Discrete parallel machine makespan ScheLoc problem

Scheduling–Location (ScheLoc) problems integrate the separate fields of scheduling and location problems. In ScheLoc problems the objective is to find locations for the machines and a schedule for each machine subject to some production and location constraints such that some scheduling objective is minimized. In this paper we consider the discrete parallel machine makespan ScheLoc problem where the set of possible machine locations is discrete and a set of n jobs has to be taken to the machines and processed such that the makespan is minimized. Since the separate location and scheduling problem are both \(\mathcal {NP}\)-hard, so is the corresponding ScheLoc problem. Therefore, we propose an integer programming formulation and different versions of clustering heuristics, where jobs are split into clusters and each cluster is assigned to one of the possible machine locations. Since the IP formulation can only be solved for small scale instances we propose several lower bounds to measure the quality of the clustering heuristics. Extensive computational tests show the efficiency of the heuristics.     

Modelling time series of counts with overdispersion

The time series of counts observed in practice often exhibit overdispersion. The INGARCH(p, q) models are able to describe integer-valued processes with overdispersion. Known properties of these models, however, are nearly exclusively restricted to the special case p = q = 1. In this article, we derive a set of equations from which the variance and the autocorrelation function of the general case can be obtained. We investigate the purely autoregressive INGARCH(p, 0) models and show that they are closely related to the standard AR(p) models. For p = 1, we determine the marginal distribution in terms of its cumulants. A real-data example highlights potential fields of application of the INGARCH(p, 0) models.     

Fehlzeitengespräche — Instrument betrieblicher Gesundheitsförderung?

Talking about absenteeism from the job as an instrument of health promotion in companies? The author outlines the problems of the systematic use of talks about absenteeism from the job, that is talking with employees, when they return to the job, after their having been sick. Do these instruments promote occupational health? The author presents the results of an empirical qualitative evaluation of a health promotion project implemented in a service company. The main topics of the study ask whether employees accept the mentioned instrument and which expectations and fears they anticipate being confronted with its systematic use. The result of the study are discussed in detail and will be complemented by recommendations for the future development of the ongoing health promotion project.     

Der Wert von Kindern für ihre Eltern

Demographic and micro-economic approaches have not sufficiently resolved the explanation of fertility behavior and intergenerational relationships. The “value-of-children-approach” promises a possibility to solve these problems especially with regard to cross-cultural differences. The approach is re-conceptualized in the framework of the theory of social production functions as a special theory of action. Children are seen as strategic intermediate goods to fulfil basic needs of their (potential) parents: Their (1) work and income utility and their (2) insurance utility increases physical well-being, their (3) status utility and their (4) emotional utility increases social recognition. The explanatory potential of this special theory of action is systematically unfolded for six essential dimensions of the action system of the family (size, durability, context opportunities and restrictions, resources, intergenerational relationships, and gender). Finally, the implications for the modernization and social change of intergenerational relationships in societies with different kinship systems are discussed.     

Information,reflection, and successful job search: A labor market policy experiment

Jobseekers, especially young people with little experience on the job market, face several challenges. They need to know which jobs are suited for them, where to find them, how to apply, and they need resilience in the face of repeated rejections. Previous research has shown that receiving information and reflecting on how to search for a job enhance self-efficacy and search motivation, thereby reducing the duration of unemployment spells. Following up on these results, we conducted an experiment in cooperation with the Austrian Ministry of Social Affairs which combines an “information nudge” in the form of a short video-clip with what we call “reflection nudge” in the form of an online survey. We find that a treatment combining reflection and information reduces job search duration of young unemployed people with a low level of formal education. Considering the low costs of the intervention, efficiency is very high.     

Digitales Recruiting

This article in the journal Gruppe. Interaktion. Organisation. provides an overview of past, present and future of recruitment and assessment. It illustrates how in the process of digitization the methods of recruitment and assessment change through the use of Artificial Intelligence, which opportunities and risks are associated with these developments, and what needs to be considered when introducing the new technologies.     

Touch in residential child care: staff’s bodies and children’s agency

This paper concerns the significance of touch in the everyday life of those living and working in residential child care. Public and professional awareness about child abuse has focused attention on the bodies of children and their vulnerability – but the same cannot be said of the bodies of staff members who touch children. This ethnographic study of a Scottish residential child care unit shows such touch to be central to the everyday participation of children and young people in care. On the basis of participant observation, the paper analyses how care workers influence the agency of children and young people by bringing their own bodies into their relationships with them. Based on a relational understanding of care, the paper elaborates on how tender and restraining forms of touch form part of care workers’ professional repertoire of actions. The analysis of various instances of touch in terms of sociology of the body shows how staff members can help to shape children and young people’s opportunities for participation with their own bodies. In conclusion, the paper therefore argues for a professional and reflexive engagement with bodies rather than a general avoidance of touch between care workers and young people.