among bonding systems.     

Simulating the average run length for cusum schemes using variance reduction techniques

Some variance reduction techniques utilizing the total hazard are developed to estimate the average run lengths of the cumulative sum charts through simulation when the process follows a general probability distribution. Particularly, we propose the hazard estimator and the cycle estimator. Simulation results are shown for the exponential case and these estimators are compared with the raw simulation estimator. Applicability to multivariate CUSUM schemes is briefly discussed in the conclusion.     

The Interplay of Syndemic Production and Serosorting in Drug-Using Gay and Bisexual Men

The relationships between mental health, substance use, and sexual behaviors among gay and bisexual men in a sample of 450 club drug-using men from New York City were examined using syndemics theory. Risk scores for each participant were based on variables measuring substance use and mental health burden. Participants with higher risk scores were significantly more likely to engage in risk behaviors. Risk taking was also explained by serosorting, suggesting that syndemics theory in and of itself, while significant in explaining risk, is not sufficient. These findings suggest we need to understand the interplay between social, emotional, and cognitive factors to understand sexual risk taking.     

A framework for providing telecommuting as a reasonable accommodation: some considerations on a comparative case study

Telecommuting, whether full time, part time, or over short periods when the need arises, can be an important accommodation for employees with disabilities. Indeed, telecommuting may be the only form of accommodation that offers employees whose disabilities fluctuate a means to stay consistently and gainfully employed. This article describes one employer's experience in considering a request for telecommuting as a reasonable accommodation for a particular employee. Drawing on real-life examples, both positive and negative, this article provides a win/win framework for decision-making that can help employers evaluate the use of telecommuting as a possible accommodation and facilitates open and ongoing communication between employer and employee.     

Medicare and health care reform

Although Medicare constitutes one of the most popular programs of the federal government, even its most ardent supporters would likely agree that improvements could be made and likely should be part of any package of comprehensive health care reform. While some changes could be made as stand-alone reforms, it would be better to integrate changes for the under 65-population with those for the Medicare program. For example, cost-containment strategies would work best if they applied to the population as a whole rather than creating differences that lead to cost-shifting and possible discrimination across groups. The generosity of services covered also ought to be balanced between Medicare and whatever happens elsewhere. This would allow Medicare's cost-sharing structure to be less severe in terms of hospital and skilled nursing care, for example. Finally, while it is tempting to use reductions in spending on Medicare as a means for helping to finance other expansions, the impact of such changes needs to be carefully assessed before assuming that they would create no lasting problems. This essay examines some of the options and likely consequences for Medicare as part of comprehensive health reform.