Employment relations in Chile : evidence of HRM practices

This paper presents empirical evidence about HRM practices in Chilean organisations with the aims of providing an overview of employment relations and adding to limited existing literature. Research was conducted in a sample of 2000 Chilean workers in the Metropolitan Region. The paper argues that HRM practices in Chilean organisations illustrate the normative perspective of modern HRM discourse, where managers understand the nature of employment relationships to be the control of workers. While HRM processes are articulated under a discourse of worker emancipation, in reality, discursive practices perpetuate patterns of subordination that have historically shaped employment relations in Chile

Cost-effectiveness of primary debulking surgery when compared to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in the management of stage IIIC and IV epithelial ovarian cancer.

ObjectivesTo examine the cost-effectiveness of primary debulking surgery (PDS) when compared to neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) in the management of epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) using Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results data linked to Medicare claims (SEER-Medicare).MethodsUsing a Markov model, the cost-effectiveness of PDS was compared to that of NACT. We modeled cost and survival inputs using data from women in the SEER-Medicare database with ovarian cancer treated by either PDS or NACT between 1992 and 2009. Direct and indirect costs were discounted by an annual rate of 3%. Utility weights were obtained from published data. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of PDS compared to NACT was calculated.ResultsIn our model, women with stage IIIC EOC had a higher mean adjusted treatment cost for PDS when compared to NACT ($31,945 vs$30,016) but yielded greater quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) (1.79 vs 1.69). The ICER was $19,359/QALY gained. Women with stage IV EOC had a higher mean adjusted treatment cost following PDS when compared to NACT ($31,869 vs $27,338) but yielded greater QALYs (1.69 vs 1.66). The ICER was$130,083/QALY gained. A sensitivity analysis showed that for both PDS and NACT the ICER was sensitive to incremental changes in the utility weight.ConclusionPDS is significantly more cost-effective for women with stage IIIC when compared to NACT. In women with stage IV EOC, PDS is also more cost-effective though the QALYs gained are much more costly and exceed a $50,000 willingness to pay

HRM in Chile : the impact of organisational culture

Purpose: This paper provides insight on the influence of organisational culture on HRM practices in Chile by exploring shared meanings (basic assumptions and beliefs) and organisational models that can be identified from activities, dynamics, social relationships and behaviours. Design/methodology/approach: The paper is based on research conducted in Chile where a combination of self-completion questionnaires, semi-structured interviews and non-participant observation was carried out in a non-probabilistic sample of 46 organisations. Findings: Findings suggest that there is a shared definition of work characterised by five elements; namely, the existence of great work pressure exerted by managers; a sustained focus of upper levels on organisational efficiency as an isolated element that does not include HRM; the inexistence of worker autonomy and empowerment; the use of administrative jargon and understandings of loyalty, dedication, compliance and professionalism as desired qualities in workers. The paper argues that there are three distinct categories of cultural discourse in Chilean organisations: pessimistic/fatalistic, optimistic/maniac and pragmatic/bureaucratic. Research limitations/implications: Due to the type of sampling used, findings cannot be taken to represent the whole of Chilean organisations.Practical implications: Data presented in this paper helps to understand many of the behaviours observed in Chilean organisations, which provides HR policy-makers and practitioners with sounder foundations for designing organisational programs, policies and action plans. Originality/value: The paper presents new evidence to increase empirical body of work addressing the relationship between organisational culture and HRM in developing countries, particularly in Latin America

Assessment of Bat Mortality and Activity at Buffalo Mountain Windfarm, Eastern Tennessee

Wind power has grown rapidly as an alternative energy source over the last decade. Although overall environmental impacts are relatively low, impacts to bats have yet to be fully assessed. Recent studies at other windfarms suggest regional variation in mortality rates and species affected. This study took place at Tennessee Valley Authority’s Buffalo Mountain Windfarm (BMW) in eastern Tennessee, currently the only commercial windfarm in the southeastern United States. Study objectives were to establish patterns of bat mortality and activity at BMW, and determine if and how they were related. Mortality monitoring consisted of regular carcass searches conducted since BMW began operation in fall of 2000 and continued through fall of 2003. The adjusted bat mortality rate of 20.82 bats/turbine/year for the three-year monitoring period was greater than the average adjusted bat mortality rate at eight other windfarms (1.7 bats/turbine/year) by over an order of magnitude, but less than halfthe preliminary mortality rate (47.5 bats/turbine/year) reported at the Mountaineer Wind Energy Center, WV for 2003. The BMW mortality rate included adjustments determined by search bias trials (n = 6), which measured searcher efficiency (37.1%) and length of time before carcasses were removed by scavengers (average 6.3 days). Average distance of fatalities from turbines was 19.9 ± 2.3 m and distances of bat fatalities decreased logistically from turbines (y = 0.1223 – 0.1345 ln (x), r2 = 0.84, P = 0.0002), with zero fatalities predicted at 40.6 m; therefore, plot size of 50 m radius was deemed sufficient. Bat mortality showed a strong seasonal peak during late summer / early fall, with 70% of all bat fatalities occurring between 1 August and 15 September 2001 - 2003. A total of 119 bat fatalities were comprised of six species. Red bat (Lasiurus borealis) was the most common (63.1%), followed by eastern pipistrelle (Pipistrellus subflavus, 24.4%) and hoary bat (L. cinereus, 10.1%). The remaining 4.2% of bat fatalities consisted of three species: big brown bat (Eptesicus fuscus, n = 2), silver-haired bat (Lasionycteris noctivagans, n = 2), and Seminole bat (L. seminolus, n = 1). Adults were more common then juveniles (63.5% and 36.5%), and males more common than females (71.9% and 28.1%). Bat activity was monitored with Anabat bat detectors and quantified as activity indices (AI), the proportion of one-minute increments in a night that contained one or more recorded bat calls. AI’s were compared across several time periods, locations, and altitudes, and compared with bat mortalities. Bat activity exhibited a seasonal peak in late summer / early fall during all three years, generally coinciding with the peak in mortality. Some of the variance associated with the likelihood of mortality was correlated with bat activity for 2002 and 2003 combined (r = 0.47, P \u3c 0.0001). Considering only fresh fatalities, bat activity levels were greater during nights containing fatalities than nights without fatalities (t = 2.54, P = 0.0067). However, bat activity was not related to fatalities when the time interval was expanded from individual nights to search intervals and all fatalities were used (t = -1.05, P = 0.15). This suggests great variation in bat activity between nights, making temporal resolution an important factor when correlating levels of bat mortality and activity. Bat activity levels were influenced by presence, size and habitat configuration surrounding water features, as well as by altitude. Six species were acoustically identified as present at the BMW site, five of which were found among the turbine fatalities. Three species were found proportionally less as turbine fatalities than were acoustically recorded (eastern pipistrelle, big brown bat, and silver-haired bat) and two species were found proportionally more (red bat and hoary bat), indicating a greater collision risk for the latter species. Overall numbers of bat fatalities at BMW, along with the lack of endangered species fatalities, indicate that population effects appear not to be significant. However, as the generation of electricity from wind increases in the eastern United States, it becomes critical to understand patterns in turbine-related mortality, and for future windfarm projects to determine population level effects of bat mortality

What You Do in High School Matters: The Effects of High School GPA on Educational Attainment and Labor Market Earnings in Adulthood

Using abstracted grades and other data from Add Health, we investigate the effects of cumulative high school GPA on educational attainment and labor market earnings among a sample of young adults (ages 24-34). We estimate several models with an extensive list of control variables and high school fixed effects. Results consistently show that high school GPA is a positive and statistically significant predictor of educational attainment and earnings in adulthood. Moreover, the effects are large and economically important for each gender. Interesting and somewhat unexpected findings emerge for race. Various sensitivity tests support the stability of the core findings.High school grades; Educational attainment; Earnings; Panel data

Chapter 11 - Copyright & Fair Use

Learn how copyright and Fair Use affects your research.https://cedar.wwu.edu/research_process/1006/thumbnail.jp

Publishing and archiving trends in open access: preliminary results

Agricultural researchers are engaged in the growing open access (OA) movement, either publishing in OA journals or archiving in OA repositories. The latter is reflected in the use of the institutional repository (IR) at Kansas State University (K-State), a land grant institution. K-State library faculty are analyzing faculty publications to determine the publishing and archiving habits of selected researchers. Reviewing copyright agreements from journals reveals those with policies for archiving post-prints in an IR; articles by these authors are compared to their total three-year article output to determine the efficacy of the current IR program at K-State. Chosen for analysis were the faculties of the College of Agriculture’s Department of Animal Sciences and Industry’s (ASI) and the College of Veterinary Medicine\u27s Department of Clinical Sciences (CS) who conduct research on food animals. ASI has one of the largest faculty on campus as well as a department head supportive of the University’s IR. While many of ASI’s extension publications are in the IR, several important animal science journals do not allow for self-archiving or deposit in an IR. Many articles published by ASI faculty are co-authored with faculty in CS, who also focus their research on livestock

Chapter 01 - The Research Process & Scholarly Communication

Learn about scholarly communication, the four stages of the research process, and how to plan for a successful research project.https://cedar.wwu.edu/research_process/1001/thumbnail.jp

Subject matrices: An innovative, collaborative approach to serving the agricultural sciences

Our library reorganized, moving from traditional subject-specific departments to Basic Information Services (BIS) and Researcher Services (RS) departments, based around how patrons use information. This model emphasizes collaboration through internal teams called “subject matrices”. Our library’s Agriculture & Biological Sciences Matrix includes individuals from BIS, RS, Archives, and Technical Services as well as individuals with expertise in instructional design, copyright, and data management. This matrix has emerged as a community interested in agriculture and the sciences by bringing people together from many departments. We have learned from each other through presentations and “field trips” to various locations around campus. The matrix has become a conduit for sharing information interdepartmentally through discussions about collection development and collaboration opportunities in instruction and research. One collaboration lead to the creation of a unique newsletter that promotes information resources to library users. The matrix plans to pursue a user needs assessment of faculty in agriculture and the sciences. This holistic approach increases opportunities for the matrix and the library, such as bringing in other agricultural informationists from across campus. Opening matrix membership beyond the library enables more effective communication with patrons to better serve their needs. This increases collaboration opportunities between the library and teaching or research faculty and recognizes the interdisciplinary nature of current research. Libraries wishing to maintain a traditional subject-liaison model can adapt key principles underlying our matrix. Subject liaisons can go beyond siloed perspectives by soliciting advice from individuals, such as librarians from technical services, non-library faculty and staff, undergraduates, or community members. Another approach is to disturb established structures and introduce selective pressure to inspire the creation of innovative methods of serving communities. Administration can introduce expectations for collaboration into position descriptions and evaluation criteria or require faculty to provide evidence of meeting student learning and faculty research needs