The manager's role in employees' successful return to work following back injury

This study reports on the short-term effects of an educational programme for immediate supervisors on employees' back pain problems. The course was designed to help supervisors more efficiently deal with employees returning to work after being treated for back pain. Forty-seven supervisors who had personnel either undergoing treatment for back pain problems or were candidates for this treatment were invited to attend a one-day course. This educational package consisted of information about back pain and stressed specific behaviours which supervisors could use to help their employees successfully return to work. The results showed that 78% of the supervisors found the course to be satisfactory enough to recommend it to a colleague without hesitation. Furthermore, independent ratings made by the supervisors and their employees suggested that supervisors complied with the recommended programme. Returning employees, moreover, gave their supervisors significantly higher ratings of support than a control group whose supervisors had not attended the educational programme. It was concluded that an educational programme which alters specific supervisory behaviours may be an effective method of assisting employee return to work after treatment for back pain. Further research is needed to determine the long-term effects of such a programme on absenteeism due to illness.     

The Effect of Non-Stationarity on Extreme Sea-Level Estimation

The sea-level is the composition of astronomical tidal and meteorological surge processes. It exhibits temporal non-stationarity due to a combination of long-term trend in the mean level, the deterministic tidal component, surge seasonality and interactions between the tide and surge. We assess the effect of these non-stationarities on the estimation of the distribution of extreme sea-levels. This is important for coastal flood assessment as the traditional method of analysis assumes that, once the trend has been removed, extreme sea-levels are from a stationary sequence. We compare the traditional approach with a recently proposed alternative that incorporates the knowledge of the tidal component and its associated interactions, by applying them to 22 UK data sites and through a simulation study. Our main finding is that if the tidal non-stationarity is ignored then a substantial underestimation of extreme sea-levels results for most sites. In contrast, if surge seasonality and the tide–surge interaction are not modelled the traditional approach produces little additional bias. The alternative method is found to perform well but requires substantially more statistical modelling and better data quality.     

归去来兮，吾归何处？——苏轼“归去”词初探

在苏轼的三百多首词作中,有近十分之一的作品具有明显的“归去”意向,即“归去”词,按照“归去”的不同方向,可将它们划分为归隐词、归仙词和归朝词。归隐词,顾名思义,是苏轼带有解甲归田意图的作品,表现出对官场的厌恶与逃避;归仙词是他丢下心灵包袱、追求并享受自由的作品;而归朝词则集中体现了苏轼的儒家入世思想,是其执着于世的代表作。     

Migration to less-popular rural areas in the Netherlands: Exploring the motivations

Migration into rural areas is often explained in terms of the rural idyll, the attraction of the countryside with its less hurried way of life in a quiet, spacious and green environment. However, this migration phenomenon has mostly been researched in attractive, amenity-rich, popular rural areas. This paper investigates the characteristics and motivations of migrants to less-popular rural areas using survey data (N = 664) for four municipalities in the North of the Netherlands. Our study shows a young group of in-migrants with relatively low incomes, but also a large proportion of working people and a considerable number of highly educated movers. Separating the motivations for choosing to live in a rural area in general from the motivations for choosing this specific rural area reveals that while the pull of the rural idyll is an important motivation for moving to a rural area in general, the reasons for choosing the specific rural area are a mixture of housing characteristics, the physical qualities of the environment, personal reasons and the low house prices in the area. Combining the motivations with the characteristics of the movers reveals the diversity within the movers group. Our analysis shows a group of movers motivated to live close to family and friends, consisting of return migrants, singles, the youngest and oldest age groups and also the lowest income group. The physical qualities of the environment attract a group of highly educated movers, people with high incomes and people aged between 35 and 64. The motivation of housing characteristics, referring in most cases to the availability of a specific house, is mentioned by a wide range of movers, but in particular by people moving from urban areas.     

Will the retiring baby boomers return to rural periphery?

Many belonging to large post-war age cohorts in the western countries moved from rural areas to larger industrializing cities. They retire soon and can consider moving back to the childhood places. This article studies these baby boomers and the issues about their return to peripheral rural areas. The case regards one rural municipality, Ristijärvi, in the remote Northeastern Finland. Despite ageing of local population, Ristijärvi aims to attract new elderly inhabitants with the Seniorpolis project. The entire baby boom generation of Ristijärvi municipality was studied. A questionnaire was answered by 313 people born in Ristijärvi in 1946–1955 and who live now elsewhere in Finland. Answers were analyzed with cross tables and factor analysis. Additional phone interview was held with 66 considering return migration. Furthermore, local policies to attract the elderly (return) migrants were analyzed. Potential elderly return migrants with spouse can reach up to tenth of current municipal population. Of the respondents 3% expressed their wish to return and 19% could live part-time in Ristijärvi. Remained contacts and summer cottage in Ristijärvi and wish to live in rural areas influence positively on returning. Those interested in returning seek clean nature, peaceful environment, security, detached houses with beautiful setting, lower housing costs and landscapes of home region. Elderly and their return migration should be conceptualized further. Return migration can be a trigger for local development as presented in the public–private initiative the Seniorpolis. However, local elderly policies should be analyzed carefully and promoted those projects having long-term positive impact.     

An invisible minority? Return migration and ethnicity in Okinawa*

This paper examines ethnic return migration in Japan by looking at a particular case – that of people of half-Okinawan parentage returning to Okinawa, referred to in this paper as the Nisei. By going beyond conventional theories that entice people to return migrate to their ethnic homelands, I also look at issues regarding nationality and how the category of ‘Japanese’ tends to conflate race and ethnicity, thus creating boundaries as well as ‘invisible minorities’. I also explore how ethnicity and nationality intersect using this particular case and how these intersections are actually created and enabled through processes of migration. In line with this, I also discuss how ‘Japanese’ and ‘half’ are both ascribed and self-ascribed identities, and how each of these two categories delineate ‘boundaries’ and hence engage in ‘boundary-making process/es’.     

《归去来兮辞》在朝鲜朝国语文学中的接受与影响

晋代诗人陶渊明的<归去来兮辞>不仅引发了其后众多文人的强烈共鸣,而且它作为一种"召唤结构",满足了朝鲜朝时期诸多文人的期待,成为朝鲜朝文人言说自我的一种象征语言.朝鲜朝文人通过对陶渊明<归去来兮辞>中的词语、诗句及意境的引用,在时调和歌辞中充分表达了自我的内心诉求,同时也极大地丰富了朝鲜朝时调和歌辞的创作.     

地方保护主义、股权转让方式与控制权私有收益:基于大宗股权协议转让的经验证据

本文以股改之前七年内引发控制权变更的非流通股协议转让事件为样本,区分本地并购与异地并购、相关并购与多元化并购,对实际控制人通过转让控制权攫取私有收益的程度进行研究发现,地方政府实际控制人,以及普遍受到地方政府干预的非政府实际控制人将控制权转让给异地、异行企业时获得的转让溢价更高;支付较高控制权转让溢价的并购方实施内幕交易的程度更严重,获得的累计超额收益更多。     

中国股市新股发行(IPOs)的初始收益率研究

本文通过研究1996—1999年在沪深证券交易所上市的529家首次公开发行的A股股票,发现这些股票初始收益率的平均值为129.8％,初始收益率的分布呈正偏的凸峰态,这说明中国股市的IPOs存在短期定价偏低的现象.本文认为IPOs定价偏低的原因是股票发行市场的制度性缺陷和股票二级市场的运行及投资者的投机行为共同作用的结果.