Assessing the impact of different workplace flexibilities on workplace stress in the presence of varying degrees of job control

We apply probit and propensity score matching to 1667 respondents from the 2008 National Survey of the Changing Workforce to quantify how workers’ self-reported stress levels vary under two different workplace flexibilities and varying degrees of job control. The first workplace flexibility considered is the ability to easily take time off for personal and family matters; the second is the option of a compressed work week. Our findings suggest that the first flexibility correlates with lower stress reports regardless of job control level. The second flexibility, however, correlates with lower stress levels only for workers with low levels of job control. This suggests that a compressed work week does not reduce stress for workers that already have high levels of job control. The more general conclusion is that some flexibilities are substitutes for job control whereas other are not, assuming the larger goal is the reduction of workplace stress and the various maladies exacerbated by stress.     

Rent seeking in groups

Rent-seeking contests between groups involve conflicts of interests at the levels of individuals, groups, and the society as a whole. We conduct a series of economic experiments to study the behavior of groups and individuals competing against each other in rent-seeking contests. We find substantial over-contribution to rent-seeking relative to the equilibrium predictions of standard models regardless whether individuals compete against other individuals, groups compete against other groups, or individuals compete against groups.     

Moving towards an Improved Microsimulation Model of the Australian Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme

Finding ways of curbing government expenditure on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) while maintaining social equity and access to ‘essential’ medicines is at the centre of ongoing public debate. This article describes a microsimulation model of the PBS that simulates current and future use and costs of PBS medicines under existing and different PBS policy settings, and estimates the distributional effects of policy changes. The article outlines future developments that will extend the current model to include health outcomes. Adding health outcomes will enable the debate on PBS sustainability to be advanced beyond the prevailing cost‐containment mentality to consider not only the costs of pharmaceutical use but also the benefits that result from the use of these medicines.     

The TUC’s Organising Academy: an assessment

In 1998 the British Trades Union Congress established an Organising Academy to train a new generation of paid union organisers. This article reviews the first two years of the Academy and offers an initial evaluation. It seeks to gauge whether the initiative has prompted innovation in organision policy in unions and led to successful organising outcomes.     

Commentary on learning to talk like an (urban) woodsman: an artistic intervention

Rebekah Modrak's Learning to Talk like an (Urban) Woodsman: An Artistic Intervention project presents an artistic critique of the Best Made Co. lifestyle “axe” brand. The article and the Re Made Co. “plunger” art piece it describes engage directly with issues discussed by brand researchers and other scholars, such as the strategic use of appealing design and product aesthetics, the sign value of brands, and the creation of brand identity and cultural codes based upon the performance of an idealized, historicized and gendered mythology. The artwork itself, the reactions to the Re Made Co. project and the artist's reflections, all add to the interdisciplinary exploration of brands, brand culture and meaning.     

Viewers' Recognition of Brands Placed Within a Film

Product placement in motion pictures has grown enormously in recent years, but there is very little empirical research regarding its communication effectiveness. The few prior empirical studies have all assessed viewers' recall of and attitudes towards brands placed in a film. This study examines whether or not viewers can even recognize brands placed within a film. Two films containing multiple product placements are used, and results suggest that viewers are able to correctly recognize brands placed in their respective film, while correctly distinguishing among those brands that did not appear in the film they viewed.     

Conceptualising convenience: Transportation practices and perceptions of inner-urban high density residents in Brisbane,Australia

High-density living in inner-urban areas has been promoted to encourage the use of more sustainable modes of travel to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. However, previous research presents mixed results on the relationship between living in proximity to transport systems and reduced car-dependency. This research examines inner-city residents’ transportation practices and perceptions, via 24 qualitative interviews with residents from high-density dwellings in inner-city Brisbane, Australia. Whilst participants consider public transport accessible and convenient, car use continues to be relied on for many journeys. Transportation choices are justified through complex definitions of convenience containing both utilitarian and psycho-social elements, with three key themes identified: time-efficiency, single versus multi-modal trips, and distance to and purpose of journey, as well as attitudinal, affective and symbolic elements related to transport mode use. Understanding conceptions of transport convenience held by different segments of the transport users market, alongside other factors strongly implicated in travel mode choice, can ensure targeted improvements in sustainable transport service levels and infrastructure as well as information service provision and behavioural change campaigns.     

A modified scale for the measurement of communication-evoked mental imagery

This article details the stages in developing a multiitem communication-evoked imagery processing scale. It builds on the foundation provided by Ellen and Bone (1991) by proposing three dimensions of imagery processing: vividness, quantity, and elaboration. Scale development procedures advocated by Churchill (1979) and techniques described by Gerbing and Anderson (1988) are applied. Qualitative and quantitative methods are employed. Face validity of the theoretical structure and items is assessed by consulting experts and employing judging procedures, respectively. Evaluation of the items is done across two separate samples in which reliability, convergent validity, discriminant validity, and nomological validity are exhibited. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.