An Application of the AXIS Solution Framework to Multiple Objective Aggregate Production Planning

This paper provides data on the first application of a prototype of the AXIS solution framework. AXIS (algorithms combined with knowledge systems in an interactive sequence) is a framework for interactively combining structured algorithms that seek a best solution with knowledge-based expert systems that seek expert heuristic solutions. This paper tests the framework using an interactive multiple objective integer programming algorithm combined with heuristics taken from the domain of aggregate production planning. The results indicate the AXIS framework can be successful in generating high quality solutions, in vastly reduced solution times compared to the structured algorithms, at much lower costs compared to the expert heuristics working alone.     

Out in the country: rural sexual minority mothers

Rural and urban sexual minority mothers' parenting experiences related to sexual orientation were compared. Participants were 414 mothers in same-sex relationships with at least one child under the age of 18 years living in their home who was planned with their current partner. Rural mothers were more likely to be biological parents and not adoptive parents. Rural mothers reported higher rates of discrimination from strangers and people in service or helping professions. Although outness for rural and urban mothers did not differ, for children, classmates' parents and neighbors were less likely to know the family's status in rural areas. Rural and urban mothers did not differ on internalized homophobia, social support, or stigma consciousness. Clinical and policy implications are discussed.     

State-Owned Enterprise Policy and the Loss of Economic Sovereignty: The Case of Ireland

The global financial crisis that erupted in 2008 has had enormous implications for the composition of the state-owned enterprise (SOE) sector in many advanced economies around the world. The crisis resulted in the nationalization of financial institutions in a number of economies, but has also led to a number of countries pursuing policies of privatization to raise much needed revenue to tackle high levels of indebtedness. This article describes the changes to the composition of the Irish SOE sector since the onset of the economic crisis in 2008, as well as its impact on the stated plans for the future of the SOE sector. It addresses the question of privatization and the conditionality for the sale of state assets contained in the bailout agreement signed between the Irish government and the IMF/ECB/European Commission (the “Troika”). It finds that Ireland has been afforded a degree of discretion with regard to the choice of assets to be sold and the application of proceeds. Revenue targets, however, have been dictated by the Troika. This contrasts with the agreements forged between the Troika and the governments of Greece and Portugal where there has been a far greater degree of conditionality attached to SOE divestments.     

Activity theory and the view from somewhere: Team perspectives on the intellectual work of programming

The study we describe here, an ethnographic investigation of the cognitive work of three programming teams, led us to emphasize an aspect of situatedness that is relatively unexplored: the developing perspective ofintellectual workers on their contexts of action. We followed teams composed of students in a Department of Computer Science as they were being taught “software engineering.” Despite their subordinate position as students, we found that the institution was not totally successful in dictating their work; we could not assume a similarity of work activity across teams. Instead the teams' perspectives on their projects were collectively developed over the course of the project and they diverged. Consequently, the teams differed in their construal of the objects of their intellectual work and in the significance and time they devoted to the components of their work, and to the ways in which they carried them out. In this paper we recount these differences and relate them ultimately to ongoing tensions and contradictions within, and external to, the university. “Perspective,” we argue, usefully extends the applicability of theories of situated cognition, especially activity theory, to the type of diversity we encountered.¹     

Work and family roles: Contemporary women in Indonesia

The question of how women in contemporary Indonesia integrate their work and family roles is addressed. Pertinent literature is reviewed and personal observations about this topic are shared. Theoretical framework is provided by Janet Chafetz who has developed a theory of sex stratification. It is concluded that family‐work role integration is probably easier to achieve in Indonesia than in the United States because there may be less sex stratification, with males having the most advantage, in Indonesia. Specifically, the degree of gender differentiation and degree of occupational segregation by sex appear to be less in Indonesia than in the United States. Moreover, the concepts of masculinity and femininity are rarely used to distinguish attitudes and behavior of the sexes. Ideological support for sex stratification is unclear. As Indonesia develops economically, it will probably become more stratified by sex which will negatively affect the current ease of family‐work role integration of mothers.     

Dating Trajectories From Middle to High School: Association With Academic Performance and Drug Use

This study identifies trajectories of dating from sixth to twelfth grade and describes the academic performance (teacher‐rated study skills and high school dropout) and self‐reported drug use associated with these trajectories, in a diverse sample randomly selected in sixth grade. Using a group‐based, semiparametric procedure, we identified four dating trajectories: low (16%), increasing (24%), high middle school (22%), and frequent (38%). Students in these latter two groups had significantly worse study skills, were four times more likely to drop out of school, and reported twice as much alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana use than students in the low and increasing dating groups. This study highlights the diversity of dating trajectories and some of the risks associated with early dating.     

A Comparison of Men in Typically Male and Typically Female Operative Occupations

The authors use data from the General Social Surveys conducted from 1972 to 1985 to examine those personal and family characteristics which best discriminate men in typically male machine operative occupations from men in typically female machine operative occupations. Of the twelve personal and family characteristics considered, nine variables are found to discriminate between these two groups. The findings suggest that personal and family characteristics may shape occupational destinations for men in semi-skilled occupations.     

Intimate partner abuse of older men: considerations for the assessment of risk

Intimate partner abuse among older persons, though less common than among the general population, is a significant concern. Drawing from the intimate partner abuse and elder abuse literatures, this paper presents considerations for the assessment of risk for intimate partner abuse perpetrated against older men, with reference to the prevalent gendered view of abuse between intimate partners. Potential victim and perpetrator risk factors specific to this context are discussed and existing risk assessment tools are introduced. Implications and future research directions are discussed with regard to the application of risk assessment technology to this context.