Shining new light on the Hawthorne illumination experiments.

OBJECTIVE: This study provides an historical and statistical analysis of archival data from the Hawthorne illumination experiments. BACKGROUND: Previous accounts of the illumination experiments are fraught with inconsistencies because they have been based on secondary sources. The general consensus has been that variations in light levels had no effect on worker productivity at Hawthorne. All reports and data were thought to have been destroyed, but an archive at Cornell University was found to contain copies of the original documentation and much of the data from all three illumination experiments. Conclusions were originally drawn from visual comparisons of productivity graphs, and the data have never been properly statistically analyzed. METHOD: Archival reports, notes, photographs, and letters on the experiments were consulted. Productivity data were extracted from the tables and graphs in the reports and statistically analyzed for each experiment. RESULTS: Previously unpublished details of the illumination experiments emerged. An effect of lighting on productivity was found in the first treatment sequence for the first experiment, but this finding was not confirmed in the second sequence or in the second and third experiments. CONCLUSION: Experimental results provided inconsistent evidence of an association between light levels and productivity. All three experiments were found to be seriously flawed. APPLICATION: This study challenges popular accounts of the "Hawthorne effect," and the shortcomings of these experiments also have implications for the design of field studies.

[Studies on the intravenous administration of amikacin to neonates].

Amikacin (AMK) was administered mainly to neonates by either intravenous drip infusion or intramuscular injection and its pharmacokinetic changes were investigated. The results obtained are summarized as follows. 1. Serum half-lives of AMK in neonates at ages 0 to 3 days were longer than those at ages 4 to 10 days. Serum half-lives were prolonged particularly in neonates at an age 0 day. Neonates at ages 11 to 15 days, also showed longer half-lives in comparison to infants. Similar peak serum levels were observed in all the neonates with ages 0-15 days. 2. Similar serum AMK levels were obtained in neonates through intravenous drip infusion and through intramuscular injection at a same dose level. 3. When the drug was administered to neonates at 3.0 to 6.0 mg/kg by intravenous drip infusion, peak serum levels did not reach 30 micrograms/ml which is considered to be the critical level for AMK to be toxic. 4. Urinary excretion rates in neonates 11 day or older were almost the same levels as in infants. 5. AMK, when administered through intravenous drip infusion, was observed to have a higher migration rate to saliva when compared with kanamycin administered through intramuscular injection. 6. Based on the results obtained from the present study, the following doses seem to be optimal for neonates, but further studies are required to be conclusive. For neonates: 2.0 to 5.0 mg/kg daily in 1 to 2 divided doses. (For those at ages of 0 to 3 days: 2.0 to 3.0 mg/kg) For infants: 3.0 to 8.0 mg/kg daily in 1 to 2 divided doses through intravenous drip infusion over a period of 30 minutes to 1 hour.