Ans?tze einer Produktionstheorie des Serienanlaufs

Over the last few decades, the number of production ramp-ups has risen substantially due to the increasingly fast pace of both technology and product life cycles. Up to now, however, the growing significance of ramp-ups for companies and their development has not been adequately addressed by business science from a theoretical perspective. We contribute by outlining a research map of production ramp-up from a theoretical perspective and identifying outstanding ramp-up characteristics: the initially lacking control over production quality, advancing experience effects, and the varying intensity of production as the operationalisation of the production ramp-up-policy. Existing models are then being analysed, as to how far they are able to reflect the so-sketched phenomenon of production ramp-up. By subsequently introducing a model of production ramp-up based on elements of these models, this study is to advance the development of a theory of production ramp-up. The proposed model builds upon a dynamisation of Gutenberg??s production model in order to explain the characteristic curve of production ramp-up.     

Hard times and vulnerable people: initial effects of plant closing on autoworkers' mental health

Large-scale 1987 General Motors plant shutdowns offered an unusual opportunity to study effects of actual and anticipated unemployment on mental health. Workers from four closing and 12 nonclosing plants (Ns = 831 and 766 respectively) were interviewed approximately three months before scheduled plant closings. Dependent variables were baseline frequencies of somatic, depressive, and anxiety symptoms. The quasi-experimental design made it possible to explore systematically the mental health problems of individual autoworkers as a function of their employment status, their demographic characteristics, and the interaction of the two. Three groups were formed by dividing workers at closing plants into those already laid off and those anticipating layoff; the third group consisted of workers in nonclosing plants. Results revealed a pattern of interaction between unemployment and demographic variables, showing differential vulnerability to job loss. Less educated blacks were especially affected; follow-up analyses showed that their more distressed mental health could not be attributed entirely to other, prior stressors.     

Decentralized Implementation of Flood Resilience Measures – A Blessing or a Curse? Lessons from the Thames Estuary 2100 Plan and the Royal Docks Regeneration

This article presents a case study on the implementation of the Thames Estuary 2100 Plan in the Royal Docks, a regeneration project in the East of London. On paper, the Thames Estuary 2100 Plan advances the shift from traditional flood control to flood resilience, because of its long-term horizon, estuary-wide approach, and emphasis on floodplain management. In practice, however, we identify three frictions between vision and reality: a lack of local ownership of the plan, a lack of clear guidance for floodplain management, and limited capacities with local authority. These frictions suggest an ongoing ‘public-public divide’ in decentralized governance.     

The long shadows of the difficult past? How young people in Denmark,Finland and Germany remember WWII*

This paper focuses on the question of how young people today evaluate the Second World War today and how this ‘difficult past’ determines their political attitudes. Furthermore, the channels through which the current young generation in Europe is informed about the events dating back to the first half of the twentieth century (e.g. parents and grandparents, schools, the media) are examined. The theoretical basis chosen for addressing these questions is the work of Mannheim (1928) on the formation of successive generations, and the theories of collective memories and identities of Eisenstadt and his followers. Our empirical evidence comes from a transnational comparison of young people’s memories of this difficult past in Denmark, Finland and Germany. From a historical perspective a comparison of the three countries is particularly interesting as they played different roles during the Second World War. The evidence highlights the different perceptions of history among youth and points to the absence of a common European understanding of what happened between 1939 and 1945. The empirical evidence comes from a research project (2011–2015) funded by the European Commission and covering 14 European countries. Its main focus has been on present-day young people’s perceptions of history and politics (MYPLACE?=?Memory, Youth, Political Legacy and Civic Engagement).     

Enrichment designs using placebo nonresponders

Enrichment designs that select placebo nonresponders have gained much attention during the last years in areas with high placebo response rates, eg, in depression. Proposals were made that re‐randomize patients who did not respond to placebo during a first study phase as the sequential parallel design (SPD). This design uses in a second phase an enriched patient population where the treatment effect is expected to be more pronounced. This may be problematic if an effect in the overall population is claimed. Proposals were made to combine the treatment effects in the overall population from study phase 1 and the enriched population from study phase 2, alleviating but not solving the issue of a potential selection bias. This paper shows how this bias corresponding to the effect difference between the overall population and the enriched population depends on the variability of a potential subject‐by‐treatment interaction. Sample sizes are given, which lead to a significant result in the combining test with a given probability if actually the average effect in the overall population is zero. If, on the other hand, no subject‐by‐treatment interaction is given, the enrichment is shown to be inefficient. We conclude that enrichment designs using placebo nonresponders are not able to claim a positive average effect in the overall population if a subject‐by‐treatment interaction cannot be excluded. It cannot be used to demonstrate positive efficacy in the overall population in a pivotal phase III trial but may be used in early phases to demonstrate varying treatment effects between patients.     

Social Support from Sponsorships as a Moderator of Acculturative Stress: Predictors of Effects on Refugees and Asylum Seekers

N = 63 refugees and asylum seekers, 27 women and 36 men with a mean age of 33.08 years (SD = 10.3) from Chechnya and Afghanistan were granted sponsorships for six months and were randomized to an intervention and a waiting-list control group. Only participants with a history of traumatization benefited from the intervention. For the traumatized sub-sample, sponsorships led to a significant and stable decrease in anxiety, depression, and psychological problems as compared to the control group, with effect sizes comparable to those of psychotherapy. The effects being rather palliative than instrumental, however, sponsorships did not instigate improvements in acculturation, societal contact, or coping capability. Women benefited more from the intervention than men, and Afghans more than Chechen.     

Method inventory for assessment of physical activity at VDU workplaces

Physical inactivity and prolonged static work tasks may seriously affect health. There are numerous indications that promoting physical activity (PA) at sedentary workplaces can reduce these health risks. However, PA interventions have so far been documented rarely on the basis of medical parameters. Effects on the PA behavior are often studied only through the methods of subjective self-assessment. For this reason an extensive method inventory was developed consisting of objective PA assessment methods and various methods for documenting PA related health outcomes. The developed method inventory has been tested in a pilot intervention study at office workplaces. The current paper presents and discusses a part of the applied inventory. The methods considered here demonstrated several positive intervention effects: intervention subjects were more active, felt better, increased muscle strength and showed improvements in resting heart rate and BMI. Not all data has been analyzed to date, but the preliminary results suggest that most of the investigated methods turned out to be suitable for the documentation of intervention effects. Among the methods for which no effects were found, the question remains whether this is due to a lack of sensitivity of the method or due to aspects related to the study design.     

A socio-technical approach for improving a Brazilian shoe manufacturing system

This article presents a macroergonomic intervention in a footwear company in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, to improve both the quality of life of the employees and productivity by optimizing the traditional Taylor/Ford work organization. Multi-functionality and team working were implemented as means of making tasks more flexible and richer and the working hours were changed. The results showed a reduction in human and material resource costs and a consequent improvement in health and workers quality of life. Although middle managerial staff displayed strong resistance to the project and to breaking traditional production paradigms, the socio-technical system has been implemented throughout the plant and is expected to end up becoming the benchmark for other companies in the sector. Keywords: Macro-ergonomics, footwear industry, organization work.     

Information and Communication Technology Use and Social Connectedness over the Life Course

Technological innovation and adoption is, at root, a social process that unfolds over time. In this review, we connect ideas from life course and technology studies to examine social connectedness among youth, working age, and older adults. We argue that a sensitivity to key life course themes – especially timing and transitions, linked lives, and social and historical context – in studies examining the implications of technological innovation and social connectedness will generate deeper understanding of the role that technology use plays in shaping social life.