The Implications of Flexible Staffing Arrangements for Job Stability

In this paper, we examine the job stability of workers in a wide range of flexible staffing arrangements: agency temporary, direct-hire temporary, on-call, contract company, independent contractor, and regular part-time work. We draw upon two data sources in our analysis. The first is a nationwide survey of employers on their use of flexible staffing arrangements conducted by the Upjohn Institute for Employment Research. This survey provides evidence on why employers use various types of flexible staffing arrangements and the extent to which employers move workers in these positions into regular arrangements within their organization. The second data source is the Supplement to the February 1995 Current Population Survey on Contingent and Alternative Work Arrangements. Exploiting the longitudinal component of the CPS, we compare the subsequent labor market status of individuals in flexible work arrangements and those in regular full-time positions in February 1995. We find that, except for independent contractors, workers in flexible staffing arrangements have less job stability than those in regular full-time arrangements in the sense that they are more likely to switch employers, become unemployed, or involuntarily drop out of the labor force within a year. However, the degree of job stability varies considerably across arrangements. We also show that the recent growth in certain types of flexible staffing arrangements could have translated into small declines in aggregate job stability and can account for a substantial share of the modest increase in job switching observed over the last decade.flexible, staffing, job, stability, Houseman, Polivka

Methods of computing a regression of yield on weather

The method developed by Fisher (5) for examining the influence of rainfall on the yield of wheat at Rothamsted has formed the basis for a number of investigations: Davis and Harrell (3) examined the effects of rainfall and temperature on corn yield at various locations in the corn belt; Hopkins (7) made a similar study of the influence of weather on wheat yield in Western Canada; Schumacher (8), the effect of climate on timber growth; while Cochran (2), Davis and Pallesen (4), Tippett (10), and others have extended the applications. These studies have been stimulated by the demand for more reliable methods of forecasting and estimating crop yields as well as by scientific interest in them. The application of Fisher\u27s device gives a regression curve which shows the effect on yield of a unit change in a given meteorological element at any time during the growing season. For example, suppose one were investigating the relationship between the amount and distribution of rainfall and the yield of corn. The ordinate of a point on the regression curve corresponding to any particular time represents the mean effect, in bushels per acre, of an inch of rain at that time. If data are available, curves for each of several plots of different soil type or plots receiving different fertilizer treatments can be calculated. An examination of the curves might reveal some important facts about the manner in which the crop\u27s response to weather changes with soil type or fertilizer treatment

Tables of orthogonal polynomial values extended to N=104

Interest in orthogonal polynomials has been stimulated in recent years, especially among biologists, by Fisher\u27s use of them in evaluating a regression integral (7), application and extension of which have followed each other in rapid succession (4) (9). Aside from this specialized use, orthogonal polynomials are valuable in the study of time series both in economics and in agronomy where one may wish to study the effect of environmental conditions on the yields of crops. If there has been a gradual depletion or improvement in the level of fertility over a period of years, it should be evaluated and deviations from trend used in the study of environmental effects. Any reduction of the labor of calculation involved in such investigations seems worthy of some effort. If the independent variable is equally spaced, such as in time or space, the convenient method of curve fitting by orthogonal polynomials can be used. The advantage over the usual regression methods of fitting non-orthogonal polynomials arises from the fact that orthogonal polynomials are so constructed that any term of the polynomial is independent of any other term. This property of independence permits one to compute each regression coefficient independently of the others and also facilitates testing the significance of each coefficient. In addition the computing time for curve fitting by means of orthogonal polynomials is less, especially if a polynomial of degree greater than the second is fitted

Combustion engine system

A flow through catalytic reactor which selectively catalytically decomposes methanol into a soot free hydrogen rich product gas utilizing engine exhaust at temperatures of 200 to 650 C to provide the heat for vaporizing and decomposing the methanol is described. The reactor is combined with either a spark ignited or compression ignited internal combustion engine or a gas turbine to provide a combustion engine system. The system may be fueled entirely by the hydrogen rich gas produced in the methanol decomposition reactor or the system may be operated on mixed fuels for transient power gain and for cold start of the engine system. The reactor includes a decomposition zone formed by a plurality of elongated cylinders which contain a body of vapor permeable, methanol decomposition catalyst preferably a shift catalyst such as copper-zinc

Statistical investigations of farm sample surveys taken in Iowa, Florida and California

The object of this bulletin is to present results of statistical analyses of data from recent sample surveys of agricultural areas and to offer some comments on the sampling procedures followed. The surveys described herein were made in widely differing farming areas: In all of the 99 counties of Iowa, in 26 of the 67 counties in Florida, and in 9 of the 58 counties of California. Except for Iowa (3) these surveys were pioneering a sampling method in their respective areas. In order to observe the way in which this method behaved in different parts of the country we have brought the findings together under one cover

The Implications of Flexible Staffing Arrangements for Job Stability

In this paper, we examine the job stability of workers in a wide range of flexible staffing arrangements: agency temporary, direct-hire temporary, on-call, contract company, independent contractor, and regular part-time work. We draw upon two data sources in our analysis. The first is a nationwide survey of employers on their use of flexible staffing arrangements conducted by the Upjohn Institute for Employment Research. This survey provides evidence on why employers use various types of flexible staffing arrangements and the extent to which employers move workers in these positions into regular arrangements within their organization. The second data source is the Supplement to the February 1995 Current Population Survey on Contingent and Alternative Work Arrangements. Exploiting the longitudinal component of the CPS, we compare the subsequent labor market status of individuals in flexible work arrangements and those in regular full-time positions in February 1995. We find that, except for independent contractors, workers in flexible staffing arrangements have less job stability than those in regular full-time arrangements in the sense that they are more likely to switch employers, become unemployed, or involuntarily drop out of the labor force within a year. However, the degree of job stability varies considerably across arrangements. We also show that the recent growth in certain types of flexible staffing arrangements could have translated into small declines in aggregate job stability and can account for a substantial share of the modest increase in job switching observed over the last decade

Cholesky Residuals for Assessing Normal Errors in a Linear Model with Correlated Outcomes: Technical Report

Despite the widespread popularity of linear models for correlated outcomes (e.g. linear mixed models and time series models), distribution diagnostic methodology remains relatively underdeveloped in this context. In this paper we present an easy-to-implement approach that lends itself to graphical displays of model fit. Our approach involves multiplying the estimated margional residual vector by the Cholesky decomposition of the inverse of the estimated margional variance matrix. The resulting rotated residuals are used to construct an empirical cumulative distribution function and pointwise standard errors. The theoretical framework, including conditions and asymptotic properties, involves technical details that are motivated by Lange and Ryan (1989), Pierce (1982), and Randles (1982). Our method appears to work well in a variety of circumstances, including models having independent units of sampling (clustered data) and models for which all observations are correlated (e.g., a single time series). Our methods can produce satisfactory results even for models that do not satisfy all of the technical conditions stated in our theory

Iginio Tansini revisited

The origin of the muscolocutaneous latissimus dorsi flap dates back to 1906 when Igino Tansini, an Italian surgeon, described a procedure to reconstruct the mastectomy defect. After a detailed study of Tansini's original description and drawings, new insights about the pedicle of its compound flap have been found, showing that it has the same pedicle of the scapular flap. In the end, Tansini's flap should be more correctly considered as a compound musculocutaneous scapular flap