UNCERTAINTY AND THE LOT-SIZE REORDER-POINT MODEL

Noori and Keller [1] recently proposed a lot-size reorder-point model in which the quantity received is a random variable. The authors failed, however, to explore the full implications of their initial definitions. This oversight leads to some misleading inferences that we try to correct in this note.     

现代主义书页：乔伊斯与汉字书写的图形设计

汉字书写和东方文学曾对詹姆斯.乔伊斯的主要创作产生重要影响。乔伊斯在都柏林时便开始接触东方历史和文化,并将东方文化知识表现在从《都柏林人》到《芬尼根的苏醒》的全部作品中。汉字书写的基本元素拓展了乔伊斯对东方的认知,影响了他的视觉文本观。乔伊斯的'东方时间'和他那源于汉字书写的现代主义视觉意识在《尤利西斯》和《芬尼根的苏醒》中均有表现,同时从中国印刷史来看,其小说的空间结构也反映了汉字书写传统。汉字书写显著的垂直特征和文本评注传统与乔伊斯作品将空间、听觉和垂直融为一体的创作特性相呼应。     

BEHAVIORAL OBJECTIVES AND THE QUANTITATIVE METHODS COURSE

The topic of behavioral objectives has recently received considerable attention in the academic community. This paper contains a comprehensive overview of issues and explores the relevance of using the behavioral objective framework for teaching quantitative methods (QM) to undergraduate business administration students. Included in the paper are (1) a discussion of the nature and meaning of behavioral objectives, (2) arguments for and against their use, (3) a rationale for their use in a QM course, and (4) a series of examples demonstrating the use of behavioral objectives in a quantitative course. The evidence-consisting of expert opinion from professionals who have successfully used behavioral objectives for teaching quantitative material, the logic of the arguments for behavioral objectives, consideration of arguments against objectives along with rebuttal to these arguments, and the available empirical studies-indicates that behavioral objectives do appear to offer considerable potential for improving QM teaching. The use of behavioral objectives is worthy of thoughtful consideration by QM teachers.     

Welfare Generosity in Europe: A Multi‐level Study of Material Deprivation and Income Poverty among Disadvantaged Groups

The aim of this study is to analyze whether and to what extent welfare generosity moderates the risk of income poverty and material deprivation among disadvantaged groups, that is, people with ill health, low education and lack of employment. The data are based on the 2009 European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (cross‐sectional) surveys. The analyses comprise 27 and 28 European countries, including 292,874 and 302,343 individuals between 18 and 64 years of age. Multi‐level analyses demonstrated that welfare generosity moderated the risk of both material deprivation and income poverty. With few exceptions, the risk decreased among disadvantaged groups in absolute terms. Among individuals who experienced the combinations of limiting long‐standing illness and either low education or non‐employment, the absolute inequalities in material deprivation decreased with increasing welfare generosity. Also, the absolute inequalities in income poverty among individuals who experienced the combination of limiting long‐standing illness and low education were lower in more generous welfare contexts. Results indicated lower absolute levels of both material deprivation and income poverty among disadvantaged individuals in generous welfare states. However, for material deprivation the results were more substantial and consistent than for income poverty. Taken together, these findings support the view that generous welfare states reach the worst‐off and are successful in buffering material deprivation and income poverty and, hence, in reducing social inequalities.     

Understanding the longer-term effects of family group conferences

Few studies estimate the longer-term effects of family group conferences (FGCs), as previous research has been mainly qualitative or has focused only on the shorter-term effects of FGCs. This study analyses, using a randomised controlled design, the longer-term effects of adult FGCs in terms of social support, mental health and re-employment. A total of 149 Norwegian longer-term social assistance recipients were randomly assigned to intervention and control groups. Participants were followed up 12 months after baseline. To gain in-depth knowledge of the FGC process, 15 participants were interviewed. Despite high shares of participant satisfaction and significant shorter-term effects, the one-year follow-up identified neutral effects of the intervention. Qualitative interviews demonstrated that lack of reciprocity in social relationships and lack of follow-up were the main reasons for the stagnation of an initially positive FGC process.     

Book Reviews and Book Notes

Abstract

Factor Analysis: An Introduction and Manual for the Psychologist and Social Scientist. By Raymond B. Catell. New York: Harper &; Brothers, 1952. Pp. xiv, 462. $6.00. Reviewed by Kenneth V. Lottick.

Veterans in Politics: The Story of the G.A.R. By Mary R. Dearing. Baton Rouge, La.: Louisiana State University Press, 1952. Pp. iv, 523. $6.00. Reviewed by Horace Samuel Merrill.

Race and Culture Relations. By Paul A. F. Walter, Jr. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co., Inc., 1952. Pp. xi, 482. $5.50. Reviewed by Milton M. Gordon.

The American System of Government. By John H. Ferguson and Dean E. McHenry. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1953. Pp. xii, 1056. $6.00. Reviewed by Charles Roger Hicks.

The World in the Twentieth Century. By Geoffrey Brunn. Boston, Massachusetts: D. C. Heath &; Co., 1952. Pp. 800. $5.50. Reviewed by Herbert A. Crosman.

Henri Comte de Saint-Simon. Selected Writings. Edited and Translated by F. H. M. Markham. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1952. Pp. Ixix, 116. $2.00. Reviewed by J. F. Santee.     

Book Reviews and Book Notes

Elementary students are often hampered by a tendency to ascribe innovation to increasing human intelligence or individual agency rather than increased information, better access to information, or collective and institutional agency. As a result, they struggle to build evidence-based interpretations of the distant past. A fifth-grade “experimental archaeology” approach to studying ancient Eastern Woodlands Indians served as an intellectual tipping point in students' interpreting ancient people's intellect, ingenuity, and agency. As fifth-graders participated in a field-based experience with chaîne opératoire (the sequence of operations) for tools and technologies, classroom-based opportunities to consider material objects as primary sources, and opportunities for reflection, they confirmed the power of “engaged understanding” in supporting the humanistic and civic goals of social studies.     

“History Teaches …”

The author conducted research in Jordan, where he interviewed secondary school social studies teachers about their perspectives on teaching critical-thinking skills in their classrooms. All interviews were audiotaped or videotaped in Arabic and later translated into English. The author qualitatively analyzed data, including the translations of the interviews, the Ministry of Education's teaching guidelines, and textbook teacher manuals. The study's results indicate that Jordanian secondary school social studies teachers have little familiarity with the definition and teaching strategies of critical thinking; the Jordanian Ministry of Education requires teachers to teach critical thinking only to a small extent. In addition, teacher's manuals for the state-required textbooks provide detailed content information, with only minor references to teaching critical thinking. Previous research, conducted by the author on middle and high school students in Jordanian public schools, supports the finding that students do not acquire critical-thinking skills from their public school education in Jordan.     

Suggestions for a Beginning Teacher

This article addresses how far educational institutions have come in designing authentic and meaningful curricula for teaching the Holocaust at the secondary level. Examined in this article are the historical development of Holocaust education in the United States, with a focus on the state of Illinois as a case study, what contributes to the development of a full curriculum, and what constitutes the boundary between a curriculum and a framework, based on examination of the work of scholars and institutions in the field. Analysis of existing frameworks according to criteria developed by the authors has yielded the finding that a framework can only guide teachers to an extent because of its looser structure. A full curriculum, however, is structured with greater detail and more direct ways of determining evidence that demonstrates understanding of the content and mastery of essential skills. Recommendations are provided for Holocaust Education curriculum development, underscoring the significance of an engaging design that makes learning more lasting and meaningful.