Explore the vast range of titles available.

Most large firms are controlled by shareholders, who choose the board of directors and can replace the firm's management. In rare instances, however, control over the firm rests with the workforce. Many explanations for the rarity of workers' control have been offered, but there have been few attempts to assess these hypotheses in a systematic way. This book draws upon economic theory, statistical evidence, and case studies to frame an explanation. The fundamental idea is that labor is inalienable, while capital can be freely transferred from one person to another. This implies that worker-controlled firms typically face financing problems, encounter collective choice dilemmas, and have difficulty creating markets for control positions within the firm. Together these factors can account for much of what is known about the incidence, behavior, and design of worker-controlled firms. A policy proposal to encourage employee buyouts is developed in the concluding chapter.

This study assesses whether gender-based differences in political knowledge primarily result from differences in observable attributes or from differences in returns for otherwise equivalent characteristics. It applies a statistical decomposition methodology to data obtained from the 1992-2004 American National Election Studies. There is a consistent 10-point gender gap in measured political knowledge, of which approximately one-third is due to gender-based differences in the characteristics that predict political knowledge, with the remaining two-thirds due to male-female differences in the returns to these characteristics. The methodology identifies the relative contribution of the predictors of political knowledge to each portion of the gap, and then uses this information to elucidate the underlying sources of the political knowledge gender gap and its prognosis. Education is the characteristic that most clearly enlarges the gap, with men receiving significantly larger returns to political knowledge from education than women. Group membership reduces the gap as women obtain gains in political knowledge from belonging to organizations that do not accrue to men. However, these gains are not sufficient to significantly reduce the gap.

Background Effective surveillance of microbial communities in the healthcare environment is increasingly important in infection prevention. Metagenomics-based techniques are promising due to their untargeted nature but are currently challenged by several limitations: (1) they are not powerful enough to extract valid signals out of the background noise for low-biomass samples, (2) they do not distinguish between viable and nonviable organisms, and (3) they do not reveal the microbial load quantitatively. An additional practical challenge towards a robust pipeline is the inability to efficiently allocate sequencing resources a priori. Assessment of sequencing depth is generally practiced post hoc, if at all, for most microbiome studies, regardless of the sample type. This practice is inefficient at best, and at worst, poor sequencing depth jeopardizes the interpretation of study results. To address these challenges, we present a workflow for metagenomics-based environmental surveillance that is appropriate for low-biomass samples, distinguishes viability, is quantitative, and estimates sequencing resources. Results The workflow was developed using a representative microbiome sample, which was created by aggregating 120 surface swabs collected from a medical intensive care unit. Upon evaluating and optimizing techniques as well as developing new modules, we recommend best practices and introduce a well-structured workflow. We recommend adopting liquid-liquid extraction to improve DNA yield and only incorporating whole-cell filtration when the nonbacterial proportion is large. We suggest including propidium monoazide treatment coupled with internal standards and absolute abundance profiling for viability assessment and involving cultivation when demanding comprehensive profiling. We further recommend integrating internal standards for quantification and additionally qPCR when we expect poor taxonomic classification. We also introduce a machine learning-based model to predict required sequencing effort from accessible sample features. The model helps make full use of sequencing resources and achieve desired outcomes. DVg4DtPBM9AbUXUoj_2n2m Video Abstract Conclusions This workflow will contribute to more accurate and robust environmental surveillance and infection prevention. Lessons gained from this study will also benefit the continuing development of methods in relevant fields.

Objective: Increased use of non-invasive respiratory support (NRS) in the delivery room management of preterm neonates has resulted in delayed surfactant treatment, yet the short-term effects of this change are unknown. The aim of this study was to comparatively evaluate the use of surfactant and the short-term outcomes prior to and after the implementation of early routine use of NRS. Study Design: Eligible infants of <29 weeks gestational age (GA) admitted to a Canadian tertiary neonatal center during two time periods (2005 to 2008 and 2010 to 2013) were included in this retrospective cohort study. Timing of surfactant (prophylactic vs therapeutic) and short-term outcomes were compared between the two groups. Univariate and multivariate regression analysis was performed to determine the adjusted odds ratio (AOR) along with 95% confidence interval (CI) of receiving exogenous surfactant and developing bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) using the later cohort as the reference group. Subgroup analyses were also performed for infants <26 and 26 to 28 6/7 weeks GA, respectively. Results: A total of 3980 and 5137 infants were included in the first and second time periods, respectively. There was no significant difference in overall surfactant utilization between the two time periods (AOR 1.00, 95% CI 0.89, 1.13). However, between 2005 and 2008, a lower proportion of neonates received therapeutic surfactant compared with the later cohort (47.1% vs 56.9%, P <0.01) but were more likely to receive prophylactic surfactant (52.9% vs 43.1%, P <0.01). BPD overall was significantly higher in the earlier cohort (AOR 1.19, 95% CI 1.07, 1.33), particularly among the <26 weeks gestation subgroup (AOR 1.34, 95% CI 1.08, 1.66). Conclusion: Early routine use of NRS did not impact overall surfactant utilization rate, although therapeutic surfactant administration rates were higher with a concomitant decrease in BPD rates.

Objective: To examine the views of parents and health-care providers regarding parental presence during neonatal intensive care rounds. Study design: Cross-sectional survey of parents whose children were admitted to a tertiary-care neonatal intensive care unit ( n =81). Medical trainees ( n =67) and nurses ( n =28) were also surveyed. Result: The majority of parents reported that attending rounds reduced their anxiety and increased their confidence in the health-care team. Nurses were more likely than medical trainees to support parental presence at rounds ( P =0.02). About three-quarters of medical trainees and nurses thought discussion is inhibited and 69% of trainees felt teaching is decreased when parents attend rounds. Conclusion: Most parents who attended rounds found the experience beneficial, but medical trainees’ views were mixed. The positive impact on parents, and the learning opportunities created in family-centered care and communication when parents are present on rounds, should be highlighted for trainees and other neonatal intensive care personnel.

More than 30 years ago, I engaged in a debate with Oliver Williamson over the theoretical structure of transaction cost economics (TCE). This debate had its origins in our conflicting views of the labor-managed firm (LMF). Williamson believed that such firms were rare due to their inefficiency while I believed they might be rare due to market failures. Here I clarify my criticisms of TCE and contrast Williamson's view of the LMF with my own approach. I discuss empirical evidence that can distinguish between these two approaches and take up Williamson's challenge to identify policy interventions that could yield net social gains.

This study evaluates the extent of party-system extremism in thirty-one electoral democracies as a function of electoral-system proportionality. It uses data from the Comparative Studies of Electoral Systems project to estimate the extent of party-system compactness or dispersion across polities and to determine whether more proportional systems foster greater ideological divergence among parties. Electoral system characteristics most associated with party-system compactness in the ideological space are investigated. The empirics show that more proportional systems support greater ideological dispersion, while less proportional systems encourage parties to cluster nearer the centre of the electoral space. This finding is maintained in several sub-samples of national elections and does not depend on the inclusion of highly majoritarian systems (such as the United Kingdom).

Abstract BackgroundTo estimate the infectious period of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in older adults with underlying conditions, we assessed duration of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) symptoms, reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) positivity, and culture positivity among nursing home residents. MethodsWe enrolled residents within 15 days of their first positive SARS-CoV-2 test (diagnosis) at an Arkansas facility from July 7 to 15, 2020 and instead them for 42 days. Every 3 days for 21 days and then weekly, we assessed COVID-19 symptoms, collected specimens (oropharyngeal, anterior nares, and saliva), and reviewed medical charts. Blood for serology was collected on days 0, 6, 12, 21, and 42. Infectivity was defined by positive culture. Duration of culture positivity was compared with duration of COVID-19 symptoms and RT-PCR positivity. Data were summarized using measures of central tendency, frequencies, and proportions. ResultsWe enrolled 17 of 39 (44%) eligible residents. Median participant age was 82 years (range, 58–97 years). All had ≥3 underlying conditions. Median duration of RT-PCR positivity was 22 days (interquartile range [IQR], 8–31 days) from diagnosis; median duration of symptoms was 42 days (IQR, 28–49 days). Of 9 (53%) participants with any culture-positive specimens, 1 (11%) severely immunocompromised participant remained culture-positive 19 days from diagnosis; 8 of 9 (89%) were culture-positive ≤8 days from diagnosis. Seroconversion occurred in 12 of 12 (100%) surviving participants with ≥1 blood specimen; all participants were culture-negative before seroconversion. ConclusionsDuration of infectivity was considerably shorter than duration of symptoms and RT-PCR positivity. Severe immunocompromise may prolong SARS-CoV-2 infectivity. Seroconversion indicated noninfectivity in this cohort. Among 17 nursing home residents with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19, replication-competent virus was isolated >8 days from diagnosis in only 1 severely immunocompromised resident, despite longer median symptom duration and RT-PCR positivity. Seroconversion, assessed in 12 residents, occurred after culture negativity.

Social exchange theory suggests that employees feel commitment toward both their employing organizations and their work teams, while also experiencing varying levels of support from these same entities. Unfortunately, previous work has neither fully explored this possibility nor tested the capacity of currently available instruments to adequately measure the distinctiveness of the associated constructs. To address this need, we collected data from 902 employees in four diverse organizations. As predicted, respondents distinguished among organizational commitment, team commitment, organizational support, and team support. Furthermore, as predicted, perceived support from an entity predicted commitment to that same entity.