Sensing Abnormal Resource Flow Using Adaptive Limit Process Charts in a Complex Supply Network*

Supply networks are becoming increasingly complex with multiple overlapping relationships between firms that may span across industries. Consequently, inventory management is becoming more difficult as managers have to cope with variability in the supply flows that originate from different parts of the network. Managers that quickly sense abnormal flows may intervene and adapt their inventory policies in response to system changes. In this article, we present a framework for sensing abnormal flows originating within the upstream supply network of a focal organization. Our framework combines time series modeling with process charts to identify abnormal flow patterns in the incoming supply streams. It is a flexible framework that uses off‐the‐shelf technology to provide managers with a process that can be employed for monitoring multiple individual or aggregated data streams originating within any complex system such as complex adaptive supply networks. We illustrate our framework on four years of longitudinal supply data from the second largest food bank in the United States. We identify multiple instances of abnormal supply flows and validate our results through rigorous inventory analysis as well as field‐based expert interviews. We discuss the implications of our findings for inventory management in complex supply networks, both from academic and practitioner points of view.     

Cohabitation Transitions Among Low-income Parents: A Qualitative Investigation of Economic and Relational Motivations

At the intersection of the cohabitation and residential mobility literatures is an opportunity to better understand the factors that shape cohabitation choices for low-income couples. By investigating push and pull factors associated with cohabitation, this study aimed to identify linkages between cohabitation transitions and the broader socioeconomic context within which they occur. Collecting data from both members of low-income couples and carefully tracking all residential and cohabitation transitions made it possible to identify a wide range of push and pull factors that motivate couples to move. The findings suggest that cohabitation transitions were often motivated by economic necessity. Romantic partnerships, while important, were less frequently mentioned than other factors (i.e., interpersonal negotiations, finances, housing quality) in determining a couple’s living arrangements. These findings have important implications for understanding the complex relationship between economic and non-economic factors that shape romantic relationships.     

Unmarried Coparenting in the Context of Poverty: Understanding the Relationship Between Stress,Family Resource Management,and Resilience

Due to rising rates of non-marital birth in the United States, unmarried families have been the subject of extensive research and the target of government funded interventions over the last 15 years. Despite a growing literature on this population, few studies have addressed how unmarried couples coparent in the context of poverty. In the present study we used in-depth interviews with paired mothers and fathers to explore resilience processes in unmarried coparenting. We found that unmarried couples aspired to be good coparents, but the stress of living in poverty and the challenges of parenting young children led some to experience family strain or crisis. Using family stress theory as a framework for organizing the findings, we concluded that family resource management distinguished couples that adapted successfully to the task of coparenting from those that struggled to do so. Implications for theory, future research, and practice are discussed.     

The clinical social worker and current psychiatric drugs: Some introductory principles

This paper persents some common social work clinical and case management issues with respect to psychiatric drug treatment. The roles of the psychiatrist and the social worker are distinguished. Three types of negative treatment drug effect are described-physical, psychological, and social-with case examples. Techniques to prevent or reduce negative drug effects are presented. The paper emphasizes the need for greater social work professional attention being paid to drug therapy.     

On the Ambiguities of Greening

This article discusses some of the underlying contradictions in the contemporary attempts to achieve a more sustainable socio-economic development. Based on research conducted in a European project on public participation and environmental science and technology policy, the article identifies a tension between a business orientation and a more critical orientation in the efforts to 'green' societies. It concludes by outlining a broad, cultural approach to understanding the dynamics of ecological transformation.     

Corporate long range planning for ocean oriented industries

In order to evaluate and project the future growth opportunities for ocean oriented industries, it is necessary to get the current market into focus. There has been a considerable amount of misinformation circulated about marine activities and the potential of ocean resources. When this has been translated into corporate programs, the results have been disappointing because of a failure to put the market into the proper perspective and anticipate lead times. Under the circumtansces it is advisable to dispel some of the popular misconceptions about the ocean and related markets before it is possible to identify the long range potential within a realistic context.     

National Styles of Science and Technology: A Comparative Model*

This essay articulates a comparative approach to the sociology of science. It suggests that even historically there have been numerous scholars interested in the national components of scientific knowledge. I develop a model which allows me to compare the differences in scientific growth in Sweden and Denmark. My model consists of three interrelated levels: metaphysical bias, national scientific interests, institutional structures. The comparison between the two countries shows them to be markedly different on all three levels. Finally, I suggest how the model can be applied to contemporary material.     

Identifying Demographic and Attitudinal Correlates of Young Adults’ Safer-Sex Self-Efficacy

Objectives: Using data from young-adult college students (N = 207), we identified demographic and attitudinal correlates of safer-sex self-efficacy. Female respondents reported higher levels of safer-sex self-efficacy than males. Methods: Participants completed a self-report survey about their sexual attitudes, values, and experiences. Results: In regression analyses only, the importance of safer-sex practices was related to safer sex self-efficacy in both men and women. Women's safersex self-efficacy was associated with additional demographic factors and sexual beliefs. Conclusions: The factors identified in this study may serve as intervention targets for young-adult sexual health programs. Reinforcing the importance of safer-sex practices may be particularly effective in increasing young adults’ safer-sex self-efficacy.