Measuring performance of two-stage network structures by DEA: A review and future perspective

Data envelopment analysis (DEA) is a method for measuring the efficiency of peer decision making units (DMUs). An important area of development in recent years has been devoted to applications wherein DMUs represent two-stage or network processes. One particular subset of such processes is those in which all the outputs from the first stage are the only inputs to the second stage. The current paper reviews these models and establishes relations among various approaches. We show that all the existing approaches can be categorized as using either Stackelberg (leader-follower), or cooperative game concepts. Future perspectives and challenges are discussed.     

Is philanthropy being used by corporate wrongdoers to buy good will?

While an increasing number of philosophers and community activists argue in favor of corporate philanthropy, the practice is not without its critics. A number of firms that have restated suspect earnings also appear on lists of top corporate givers or are ranked among most ethical firms, prompting the suspicion that companies are using philanthropy as a kind of moral window-dressing. This paper explores whether restating firms are (1) using philanthropy to divert public attention away from suspect financial results; or (2) making donations to buy good will or a better reputation after they have been required to restate suspect earnings. Our results paint a mixed picture of the morality of corporate philanthropy. Firms forced to restate suspect earnings do seem to be using philanthropy either to divert attention away from their lackluster earnings or to elicit good will from the large community after such restatements. However, the reverse is not true. Just because a firm is a top giver, it does not follow that it is more likely to be a restater of earnings. Nor did we find evidence that firms ranked as very ethical are more likely to be restaters than non-restaters. Firms engage in philanthropy for a variety of reasons. We should not uncritically praise them for their giving, but neither should we regard with a cynical eye all corporate reputations for goodness or all corporation donations.     

The Racial Dialectic: President Barack Obama and the White Racial Frame

This paper introduces the concept of the ??racial dialectic?? to describe the ways racial dialogues and policies have transformed in the wake of Barack Obama??s historic election to the presidency of the United States of America. Using public statements and behaviors from elected officials, pundits, and Obama himself as case study data, we examine the tension between what we term the hard racial frame, the soft racial frame, and the racial counterframe in the public discourses. We conclude that these competing frames produce a dialectic that has transformed the way racial issues are discussed and interpreted in the wake of Obama??s election.     

OR models as tools for the regulation of industry

This paper presents some novel observations and recommendations about the uses and usefulness of operational research models as a tool for regulation of industry. Reference is made to the first use of a model for regulatory analyses by the United States Federal Power Commission in a natural gas proceeding. A criticism is given of this first attempt to use a model for regulatory purposes, and from this criticism a strategy for a more effective use of models is developed. As a part of this strategy the concept of ex post models is introduced. In addition the potential conflict of model use and the guarantee of due process of law is considered. The paper concludes with a set of remarks on the recommended posture that an operational research analyst should assume when working with policy makers.     

The Needle and the Damage Done: Research, Action Research, and the Organizational and Social Construction of Health in the “Information Society”

This paper critically reviews the actionresearch paradigm that has evolved over the last 50years within and outside The Tavistock Insitute, withreference to radical shifts in the social construction of medicine and health that are occurring as aresult of the transition toward the informationsociety. The medical domain has been chosen as anappropriate space within which to review the actionresearch paradigm because it bridges both the past andfuture of the Institute. The paper firstly considers theoriginal conception of action research andsociotechnical systems, and the role of consultants, in relation to Foucualt's analysis of powerrelations, social control, and dividingpractices. It then describes and analyzes recentdevelopments in the field of medicine and healthcareservice provision that, on the one hand, offer opportunities forincreased self-management and control by consumers overphysical, social, and emotional self-hoodand on the other could lead to further socialsurveillance and the domination and subjectification of theindividual. Drawing on recent work using innovativemodels of action research in the field of HIV/AIDS, thepaper concludes by discussing ways in which action research could harness developments ininformation and communication technologies to maximizeindividual and collective engagement in new forms oforganizational and social relations.     

Variability in measures of health and health behavior among emerging adults 1 year after high school according to college status

Objective: To examine changes in health behaviors among US emerging adults 1 year after high school. Participants: The national sample of participants (N = 1,927), including those attending 4-year college/university (n = 884), 2-year colleges/technical schools (n = 588), and no college (n = 455), participated in annual spring surveys 2013–2014. Methods: Health behaviors were assessed the last year of high school and first year of college; differences by college status controlling for previous-year values were estimated using regression analyses. Results: Relative to 4-year college attendees, those attending technical school/community college were less likely to binge drink (odds ratio [OR] = 0.57, confidence interval [CI] = 0.38–0.86) but more likely to speed (OR = 1.26, CI = 1.0–2.84), consume sodas (OR = 1.57, CI = 1.0–2.47), and report lower family satisfaction (p < .01), with marginally more physical and depressive symptoms. College nonattendees reported more DWI (driving while intoxicated; OR = 1.60, CI = 1.05–2.47), soda drinking (OR = 2.51, CI = 1.76–3.59), oversleeping (OR = 4.78, CI = 3.65–8.63), and less family satisfaction (p < .04). Conclusions: Health risk behaviors among emerging adults varied by college status.     

Racial Disparities in Welfare Dependence and Financial Independence: Links to Human Capital,Local Economy,and State Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Policies

This secondary data analysis examined racial disparities in associations betwen welfare dependence/financial independence and human capital, local economy, and state TANF policies. A sample of 6,737 parents was extracted from the public-use data set titled “National Longitudinal Survey of Youth.” Results showed that restrictive TANF policies reduced African Americans’ likelihood of welfare use and increased likelihood of their financial independence. Multinomial logistic results also showed that, among Hispanics, employment growth in neighboring counties promoted welfare use; whereas among Caucasians such growth promoted financial independence. County poverty increased (a) Caucasians’ likelihood of welfare use and (b) Hispanics’ likelihood of being working poor; it decreased Caucasians’ and African Americans’ likelihood of financial independence. Across ethnic groups, education reduced likelihood of welfare use and working poor status; across minority groups, education increased likelihood of financial independence, but among Caucasians it decreased such likelihood. Across ethnic groups, occupational skills hindered dependence and improved odds of employment (regardless of welfare or poverty status). This study concluded the studied TANF policies and job markets were not color-blind. Interventions this study implies include less-restrictive TANF policies, generous support services, TANF staff cultural-competence training, and antidiscrimination rules. Research investigating particular TANF policies’ and services’ effects by ethnicity might prove useful.