Rolling horizon master production schedule performance: A policy analysis

In this paper, a simulation experiment has been developed to examine the combined influence of the design, inventory and environmental factors on the cost performance of a rolling horizon master production schedule. Specifically, a 2 5 factorial design was used to examine the effects associated with three rolling schedule design policies, one inventory policy and one environmental condition of forecast error on MPS cost performance. The study was based on actual data from a paint company. Results suggest that the choice of appropriate lot-size and inventory policies have a significant influence on MPS costs and that there are indeed important interactions between these policies and other design factors of a rolling schedule.     

The application of a performance management system in hospitals: A hypothetical example

Abstract

The central theme of this article is performance management, defined as activities of organizations aimed at an effective and efficient use of their human resources. The organization focused on in particular is the hospital. Three principles taken from motivation theory are dealt with which are basic to performance management: goal setting, feedback and reinforcement. Next, a recently developed procedure (Pritchard 1990, Pritchard et al. 1988, 1989) for the design of performance management systems is described. This procedure, ProMES: Productivity Measurement and Enhancement Systems, is explained using a team of ward nurses as a hypothetical example. In addition to the nursing wards example, other potential applications of the ProMES technique to several hospitals areas are mentioned. Finally, some conditions that should be fulfilled in order to successfully start a ProMES project are discussed.     

Analysis of Deviance for Hypothesis Testing in Generalized Partially Linear Models

In this study, we develop nonparametric analysis of deviance tools for generalized partially linear models based on local polynomial fitting. Assuming a canonical link, we propose expressions for both local and global analysis of deviance, which admit an additivity property that reduces to analysis of variance decompositions in the Gaussian case. Chi-square tests based on integrated likelihood functions are proposed to formally test whether the nonparametric term is significant. Simulation results are shown to illustrate the proposed chi-square tests and to compare them with an existing procedure based on penalized splines. The methodology is applied to German Bundesbank Federal Reserve data.     

Estimation of a process capability index for inverse gaussian distribution

In this article, interval estimates of Clements' process capability index are studied through bootstrapping when the underlying distribution is Inverse Gaussian. The standard bootstrap, the percentile bootstrap, and the bias-corrected percentile bootstrap confidence intervals are compared.     

NIMBY, CLAMP, and the Location of New Nuclear-Related Facilities: U.S. National and 11 Site-Specific Surveys

Public and political opposition have made finding locations for new nuclear power plants, waste management, and nuclear research and development facilities a challenge for the U.S. government and the nuclear industry. U.S. government-owned properties that already have nuclear-related activities and commercial nuclear power generating stations are logical locations. Several studies and utility applications to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission suggest that concentrating locations at major plants (CLAMP) has become an implicit siting policy. We surveyed 2,101 people who lived within 50 miles of 11 existing major nuclear sites and 600 who lived elsewhere in the United States. Thirty-four percent favored CLAMP for new nuclear power plants, 52% for waste management facilities, and 50% for new nuclear laboratories. College educated, relatively affluent male whites were the strongest CLAMP supporters. They disproportionately trusted those responsible for the facilities and were not worried about existing nuclear facilities or other local environmental issues. Notably, they were concerned about continuing coal use. Not surprisingly, CLAMP proponents tended to be familiar with their existing local nuclear site. In short, likely CLAMP sites have a large and politically powerful core group to support a CLAMP policy. The challenge to proponents of nuclear technologies will be to sustain this support and expand the base among those who clearly are less connected and receptive to new nearby sites.     

Improving TAIEX forecasting using fuzzy time series with Box–Cox power transformation

Box–Cox together with our newly proposed transformation were implemented in three different real world empirical problems to alleviate noisy and the volatility effect of them. Consequently, a new domain was constructed. Subsequently, universe of discourse for transformed data was established and an approach for calculating effective length of the intervals was then proposed. Considering the steps above, the initial forecasts were performed using frequently used fuzzy time series (FTS) methods on transformed data. Final forecasts were retrieved from initial forecasted values by proper inverse operation. Comparisons of the results demonstrate that the proposed method produced more accurate forecasts compared with existing FTS on original data.     

Alternative tests for heteroscedasticity of disturbances:a comparative study

This paper presents three small sample tests for testing the heteroscedasticity among regression disturbances. The power of these tests are compared with two of the leading tests for this hypothesis, one by Goldfeld and Quandt [5] and the other by Theil [17]. We also provide a heuristic method of selecting the number of middle observations to be deleted for the Goldfeld-Quandt type of tests.     

Influence of Late Life Stressors on the Decisions of Older Women to Relocate into Congregate Senior Housing

Late-life stressors often require individuals to make substantial alterations in behavior and lifestyle and can affect their overall health and well-being. Relocation is a significant life stress, regardless of age. The primary aim of this study is to elucidate the push-pull factors associated with moving into congregate senior housing. The secondary aim is to investigate the decision-making processes and stresses associated with moving into a congregate living environment. Interviews were conducted with 26 women who were new residents in congregate senior housing. Relocation, as expected, was considered to be stressful, although individual differences were found among perceptions of relocation stresses. Women who had made the decision to relocate on their own showed evidence of better psychosocial well-being at the time of the move. One-quarter of the sample chose to move to provide care to another person. As the options for senior housing continue to evolve and the number of adults reaching advanced age continues to increase, it is important to understand the factors that contribute to successful adaptation. This knowledge will enable facility administrators to implement programs and procedures to assist incoming residents with acclimating to their new homes.     

Exploring Neglected Dimensions of Social Policy: The SDW, Fiscal Welfare and the Exemplar of Local Taxation in England

Titmuss's Social Division of Welfare (SDW) thesis is a vitally important but much neglected element of social policy analysis. This article seeks to explore the SDW, with a particular focus on fiscal welfare. Fiscal welfare has been described as forming a hidden welfare state, and while taxation is one of the main ways in which governments affect the lives of citizens, studies of welfare pay remarkably little attention to its impact. Fiscal welfare is examined by using, as an exemplar, local taxation in England, a subject that itself is neglected within social policy. Local taxation in England is of interest because it illustrates the impact of a system of taxation on different groups of citizens, and how this can operate to the benefit of rich over poor citizens. This is because the current system is highly regressive, meaning that those on low and middle incomes spend proportionately more of their income paying the tax than do those on high incomes. What is of further interest is how within the debate about reform of local taxation, concern with regressivity becomes obscured and ceases to be the focus of attention. We are thus provided with an example of how fiscal welfare remains a hidden issue. The article concludes by arguing that social policy analysis needs to move beyond the narrow confines of social welfare and develop a broader understanding of welfare, based on the SDW.