Meni Koslowsky

Several people have asked what motivated us to write a book about commut­ ing, something that we all do but over which we have very little control. As a matter of fact, the general reaction from professional colleagues and friends alike was first a sort of knowing smile followed by some story. Everyone has a story about a personal commuting experience. Whether it was a problem with a delayed bus, a late arrival, broken-down automobiles, hot trains or subways, during the past year we have heard it all. Many of these stories must be apocryphal because, if they were all true, it is amazing that anyone ever arrived at work on time, at home, or at some other destination. The interest for us likely stems from many factors that over the years have probably influenced our thinking. All of the authors studied and/or grew up in the New York City metropolitan area. For illustration, let's devote a few paragraphs to describing some of the senior author's (Koslowsky's) life experiences. As a young man in New York City, he was a constant user of the New York City subway system. The whole network was and still is quite impressive. For a relatively small sum, one can spend the whole day and night in an underground world (growing up in New York often makes one think that the whole world is contained in its five boroughs).

This book traces the origins of worker participation in management and decision making, examines the repertoire of empowerment and participatory techniques as applied throughout the world, and assesses, by means of empirical evidence, their effectiveness in the day to day managerial work. Both theoretical and empirical bases of participation and empowerment are presented and their relationship with leadership, goal setting, and problem solving phenomenon analyzed. The book concludes with a chapter describing a comprehensive model of the dynamics of employee participation and its influence on work outcomes is suggested.

Meni Koslowsky presents here for the first time a way of modelling stress-strain that will enable researchers to both assess examples from the literature and correctly define and use the model in their own investigations. All stages from construction of the model to data analysis are covered, along with possible pitfalls. This book enables investigators to develop and test models for describing stress phenomena in their own settings. It provides an essential research tool for all those who assess stress and strain in their working lives.

Several people have asked what motivated us to write a book about commut­ ing, something that we all do but over which we have very little control. As a matter of fact, the general reaction from professional colleagues and friends alike was first a sort of knowing smile followed by some story. Everyone has a story about a personal commuting experience. Whether it was a problem with a delayed bus, a late arrival, broken-down automobiles, hot trains or subways, during the past year we have heard it all. Many of these stories must be apocryphal because, if they were all true, it is amazing that anyone ever arrived at work on time, at home, or at some other destination. The interest for us likely stems from many factors that over the years have probably influenced our thinking. All of the authors studied and/or grew up in the New York City metropolitan area. For illustration, let's devote a few paragraphs to describing some of the senior author's (Koslowsky's) life experiences. As a young man in New York City, he was a constant user of the New York City subway system. The whole network was and still is quite impressive. For a relatively small sum, one can spend the whole day and night in an underground world (growing up in New York often makes one think that the whole world is contained in its five boroughs).