bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Case management of technology- dependent children: A family- centered approach
Authors: Hill Laura V. , Thompson Mary K.
Published: March 2007

The number of technology-dependent children receiving home care has grown significantly in re cent years. This article focuses on the hardships encountered by the families of these children as well as the direct and indirect costs that occur. These families face a bureaucratic maze that can be overwhelming and frustrating. In spite of the many drawbacks, these families always say it is worth it to have the child in the home as part of the family. This article underscores the importance of the family-centered case management approach to the success of home care for the technology-depen dent child.
The hospital-based home health agency: An opportunity for income today while planning for tomorrow
Authors: McKeon Tad
Published: March 2007

The changing health care environment is causing the creation of strategic alliances and the formation of integrated health care delivery systems. Home health is an opportunity to increase profits within these systems. Of equal importance, home health is an alternative to hospitaliza tion in the provision of patient care from birth to death. The formation of hospital-based home health agencies is an opportunity to close the loop on patients leaving the system, to reduce fragmentation within the delivery process, and to provide a service that meets the needs of the customer, physician, payer, and hospital. Key words: home health, hospital-based, process im provement
Utilization of Research in Home Health Care
Authors: DePalma Judith A.
Published: March 2007

Research can be especially valuable for home health care in its present state of change and growth. Research can provide a sound database for administrative and clinical decisions, program and role evaluation, and measurement of clinical outcomes. Key resources that are necessary for the facilitation of research are discussed.
Improvement of Organizational Performance: A Holistic Approach to Quality Management in Home Health Care Services
Authors: Templeton Jacqueline
Published: March 2007

Improvement of organizational performance describes a quality management approach that here is applied to home health care service. The article defines improvement of organizational performance and demonstrates how to utilize functions and dimensions of performance to measure and assess the organization's performance of the functions necessary for it to provide quality patient care. The outcomes of the assessments provide the information an organization needs to identify opportunities for improvement of its performance.
The Mental Health Team in Home Health Care: The Psychiatric Nurse and Social Worker Roles
Authors: Williams Elaine
Published: March 2007

A growing service in home health care is the provision of mental health services to mentally ill individuals who may or may not have medical problems. Mental health programs are being started by home health care agencies all over the country, and accompanying this growth is increased confusion and strain in the roles of the psychiatric nurse and the social worker. This article looks at the definition of the mental health patient and the Medicare regulations defining the psychiatric nurse and social worker roles and responsibilities. A clear understanding of the intent of these regulations will help clarify the role of each professional as members of the mental health team.
Managing Managed Care: A Comprehensive Costing and Contract Evaluation Model for an Era of Change
Authors: Jendro Thomas A. , McNally Thomas M.
Published: March 2007

As the health care industry becomes more and more competitive, management has become aware of the need for increased information to help direct its operations from a present and future perspective. While hospitals recognized the need for this data with the inception of the Medicare Prospective Payment System, other delivery systems such as home health care agencies, long-term care facilities, and hospices (systems that had historically been sheltered from the economic pressures placed upon hospitals) are now realizing that information is necessary for survival. The demands of health care consumers (most notably patients and insurers) requiring quality care coupled with cost- efficiency are making home health care agencies more cognizant of data such as product costing, clinical profiling, and the economic effect of a proposed managed- care contract. A comprehensive costing and clinical information model can help agencies prepare for and respond to the challenges that are now upon them in this ever-changing industry.
Educating Physicians on How to Avoid Liability Related to Utilization Review by Third Party Payors
Authors: McCarthy-Cox Patricia
Published: March 2007

Physician treatment decisions are often being challenged by third party payors in an effort to cut costs. It is imperative that physicians understand their role in the utilization review process in order to avoid liability related to reimbursement decisions. This article identifies steps to take in order to limit liability exposure of both the physician and the health care institution.
Mindshift for Managers: Change is Inevitable, Growth is Optional
Authors: Murphy Susan
Published: March 2007

Change energizes some organizations and paralyzes others. Research shows that the behavior of managers is the single most important factor in how people in the organization accept change. Self-management by the leaders is essential. There are four predictable stages that everyone passes through when exposed to any change: resistance, confusion, exploration, and commitment. There are predictable behaviors associated with each of these stages and the most effective managers study these behaviors and are able to respond appropriately to get their team back on track toward the goals.
Transparent and Caring Corporations?
Authors: Livesey Sharon M. , Kearins Kate
Published: March 2007

This article analyzes sustainability values reports published by The Body Shop International and bythe Royal Dutch/Shell Group. The authors show how corporate discourses expressed in these precedent-setting texts both reflect and influence sociopolitical struggle over the meanings and practices of sustainable development. Specifically, the authors examine metaphors of transparencyand care used to describe corporate rationales for increasing stake-holder communication, including reporting. Drawing on distinct discursive domains of business accountancyand personal ethics and sentiment, these metaphors promise to reconstruct the interface between the firm and society. Exploring the quite different assumptions on which each of these metaphors relies and their implications for corporate practices of sustainable development, the authors consider whether sustainability values reporting and the dialogue that it claims to facilitate can promote more democratic and socially and environmentally responsive corporate decision making, even as they impose new forms of managerial control.
Informal organizational networking as a crisis- avoidance strategy: US naval flight operations as a case study
Authors: Rochlin Gene I.
Published: March 2007

The requirement for maintaining responsiveness and flexibility with a high degree of operational reliability and safety puts considerable demand on any organization. In the case of US Navy flight operations at sea, conditions of extraordinarily tight coupling and high technical complexity, flexible demand and uncertain environment provide more potential sources of crisis and acci dent than there are management personnel or permanent structures to cope with them. This paper discusses the Navy's evolved and relatively successful strategy of creating and maintaining a set of informal, evanescent, functional networks whose primary purpose is to anticipate and deflect emerging crises rather than merely react to them.
After Chernobyl: the relation of anxiety to technology in West Germany
Authors: Brede Karola
Published: March 2007

Brede, K., 1990. After Chernobyl: the relation of anxiety to technology in West Germany. Indus trial Crisis Quarterly, 4: 233-241.

For many Germans the accident at the Chernobyl power station posed the psychological problem of dealing with anxiety. The author argues that anxiety is a rational response to the invisible dangers of atomic technology. Its ration ality can be specified by Sigmund Freud's explanation of the uncanny and Günther Anders' call for a measure of anxiety that adequately meets the nu clear threat.
Whither Organizational Culture? Privatization Of The Oldest State-Owned Enterprise In Turkey
Authors: Babüroglu Oguz , Göcer Aylin
Published: March 2007

While privatization has been well documented in terms of economic and financial analysis, little has been written about its impact on organizational culture. This paper aims to describe a crisis caused by the privatization of the organizational culture of Sumerbank, the oldest state-owned conglomer ate in Turkey, to examine the possible impact of privatization of the employ ees, and to show the culture clash between the taken-for granted economic and financial assumptions of privatization and the fact of being a "Sumerbankian"—the symbolic label of a withering organizational culture.
Human Factors and Safety at Electricite de France
Authors: Colas Armand
Published: March 2007

This article describes the changes in the ideas that have occurred in the human factors approach at Electricite de France, the publicly owned French utility, which is the largest operator of nuclear power plants in the world. Initially, the approach to human factors was based almost exclusively on enhancing equipment reliability. Recently, problems of teamwork, interface and interaction, and interdepartmental relations have come to the surface, and the initial approach is being supplanted by a new approach based on strengthening professionalism and devel oping a safety quality culture.
Organizational Responses to Strategic Issues Posed by the Natural Environment: An Application of Miles and Snow's Strategic Types
Authors: Judge William Q. , Fowler Dorn M.
Published: March 2007

The natural environment has become a strategic issue for many firms, and the adaptive response of organizations to the pressures incurred by this issue is important to their effectiveness and survival. Using the Miles and Snow (1978) theoretical framework, this article builds a model of the relationship between strategic orientation, environmental responses, and environmental performance. Then, the authors empirically tested this model through seven hypotheses on how defenders, prospectors, and reactors are expected to respond to these pressures. In general, the results show that the firms' strategic orientations are predictive of their environmental responses. However, the predictions for the prospectors were more strongly supported by our data than were the predictions for the defenders. Interestingly, prospectors' and defenders' environmental performance advantage over reactors was most clearly shown in the area of preventing and mitigating environmental crises as opposed to going beyond minimum environmental compliance levels.
A preliminary validation of subtypes of DSM-IV Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder
Authors: Paternite C.E. , Loney J. , Roberts M.A.
Published: March 2007

Preliminary validity of DSM-IV ADHD was examined in a sample of 6- to 12-year-old boys with behavior problems. Problem identification, extent of impairment, cognitive/attentional, family context, and behavioral symptom differences were examined among 28 boys with ADHD, inattentive type; 9 with ADHD, hyperactive-impulsive type; 59 with ADHD, combined type; and 18 with no ADHD diagnosis. Some evidence for validity of ADHD was suggested, especially for the inattentive and combined subtypes, and on measures of impairment, mother-, father-, and teacher-rated disruptive symptoms, and observed playroom behavior. Few differences were obtained on measures of family context and age-corrected indices of cognitive/attentional functioning. Supplementary analyses of the boys with ADHD, combined type, subgrouped on the presence or absence of oppositional and conduct disorders, highlight the role of such diagnostic comorbidity in some of the dysfunctions attributed to ADHD.
Public/Private Partnerships to Renew the Industrial Landscape
Authors: Wilkey Patrick L.
Published: March 2007

America’s urban areas have experienced a decline over the past two decades. Urban flight has resulted in brownfields, deteriorating infrastructure, environmental pressure on remaining industries, and general economic decline. Federal agencies and community groups have recognized the need for technical solutions to the issues hindering urban redevelopment but lack the scientific and engineering expertise. Argonne National Laboratory has a significant level of technical expertise to apply to the resolution of issues facing these urban communities and industries. Argonne has made a concentrated, coordinated effort to resolve those issues by participating in the Industries of the Future program. An Urban Technology Program was created at Argonne to provide a link between the urban issues and the solutions afforded by the laboratory’s technical resources. Argonne is bringing together a variety of technical expertise to propose, develop, and execute—in partnership with public and private partners—strategies for addressing the needs of urban industrial reclamation.
Explaining the Growth in Municipal Recycling Programs
Authors: Kinnaman Thomas C.
Published: March 2007

The implementation of thousands of municipal recycling programs in the United States has increased recycling’s portion of solid waste from 10% to 30% over the past decade. But the lack of accurate data has spurred a debate over whether the growth in recycling can be attributed to market or nonmarket factors. To address this issue, this article conducts a benefit-cost analysis of a municipal recycling program. Results suggest recycling is costly. So why, then, does it remain popular? This article suggests that local governments could be responding to households that perceive a benefit from recycling services. These benefits are estimated with a contingent valuation survey.
Evaluation of Roadway Infrastructure Data Collection Technologies
Authors: Khattak Aemal J. , Hummer Joseph E. , Karimi Hassan A.
Published: March 2007

Due to technological advances in data collection equipment, many transportation agencies are considering the use of mobile mapping systems: data collection vehicles equipped with a Global Positioning System receiver, an inertial navigation system, several digital cameras, and a computer. The host system is driven on a roadway, and data are collected on the fly. These raw data are then processed on a computer using photogrammetric software packages and input to an inventory database. Many transportation agencies are faced with the decision on using mobile mapping systems to improve their infrastructure data. This article presents a stepwise test protocol that transportation agencies can use to judge different data collection methods. Based on results of four experiments, the protocol provides guidance on different activities associated with the recommended evaluation process. The protocol is accompanied by information that transportation agencies may use as a benchmark for evaluating different inventory data collection methods.
Exit Surveys as a Tool for Local Officials Who Are Considering Bond Issues for Infrastructure Improvements
Authors: Bowen Terry , Corrigan Matthew
Published: March 2007

This study presents a framework for using exit surveys as a way to identify and explain citizen support for property tax increases for local infrastructure improvements. When local policy makers are interested in surveying their citizens about potential policy options, great care must be taken in choosing the population to be surveyed. Because voter turnout tends to be much lower in local elections, traditional phone and mail techniques may overestimate the willingness of citizens to vote. The alternative presented here is an exit survey of those persons who have participated in a specific local election. Findings from this case study show that negative attitudes about government and perceived tax liabilities appear to be more consistently related to attitudes toward raising taxes than are demographic variables. On the other hand, demographic variables may be mitigating factors not only with regard to perceived tax burdens but also in regard to defining one’s use or intended use of projects.
Pricing the Use of Public Rights-of-Way
Authors: Nunn Samuel , Rubleske Joseph B.
Published: March 2007

The public rights-of-way (ROW) managed by local governments have been a source of perennial conflict between municipalities, utilities, and other private companies that require access to ROWin order to distribute their services. In recent years, advances in telecommunications technology and new federal legislative initiatives have combined to create much greater demands for public ROWoccupancy and simultaneously limit the authority of local governments to regulate and charge entities for the use of ROW. Accordingly, local governments have devised and implemented a variety of fee-based mechanisms to collect revenue from private firms in exchange for their use of public ROW. This article explores the various fee structures that have evolved for permitting or applying for ROWoccupancy, obstruction or disruption, excavation or degradation, use or rental, or franchised use. It also reports briefly on the limits to local ROW management authority created by federal legislation.
Effects of an Execution on Homicides in California
Authors: THOMSON ERNIE
Published: March 2007

Contemporary research on the effects of executions on homicides has turned up two different results. Research examining short-term effects of an execution has sometimes found decreases in homicides after executions (a deterrent effect), whereas research examining long-term effects has sometimes found that homicides increase following executions (a brutalization effect). This study employed a quasi-experimental before-and-after analysis coupled with a disaggregation strategy to examine the short- and long-term effects of executions on different types of homicides in Los Angeles, California in the aftermath of the 1992 execution of Robert Alton Harris. Findings indicate that there were both short-term deterrent and long-term brutalization effects of the execution on different types of homicides, but the net effects included increases in overall homicides and most disaggregated types of homicides consistent with the brutalization theory.
Stabilization Goals and the Appropriateness of Fiscal Policy During the Eisenhower and Kennedy-Johnson Administrations
Authors: Von Furstenberg George M. , Boughton James M.
Published: March 2007

An active stabilization policy requires that policy variables respond to preceding deviations of the target variables from their goal. If there are several competing macroeconomic goals, political parties may differ on the optimal tradeoff to be sought. However, even if allowance is made for divergent political preferences between Republican and Democratic administrations, no pattern of "reverse causation" or negative feedback could be found which would indicate that the formulation of fiscal policy has been dominated by a stabilization rationale. Minimizing quadratic penalty functions subject to the Phillips curve constraint has little value in explaining actual policy shifts.
Property Taxes, Services, and the Calculating Voters
Authors: Miner Ralph E.
Published: March 2007

This paper presents a study of the relationships between the services-Abstract property tax nexus and votes for and against a statewide property tax limit. Positive correlations between tax rates and favorable votes and a negative relationship between city residence and favorable votes are reported. Small towns and unincorporated areas produced lower percent ages of votes favorable to the limitation; however, such towns and areas did vote for the limitation at a greater rate per dollar of property tax rate. The logic of tax-service relationships suggests that, despite increasing percentages of favorable votes cross-sectionally with increasing property tax rates, the provision of municipal services contributed to the defeat of the measure through lessening the pressure for a property tax limit within cities, In this case, where a broad range of local government services was threatened, the institutional arrangements for collective choice encouraged voters to consider both sides of the tax-service nexus, and the demand for the relatively wide range of services within cities helped to deter the coalescence of service-receiving minorities into an operative anti-property tax majority.
The Short-Run Behavior of the Social Security Trust Funds
Authors: Thompson Lawrence H. , Van de Water Paul N.
Published: March 2007

The old-age, survivors, and disability insurance trust funds are now running a deficit of more than $5 billion per year. As recently as 1972, however, these trust funds were expected to be in surplus for some time. Simulations with an econometric model of the OASDI system suggest that this turnaround can be explained largely by economic developments unforeseen in 1972. The deterioration in the social security short-term financing picture is due in roughly equalparts to high unemployment and poor real wage growth. Inflation by itself has so far had little effect on the trust fund balances. The simulations also suggest that social security trust fund balances equal to approximately 60% of yearly outlays should be kept on hand if the system is to be able to withstand a recession slightly more severe than the present one without having to raise taxes until unemployment falls below 6%.
Local Sales Taxes: Tax Rate Differentials, Sales Loss, and Revenue Estimation
Authors: Fisher Ronald C.
Published: March 2007

Local sales tax rate differentials are evaluated in a theoretical model allowing for increasing cost industries and consumer transportation cost. It is shown that the tax rate differential variables used in previous research lead to an underestimate of the effects onjurisdiction sales and that the effects should vary by commodity type. Evidence for the District of Columbia metropolitan area partially confirms previous research findings that local tax rate differentials significantly affect sales locations, although ways of reducing this effect are indicated.
The Efficacy of Bond-Financed Fiscal Policy
Authors: Barth James R. , Bennett James T. , Johnson Manuel H. , Sines Richard H.
Published: March 2007

This article examines the impact of fiscal policy on economic activity in the framework of the important model developed by Blinder and Solow which assesses the macroeconomic impact of federal budgetary actions. In addition to raising some questions about Blinder and Solow's conclusions regarding the efficacy of bond-financed fiscal policy, we introduce some logical extensions of their original model to examine the robustness of various income and interest rate multipliers. It is shown that even minor modifications are sufficient to bring about reversals in signs of these key multipliers. In sum, this article not only answers some important questions but also raises equally significant issues regarding the efficacy of fiscal policy
On Fiscal Policy and Macroeconomic Stability
Authors: Butkiewicz James L.
Published: March 2007

Fiscal policy is examined in the context of a variable price IS-LM model with a full-employment constraint. Debt-financed fiscal actions are shown to be destabilizing, regardless of the impact of debt finance on aggregate demand. The difficulty arises because growth of the capital stock is required to increase aggregate supply sufficiently to match the increase in demand necessary to balance the budget. However, debt financing raises the interest rate and reduces investment. As the deficit persists, further debt issued and higher interest rates will further dampen investment. Since the necessary increase in investment is not forthcoming, balanced budget equilibrium is never attained.
The Distributional Impact of Statewide Property Tax Relief: the Michigan Case
Authors: Rubinfeld Daniel L. , Wolkoff Michael J.
Published: March 2007

This study uses data from a random survey of 2001 Michigan households to analyze the extent to which the Michigan ctreuit-breaker has been successful in reducing the income regressivity of the property tax and in changing relative property tax burdens. Because of its relatively extensive coverage, including renters as well as homeowners and the nonaged as well as the aged, the circuit-breaker has yielded a more equal distribution of income within Michigan. Its potential to change the distribution of income depends on the particular formula utilized, but redistributional effects have thus far been lamited because program participation has been positively correlated with income. To the extent that reductions in the price ofpublic services created by the circuit-breaker are perceived by households, the biggest stimulus appears to be in high property tax/high-income counties
Varible Rate Subsidies : The Ineficiency of In-Kind Transfers Revisited
Authors: Stutzer Michael J.
Published: March 2007

The inefficiency of fixed rate consumer price subsidies, relative to cash transfers, is one of the best-known propositions in welfare economics. It has also been used to show that matching grants are a more inefficient intergovernmental aid than are lump sum grants. Furthermore, the cost of fixed rate subsidies cannot be controlled without providing a "cap" beyond which amount no subsidy is received. This paper reports, both qualitatively and quantitatively, that a broad class of variable rate price subsidies also dominates fixed rate subsidies on both counts. The relative inefficiency of matching grants compared to the variable rate Federal General Revenue Sharing program is estimated.
Public Good Producers and Spillovers : An Analysis of Duopoly Behavior
Authors: McKinney Scott
Published: March 2007

This article presents an analysis of the output and welfare effects of different patterns of behavior when two public good-producing communities interact through benefit spillovers. This analysis differsfrom earlier work in ascribing to these communities (1) more complex assumptions concerning the behavior of neighboring communities and (2) a longer time horizon in the welfare- maximizing decision. We develop two models of independent community behavior and, as a benchmark, a model of the behavior of a consolidated jurisdiction which internalizes the benefit spillovers. Simulations using these models suggest that (1) the importance of welfare losses resulting from strategic behavior relative to those resultingfrom uninternalized spillovers vary directly with the extent of spillovers, indirectly with intercommunity differences; (2) more sophisticated behavior results in short-term welfare gains but losses in equilibrium; and, (3) it is efficient for communities with greater resources or greater degrees of spillover to bear a disproportionate burden of public good provision, and welfare is better redistributed through resource transfers than through a reallocation of public good provision.
Perceptions of the Ability to Export Nonresidential Property Tax Burdens
Authors: Greene Kenneth V. , Munley Vincent G.
Published: March 2007

This article reexamines the question of the perceived burdens from taxes on residential property within the context of a single median voter model. It provides a means of testing whether the estimated fraction of nonresidential property perceived to be exported is different from either zero or unity and focuses on testing the correct functional form of the demand relationship. Given the functional form implied as preferred by Box-Cox transformations, it finds no statistically significant evidence that less than 100% of nonresidential taxes are perceived as exported.
Taxation of Housing, Capital Accumulation, and Welfare: a Study in Dynamic Tax Reform
Authors: Gahvari Firouz
Published: March 2007

The U. S. tax structure implicitly subsidizes housing in a number of ways. This Abstract article employs a dynamic general equilibrium model of housing, consumption and economic growth to examine the long-run effects of eliminating these implicit subsidies on capital accumulation and welfare. It also investigates the relationship between optimal tax rates on residential and nonresidential capital. It is shown that the elimination of housing subsidies in full may increase nonresidential capital by as much as 46%. while the stock of housing is reduced by over 15%. In the meantime, per capita consumption goes up by 7%. In welfare terms, these changes are equivalent to an increase of over 6% in a representative individual's lifetime income under the present tax rules. Second, it is found that optimality, from the standpoint of steady state welfare maximization, implies unequal tax treatment of residential and nonresidential capital. Far from subsidizing housing, taxation of housing is called for.
Tax Revenue and Tax Structure
Authors: Breeden Charles H. , Hunter William J.
Published: March 2007

This article examines the relationship between the selection of tax instruments Abstract and the size of the public budget. It develops and tests with data from 37 large cities a model that is an alternative to the commonly cited fiscal illusion model. The model is predicated upon the assumption that budget-maximizing governments prefer broad-based tax systems composed of inelastic taxes and not just many taxes. The empirical tests indicate that cities that rely on taxes with elastic bases tend toward lower per capita tax revenues and cities that rely on taxes with inelastic bases tend toward higher per capita tax revenues.
Variable Versus Fixed Rate Subsidies: Are the Latter Necessarily Less Efficient?
Authors: Caniglia Alan S.
Published: March 2007

In a recent article in this journal, Stutzer (1984) investigated the relative in-efficiencies of fixed versus variable rate subsidies as they pertain to analyzing different forms of revenue sharing. His analysis butlds on the theoretical presumption that a variable rate subsidy is generally less inefficient than a fixed rate subsidy of equal size. In this article it is shown that if the good being subsidized is a public good, it is possible that a fixed rate subsidy will be more efficient than a variable rate subsidy from a benefit-cost analysis perspective, once collective decision-making aspects are incorporated into the analysis. This indicates the importance of incorporating the presence of public goods, when appropriate, into an efficiency analysis to see whether traditional results are still valid.
Efficient Lobbying and Earmarked Taxes
Authors: Kimenyi Mwangi S. , Lee Dwight R. , Tollison Robert D.
Published: March 2007

This article investigates the impact of earmarking on tax revenues. By dedicat-ing revenues to a particular purpose, earmarking overcomes a free-rider problem among interest groups. The group receiving the benefits of the dedi cated revenues has a strong incentive to lobby for higher effective tax rates. This hypothesis is tested using data on the federal gasoline tax.
An Economic Comparison of Gambling behavior in Atlantic City and Las Vegas
Authors: Borg Mary O. , Mason Paul M. , Shapiro Stephen L.
Published: March 2007

Using data from a recent survey that we commissioned, this article investigates (for the first time in the public domain) the demography and tax incidence implications of casino gambling in Atlantic City, and does so in conjunction with a comparison to Las Vegas. The results indicate that the two gambling environments are very different in terms of the characteristics of those who gamble, and as a result, the tax incidence implications. Speccfically, Atlantic City appears to primarily attract two distinct groups of gamblers, those who are older and wealthier and who gamble extensively, and those who are older and poorer, who gamble very little. As a result, the tax inherent in casino gaming in Atlantic City is only slightly regressive. This differs markedly from the results for Las Vegas, which imply that Las Vegas gamblers are primarily vacationers who gamble voraciously with less regard for income and thus pay a very regressive tax.
The Voluntary Nongame Check-Off as a Revenue Source
Authors: Revier Charles F. , Harpman David A.
Published: March 2007

Thirty-two of the 40 states with broad-based income taxes are now using voluntary Abstract check-offs on their tax returns as a way of soliciting contributions for nongame wildlife programs and other activities. This study uses both individual and aggregate data to examine the factors that influence check-off contributions. Income and the number of other check-offs on the tax form were among the major determinants. An appraisal of the check-off suggests that the tendency to add more check-offs to the tax return quickly erodes its revenue productivity. Furthermore, the check-offis open to serious questions about its fairness.
Tax Neutrality Under Parallel Tax Systems
Authors: Lyon Andrew B.
Published: March 2007

Many countries' income tax systems consist of multiple tax schedules that comprise a parallel tax system. For instance, one firm may face a given statutory rate and set of depreciation rules while another firm faces a different tax rate and set of rules. As income varies, a firm may switch from one set of rules to another. Progressive marginal tax schedules, rules on loss limitations, and minimum tax schedules are all examples of parallel tax systems. Taxpayers who switch across tax schedules of a parallel tax system may face investment incentives either greater or less than those of other taxpayers who are permanently subject to a single tax schedule. The article derives several different conditions under which a parallel tax system can be established that maintains neutral investment incentives for all taxpayers.
The Effect of Retirement On Political Shirking: Evidence From Congressional Voting
Authors: Figlio David N.
Published: March 2007

The theory of rational utility-maximizing agents suggests that politicians should alter their voting patterns when the reelection constraint is removed. However, the previous empirical work on this issue has not shown such a relationship. This article tests the hypothesis that the decision to retire results in systematic changes in political voting behavior (or "political shirking "). The author uses a multiyearpanel data set with more observations than many prior studies, a more precise measure of political shirking, and a different measure of retirement than previous work Least squares estimation yields significant coefficient estimates and substantial evidence that the retirement decision results in political shirking.
A Localized Algorithm for Optimizing Unstructured Mesh Partitions
Authors: Walshaw Chris H. , Cross Mark , Everett Martin G.
Published: March 2007

A new method is described for optimizing graph parti tions that arise in mapping unstructured mesh calcula tions to parallel computers. The method employs a combination of iterative techniques to evenly balance the workload and minimize the number and volume of interprocessor communications. When combined with a fast direct-partitioning technique (such as the Greedy algorithm) to give an initial partition, the resulting two- stage process proves itself to be a powerful and flexi ble solution to the static graph-partitioning problem. A clustering technique can also be employed to speed up the whole process. Experiments, on graphs with up to a million nodes, indicate that the resulting code is up to an order of magnitude faster than existing state- of-the-art techniques such as Multilevel Recursive Spectral Bisection, while providing partitions of equiv alent quality.
When Do Customer Contact Employees Satisfy Customers?
Authors: Sergeant Andrew , Frenkel Stephen
Published: March 2007

Previous service workplace research has indicated the impact of supportive supervisors, teams, other departments, and technology on employee satisfaction and organizational commitment. These variables in turn have been shown to influence customer contact employee behavior and customer satisfaction. In this article, the authors explore how these variables relate to employees’ capacity to satisfy customers. Using a structural equation modeling methodology, the authors found that in terms of direct effects on employees’ capacity to satisfy customers, some variables (e.g., other department support) were more important than others (e.g., technology). Some variables (e.g., other department support) had a direct effect on employees’ capacity to satisfy customers, some had a mediated effect (e.g., supervisor support), and some had both a direct and mediated effect (e.g., technology). The capacity of employees to satisfy customers is strongly dependent on a set of mutually supportive variables.
The Impact of Empowerment on Customer Contact Employees’ Roles in Service Organizations
Authors: Chebat Jean-Charles , Kollias Paul
Published: March 2007

A pilot study was conducted to test a hierarchical model in which empowerment of contact personnel is presented as an antecedent condition to role conflict, role ambiguity, adaptability, self-efficacy, and job satisfaction. The latter are, in turn, presented as antecedents to helping behaviors directed at customers. The model is structured on three interfaces: employee-manager, employee-role, and employee-customer. The data were collected in six branches of the same bank in a major North American city. Results reveal that empowerment is a very efficacious managerial control tool in that it significantly affects the behavior and attitudinal dispositions of boundary-spanning service employees. Specifically, role ambiguity emerges as the most influential variable in the employee-role interface, and employee adaptability is a highly determining factor for the delivery of effective role-prescribed and extra-role performances. Implications for the management of customer-contact service employees and directions for further research are discussed.
The Role of Professionalism in Determining Job Satisfaction in Professional Services
Authors: Boyt Thomas E. , Lusch Robert F. , Naylor Gillian
Published: March 2007

The services literature extols the importance of the link between satisfied customers and satisfied employees. In this study, the authors develop and test a job satisfaction model that examines the role of rewarding professionalism. Specifically, they examine whether rewards for professional behavior foster professionalism and esprit de corps (a set of enthusiastically shared feelings, beliefs, and values about group membership and performance) in order to further understanding of job satisfaction for professional service providers. Using surveys from marketing researchers, the authors assess the importance of rewarding professional service providers for professional behavior by examining the links between reward structures, esprit de corps, and job satisfaction. Research findings indicate that as organizations reward professional behavior they help foster the development of key aspects of professionalism. The findings are that a reward structure favoring professional behavior directly leads to higher esprit de corps and employee job satisfaction.
From Disgust to Delight
Authors: Andreassen Tor Wallin
Published: March 2007

This article investigates the effect that satisfaction with service recovery may have on complaining customers’ future intent and perception of, and attitude toward, the faltering service provider. The main findings indicate that service recovery has a positive impact on both dimensions. Somewhat surprisingly, companies’ current recovery efforts do not bring complaining customers back to par. On the other hand, excellent service recovery efforts as perceived by complaining customers only restore intent and image. Contrary to contemporary thinking, the latter challenges the existence of the service recovery paradox.
Perceived Relative Attractiveness Today and Tomorrow As Predictors of Future Repurchase Intention
Authors: Andreassen Tor Wallin , Lervik Line
Published: March 2007

Research pertaining to return on quality is based primarily on the disconfirmation of expectation paradigm using past experience as the key predictor of future intent. This article uses perceived relative attractiveness today and tomorrow as predictors of intent. Based on the theoretical model and data sampled, the authors report three findings. First, perceived relative attractiveness today is the key driver of future intent in both business and consumer contexts. Second, in the business market, expected future relative attractiveness has no impact on customer intent. Business customers use perceived quality of past and present deliverables as the primary qualifier of future repurchase intention. Third, in the consumer market, both perceived relative attractiveness today and tomorrow have an impact on future intent. This finding implies that to uphold customer intent, managing future customer expectations is as important as maintaining relative attractiveness today.
Body Image
Authors: GROGAN SARAH , RICHARDS HELEN
Published: March 2007

In this exploratory study, boys and men (aged eight, thirteen, and sixteen years, and young adults) gave accounts of body shape ideals, body esteem, exercise, and diet in a series of focus groups. Men and boys in all groups presented discourses where being lean and muscular was linked to being healthy and fit. Being fat was related to weakness of will and lack of control by all age groups, and discourses of blame were used to describe those who were overweight. Sixteen-year-olds described peer pressure to be slender and muscular, and two young men had experienced teasing about their body size. Adult men and teenagers explicitly linked having a well-toned, muscular body with feelings of confidence and power in social situations. Data are discussed in relation to recent suggestions that Western cultural attitudes to the male body are in a state of change and that men are becoming more concerned with body image.
Rereading Man's Conquest of Nature
Authors: QUAM-WICKHAM NANCY
Published: March 2007

Writers, folklorists, historians, and others have long highlighted the gendered heritage of the American West, a region that one popular scribe has called the “He-Man Land.” Male workers in the West's extractive industries participated in the construction of these masculine ideals, but did so in ways that emphasized the acquisition of skill in the work-place. A manly worker was a skilled worker, one who could demonstrate the experience, ability, and ingenuity needed to accomplish a job. Occupational language, shop floor culture, rituals, storytelling, and folklore all reflected workers' belief in skill, not brute strength, as the defining characteristic of their manliness.
Method for Vapor Diffusion Behaviour Determination of the Building Envelope
Authors: Dumitriu-Valcea E.J.
Published: March 2007

This paper is concerned with a design method, considering vapor diffusion and condensation caused by dew point temperatures on or within building envelope construction.

Condensation in building envelope can be either a winter or summer phenomenon, although winter condensation has been given much greater at tention in building standards and guidelines in North America and Europe. But, generally, the potential for summer condensation in building envelopes is related to humid climates and to tropical or subtropical regions. The current guidelines for preventing summer condensation in building envelopes in humid climates are not as specific and comprehensive as those for control of winter condensation.

In this paper is analyzed a method for winter condensation control but which can also be used for summer conditions in buildings located in extreme climates: both cold and hot, and humid, where vapor condensation represents a major problem.

Winter condensation control in buildings is more important for roof and wall constructions than for floor and foundations constructions. Low-sloped roofs present an especially difficult design problem since the upper surface on the roof must be waterproof and highly impermeable to water vapor and water can be trapped in the insulation, causing deterioration and excessive heat losses.

The ambient temperature and relative humidity conditions on which heating will operate during winter determines the "dew point" at which condensation should occur on a cold plane "condensation surface," while building envelope construction.

So, the first design criteria is to establish the exterior air temperature at which the vapor condensation is starting within the envelope. For each type of building envelope results a specific starting condensation exterior air temperature. This value must not exceed the average annual temperature, to avoid a year by year progressive humidification of the envelope.

The second design criteria is to establish the growth of the envelope humidity content through condensation in winter climate parameters: duration and average temperature, statistically determined, in function of the starting con densation exterior air temperature. This value must not exceed the saturation capacity of the envelope insulation.

By means of this criteria can be realized the correlation between interior and exterior climate parameters (temperature, relative humidity) and the hygro thermal properties of the building envelope (vapor diffusion and thermal resistances, vapor saturation of the envelope insulation).

It also gives the possibility to justify constructive measures (vapor barriers, ventilated air layers, etc.) avoiding condensation phenomena.
On Building Hygrometry: Influence of Internal and Exterior Structures
Authors: Isetti C. , Magrini U. , Nannei E.
Published: March 2007

Maximum limit of vapor concentration of the inside air that does not create mould growth and condensation on the surface of exterior walls has been analyzed in non-steady state conditions.

The calculations have been carried out for three different exterior walls and various air changes.

Results show that both thermal storage capacity of the walls and of the inter nal structures affect the level of the permissible vapour concentration inside the dwelling.
Recent Developments with the Thin-Heater Thermal Conductivity Apparatus
Authors: Hager Nathaniel E.
Published: March 2007

A thin-foil heating element is employed in a thermal conductivity apparatus that operates in accordance with the basic concept of the guarded hot plate. The metal foil is sufficiently thin that lateral heat flow along the plane of the heater is insignificant, at least in the central region, so there is no need for isola tion and separate temperature control of a guard region. This makes the appa ratus simple and inexpensive to construct and operate. The resultant low-mass configuration minimizes drift error and usually reaches steady state in less than 30 min with 0.5-cm-thick specimens of nonmetallic solids. Thermal conductivity values are calculated on an absolute basis with an estimated accuracy of ±3%.

Speed and simplicity make the apparatus well suited for product-development and quality control applications. Because temperature differences within the sample do not exceed a few degrees, uncertainty in mean sample temperature is sharply limited, water-vapor-migration problems are minimized, and thermal conductivity can be measured close to melting points or other critical tempera tures. New data obtained with dry calcium silicate give preliminary experi mental verification of the validity of the apparatus in the temperature range extending between ambient and 550°K.