Industrial relations and organizational behaviour: a critical appraisal1

This paper is concerned with the growth and development of two fields of study which are customarily separated in both theory and practice. Those who specialize in one area, whether as students, teachers or research workers, are not necessarily familiar with, or required to learn, the state of knowledge in the other, although, as we shall show, there is a considerable commonality of interest. To some extent, this situation is an accident of history and the first part of this paper deals with the events and influences leading to the emergence of each field of study. In the second part, common strands and factors leading to the convergence of the two fields are considered. The third section examines the “state of the art” and evaluates current strengths and weaknesses. Finally, an appraisal is made of the direction of likely future trends.     

A simulation-based methodology for optimization of ambulance service policies

A simulation-based methodology for the evaluation of the emergency ambulance system in the Vancouver, Canada, metropolitan area has been created. Outputs from the simulation of the system are utilized in the creation of the objective function of a branch and bound optimization procedure. The solutions are thus obtained at a significantly lower cost than if only simulation were used. The final solutions were verified by simulation runs.     

Utilization and productivity of the Duke physician's associate

The objectives of this study were as follows: (1) Formulate a theoretical model of the typical medical practice as a system for producing medical care, with particular attention to the role of middle-level health workers such as graduates of Duke University's Physician's Associate Program. (2) Develop a methodology for collecting data necessary to estimate the relevant parameters in the model, and to describe current patterns of utilization of Duke PA's. (3) Draw substantive conclusions, insofar as the model and data collection methodology permit, about the actual and potential productivity of Duke PA's.As of October 1971 Duke University had graduated 68 PA's from its Physician's Associate Program. Of these, 34 are employed as assistants in family practice or general medicine in a variety of private and institutional settings. Data were collected on eleven of these 34 PA's. No attempt was made to study the other 34 graduates engaged in clinical specialties, administration, or other functions. Neither was any attempt made to collect data on or draw inferences about the utilization and productivity of graduates of any other program such as the MEDEX Program.⁴     

Benefit-cost analysis of family planning

A stochastic model is developed to estimate the expected social costs with and without a family planning program provided to a population. By examining the tradeoffs between the program costs and the costs of unwanted pregnancies, it is possible to estimate the costs and benefits of alternative family planning programs. Several extensions of the basic model are presented which permit the selection of optimal treatment variables for administration of a particular program as well as determining the long range effects of a particular family planning program.     

Family planning and health: the Narangwal experiment

The findings of a 7-year field experiment conducted in the Indian Punjab show that integrating family planning with health services is more effective and efficient than providing family planning separately. The field experiment was conducted between 1968 and 1974 at Narangwal in the Indian State of Punjab. It involved 26 villages, with a total population of 35,000 in 1971-72. The demographic characteristics of the villages were found to be typical of the area. 5 groups of villages were provided with different combinations of services for health, nutrition and family planning. A control group received no project services. A population study was made of the effects of integrating family planning with maternal and child health services. A nutritional study looked at the results of integrating nutritional care and health services. The effectiveness of integration was evaluated by identifying it both with increased use of family planning and improved health. Efficiency was judged by relating effectiveness to input costs. Distribution of the benefits was also examined. The effectiveness of these different combinations of services on the use of family planning was measured: 1) by all changes in the use of modern methods of family planning, 2) by the number of new acceptors, 3) by the changes in the proportion of eligible women using contraceptives, and 4) by how many people started to use the more effective methods. Results showed the use of family planning increased substantially in the experimental groups, whereas the control group remained constant. It was also found that, though the services combining family planning with maternal health care stimulated more use of family planning, they were more costly than the more integrated srevices. The Narangwal experiment provides significant evidence in favor of combining the provision of family planning and health services, but its potential for replication on a large scale needs to be studied.     

Structural shifts in urban population density gradients: an empirical investigation

This study investigates the structural shifts in urban population density gradients by first using the shifting regression technique of Farley, Hinich, and McGuire to detect the possible change in the structure of an urban area. Secondly, a generalized random coefficient technique is used to simultaneously detect the possible structural change and stochastic behavior of density gradients. Data for 50 United States SMSA's are used to do the empirical analyses.     

Interstate migration in Mexico: variations on the Todaro theme

"This study of migration in Mexico is based upon a modified Todaro approach and utilizes census data in a simultaneous equations model of 13 variables. It is unique in several ways: (a) it introduces proxy variables for employment probability and cost of migration that have not heretofore been found in the literature, but for which data are often available; (b) it illustrates that in some important cases census data have advantages not available through surveys; and (c) it finds that in some sense land reform in Mexico may have operated perversely. Finally, the study opens a new avenue for the study of informal sector growth."