Collaboration at work: An integrative multilevel conceptualization

The term collaboration has been used throughout a variety of research disciplines to describe multiple types of interaction; yet, a unified, comprehensive definition of the construct remains elusive. This lack of clarity regarding the distinctions and commonalities between collaboration and other interaction concepts has resulted in conceptual confusion that affects practice and research in human resource management. Practitioners see collaboration as more of a buzzword than as an effective human resource strategy. Previous theory development efforts have not yet taken a comprehensive multidisciplinary approach. This has resulted in failure to integrate key themes across disciplines into an overall view of collaboration, which is a commonplace practice in business and military sectors alike. This paper describes a multidisciplinary conceptualization of collaboration and discusses the implications of this integrative theory to human resource management and strategy development as well as future research efforts.     

Cultural differences in Germany and Australia

This article discusses examples of cultural differences between the German and Australian cultures, their implications in the marketing and business decision making function, and provides recommendations for successful business conduct between Germans and Australians. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

The EEOC's new ADA mental disability guidelines: an EAP is a pretty reasonable accommodation

The EEOC's enforcement guidelines for psychiatric disabilities may present a significant challenge for the small employer. The authors discuss the parameters of this challenge and consider the ADA mental disability guidelines in the context of an operational framework to assist employers. It is pointed out that an EAP or a managed behavioral health firm with knowledge of ADA can be useful in identifying cost-effective accommodations for employees claiming mental disabilities.     

Socioeconomic differences in public acceptability and car use adaptation towards urban road pricing

Urban road pricing is regarded as an effective instrument to reduce traffic congestion and environmental-related problems in metropolitan areas. Whereas the overall impact of urban road pricing on car use adaptation and public acceptability is known, there are only inconsistent results concerning the socioeconomic differences in the response towards road pricing. However, this knowledge is necessary for the development of urban road pricing packages. This paper uses a segmentation approach to identify groups of car users with a similar background in relevant socioeconomic variables and compares their responses towards road pricing. Three groups are identified: young families, suburban families, and singles and couples. These groups indeed differ in their car use adaptation towards urban road pricing as well as in their preferred revenues use. While all three groups significantly reduced their private car use, the young families reduced their car use most, followed by the group of singles and couples. Complementary measures are discussed that are believed to facilitate car use adaptation of each group in response towards urban road pricing.     

The moderating effects of need for cognition and cognitive effort on responses to multi-dimensional prices

We investigate how need for cognition and cognitive effort associated with multi-dimensional pricing combine to influence demand. Experiment 1 shows that individuals with low (vs. high) need for cognition are less likely to purchase products that list price and relative discount separately. The direction of the effect of need for cognition on demand is found to depend on whether consumers’ inaccurate arithmetic generally leads them to overestimate or underestimate final prices. Therefore, experiment 2 finds that individuals with low (vs. high) NFC are more likely to purchase products that list price and relative surcharge separately. As expected, the effect is eliminated for absolute discounts or surcharges and mediated by recalled purchase prices.     

Suicide as an indicator of quality of life: evidence from dialysis patients

Quality of life has been measured in many different ways for patients with chronic medical conditions. What is unique about the approach used here is that it uses suicide rates as a relatively objective measure of quality of life within the population of dialysis patients. Using a Heckman selection model, we estimate the relative suicide rates across patients undergoing both hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis. Our empirical results show that patients on hemodialysis have relatively lower suicide rates after controlling for other factors. Specifically, our results indicate that 141 fewer suicides will occur for every 1,000 patients shifted from peritoneal to hemodialysis. Prior estimates of the higher costs of the latter modality yield an estimated expenditure of $42,043 per suicide avoided.     

Globalization and the connection of remote communities: A review of household effects and their biodiversity implications

The remote regions of the world provide refuge to a disproportionate amount of the Earth's biodiversity. As globalization continues, isolated human communities in these regions are increasingly connected to global market, migration, and technology networks. We review the diffuse literature on the household effects of changing market access, migration, and technology adoption in remote regions and implications for native biodiversity. Market access affects biodiversity in remote communities through changes in household economics and social networks. Migration, either to or from remote settlements, affects biodiversity through changes in population, remittances, human capital, and social networks. Finally, we consider effects due to production, public infrastructure, and information and communication technologies. There is much ambiguity surrounding these causal pathways, and thus we also examine the roles of various ecological, household, community, and institutional mediating factors in determining the impacts of global connection. Finally, we explore the limitations of our current knowledge and research practices and propose directions for future work to address key uncertainties in theory and evidence as well as weaknesses in methodological approaches. We recommend a broad and interdisciplinary mode of inquiry as the best means toward clarifying globalization's impacts on human settlements and the biodiversity harbored in the Earth's remaining remote regions.     

Challenges and opportunities in the provision of long-term care

The demands for long-term care are substantial and, given our nation's demographics, are likely to become a critical issue for the economy. Through employee assistance programs and the provision of long-term care benefits, employers are likely to see a substantial increase in individuals' concern for the provision of care.