Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: This paper seeks to articulate a general theory of the Establishment Clause based upon a pairing of a new principle of nonestablishment and a concept of coercion richer than what we normally find.

Publication Type: Paper/Poster Proposal
Abstract: Exploring a new establishment survey incentive to improve response rates

Obtaining higher response rates to surveys is becoming increasingly more difficult. This is happening in both household and establishment surveys. There has been much research focused on exploring the effectiveness of different forms of incentives in household survey, such as cash, gift cards, certificates etc. and the ‘optimum’ amount of the incentive. In practice, we have found that these incentives are not as effective for establishment surveys as they are for household surveys. We have experimented with a new incentive to boost the response rate of establishment surveys – providing an individual benchmark survey report to each participating establishment. The benchmark report shows how an individual company’s response compared to the overall responses.

To evaluate the effectiveness of this method we compare the response rates from establishment surveys with and without benchmark incentive reports. Second we compare the responses from those who indicated they would like to receive the benchmark survey report to those who did not indicate a desire for a report but completed the survey.

Publication Type: Paper/Poster Proposal
Abstract: From its introduction into the survey field in the mid-1980's, the cognitive view contributed considerably to understanding of the response process. Nowadays, the approach is an indispensable component of any serious surveying endeavour.

Yet, during the preceding two decades there emerged some difficulties in cognitive science as a discipline. These unresolved issues, like the concepts of representations and of 'processing information', led to creation of alternative approaches, beginning actually as early as the 1970's. These came in various flavours, one of which is socially distributed cognition (Hutchins, 1995). It is to this specific approach that the attention in this paper is focused, for two reasons:
- it has a potential to be a successful (and even necessary) complement to the usual study of cognitive processes related to responding,
- it is particularly applicable to establishment surveying, which thus far has stayed behind cognitive developments in individual responding.

A vehicle for demonstration was a Statistics Sweden census of pupils taking part in primary education in Sweden. The data collection process, knowledge of which the author gained through observation and interviews, turned out to be a socially distributed endeavour including several people, their skills and tools (paper, computers), and persevering through time by establishing social practices and by use of record data. An analysis of the "path" that pupils' data - eventually reported to Statistics Sweden - need to traverse was performed in the spirit of socially distributed cognition, indicating variables where measurement errors would seem more prone to appear. A mathematical tool for the analysis of the paths is also sketched, and generalisations are given using the examples published in previous works.

Reference
Hutchins, E. (1995) Cognition in the Wild. Bradford: MIT Press.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) conducts the Annual Refiling Survey (ARS) each year. During the ARS, individual state agencies mail questionnaires to approximately one third of the establishments registered with their state Unemployment Insurance programs. These BLS-designed questionnaires ask staff at those establishments to verify or update preprinted address and industry information.

In 2002, BLS conducted a five-state pilot test to see if preselected respondents would use the Touchtone Response System (TRS). The TRS consists of a short phone call with an automated script, and was available to respondents whose preprinted information was correct. Successful TRS responses eliminate the need for mail returns, with the potential for substantial savings in postage and labor. Therefore, another component of the pilot test was an embedded experiment to assess whether various contact strategies would increase TRS participation. Within each state, establishments were randomly assigned to receive one of three experimental communications urging touchtone response (TRS-specific letter, flyer, or both), or the standard survey letter (control group).

This paper has two objectives. The first is to describe the results of the pilot test and to present the results of the experiment. The second is to document the issues that arose in describing response rates for this multi-mode survey, especially the TRS component. The paper draws on the discussion in AAPOR's Standard Definitions (2000) for mail surveys of named individuals, and attempts to modify those definitions to fit a multi-mode establishment survey.

Publication Type: Abstract
Abstract: Objectives: Approximately 1.5 million preventable adverse drug events (ADEs) occur each year in the United States (IOM, 2006). For each preventable ADE in a hospital setting, an estimated $8,750 is added to the cost of a hospital stay (IOM, 2006). Medication Errors is a newly developed course at the University of Wyoming School of Pharmacy designed to educate multidisciplinary students as to why the error(s) occurred, and instruct them in prevention techniques. In addition, the students become familiar with available medication error reporting systems. Methods: The course is a one credit hour elective that includes a combination of lecture and student discussion. The student discussion revolves around pertinent medication error cases relating to the weekly lecture topic. Following small group discussions, all case-specific results and recommendations are shared. Students complete small-group presentations discussing a medication error encountered at one of the student’s work sites. These presentations include how the medication error occurred, and the means taken to prevent the medication error from reoccurring. Results: There are nine pharmacy students (four second-year students, five third-year students) and one pre-nursing student enrolled. This interprofessional enrollment has facilitated education of fellow healthcare providers’ roles in patient care. Further results will be available upon completion of the course in May 2007. Implications: Establishing an interprofessional medication errors elective promotes an understanding that various healthcare providers working collaboratively will enhance patient care and medication safety, and potentially reduce extraneous costs associated with preventable medication errors.