Active and Adjusted: Investigating the Contribution of Leisure,Health and Psychosocial Factors to Retirement Adjustment

Engagement in leisure activities during retirement and its relationship to retirement adjustment were investigated. Psychosocial mediators included mastery, self-efficacy for retirement (SE-R) and activities (SE-A), positive (PA) and negative affect (NA). Resources investigated included physical health and finances. Leisure activities examined were social, home entertainment, chores, light exercise, vigorous exercise, and education. Data were gathered from a sample consisting of 243 retirees. Direct predictors of retirement adjustment included finances, health, mastery, SE-R and SE-A. Social activities were the best predictor of a wide range of positive outcomes, including PA, mastery, SE-R and SE-A. Educational activities improved SE-R. Being involved in a broader range of activities was associated with PA, mastery and SE-A. Familiarity and enjoyment of activities were implicated in the maintenance and continuation of activities at post-retirement. Research findings have implications for aged-care and other retirement service providers, as well as for individuals.     

Occupational Safety and Paternalism: Machan Revisited

In 1987, Machan provided a libertarian case against the right to occupational safety. Since before Machan’s essay appeared, many business ethicists and legal scholars have given considerable attention to the overall position Machan endorses: the acceptance of employment at will and the rejection of employee rights. No one yet has given adequate attention, however, to the fact that Machan’s argument against the right to occupational safety actually stands or falls independently of his overall position on employee rights. His argument ultimately rests on two values: the promotion of employee interests and anti-paternalism. Insofar as those who support the right to occupational safety share those values, they must find a strategy for opposing Machan’s argument that preserves those values. In this paper, I demonstrate why Machan’s argument ultimately rests on the promotion of employee interests and anti-paternalism. Then, I develop an objection to Machan’s argument that preserves those values.     

It all depends on your point of view: An historical account of an ethical conundrum in grain handling,ca. 1931

In 1931, charges against Manitoba Pool Elevators of cheating their members on weights and grades in order to conceal losses on their grain elevators – and of concealing these activities – were proven accurate by a provincial Royal Commission. This was ironic given that these were the same practices that the Pool had condemned in the private grain trade for 30 years, and that, they had pledged, the Pool would put an end to. This paper describes these events and examines the ethical issues from the perspective of Reinhold Niebuhr's thought. It then briefly examines more current events in the western Canadian grain business to show how they are illuminated by Niebuhr's insights and why certain problems in the grain industry have been so intractable for the last half century. Copyright © 2007 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Managerial perceptions of sales training and performance

This study examines managerial perceptions of the impact sales training has on sales force performance among 46 multinational and 59 national firms in Malaysia. The results demonstrate that, unlike their national counterparts, multinational firm sales managers perceived greater improvement in all five hypothesized measures of performance: company information and policies, sales presentation and communications skills, sales objectives, product information and technical skills, and customer relation skills, as a result of their sales force completing initial sales training. The study concludes with managerial implications of the findings and suggestions for future research.     

Telemedicine: an historical perspective

The use of telecommunications technologies to help deliver medical services has increased over the past few decades and is now well accepted. Called telemedicine, it involves medical diagnosis and management with the participants (doctors, nurses and patients) in different places. The practice is not new and follows closely behind technological developments. This paper traces its use from the beginning of the twentieth century to the present day. Topics covered include the major telemedicine projects, their impact and the lessons learned from them. A summary of the characteristics of the various technologies is included.     

The normal distribution as a model of technological substitution

A model for forecasting technological substitution, based on the use of the normal distribution, is presented. Both mathematical and graphical techniques are discussed. Examples from the literature are used to illustrate the model.     

A dominant product-dominant country framework of industrial export segmentation

This article proposes a framework that industrial marketing managers can utilize to improve their understanding of and ability to select industrial products for export to attractive global markets. The framework is arrayed along two axes: export products and existing global markets. As a result of the suggested process, a 2×2 model emerges that provides guidance to marketing managers about actions that can be undertaken to maximize success with industrial products and services in the global marketplace.