The structure of middle management remuneration packages: An application to Australian mine managers

This paper investigates the composition of remuneration packages for middle managers and relates the structure of remuneration contracts to firm-specific attributes. A statutorily defined position in a single industry is studied as an example of middle management. This allows us to control for differences in task complexity across managers and industry-induced factors that could determine differences in remuneration contracts. Higher-risk firms are expected to pay their mine managers a greater proportion of variable salaries and market and/or accounting-based compensation than low-risk firms. Results indicate that high-risk firms pay a higher proportion of variable salaries and more compensation based on market and/or accounting performance.

Developing community-based watershed management in Greater Sao Paulo: the case of Santo Andre

This paper describes how watershed protection is being combined with settlement upgrading and land-use management within an area that serves as one of Greater Sao Paulo's main sources of fresh water. This is being undertaken in the municipality of San to Andre. Unlike previous watershed protection measures, which proved ineffective, it recognizes the need to combine the protection of water-sheds with the improvement of conditions in existing settlements and guiding, rather than prohibiting, further settlement. The paper describes how, the community-based watershed management involves the inhabitants of illegal settlements and other stakeholders in an adaptive planning framework that first seeks consensus on what is to be planned before developing the plan, its implementation and its operation, maintenance and monitoring.

Multidisciplinary case conference reviews: Improving outcomes for nursing home residents, carers and health professionals

Aim of study: This study sought to determine whether multidisciplinary case conference reviews improved outcomes for nursing home residents, and the effects of this team approach to resident care on carers, including the hands-on carers employed by the nursing home, and health professionals. Method: 245 residents of three Canberra nursing homes were enrolled in this non-randomised controlled trial. The intervention consisted of sessions of three case conference reviews held between 10/4/96 and 4/12/96. These sessions were attended by the General Practitioners (GPs) of the residents discussed, the GP project officer from the ACT Division of General Practice, a clinical pharmacist, senior nursing staff, other health professionals eg physiotherapist, and occasionally the resident concerned or their representative. At each review, a case presentation by the resident's GP was followed by a multidisciplinary discussion of all aspects, medical and non-medical, of the resident's care. The review concluded with a management plan for the resident. In total 75 residents were reviewed. Main outcome measures: Medication use and cost, and mortality. Results: One month after the reviews were completed comparisons between those who were reviewed and those who were not showed non-significant reductions in medication orders, medication cost, and mortality in the reviewed group. Many of the 92 recommendations in the management plans that were carried out benefited the residents (n=37) and/or carers (n=24). The responses of the GPs and the Directors of Nursing to the reviews were overwhelmingly positive. Conclusion: Recommendations arising from multidisciplinary case conferences were carried out to the benefit of patients and carers. Given the support shown by key stakeholders, multidisciplinary conferences should be used more.

A comparison of family functioning, temperament, and childhood conditions in monozygotic twin pairs discordant for lifetime bulimia nervosa

Objective: The authors investigated differences between twins in nine pairs of female monozygotic twins in the Australian Twin Registry who were discordant for lifetime bulimia nervosa. Method: The twins affected and unaffected by lifetime bulimia nervosa were compared on self-report measures, including a measure of parental bonding, four measures of temperament, and six early-childhood medical conditions. Results: No twins had current bulimia nervosa, and there was no difference in weight or eating status between the affected and unaffected twins. The affected twins reported significantly lower self-esteem and less warmth but more overprotection by their mothers during childhood. Conclusions: Although limited by the small number of discordant twin pairs and the inability to detect causal relationships, these results suggest that environmental influences that promote low self-esteem may also increase the risk for bulimia nervosa. These temperamental differences may explain the discrepancies in parenting or perceived parenting.

Hemiplegic shoulder pain: defining the problem and its management

Purpose: Hemiplegic shoulder pain can affect up to 70% of stroke patients and can have an adverse impact on rehabilitation outcomes. This article aims to review the literature on the suggested causes of hemiplegic shoulder pain and the therapeutic techniques that can be used to prevent or treat it. On the basis of this review, the components of an optimal management programme for hemiplegic shoulder pain are explored. Method: English language articles in the CINAHL and MEDLINE databases between 1990 and 2000 were reviewed. These were supplemented by citation tracking and manual searches. Results: A management programme for hemiplegic shoulder pain could comprise the following components: provision of an external support for the affected upper limb when the patient is seated, careful positioning in bed, daily static positional stretches, motor retraining and strapping of the scapula to maintain postural tone and symmetry. Conclusions: Research is required to evaluate the effectiveness of the components of the proposed management programme for the prevention and treatment of hemiplegic shoulder pain and to determine in what combination they achieve the best outcomes.

Learning organizations: Empirically investigating metaphors

Learning organizations are a special form of organization where enhancing learning is a strategy to increase intellectual capital. Developing learning organizations has become an imperative for many managers, since an organization's learning methods and rate may be the only source of sustainable competitive advantage. However, learning organization theory tends to be prescriptive and rhetorical, with empirical research still relatively new. This paper contributes to the literature by reporting case-study research in progress based on four Australian organizations. In the organizations studied, use of the learning organization metaphor was coupled with an emergent metaphor: organization as `family". By employing structure mapping of metaphor within analytical induction, both established methods but not combined before, this paper shows how theory might be developed from metaphor.