The authors estimate the extent to which establishments have adopted six alternative work organization practices. Findings from the 1993 Survey of Employer Provided Training show that some 42% of all establishments used at least one of these practices, and among establishments with 50 or more employees the figure was nearly 70%. Establishment characteristics that were positively related to the use of the practices were the recent introduction of new technology; large size; manufacturing as the primary activity; incentive-based compensation; the provision of generous benefits; and the use of extensive training. The choice of practices varied greatly among establishments, with no apparent "best practice."The dramatic changes of recent decades in the environment in which companies operate-arising in part from an intensification of international competition and rapid changes in technology-have engendered a lively debate about the strategies that are now required for businesses to succeed. A key theme of this discussion has been the organization of work. Many argue that in this tougher climate companies need to become more "flexible," mance" workplace practices in order to be successful.' Advocates of these practices promise improved product quality, higher profits, and a happier, more productive work force. The notion of a "high performance" organization has received considerable attention among the business, academic, and policy communities.Although the claims of proponents of high-performance workplaces receive some support from a large and growing econoThe Bureau of Labor Statistics permits replication of articles using confidential BLS data. One procedural requirement is that the work must be performed "on-site" at the BLS. Contact the Division of Management Systems at the Bureau of Labor Statistics for further information: (202) 606-7828.'While often described as new or innovative, many of these practices do, of course, have a long history. See Bailey (1993) and Parks (1995) for further elaboration.

Abstract. Background: Infectious disease-related public health emergencies (epidemics) may increase suicide risk, and high-quality evidence is needed to guide an international response. Aims: We investigated the potential impacts of epidemics on suicide-related outcomes. Method: We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycInfo, CINAHL, Scopus, Web of Science, PsyArXiv, medRxiv, and bioRxiv from inception to May 13–16, 2020. Inclusion criteria: primary studies, reviews, and meta-analyses; reporting the impact of epidemics; with a primary outcome of suicide, suicidal behavior, suicidal ideation, and/or self-harm. Exclusion criteria: not concerned with suicide-related outcomes; not suitable for data extraction. PROSPERO registration: #CRD42020187013. Results: Eight primary papers were included, examining the effects of five epidemics on suicide-related outcomes. There was evidence of increased suicide rates among older adults during SARS and in the year following the epidemic (possibly motivated by social disconnectedness, fears of virus infection, and concern about burdening others) and associations between SARS/Ebola exposure and increased suicide attempts. A preprint study reported associations between COVID-19 distress and past-month suicidal ideation. Limitations: Few studies have investigated the topic; these are of relatively low methodological quality. Conclusion: Findings support an association between previous epidemics and increased risk of suicide-related outcomes. Research is needed to investigate the impact of COVID-19 on suicide outcomes.

Although a number of surveys now measure employee training, serious gaps remain in our knowledge of such fundamental matters as how much training takes place, who provides it, and who gets it. The authors explore these questions using the 1995 Survey of Employer-Provided Training, which, because it collected data from employers as well as employees, enables a more complete analysis of the correlates of training than has been possible before. While there are some differences across the measures of training incidence and intensity, the authors find that establishments that provided generous benefits to their employees and used innovative workplace practices also provided more training.

BackgroundBorderline personality disorder (BPD) is challenging for family members who are often required to fulfil multiple roles such as those of advocate, caregiver, coach and guardian. To date, two uncontrolled studies by the treatment developers suggest that Family Connections (FC) is an effective programme to support, educate and teach skills to family members of individuals with BPD. However, such studies have been limited by lack of comparison to other treatment approaches. This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of FC with an optimised treatment-as-usual (OTAU) programme for family members of individuals with BPD. A secondary aim was to introduce a long term follow-up to investigate if positive gains from the intervention would be maintained following programme completion.MethodsThis study was a non-randomised controlled study, with assessment of outcomes at baseline (pre-intervention) and end of programme (post-intervention) for both FC and OTAU groups, and at follow-up (3 months post-intervention; 12 or 19 months post-intervention) for the FC group. Eighty family members participated in the FC (n = 51) and the OTAU (n = 29) programmes. Outcome measures included burden, grief, depression and mastery. Linear mixed-effects models were used to assess baseline differences in the outcome measures by gender, age group and type of relationship to the individual with BPD. Linear mixed-effects models were also used to estimate the treatment effect (FC versus OTAU) utilising all available data from baseline and end of programme.ResultsThe FC group showed changes indicating significant improvement with respect to all four outcome measures (p < 0.001). The OTAU group showed changes in the same direction as the intervention group but none of the changes were statistically significant. The intervention effect was statistically significant for total burden (including both subscales; p = .02 for subjective burden and p = .048 for objective burden) and grief (p = 0.013). Improvements were maintained at follow-up for FC participants.ConclusionsThe findings of the current study indicate that FC results in statistically significant improvements on key measures while OTAU does not yield comparable changes. Lack of significant change on all measures for OTAU suggests that a three session psycho-education programme is of limited benefit. Further research is warranted on programme components and long-term supports for family members.

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Humanized monoclonal antibodies to tumor necrosis factor- alpha are valuable for the treatment of rheumatologic conditions, but they have been associated with the development of serious infections. We report the first 2 cases of leprosy developing after treatment with infliximab. After discontinuation of infliximab, both patients developed type 1 ("reversal") leprosy reactions.

We examine the mobility of individuals in the United States based on equivalent family income--that is, total income of all family members adjusted for family size according to the equivalence scale implicit in the U.S. poverty line. Our analysis, which tracks movements across quintiles, centers on four questions: How much movement is there across the family income distribution? How has this mobility changed over time? To what extent are the movements attributable to factors related to changes in family composition versus events in the labor markets? In light of major socioeconomic changes occurring in the quarter-century under study, have the determinants of mobility changed over time? Our findings indicate that mobility rates in the 1980s differed little from those in the 1970s. However, individuals in families headed by a young person or a person without a college education were less likely to experience upward mobility in the 1980s than in the 1970s.

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