Relationship impact and African American males' responses to health care practitioner recommendations

This phenomenological research study was conducted to explore and identify reasons African American men comply or do not comply with the medical recommendations of their health care practitioner. The research sample was 20 African American men living in Baltimore City, Maryland, who visited their health care practitioner within the past year. Open‐ended, objectively phrased interview questions were used for this study, which allowed participants to respond with their own words to describe their decision making regarding their health care practitioner's advice. Invariant themes were revealed by data mining. Three clusters of themes emerged: relationship, apprehension, and trust. The research revealed participants viewed the doctor‐patient relationship as critical in establishing trust and respect and in building rapport. Participants felt these elements would serve to promote patient compliance to their health care practitioner's recommendations.     

On Regional Unemployment: An Empirical Examination of the Determinants of Geographical Differentials in the UK

In this paper we consider the determinants of regional disparities in unemployment rates for the UK regions at NUTS‐II level. We use a mixture panel data model to describe unemployment differentials between heterogeneous groups of regions. The results indicate the existence of two clusters of regions in the UK economy, characterized by high and low unemployment rates, respectively. A major source of heterogeneity appears to be caused by the varying effect (between the two clusters) of the share of employment in the service sector, and we trace its origin to the fact that the high unemployment cluster is characterized by a higher degree of urbanization.     

An Employer Analysis of Managed Care Costs and Satisfaction: Process, Effects, and Policy

ABSTRACT: Do managed care health plans truly control costs more effectively than nonmanaged care plans? Recent evidence suggests that employees are getting used to the managed care idea and that managed care is responsible for the sharp slowdown in health-care costs. This article examines recent changes in the delivery, financing, and consumption of health care from the perspective of a large multiple-site American corporation to see whether its health-care costs are controlled and whether this control occurs at the expense of employee satisfaction. A unique aspect of this study is that managed care was implemented more slowly and in phases at one of the six sites analyzed. The results suggest the following. First, the Study Corporation's health-care costs have not significantly increased four years following the change from an indemnity to a managed care plan. The authors interpret this result to mean that managed care has controlled costs because before the change, plan costs were increasing 15 percent per year. Second, the site with the underdeveloped network did not have higher costs than the other sites based on the analysis. Third, the authors show that employee satisfaction increased after implementation of the managed care plan. Moreover, satisfaction was higher at sites with more employees, higher usage, and higher health-care costs. Last, the results suggest that plan participant satisfaction increases as the managed care network becomes more developed. Policy and benefit manager recommendations are made on the basis of these reported findings.     

The study of business ethics: A case for Dr Seuss

This paper provides an example of how narrative literature can be used to teach management ethics within management education. The place of narrative literature in the study of organisations generally is considered, and it is suggested that such material can provide non‐traditional cases for teaching purposes. Dr. Seuss's The Lorax is chosen as an example of a story with which students can empathise. The 'case' is analysed using an ethical decision‐making framework. As part of this analysis a number of theoretically based ethical issues are discussed so as to illustrate the range and depth of ethical issues that can be raised by such a simple narrative. It is concluded that although The Lorax is not a novel, it contains a richness of texture which makes it very useful for management education. Arguments for the legitimisation of the use of narrative fiction in conjunction with traditional cases for management education are presented in conclusion.     

2005款莲花爱丽斯——为驾驶者设计的跑车

在千呼万唤之中，莲花爱丽斯（Lotus Elise）跑车终于将在明年5月份登陆美国了。全新的2005莲花爱丽斯是这款跑车的美国版本，它仍将保留以往使之脱颖而出的功能，同时还在设计上进行了一些必要的修改，以便和美国的规章制度保持一致。     

Volumes of evidence: examining technical change in the last century through a new lens

Abstract New indicators of technical change based on titles included in the catalogue of the Library of Congress and on Amazon.com's website are presented along with evidence that they do capture technological innovation. The indicators are used to chart the pattern and nature of technical change over the last century. A strong, causal relationship is found to exist between these indicators and changes in TFP and output per capita. Moreover, innovations in some subgroups have had a greater impact on output and productivity than in others and the key players change over time. Information technologies are currently the dominant subgroup. JEL classificatiion: E32, O3, O4, N1     

Noncognitive skills, occupational attainment, and relative wages

This paper examines whether men's and women's noncognitive skills influence their occupational attainment and, if so, whether this contributes to the disparity in their relative wages. We find that noncognitive skills have a substantial effect on the probability of employment in many, though not all, occupations in ways that differ by gender. Consequently, men and women with similar noncognitive skills enter occupations at very different rates. Women, however, have lower wages on average not because they work in different occupations than men do, but rather because they earn less than their male colleagues employed in the same occupation. On balance, women's noncognitive skills give them a slight wage advantage. Finally, we find that accounting for the endogeneity of occupational attainment more than halves the proportion of the overall gender wage gap that is unexplained.     

Understanding the effect of stigmatization on food consumer knowledge,perception and behaviour in Northern Ireland

Stigmatization has only recently been linked with the perception of risk, and research into this area has mainly concentrated on measuring the differences between nationalities, gender and socio‐economic status. The concept of stigmatization helps us understand why the public views certain places, products, technology and environments as dangerous and in a negative manner. To date, little has been done to assess the relationships between the effects of stigmatization on situations and people's decision‐making capabilities with regard to food. The aim of this research is to examine food consumers’ knowledge of food‐related risk issues to provide insight into the process of stigmatization and its relationship to food risk management, thereby improving awareness of the information consumers require from food risk communication. To meet this aim, two phases of data collection were implemented. Phase 1 used a baseline survey to investigate consumer knowledge of food‐risk‐related issues, identify how much attention consumers pay to information and what they remember about the particular issues. Factors affecting participant's recollection included how recently the event associated with the issue occurred, the level of media coverage and the reported severity of risk outcome. Phase 2 involved a follow‐up survey to investigate consumer knowledge of food risk issues and determine any changes in consumer behaviour. Research results and conclusions of Phases 1 and 2 of the study will be presented to highlight the relationships between participant recollection of particular food issues and whether knowledge of such issues caused any change in behaviour.