Full-Field Digital Mammography for Breast Cancer Screening: An Example of Evidence, Lost in Translation

Screening mammography is the gold standard for early breast cancer detection and a cornerstone of preventive medicine. Traditional mammography is currently being replaced by newer, more eloquent digital technology. Clinical trials have not proven that digital mammography reduces breast cancer mortality or burden of suffering. Nevertheless, the technology has spread according to Everett Roger's Diffusion of Innovation pattern. The purpose of this Master's Paper is closely to examine the process by which breast cancer screening in the United States has evolved from screen film mammography to full-field digital mammography. This is a qualitative, iterative analysis that triangulates analyses of the medical literature, elite interview responses, and media coverage to cultivate a storyline about the development and dissemination of digital mammography. The technology has spread because of our national hunger for computers and innovation, our eagerness to support the war on cancer, public perceptions about the technology's theoretical advantages, and ongoing efforts of advocacy groups to maintain health care equality. Although digital mammography is significantly more expensive than is screen film mammography, cost-effectiveness considerations have been deferred by many health care leaders. Regulating technologies such as digital mammography, which are extremely expensive but do not confer better public health outcomes, is a necessary component of fixing our health care system.Master of Public Healt

Intra-Firm Wage Dispersion and Firm Performance: Evidence from Linked Employer-Employee Data

Cet article analyse la relation entre la dispersion salariale intra-firme et la performance au sein de grandes entreprises belges à partir de données appareillées employeur-employé. Sur base de la méthodologie de Winter-Ebmer et Zweimüller (1999), nous trouvons une relation positive et significative entre la dispersion salariale au sein des entreprises et les profits par tête. Ce résultat est obtenu en contrôlant pour les caractéristiques des travailleurs et des entreprises ainsi qu'en abordant le problème potentiel de la simultanéité. Nos estimations indiquent également que l'intensité de la relation est plus forte pour les ouvriers ainsi qu'au sein des entreprises avec un degréélevé de monitoring. Ces résultats correspondent davantage à la théorie des 'tournois' qu'aux modèles de 'coopération'. Copyright WWZ and Helbing & Lichtenhahn Verlag AG 2004.