Workspace characteristics,behavioral interferences,and screening ability as joint predictors of employee reactions: An examination of the intensification approach

This study explored the joint moderating (i.e. intensifying) effect of two central workspace characteristics (i.e. number of people and number of enclosures) on the relationships between behavioral interferences and affective responses among individuals with high and low ability to screen. One hundred and fifty-two clerical employees from a large university participated in the study. The results suggest that individual reactions to behavioral interferences at work (i.e. work fatigue and psychosomatic complaints) are intensified by the joint presence of few enclosures and high number of people in the setting; however, this intensification effect appears to hold primarily among individuals with low screening ability. Thus, the joint moderating effect of workspace characteristics itself appears to be buffered (i.e. moderated) by personal ability to screen. Implications of the results and suggestions for future research are discussed.     

The main effect model versus buffering model of shop steward social support: A study of rank-and-file auto workers in the U.S.A

Social support has long been considered an important factor in influencing the experience of stress and strain at work (e.g. Cohen and Wills, 1985). Yet the effect of union support on stress and strain has been largely neglected. In the present study we explored the role of social support provided by shop stewards as both a predictor of various indicators of strain experienced by their constituents as well as a buffer of stress–strain relations. These hypothesized relations were evaluated using data provided by rank-and-file members (N = 112) of a large local union associated with the automotive industry located in the midwestern region of the U.S.A. The results were not generally supportive of the main-effect model of steward support, but were consistent with the buffering model.     

Amniocentesis rate and the detection of down syndrome and other chromosomal anomalies in Israel

We investigated the contribution of different screening criteria to the prenatal detection of Down syndrome (DS) as well as other chromosomal anomalies in the Jewish population in Israel during 1990 and 1992. There was a significant decrease (P<0·03) in the incidence of DS live-births during 1992 (40:78 442) compared with 1990 (69:73 751) which paralleled a marked increase in total prenatal testing and in DS cases detected prenatally. Private laboratories, which perform amniocenteses mostly for women with a low risk of DS and without genetic counselling, had a significantly lower detection rate (1:917) compared with that of the genetic institutes, which following genetic counselling test both women ≥ 37 years of age (1:91) and women younger than 37 years (1:113). The detection of chromosomal anomalies other than DS was less affected by the reason for amniocentesis. Amniocentesis indicated by maternal serum marker screening of women younger than 37 years identified a greater number of chromosomal anomalies other than DS than amniocentesis based on age (≥37 years) alone (111:9604 versus 94:9810; P<0·06). Prenatal detection of DS is most effective when the indication for amniocentesis follows genetic counselling. The increasing use of maternal serum marker screening leads to a significant improvement in the positive detection rate of chromosomal anomalies other than DS in young women.     

The state of environment and business

“There are several Microsofts waiting to come forth in the clean energy business, and we'll all wish we'd have invested in them in the late 1990s when they were still tiny.” — John Palmisano, Enron Corporation ©2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.