Monitor patients online?

New disease management programs are enabling physicians to do just that. Can this help you improve care, or is it just another boondoggle?     

Testing the Empirical Relationship between Best Management Practice Adoption and Farm Profitability

Several "best management practices" (BMPs) aimed at reducing movement of nutrients, pesticides, and sediment into surface water resources have been developed and promoted by Extension and other agencies over the past several years. This study utilizes actual farm-level economic and BMP adoption data to rigorously analyze the relationship between BMP use and farm profitability. Results indicate that adoption of nutrient BMPs has a significant positive effect on net farm income (NFI) for wheat and corn, while herbicide BMP adoption, particularly use of BMPs related to the application of atrazine on corn, has a small (but statistically significant) negative impact on income. Adoption of soil conservation BMPs is not shown to have a statistically significant impact on farm income.     

Leader political skill and casino dealer morale: the mediating role of follower perceptions of leader–member exchange

Our study investigated the follower perceptions of leader–member exchange (FPLMX) as a mediator between leader political skill (LPS) and follower morale and tested these relationships using data obtained from casino dealers in Korea. Social astuteness, interpersonal influence, networking ability, and apparent sincerity are the indicators of LPS, while follower morale is composed of job satisfaction and affective organizational commitment. The results from structural equation modeling suggest that the research model we have proposed is viable. Broadly speaking, FPLMX is a partial mediator between LPS and follower morale.