MATERIAL REQUIREMENTS PLANNING UNDER UNCERTAINTY

This paper presents a framework for characterizing and studying the uncertainty which can affect inventory investment and service level performance in a material requirements planning (MRP) system. It also presents the results of a simulation experiment which compared two techniques (safety stock and safety lead time) for building inventory to protect against uncertainty. The simulation results disclose consistent differences between the techniques in protecting a representative part against timing and quantity uncertainty in both demand and supply for the part. The paper not only provides some initial insights into the behavior of MRP systems under uncertainty, but also establishes some guidelines for choosing between safety stock and safety lead time.     

The Personal Costs of Subprime Lending and the Foreclosure Crisis: A Matter of Trust,Insecurity, and Institutional Deception*

Objective. Research on widespread loan failures suggests that many of the mortgage loans that were made since 2000 were of a deceptive or predatory nature. This study explores the experiences and sentiments of those who are at risk of foreclosure within a broader framework of trust, individualization, and ontological security. Methods. Interviews examine families' lending experience and how they have coped with their personal troubles that resulted from their housing crisis. Results. As many of these loans were of a deceptive or predatory nature, individuals are likely to reflect on the psychological consequences of their predicament. Although these findings suggest that these individuals have lost trust in the housing market, many have internalized their situation as a personal failure. In addition, feelings of anxiety, stress, insecurity, and uncertainty have come to characterize their experiences. Conclusions. This research calls for policy recommendations that seek to restore confidence and to ensure greater consumer protection in financial markets.     

Adolescent Sibling Relationship Quality and Adjustment: Sibling Trustworthiness and Modeling,as Factors Directly and Indirectly Influencing These Associations

The main goal of this study was to examine the direct and moderating effects of trustworthiness and modeling on adolescent siblings' adjustment. Data were collected from 438 families including a mother, a younger sibling in fifth, sixth, or seventh grade (M = 11.6 years), and an older sibling (M = 14.3 years). Respondents completed Web‐based surveys describing sibling conflict and warmth. Siblings reported on trustworthiness and modeling, and mothers described adjustment. Sibling conflict was directly associated with internalizing and externalizing behaviors for both siblings. The older siblings' reports of trustworthiness were directly associated with the outcome measures. The younger siblings' reports of trustworthiness were less directly associated, but a possible salutary effect was most evident under the highest levels of sibling conflict or warmth. Higher sibling modeling was a risk factor for adjustment problems in relations characterized by high conflict. Results support exploring trustworthiness as a key dimension of sibling relations.     

Japanese and American Children's Reasoning about Accepting Credit for Prosocial Behavior

Children's reasoning about the appropriateness of accepting credit for one's own prosocial behavior was examined. Participants aged 7–11 years old in Japan and the USA (total N = 206) were presented with a series of stories in which a protagonist performs a good deed and is asked about it by another character. Across stories, the protagonist either truthfully acknowledges the deed or falsely denies it, in a statement that is made either in public or in private, and is addressed to either a teacher or to a peer. As predicted, Japanese children judged protagonists less favorably when they acknowledged the good deed in public rather than in private. Further, Japanese children tended to view modest lies more favorably overall than did children in the USA. These results point to the importance of modesty in Japan and to the ways in which Japanese children take into account the social context of communication when deciding whether it is appropriate for individuals to convey information about themselves.     

Preschoolers' Bistrategic Resource Control,Reconciliation, and Peer Regard

Bistrategic resource control entails using both coercive and prosocial strategies in competition for resources. The present study sought to clarify whether bistrategic involves more than simply using both strategies some of the time. Examining 88 preschoolers' coercion and prosociality over an entire school year, results showed that coercive resource control was used most frequently at the start of the school year, presumably to access resources and establish social dominance. Rates of prosocial resource control increased over the school year, and socially dominant preschoolers showed higher rates compared with peers, presumably to maintain resource control while keeping peers as allies. Socially dominant preschoolers also used reconciliation more often than peers, resulting in higher rates of affiliation between former competitors and more positive peer regard from fall to spring. Findings are discussed in terms of resource control theory and the importance of situating social behaviors within the behavioral and relationship context in which they are embedded.     

Contributions of Maternal Adult Attachment to Socialization of Coping

This research examined whether maternal adult attachment predicted the coping suggestions mothers made to their children. A sample of 157 youth (M age = 12.42, SD = 1.20) and their maternal caregivers completed semi-structured interviews and questionnaires in a two-wave longitudinal study. Results revealed that maternal insecure attachment predicted fewer engagement coping suggestions (orienting toward stress) and heightened disengagement coping suggestions (avoiding or denying stress) both concurrently and over time. These associations were found after adjusting for other relevant characteristics of the child, mother, and family context. This study contributes to our understanding of the implications of adult attachment for parenting behavior, suggesting that insecure attachment undermines a parent's ability to provide adaptive coping guidance to their children.