Economic design of acceptance sampling plans for truncated life test using Frechet distribution

In this article designing of acceptance sampling plans for the truncated life test is proposed using economic approach by assuming that the lifetime of a product follows Frechet distribution based on median. The optimal sampling plans to meet the consumer’s confidence level with minimum total cost are designed. Efficiency of the proposed plan is also analyzed.     

政府购买居家养老服务的探索与发展——以济南市历下区为例

基于济南市历下区购买居家养老服务的实践,探讨了社区居家养老服务的时代背景,重点分析了历下区政府购买居家养老服务的运作模式,研究结果表明,在我国养老压力日益严峻的情况下,要完善政府购买居家养老服务模式,必须积极推进社区居家养老服务产业的发展;加大政策扶持力度,加强资金引导;培育社会组织,提高养老服务品质;实现政府购买居家养老服务的标准化运作,只有这样才能缓解养老压力,提高老年人生活质量,推动养老服务事业的发展。     

Reliability acceptance sampling plans for the Weibull distribution under accelerated Type-I censoring

Type-I censored reliability acceptance sampling plans (RASPs) are developed for the Weibull lifetime distribution with unknown shape and scale parameters such that the producer and consumer risks are satisfied. It is assumed that the life test is conducted at an accelerated condition for which the acceleration factor (AF) is known, and each item is continuously monitored for failure. Sensitivity analyses are also conducted to assess the effect of the uncertainty in the assumed AF on the actual producer and consumer risks, and a method is developed for constructing RASPs that can accommodate the uncertainty in AF.     

Short-Term Employment Services for Homeless Individuals: Perceptions from Stakeholders in a Community Partnership

ABSTRACT

This article examines the importance and feasibility of immediate employment for homeless individuals from perspectives of stakeholders in a community partnership. Using grounded theory and an editing-style approach, in-depth interviews were analyzed with service recipients (n= 13) and providers (n= 9). Stakeholders viewed employment services differently. While recipients were optimistic that short-term employment services could yield immediate employment despite their barriers, providers articulated the importance of providing individualized case management with realistic expectations for homeless individuals to secure long-term, dependable employment rather than low-wage, short-term jobs. Future studies should examine discrepancies in perspectives to strengthen findings presented here and better determine employment services to meet provider and recipient expectations and goals.     

A hybrid approach to configure eco-efficient supply chains under consideration of performance and risk aspects

Formal models that support multi-criteria decision making represent a strongly growing area in sustainable supply chain management research. However, uncertainties and risks are seldom considered in quantitative models for green supply chain (SC) design. The paper at hand suggests a hybrid approach to configure an eco-efficient SC for a new product under consideration of economic and environmental risks. Discrete-event simulation is applied to assess the financial, operational and environmental performance of different SC configuration options while the value-at-risk concept is adapted to evaluate related SC risks. The analytic hierarchy process is employed to solve the resulting multi-criteria decision problem of choosing the best option. The approach is illustrated at a case example of a fast moving consumer goods manufacturer.     

基于生态文明观的中西消费文化比较与建设启示

生态文明关系到人类社会发展与资源环境的可持续发展,也是近年国家政策和攸关民生的焦点。从生态文明观的视角来分析中西消费文化的不同,目的就是要通过分析中西方消费思想的保守性和开放性、消费情智的感性与理性、消费对象的物质性与精神性和消费理念的对立性与统一性的区别,对我国的消费文化提出落实顶层设计、加强政府监管、重构企业文化、加强公众生态教育等方面的建设性意见。     

论中国扩大消费需求的供给侧支撑

以消费供给来促进消费需求的上扬有着深厚的理论与实践基础,仅从需求侧探求消费需求的增长无法对现实问题给出全面解释,秉承需求侧与供给侧对接的理念才能共同拉动经济进步,从根本上推动消费需求的上涨。中国目前的消费供给面临着有效供给的不足,主要体现在高质量供给不足、高端消费供给不足、个性化消费供给不足三个方面。要提振中国消费需求,需要重视供给侧的重要作用,从提升产品质量、提高消费层次、增加个性化供给等方面进行努力。     

Elements of cultural competence in an Australian Aboriginal maternity program

Background

Pregnancy, labour and neonatal health outcomes for Australian Aboriginal women and their infants are frequently worse than those of the general population. Provision of culturally competent services may reduce these differences by improving access to timely and regular antenatal care. In an effort to address these issues, the Aboriginal Maternity Group Practice Program commenced in south metropolitan Perth, Western Australia, in 2011. The program employed Aboriginal Grandmothers, Aboriginal Health Officers and midwives working in a partnership model with pre-existing maternity services in the area.

Bisphenol A: How the Most Relevant Exposure Sources Contribute to Total Consumer Exposure

Bisphenol A (BPA) is an endocrine disrupting chemical that is found in human urine throughout industrial societies around the globe. Consumer exposure pathways to BPA include packaged food, household dust, air, and dental fillings. To date, information on the relative contribution of the different pathways to total consumer exposure is lacking, but is key for managing substance‐associated risks. We investigated the relative contributions of the pathways known to be most relevant for nine different consumer groups. Our results suggest that the most important pathways for infants and children are the use of polycarbonate (PC) baby bottles and for adults and teenagers the consumption of canned food. Dental surgery can also considerably contribute over a short time directly after the surgery. For infants fed with PC baby bottles with mean dose rates of 0.8 μg/kg_bw/d the highest exposure dose rate was calculated. This dose rate is far below the tolerable daily intake of 50 μg/kg_bw/d. However, it is of the same order of magnitude as recently reported concentrations that caused low‐dose health effects in rodents. We find a pattern of falling exposure levels with rising age that is supported by urinary concentrations of BPA available for selected consumer groups. Similarly, the exposure levels we predict are confirmed by the levels reported in these studies.     

Expert Systems

Summary

Expert systems are computer programs which embody the expertise of a human expert in order to consult and advise on a specific problem. It is now becoming feasible to apply expert systems technology to problems in the human services. This article describes what expert systems technology is and how it may be applied in human service practice. Finally, some of the promises and pitfalls of this new technology are addressed.