Organizational Issues in Worker Ownership

Abstract . In the United States the issue of worker control is currently receiving increased attention. Nevertheless, before this view of work and the workplace can be successfully implemented, the standard (hierarchical) image of organizational order must be rethought. Communicative competence, as discussed by Jürgen Habermas, is offered as a theoretical alternative to social ontological realism for developing a workplace that is compatible with worker control. This theoretical shift is necessary to avoid organizational domination of the worker and to develop a workplace that embodies, instead of restricts, human action. For if human action does not orient the workplace, worker control does not exist.     

Are Household Services Overvalued?

A bstract . It has been argued that estimates of the magnitude of household services relative to the Gross National Product (GNP) are generally overstated. Although under certain conditions this conclusion is justified, the explanations given are sometimes questionable. It is shown here that when overstatements do occur it is due to the need for valuation adjustments rather than quantity adjustments to the estimates. Moreover, depending on the points to be demonstrated it is equally correct to express such estimates as a percentage of the GNP or as a percentage of GNP plus household services. Some have argued to the contrary. It is further shown here that when valuations are adjusted to reflect labor market conditions and other factors, estimates of household services are reduced considerably.     

A Preliminary Study Exploring the Value Changes Taking Place in the United States since the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attack on the World Trade Center in New York

This study was a preliminary exploration of the value changes taking place in the United States since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York, which was a significant emotional event or cultural upheaval. Rokeach told us that a person's total value system may undergo change as a result of socialization, therapy, or cultural upheaval . . . (Rokeach, The Nature of Human Values, 1973, p. 37). The researchers explored the value changes of 500 aviation industry employees before the attack and 500 after the attack. The statistically significant research results showed a total of twenty-seven of thirty-six values changed. Before the attack respondents valued much higher self-esteem and self-actualization values like A Sense of Accomplishment and Self-Respect. After the attack respondents placed a much higher value importance on survival, safety and security values like A World at Peace, Freedom, Family Security, National Security, Mature Love, Salvation, and True Friendship.     

The urinalysis--inexpensive and informative

The urinalysis dates back 6000 years. Information has evolved from tasting it for sugar to computer assisted assessment for the presence of cells and casts. The urine gives valuable information about kidney function in general and the glomeruli in particular. Findings can lead to a diagnosis of various medical conditions, most notable being diabetes mellitus. Proteinuria has many implications, including the presence of systemic disease and the progression of an underlying renal condition.     

Underwriting chronic renal failure

The progression of chronic renal failure is quite variable. Equations to estimate the level of function are provided.