Geographic variation in surgical treatment for work-related carpal tunnel syndrome: does improved return to work matter?

Medical treatment of compensated work-related conditions has two objectives--improve injured workers' health status and allow safe and sustained return to work (RTW). Theoretically, the choice of treatment method should be based primarily on these objectives. Surgical treatment of work-related carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) provides an opportunity to evaluate whether this occurs. The traditional method of open release has been complemented by an endoscopic procedure, particularly useful in work-related cases due to the anticipated benefit of earlier RTW. The objective of this study was to investigate the differences in surgical treatment for work-related CTS across eight US workers' compensation (WC) jurisdictions, and the factors associated with these differences. From all WC claims reported to a single insurer during the 1995-1999 period, we identified individuals with a one or two surgical procedures for work-related CTS. Among selected individuals (n=4,421), about 20% were treated using the endoscopic procedure; this percentage had a ten-fold variation across the eight jurisdictions. However, utilization of endoscopic release did not increase during the study period, despite reports of better RTW outcomes. The highly jurisdictional nature of the US WC system, with significant differences in reimbursement levels for endoscopic procedures, and geographical differences in medical training were among the potential contributors to the observed variation in utilization.     

Factors affecting the organizational responses of employers to workers with injuries

The organizational responses of employers to work-related injuries is one of several significant influences on return-to-work outcomes. Thus, understanding the factors that lead to better or worse organizational responses to work injuries may ultimately help to improve success in this area. The purpose of this study was to systematically explore factors that might influence the organizational responses of employers to injured workers, based on employee perceptions. Cross-sectional survey data were collected from 2,943 subjects with work-related injuries which had occurred less than eight weeks prior to survey completion. Measured variables included pre-injury demographic and job factors, injury circumstances, and a measure of post-injury events that comprised the organizational response. Multivariate linear regression results show that age, gender, job dissatisfaction before injury, prior difficulty performing job tasks, injury severity, back injury and lost time were all associated with negative organizational responses, suggesting potential opportunities for intervention.     

The Impact of Migration on Southern Rural Areas of Chronic Depression1

Abstract By examining the 1979 income status of 1975–1980 inmigrants, outmigrants, and nonmigrants, we gauged the income effects of migration for a group of chronic low-income counties in the nonmetropolitan South. The effects are demonstrated to be positive for the migrants themselves and negative for the low-income counties. In both instances, however, the effects are unexpectedly small. By considering both in- and outmigrants, we show that these counties experienced a remarkable degree of income replacement and also present evidence that the results are not primarily due to the particular migration period under study. The findings give additional evidence of the substantial inefficiency at work in American migration patterns.     

Research in School Shootings

Studies of school shootings have been conducted in a variety of disciplines, including sociology, psychology, and media studies. However, to date there is no unified body of knowledge about such events. In an effort to synthesize past studies, and to orient future studies in school shootings, this article (i) offers a typology for understanding the varieties of school shooting incidents, including rampages, mass murders, terrorist attacks, targeted attacks, and government shootings; (ii) examines the mass media dynamic of school shootings; and (iii) presents a synthesis of the multilevel causes suggested in the research, including those on the individual, community, and social levels. Suggestions for future studies in school shootings are explored.     

Blowin' Down the Road: Investigating Bilateral Causality Between Dust Storms and Population in the Great Plains

Recently, the National Academy of Sciences concluded it is clear thatpopulation and the environment are usually interrelated . . . . This paper directlytests the expected interrelationship using annual county-level population estimatesprovided by the U.S. Census Bureau and annual counts of dust storms from the1960s, '70s, and '80s at weather stations situated throughout the U.S. GreatPlains. In doing so, it implements a research design that extends methods (farremoved from conventional demography) for pure time series analysis withmultilevel regression models. The result is a method for causal modeling in paneldata that produces, in this application, evidence of bilateral causality betweenpopulation size and deleterious environmental conditions.     

Nothing succeeds like succession: A critical review of leader succession literature since 1994

This article reviews leader succession research from 1994 to 2004. We begin with a brief summary of Kesner and Sebora's [Kesner, I. F., & Sebora, T. C. (1994). Executive succession: Past, present and future. Journal of Management, 20, 327–372.] review of leader succession. We then critically examine intervening progress made by scholars regarding antecedents and consequences of succession. We conclude by critiquing the state of the field from both theoretical and methodological perspectives, and offering recommendations for future research. Generally, succession continues to be an attractive venue for scholars from a wide array of disciplines. Theory and methodology continue to be of variable quality, though some progress has been noted in the past decade on both fronts. Particularly notable research has generally either examined contextual aspects of succession, thus advancing our knowledge beyond main effects research, or used succession phenomena as windows into advancing organization theory.     

Solitude and intimacy: Linking territoriality and privacy experiences

The further advancement of privacy models depends upon clarifying two issues: the relationship between privacy and territoriality and the degree to which different types of privacy have distinct behavioral and cognitive correlates. Two types of privacy experiences—solitude and intimacy—were investigated. Given the divergent function of these two forms of privacy, we expected each would be sought in different types of territories. We also expected that where people seek a form of privacy depends in part upon the quality of the immediate social environment: a territory will be used less for privacy experiences as the understandings that regulate usage of the space erode. Students were asked where they went for solitude, where they went for intimacy, and to describe their experiences in these two places. Results supported the hypotheses. In addition, a substantial and coequal linkage between privacy and territoriality appeared. A two-step process describing this linkage was suggested. Implications of the findings for a more precise conceptualization of privacy behaviors were explored.Portions of a prior version of this paper were presented at the annual meetings of the American Psychological Association, Toronto, 1978. This research was carried out while the first author was affiliated with Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Research funds were provided by a small grant award from the Office of the Dean of Arts and Sciences, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. The authors are indebted to Ed Krupat and Eric Sundstrom for helpful comments on an earlier draft of this paper.     

Family Grief and Mental Health: A Systemic,Contextual and Compassionate Analysis

Although not always named, grief is central to the experience of mental illness — for people diagnosed, their families and their friends. Yet grief is almost absent from the literature and practice of mainstream psychiatry. This curious fact led to the writing of this article by two workers and a carer, with editorial and political advice from a consumer, as a small step in the direction of integrating perspectives of workers, carers and consumers. It examines the nature of grief associated with mental illness, its impact on family members, and why mainstream mental health services do not directly address it, with suggestions for some therapeutic ways to conceptualise and work with it.     

Comparing the Fisher information in record data and random observations

We compare the Fisher information (FI) contained in the firstn record values and record times with the FI inn i. i. d. observations. General results are established for exponential family and Weibull type setups, and a summary table is provided listing several common distributions. We show that the FI in record data improves notably once the record times are included, often changing from being less to being equal or greater than the FI in a random sample of the same size. The behavior in the Weibull case is surprising. There it depends onn, whether the record or the i.i. d. observations have more FI. We propose new estimators based on record data. The results may be of interest in some life testing situations. Supported in part by Fondo Nacional de Desarrollo Cientifico y Tecnologico (FONDECYT) grant # 1010222 of Chile.     

A Model for Implementing a Sustainability Strategy through HRM Practices

There is a rapidly growing interest in the topic of sustainability as it relates to long‐term business performance that optimizes the “triple bottom line”: economic, environmental, and social outcomes. This article articulates a multilevel conceptual model for executing a business strategy for sustainability primarily through the design and implementation of human resource management practices. The model builds on open systems theory, the resource based view of the firm, and the concept of line of sight to identify certain key organizational capabilities, group competencies, and individual abilities and other characteristics that combine to drive organizational performance when pursuing a sustainability strategy. The article concludes with a discussion of implications of the model for theory, research, and practice.