Editorial

Lifetime Data Analysis -     

Resistance and Cooperation: A Response to Conflict Over Job Performance

Research literature on job performance from bothmanagement oriented and industrial relations/sociologyof work models is synthesized to produce a morecomprehensive understanding of how supervisors manage employee performance problems. Two assumptionsare derived from the synthesis: (1) employees are activein accepting and resisting definitions of performanceissues made by supervisor; (2) informal interactions regarding the interpretation of performanceissues are pivotal in understanding how performanceproblems are resolved. In a study of university librarysupervisors we focus on the informal exchanges and characterize them as negotiations over thedefinition of job performance. We report results from aqualitative study of supervisors' interactions withemployees identified as having performance problems. Three types of interactions in informalnegotiations are found. We label the supervisors'interpretations of their interactions with employees asconformist, confrontational, or rebellious, designating how supervisors enact their role as agents ofthe organization.     

A randomized controlled trial of a 5-year marriage checkup booster session for a subsample of responder couples

This study examined maintenance and booster effects of a brief couple intervention, the Marriage Checkup (MC), across 5 years. A subsample of 63 couples who benefitted from two previous MCs (responder couples), were randomly assigned to a third MC or control. Before randomization (at 4-years-9-months), the responder sample had maintained small to medium effects on two measures of relationship functioning. After randomization, we found no significant between-group effects. Yet, within-group analyses revealed that while control couples showed flat trajectories in all outcomes after the 4-year-9-months baseline, couples receiving a third MC (at Year 5) reported small to medium improvements in three measures of relationship functioning and maintained follow-up effect in one measure. Findings indicate that couples who initially improved from the MC can maintain some of their improvements over long periods. The potential of boosting such improvements with recurrent MCs is a relevant target for further investigation in larger samples.     

A Framework for Facilitating Sourcing and Allocation Decisions for Make‐to‐Order Items

This paper provides a fundamental building block to facilitate sourcing and allocation decisions for make‐to‐order items. We specifically address the buyer's vendor selection problem for make‐to‐order items where the goal is to minimize sourcing and purchasing costs in the presence of fixed costs, shared capacity constraints, and volume‐based discounts for bundles of items. The potential suppliers for make‐to‐order items provide quotes in the form of single sealed bids or participate in a dynamic auction involving open bids. A solution to our problem can be used to determine winning bids amongst the single sealed bids or winners at each stage of a dynamic auction. Due to the computational complexity of this problem, we develop a heuristic procedure based on Lagrangian relaxation technique to solve the problem. The computational results show that the procedure is effective under a variety of scenarios. The average gap across 2,250 problem instances is 4.65%.     

Indian agricultural policy: An applied general equilibrium model

A ten-sector, sequential applied general equilibrium model is formulated, estimated, and stimulated for analyzing agricultural policy choices for India until year 2000. Ten groups of consumers (five of them rural), each with its own preferences and claims on output are recognized in the model, the groups distinguished by the range of their per capita household (real) consumption expenditure. The simulations compare: four policies with respect to the compulsory purchase and subsidized distribution to consumers of a limited amount of foodgrains and four foreign trade and aid scenarios. Procuring and freely distributing 100 kgs of grain per capita per year and financing the cost through additional taxation improves income distribution with no reduction in growth. On the other hand, the same distributional policy financed by reducing investment has a negative impact on growth.     

THE GENERALIZED INVERSE,WITH NONLINEAR REGRESSION AND MATHEMATICAL PROGRAMMING APPLICATIONS

This paper is a tutorial exposition on the generalized inverse of a matrix with typical applications to regression analysis and mathematical programming. The exposition contains examples exhibiting geometrical motivation and related facts useful in application of the generalized inverse. Some proofs are given to indicate a few of the theoretical aspects of the generalized inverse.     

道路建设中的耕地占用问题及其对策初探

结合我国耕地资源面临的严峻形势与道路建设迅速发展的实际 ,从道路建设对耕地资源的直接占用 ,道路施工产生的新的水土流失对耕地资源的危害影响等方面分析道路建设占用耕地的特点与建设中存在的问题 ,从道路建设的设计、选线、施工等工程技术角度初步对解决该问题的对策进行了探讨