The Impact of Contract Manufacturing on Inventory Performance: An Examination of U.S. Manufacturing Industries

In recent years, a growing number of original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) have transferred their manufacturing processes to specialized firms, known as contract manufacturers. In so doing, contract manufacturers can reduce an OEM's production costs and provide OEMs with flexibility in the production process. We examine another potential reason for the use of contract manufacturing—the potential for efficiency gains from inventory reductions. Employing econometric models and data representing manufacturing industries in the USA, we provide statistical evidence that contract manufacturing can lead to lower industry‐wide inventory levels, after controlling for other relevant factors. Key managerial implications are derived from the analysis.     

Additive Risk Model Using Piecewise Constant Hazard Function

We study a weighted least squares estimator for Aalen's additive risk model with right-censored survival data which allows for a very flexible handling of covariates. We divide the follow-up period into intervals and assume a constant hazard rate in each interval. The model is motivated as a piecewise approximation of a hazard function composed of three parts: arbitrary nonparametric functions for some covariate effects, smoothly varying functions for others, and known (or constant) functions for yet others. The proposed estimator is an extension of the grouped data version of the Huffer and McKeague (1991 Huffer , F. W. , McKeague , I. W. ( 1991 ). Weighted least squares estimation for Aalen's additive risk model . Journal of the American Statistical Association 86 : 114 – 129 .[Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) estimator. For our model, since the number of parameters is finite (although large), conventional approaches (such as maximum likelihood) are easy to formulate and implement. The approach is illustrated by simulations, and is compared to the previous studies. The method is also applied to the Framingham study data.     

BOOK REVIEWS

Book reviewed in this article:
PROFESSIONAL BOOKS: Burck, C., & Daniel, G. (1995). Gender and family therapy .
PROFESSIONAL BOOKS: Comas-Diaz, L., & Greene, B. (1994). Women of color: Integrating ethnic and gender identities in psychotherapy .
PROFESSIONAL BOOKS: Hendrick, S. S. (1995). Close relationships: What couple therapists can learn .
PROFESSIONAL BOOKS: Ackerman, M. J. (1995). Clinician's guide to child custody evaluations .
PROFESSIONAL BOOKS: Andolfi, M., & Haber, R. (Eds.). (1994). Please help me with this family: Using consultants as resources in family therapy .
PROFESSIONAL BOOKS: Shapiro, E. R. (1994). Grief as a family process: A developmental approach to clinical practice .
GENERAL INTEREST BOOK: Nichols, M. P., (1995). The lost art of listening .
SELF-HELP BOOKS: O'Hanlon, B., & Hudson, P. (1995). Love is a verb: How to stop analyzing your relationship and start making it great!
SELF-HELP BOOKS: Hall, C. M. (1994). New families: Reviving and creating meaningful bonds .     

RESEARCH IN FAMILY THERAPY: A GRADUATE LEVEL COURSE

Training in family therapy research must move beyond traditional methods courses. This paper describes a five-unit course which (a) reviews the fundamentals of research methodology and grounds the student in the history of psychotherapy research in general; (b) gives an overview of family research through detailed analysis of major review articles; (c) covers instrumentation tools and techniques; (d) critically evaluates key investigations in the field; and (e) examines the challenges of the "new epistemologies" for family therapy research. Learning activities are described for each unit that engage the student in such a way that the learning of research might be enjoyable as well as interesting. The paper may also be employed as a guide for self-study in family therapy research.     

THE "PROBLEM" OF MICHAEL WHITE AND MICHEL FOUCAULT

The following essay proposes to look at the “problem” of the family therapist, Michael White, and the philosopher, Michel Foucault. The problem generally defined is the following: what are the key features of the relationship between Foucault and White? To answer this question, four areas need to be examined. First, it is important to look at the relationship between personal stories and cultural and institutional discourses. Second, there is a need to address the local use of power. Third, attention needs to be paid to the positions of Foucault and White vis-à-vis their respective disciplines. Lastly, the issue of the proper use of Foucault's methodology as applied to family therapy needs to be explored.     

Underemployment: Social Fact or Socially Constructed Reality?*

Abstract This paper contrasts rural underemployment as a social fact with rural underemployment as a socially constructed reality. Using both survey data and in‐depth interviews with persistently underemployed rural residents, we were able to determine whether we were imposing our definition of reality on the interviewees. The data from the interviews largely demonstrated a correspondence between our objective definition of reality as defined by measures of underemployment and the informants' subjective interpretation of their employment situation. This procedure demonstrated that the underemployed had created their own subjective reality, which had become an objective reality: a socially created fact. A few cases, however, raised concerns about the extent to which that reality was widely shared because the interviewees' definitions did not correspond to our objective definitions or did not make sense in their own situations. Other interviewees' comments raised significant questions about the applicability of formal labor market concepts and measures, which tend to overlook the unique characteristics of rural labor markets such as uncompensated labor, self‐employment, and multiple job holding. Thus the indepth interviews provided conceptual checks on the extent to which we can impose our definitions of the situation on respondents' subjective reality.