Public reactions to instances of workplace gender discrimination.

The number of people witnessing or experiencing gender discrimination at work is still high around the globe. While the existing literature has investigated potential mechanisms underlying gender discrimination and the consequences of experiencing gender discrimination at work, it remains unclear how third-party observers-as opposed to employees or coworkers-react to specific instances of workplace gender discrimination. The results of six experiments demonstrate that (a) people in general judge organizational decisions that discriminate against individual male (vs. female) workers as more legitimate and (b) this difference in legitimacy judgments is significantly greater among women than men. This discrepancy in legitimacy judgments occurs because women (more than men) consider the collective situation of female and male workers when judging the legitimacy of organizational decisions that discriminate against individual workers based on gender. These findings document how group-level concerns shape people's legitimacy judgments of organizational decisions discriminating against individuals and equip organizations and policymakers with a better understanding of people's polarized opinions regarding gender discrimination at the workplace. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Psychological reactions to human versus robotic job replacement.

Advances in robotics and artificial intelligence are increasingly enabling organizations to replace humans with intelligent machines and algorithms1. Forecasts predict that, in the coming years, these new technologies will affect millions of workers in a wide range of occupations, replacing human workers in numerous tasks2,3, but potentially also in whole occupations1,4,5. Despite the intense debate about these developments in economics, sociology and other social sciences, research has not examined how people react to the technological replacement of human labour. We begin to address this gap by examining the psychology of technological replacement. Our investigation reveals that people tend to prefer workers to be replaced by other human workers (versus robots); however, paradoxically, this preference reverses when people consider the prospect of their own job loss. We further demonstrate that this preference reversal occurs because being replaced by machines, robots or software (versus other humans) is associated with reduced self-threat. In contrast, being replaced by robots is associated with a greater perceived threat to one's economic future. These findings suggest that technological replacement of human labour has unique psychological consequences that should be taken into account by policy measures (for example, appropriately tailoring support programmes for the unemployed).

Trends and Risk Factors in Orthopedic Lawsuits: Analysis of a National Legal Database.

Orthopedic surgeons frequently encounter medical malpractice claims. The purpose of this study was to assess trends and risk factors in lawsuits brought against orthopedic surgeons using a national legal database. A legal research service was used to search publicly available settlement and verdict reports between 1988 and 2013 by terms "orthopaedic or orthopedic" and "malpractice." Temporal trends were evaluated, and logistic regression was used to identify independent risk factors for case outcomes. A total of 1562 publicly reported malpractice cases brought against orthopedic surgeons, proceeding to trial during a 26-year period, were analyzed. The plaintiffs won 462 (30%) cases, with a mean award of $1.4 million. The frequency of litigation and pay-outs for plaintiffs increased 215% and 280%, respectively, between the first and last 5-year periods. The mean payout for plaintiff-favorable verdicts was highest in pediatrics ($2.6 million), followed by spine ($1.7 million) and oncology ($1.6 million). Fracture fixation (363 cases), arthroplasty (290 cases), and spine (231 cases) were the most commonly litigated procedures, while plaintiffs were most successful for fasciotomy (48%), infection-treating procedures (43%), and carpal tunnel release (37%). When analyzing data by state and region, adjusted for population, northeastern states had a higher frequency of lawsuits. Malpractice liability has increased during the past 3 decades while orthopedic surgeons continue to win most of the cases making it to court. As patients search for medical care via publicly available information, it is important for orthopedic surgeons to understand what aspects of their own practice carry different risks of litigation. [Orthopedics. 2019; 42(2):e260-e267.].

Concomitant Lumbar Stenosis and Aortic Pseudoaneurysm: A Case Report.

Aortic pseudoaneurysm can create a constellation of symptoms that can mimic lumbar back pain. There are rare but well-documented reports of aortic pathology (aneurysms, pseudoaneurysms, and chronic contained aneurysm ruptures) eroding into the vertebral column causing neural compression. We report a case of a rapidly progressive aortic pseudoaneurysm in a patient with pre-existing lumbar spine pathology which had the potential for catastrophic intraoperative bleeding during a minimally invasive surgery (MIS) using the transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF) technique. Postoperatively, the patient's radicular pain resolved but her back pain remained. Further workup identified the pseudoaneurysm and the patient subsequently underwent open vascular repair. In this report, we highlight a lesser known mimicker of lumbar back pain.