OPTIMIZATION THROUGH EXPERIMENTATION: APPLYING RESPONSE SURFACE METHODOLOGY

The crucial steps in a quantitative analysis of a decision problem are problem formulation, model building, analysis, and implementation. Given an initial model specification, the goal of analysis is to determine the values of the controllable or decision variables that optimize the objective function. Frequently the initial model is inadequate and must be reformulated. While modeling is an evolutionary process involving art and science, under certain conditions Response Surface Methodology (RSM) is an effective vehicle for constructing and parameterizing optimization models. RSM, which draws upon the areas of experimental design, modeling, inference, and optimization, utilizes different opening and ending strategies. Through simultaneous and sequential experimentation, the approximate region of the model's maximum response is found by employing the steepest ascent method. Subsequently, the exact values of the controllable variables that maximize the model's response are determined by canonical analysis. The RSM concepts are first developed within the context of a manufacturing problem. A potential application to simulation studies is then presented.     

Development of ‘timescapes' to effectively manage global inter-organizational relational communications

The globalization of business has resulted in the emergence of hyper-competition in many industries. Given the geographic, economic, and cultural dispersion of markets, many organizations have developed network structures to increase their strategic flexibility and to preserve idiosyncratic assets. This reliance on inter-organizational relationships has created an increased need to improve coordination and communication among the members of the global network. The problems associated with effective inter-organizational communications are exacerbated by the accelerating rate of change and time …a ‘quickening' of events. Moreover, managers are required to adapt to the eventful differences in time across national and organizational cultures. This paper develops the concept of ‘timescapes' to facilitate effective inter-organizational and inter-cultural communications. A managerial process for decision-making relative to global communications is also presented in the paper.     

One love: explicit monogamy agreements among heterosexual young adult couples at increased risk of sexually transmitted infections

HIV prevention strategies among couples include condom use, mutual monogamy, and HIV testing. Research suggests that condom use is more likely with new or casual partners, and tends to decline as relationships become steady over time. Little is known, however, about explicit mutual monogamy agreements and HIV testing within heterosexual couples. This study used data from 434 young heterosexual couples at increased risk of HIV and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) to assess (a) couple concordance on perceptions of a monogamy agreement, sustained monogamy, and HIV testing; and (b) the associations of relationship and demographic factors with monogamy agreement, sustained monogamy, and HIV testing. Results indicated only slight to fair agreement within couples on measures of monogamy agreement and sustained monogamy. Overall, 227 couples (52%) concurred that they had an explicit agreement to be monogamous; of those, 162 (71%) had sustained the agreement. Couples with greater health protective communication and commitment were more likely to have a monogamy agreement. Couples of Latino and Hispanic ethnicity and those with children were less likely to have a monogamy agreement. Only commitment was related to sustained monogamy. Having children, greater health protective communication, and perceived vulnerability to HIV and STIs were associated with HIV testing within the couple.     

Mobility and security: the perceived benefits of citizenship for resettled young people from refugee backgrounds

In recent decades, the meaning and value of formal state citizenship has shifted dramatically. In the same period, scholarship on citizenship has drawn attention to the proliferation of alternative forms of sub-, supra- and transnational citizenship, at times obscuring the ongoing importance of formal state citizenship. For refugees, however, formal state citizenship remains a critical and widely shared goal. Drawing on interviews with 51 young people from refugee backgrounds in Melbourne, Australia, this article explores the intersecting themes of mobility and security that were identified by participants as the most important benefits of acquiring formal state citizenship in the country of resettlement. In contrast to the insecurity of forced migration, formal state citizenship provides a privileged mobility that enables refugee-background youth to maintain and create transnational identities and attachments and to be protected while doing so, while also granting a secure status within the nation state and insurance against further displacement in an uncertain future. In offering these forms of mobility and security, formal state citizenship contributes to a sense of ontological security among refugee-background youth, providing an important foundation for building national and transnational futures.     

A best case scenario? Non-manual part-time work and job-sharing in UK local government in the 1990s

Local authorities in the UK have been described as “model employers” of part-time and job-share employees, with the needs of employees themselves, particularly women with family responsibilities, acting as the primary driver for the use of reduced hours working patterns. To investigate how far this “exemplar” label applied in practice, and to what extent this overcame the well-known drawbacks of reduced hours working patterns, the causes and consequences of working reduced hours amongst professional, managerial and administrative staff were investigated in a London borough in the mid-1990s. It was found that the “model employer” label was applicable, but it was under threat from an emerging emphasis on a demand-led, service-driven use of reduced hours work. It is argued that there is a strong business case for making more creative use of reduced hours work synthesising “supply-side” and “demand-side” needs, and that this change in approach will therefore be counterproductive.     

Special considerations in conducting bereavement focus groups

Focus groups conducted with grieving people pose special challenges. However, this method can be successfully used in bereavement research especially when group interaction is central to the research aim. This article builds on key articles discussing ethical, methodological, logistical, and analytical issues in conducting focus groups with vulnerable populations (Owen, 2001; Seymour, Bellamy, Gott, Ahmedzai, & Clark, 2002). For bereaved people, vulnerability stems from heightened potential for harm by virtue of participation in sensitive, personal exploration of death-related experiences. We discuss reasons for selecting focus group methods and our experiences with planning and implementing focus groups with bereaved people. Issues found to be highly salient in our work include: team composition, participant recruitment, creating the environment, starting and ending the group, language and listening, managing emotional discussions and time, and analytic considerations. Recommendations are made for effectively using focus groups to generate new knowledge in bereavement research.     

Growing up with a sibling with dwarfism: perceptions of adult non‐dwarf siblings

Despite the fact that society seems to have become more tolerant towards human diversity, skeletal dysplasia still carries some extent of stigmatization and negative stereotyping. There seems to be a lack of knowledge regarding psychosocial factors associated with skeletal dysplasia, specifically as it relates to interpersonal relationships. Since the negative attention directed at individuals with dwarfism may also have an impact on family members and family relationships, the aim of this qualitative study was to explore adult non‐dwarf siblings' experiences of growing up with siblings with a skeletal dysplasia. Thematic analyses of semi‐structured interviews with four adult non‐dwarf siblings confirmed both negative and positive effects. These effects were evident in childhood and continued into adulthood. For the adults who took part in this study, the positive effects seemed to be more profound.