Optimal designs for exponential regression

This paper is concerned with the optimal design problem for the particular case of non-linear parametrisation:the parameters to be estimated are included in exponents.Some properties of locally optimal designs as functions of estimated parameters are investigated and a table of such designs in given.We consider also designs to be optimal in the sense of minimax approach.     

The benefits of a cross-docking delivery strategy: a supply chain collaboration approach

In this study, two models are developed to co-ordinate both production and distribution in order to reduce the relevant costs in a supply chain. According to the functions of the distribution centre, there is a distinction between an inventory co-ordination point and an inventory storage point. The former is a cross-docking strategy, and the latter is a traditional warehousing strategy. The manufacturer has distinct production processes when co-operating with the distribution centre. Case study analysis is used to illustrate the models developed, in which the following conclusions can be obtained: the cross-docking distribution strategy will result in tremendous savings in the total system cost for the supply chain. This study makes two important contributions to the production, and logistics literature. First, the range of applications was extended by studying a new combinatorial problem that incorporates cross-docking in a supply chain environment. Second, computational performance with cross docking was evaluated. The benefit delivery policy for a distribution centre was found by means of integrating manufacturer production planning and a distribution centre delivery policy.     

Urbanisation factors impacting on ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) biodiversity in the Perth metropolitan area, Western Australia: Two case studies

Two synchronous projects undertaken in 2011 examined the likely impact of increasing urban densification on invertebrate populations within urban settlement in Perth, Western Australia. One project analysed the ant fauna found in 20 gardens and lawns in small to very small properties (these having a bungalow or duplex (semi-detached) as the main residential building, and a lawn or garden area of 43 m²–332 m²) east, south, north and west of the Central Business District (CBD). The other project examined the ant fauna at 14 sites, principally in native regrowth along the Kwinana Freeway, a major artery that runs north to south through Perth’s suburbs. The gardens and lawns produced a very depauperate fauna of 26 ant species, of which a maximum of 20 were native and at least six species were exotic. The ant fauna from regrowth adjacent to the Kwinana Freeway and at two additional sites (one a bush control) was more than twice as rich, the 56 species collected including only two exotics. In the garden project, ant richness, evenness and abundance were not significantly correlated with size of the garden area. The same applied even when the exotic Pheidole megacephala-dominated gardens were removed from the analysis. Ordination analysis combining the two sets of data revealed a distinct clustering of most of the regrowth sites, whereas the bush control stood alone and garden or lawn sites exhibited a much looser pattern of association. We suggest that increasing the density of Perth suburbs is resulting in drastic loss of native invertebrate fauna, of which ants are a useful bioindicator. However, native vegetation regrowth along major arterial roads could act as a reservoir for invertebrate species that might otherwise disappear entirely from the Perth metropolitan area.     

Asperger’s Syndrome and the Decoding of Boredom,Interest, and Disagreement from Body Posture

Twenty Asperger’s Syndrome (AS) participants were compared with 20 matched neurotypical controls in their decoding of postural cues of boredom, interest, and disagreement. On a nonverbal matching task, the AS group performed as accurately as the controls, whereas on a verbal labeling task, AS participants made significantly more mistakes in labeling bored postures. Response times of the AS group were significantly slower than controls in their judgments of all three attitudes on both tasks, with the exception only of disagreeing postures on the verbal labeling task. It was hypothesized that these slower response times may reflect a feature-based cognitive processing style by AS participants. Proposed practical recommendations are to train AS individuals in the recognition of boredom, and to improve the speed with which they can recognize different attitudes.     

The mean of linear signed rank statistics under alternatives

An expression is presented for the mean of a linear signed rank statistic for the one sample location model. Several examples are given to illustrate its application.     

Theorizing the lesbian hashtag: Identity,community, and the technological imperative to name the sexual self

This analysis integrates poststructuralist and symbolic interactionist approaches to the self by incorporating the insights of science and technology studies regarding categorization processes. While the advent of the Internet has freed many individuals from geographical constraints on community formation, the architectures of online platforms produce a technological imperative to name aspects of the self with words. Using sexual identity hashtags on Instagram (e.g., #lesbian) thus performs paradoxical functions: the hashtag both enables the construction of a sexual identity within an affirming community and also reinforces the power relations that compel individuals to name and account for their sexual selves. By illustrating one way sexual identities function in the online lives of young women, this research complicates other scholars' findings that the salience of sexual identity categories is decreasing.