The transition to marriage

Cohabitation has often been viewed as easing the transition to marriage. The question is therefore asked, what characterizes relationships in which couples live together for an extended period of time prior to marriage, then decide to marry, and within two to three years are divorced? Four groups were interviewed (cohabitated/married; cohabitated/married/divorced; dated/married; dated/married/divorced) with the hope of analyzing the differences or similarities in the marital transitions made by individuals within these groups. The total sample consisted of 40 respondents who were given an in-depth, face-to-face interview. It was found that the degree of congruence between dyad members regarding perceptions and expectations surrounding marriage and marital life was an important factor in the success with which couples were able to make the marital transition.     

Reaching children at risk: a model for training child welfare specialists

An innovative model for the training of social welfare students in the special skills essential in child welfare work is predicated upon a classification system of children at risk and a continuum of services.     

The Management of Violence in a Conflict Organization: The Case of the Abu Sayyaf

The Abu Sayyaf is an organization which has left a trail of mayhem and murder in the southern Philippines for more than a decade. It has gained international notoriety through several high profile mass kidnappings. This article looks at how the Abu Sayyaf has managed to survive and at times prosper despite the state's efforts to eradicate it. By using organizational analysis the paper demonstrates how the Abu Sayyaf has developed structures and processes which make it such a deadly force. The organization has succeeded in gaining considerable fit with the environment in which it operates.     

The State of the Field in UK Management Research: Reflections of the Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) Panel

This paper reviews the state of the field of the sub-disciplines within UK management research, based upon the submissions of 94 UK higher education institutions to the Business and Management Studies Panel in the UK's 2001 Research Assessment Exercise (RAE). It offers observations on the UK model of the assessment of quality in, and funding of, research conducted in publicly funded higher education institutions.     

Optimization Model and Algorithm for Crew Management During Airline Irregular Operations

Airline irregular operations have long been a realm where human experience and judgement are the most important tools to utilize. Crew management during irregular operations is usually the bottleneck of the whole system-recovering process due to complicated crew schedules and restrictive crew legalities as well as the size and scope of the hub-and-spoke networks adopted by major carriers. A system-wide multi-commodity integer network flow model and a heuristic search algorithm for the above purpose are presented and discussed in this paper. The computational experiences show that the algorithm is efficient enough to solve problems of realistic size and also has the flexibility to accommodate practical business requirements.     

Early experiences of mentoring: Design and use of multimedia materials for teaching OR/MS

The MENTOR project, based at the University of Strathclyde, is producing multimedia computer based learning materials with the aim of improving both the effectiveness and the efficiency of teaching Operational Research/Management Science in higher education. The process of development has been carefully designed to encourage ownership of and commitment to the materials amongst lecturing staff in Universities, with the aim of ensuring widespread use. The paper outlines this process of development and design of materials. Experiences in introducing students to the use of these materials as an integrated part of a Management Science class are reported. Feedback from students has been very positive but also indicates the need for ongoing support and direction.