AN EVALUATION OF SEQUENCING RULES FOR AN ASSEMBLY SHOP

Research relating to sequencing rules in simple job shops has proliferated, but there has not been a corresponding proliferation of research evaluating similar sequencing rules in more complex assembly job shops. In a simple job shop, all operations are performed serially; but an assembly shop encompasses both serial and parallel operations. As a result of the increased complexity of assembly shops, the results associated with the performance of sequencing rules in simple job shops cannot be expected for an assembly shop. In this paper, 11 sequencing rules (some of which are common to simple job shops and some decigned specifically for assembly shops) are evaluated using a simulation analysis of a hypothetical assembly shop. The simulation results are analyzed using an ANOVA procedure that identifies significant differences in the results of several performance measures. Sensitivity analysis also is performed to determine the effect of job structure on the performance of the sequencing rules.     

Effects of a Foster Parent Training Program on Young Children’s Attachment Behaviors: Preliminary Evidence from a Randomized Clinical Trial

Young children who enter foster care experience disruptions in care and maltreatment at a point when maintaining attachment relationships is a key, biologically based task. In previous research, we have found that young children experience challenges as they form attachments with new caregivers. They tend to push their new caregivers away, even though such children are especially in need of nurturing care. Further, many caregivers do not respond in nurturing ways when their children are distressed, which we have found is problematic for young children in foster care. We developed an intervention that is designed to help caregivers provide nurturance even when children do not elicit it, and even when it does not come naturally to them. This paper presents preliminary findings of the effectiveness of this intervention on children’s attachment behaviors. Forty-six children were randomly assigned to either the experimental intervention or to an educational intervention. For three consecutive days, attachment behaviors were reported across three distress-eliciting situations. Children whose parents had received the experimental intervention showed significantly less avoidance than children whose parents had received the educational intervention. These preliminary results suggest that the intervention is successful in helping children develop trusting relationships with new caregivers.     

Social support in later life: a study of three areas

Summary The research reported in this article examines elderly people'sfamily and community networks in three urban areas of England:Bethnal Green, Wolverhampton and Woodford. These were the locationsfor a number of major studies in the 1940s and 1950s. Four decadeson from the original studies, a social network approach wasused to explore changes in the social relationships in thesethree areas. The research sought to assess whom older peopleidentified as 'important' in their lives, and the role suchpeople played in the provision and receipt of support. The studyfound that respondents do not mobilize the whole of their socialnetwork when looking for support. Instead, a section of thesocial network is drawn upon (mainly immediate family) to providespecific kinds of assistance. In addition, locally availablefriends offer complementary or alternative sources of help.This is a change from the earlier Wolverhampton and BethnalGreen studies, although it is consistent with the significanceof friendship highlighted in the original study of Woodford.The paper also reports clear evidence of older people beingactive in reciprocal exchanges across their networks, particularlyin respect of confiding in and talking to people about healthissues but much less so in relation to instrumental support,such as help with household chores, transport and financialadvice.     

EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION OF PRIORITY SCHEDULING IN A BANK CHECK PROCESSING OPERATION

This paper reports on a simulation study which was undertaken to determine if float could be significantly reduced by altering a bank's check-processing priority assignments. Float, the dollar value of check payments not yet collected from parent banks, represents a significant opportunity cost in terms of lost interest income to receiving banks. The study consisted of a comparison of a major city bank's present checksorting decision rules based on minimization of check handling, versus a proposed sorting scheme based on dollar magnitudes of checks. The reults of the research indicated that float could be substantially reduced and interest income increased by employing the proposed priority of scheduting rules.     

Older people's experiences of community life: patterns of neighbouring in three urban areas

This paper examines changes to the community life of older people living in three urban areas of England: Bethnal Green, Wolverhampton and Woodford. All three were the subject of classic community studies in the 1940s and 1950s, these providing rich material about the lives of groups such as elderly people. Using this earlier research as a baseline, the paper presents data on how the experience of living in urban neighbourhoods has changed for older people in the intervening years. The article reviews the relationship between elderly people and their neighbours, drawing on quantitative as well as qualitative data. In conclusion, the paper identifies a number of general arguments pointing to the value of a community and locality perspective for understanding the impact of social changes on later life.     

The Mother–Infant Feeding Relationship Across the First Year and the Development of Feeding Difficulties in Low‐Risk Premature Infants

Although feeding problems are common during infancy and are typically accompanied by relational difficulties, little research observed the mother–infant feeding relationship across the first year as an antecedent to the development of feeding difficulties. We followed 76 low‐risk premature infants and their mothers from the transition to oral feeding in the neonatal period to the end of the first year. Prior to hospital discharge, microlevel patterns of maternal touch and gaze were coded during feeding and nonfeeding interactions, global patterns of maternal adaptation were assessed, and infants' neurobehavioral status was tested. Psychomotor development was evaluated at 4 months. At 1 year, feeding difficulties were determined on the basis of maternal interview and direct observations of feeding interactions. Mothers of infants who exhibited feeding difficulties at 1 year showed less affectionate touch and gaze during nonfeeding interactions and more gaze aversion and lower adaptability during feeding interactions already in the neonatal period. Infants with feeding difficulties demonstrated poorer psychomotor performance at 4 months. Feeding interactions of infants with feeding difficulties at 1 year were characterized by higher maternal intrusiveness, lower infant involvement, and greater infant withdrawal. Less maternal affectionate touch and lower maternal adaptation in the neonatal period, poor infant psychomotor skills, and higher maternal intrusiveness and lower infant involvement at 1 year predicted feeding difficulties. The findings underscore the role of the relational components across the first year in the development of feeding difficulties.     

Symbolic Interactionism and Psychoanalysis: Some Convergences,Divergences, and Complementarities*

In spite of a number of fundamental contrasts between the assumptions and methodologies of symbolic interactionist and psychoanalytic theories of social interaction in general and socialization in particular, the two perspectives embrace several common interpretations of human action. Moreover, many of the divergences can be appreciated as complementing, rather than contradicting, each other. Some of the more important convergences and complementarities, as well as unresolved differences, are noted and briefly treated under four broad rubrics: (1) human nature and human habitat; (2) the nature and stages of socialization; (3) the structure and functions of personality; and (4) the nature of social relationships. The points of synthesis implied by the complementarities between the two perspectives do not necessarily lead to eclecticism. On the other hand, such syntheses can enhance the analytical power of each perspective.