A Study of Labor Allocation Strategies in Cellular Manufacturing

Current research studies in cellular manufacturing have considered environments constrained only by the machine resource, when in fact the flexibility of manufacturing cells is derived mainly from its allocation of the labor resource. This research specifically examines the labor resource in cellular manufacturing, also known as group technology (GT), through a series of simulation experiments on a hypothetical GT shop and recommends conditions under which different labor allocation strategies may be appropriate. The effects of various product routings and scheduling policies on labor allocation are also examined.     

Bringing Sociology into the Public Policy Process: a Relational Network Approach

How does evidence-based sociological research influence public policymaking either directly or indirectly? Based on an analysis of a 2014 NSF-funded public policy research workshop and written case studies by workshop participants, this article provides a conceptual roadmap and varied examples of the pathways through which social science research and social scientists can inform public policy decision-making. Pathways include networks and relationships among academics, social scientists employed in government, special interest groups and non-profits, and members of the media. Many sociologists are committed to using their evidence-based findings to inform solutions to societal problems, yet are often too narrowly trained to write only for scholarly communities and are often unaware of the relations, connections, and networks that can increase the use of sociological and other social science research in public discourse and in the public policy arena. The paper highlights lessons learned about effective networks, communication channels and dissemination strategies from the workshop and case studies in order to better equip those social scientists interested to bring their research into a public policy realm with the tools to do so. Given the current political climate, this resolve seems all the more important.     

Occupational stress and biomechanical risk in a high fashion clothing company

Psychosocial discomfort may amplify job-related risk factors. The aim of this study is to evaluate job stress in a high fashion clothing company with upper limb biomechanical overload due to repetitive and forceful manual activities. Biomechanical risk was analyzed and in part reduced using the OCRA Check list. A total of 518 workers (433 females and 85 males) were investigated to determine anxiety (by STAI 1 and 2), occupational stress (using the Italian version of the Karasek Job Content Questionnaire) and perception of symptoms. Final biomechanical assessment did not reveal high risk jobs, except for cutting. Although the perception of anxiety and job insecurity was within the normal range, all the workers showed a high level of job strain (correlated with the perception of symptoms) due, probably, to very low decision latitude. It was suggested that job strain may increase the perception of symptoms. Moreover, the result of this study indicates that musculoskeletal overload has to be further analyzed since its low level is not in agreement with the level of discomfort due to the repetitive tasks.     

Infants’ learning of non-adjacent regularities from visual sequences

Tracking adjacent (AD) and non-adjacent (NAD) dependencies in a sequence of elements is critical for the development of many complex abilities, such as language acquisition and social interaction. While learning of AD in infancy is a domain-general ability that is functioning across different domains, infants’ processing of NAD has been reported only for speech sequences. Here, we tested 9- to 12- and 13- to 15-month-olds’ ability to extract AxB grammars in visual sequences of unfamiliar elements. Infants were habituated to a series of 3-visual arrays following an AxB grammar in which the first element (A) predicted the third element (B), while intervening X elements changed continuously. Following habituation, infants were tested with 3-item arrays in which initial and final positions were switched (novel) or kept consistent with the habituation phase (familiar). Older infants successfully recognized the familiar AxB grammar at test, whereas the younger group showed some sensitivity to extract to NAD, albeit in a less robust form. This finding provides the first evidence that the ability to track NAD is a domain-general ability that is present also in the visual domain and that the sensitivity to such dependencies is related to developmental changes, as demonstrated in the auditory domain.     

Child Passenger Safety: Decisions about Seating Location, Airbag Exposure, and Restraint Use

The installation of passenger-side airbags in new vehicles complicates efforts to maximize child safety in motor vehicle crashes. It has been recommended by both public and private organizations that children sit in the rear seat with proper restraint to achieve maximum safety. Drivers now need to decide whether a child should be restrained, where the child should be seated (front versus rear), and whether the child should be seated in front of a passenger-side airbag. This research was undertaken to determine which choice minimizes the risk of fatality to children. Using data from the U.S. Fatality Analysis Reporting System for calendar years 1989 to 1998, fatal vehicle crashes with child passengers younger than 13 years were analyzed. The effectiveness of passenger-side airbags and rear seating for children, by age category and restraint use, was estimated using the double-pair comparison method. For each of four age categories, the fatality risk of each possible combination of restraint use, seating location, and airbag presence was also estimated using logistic regression. Passenger airbags were associated with an increase in child fatality risk of 31% for restrained children, and 84% for unrestrained children. Passenger airbags did appear to offer protection to restrained 9- to 12-year-old children. Restraint use and rear seating were associated with statistically significant reductions in the odds of a child dying in a crash. In order to minimize child fatality risk, parents should seat children in the rear of the vehicle while using the proper child restraint system, especially in vehicles with passenger airbags. These findings support current public education efforts in the United States.     

AN EVALUATION OF SEQUENCING RULES FOR AN ASSEMBLY SHOP

Research relating to sequencing rules in simple job shops has proliferated, but there has not been a corresponding proliferation of research evaluating similar sequencing rules in more complex assembly job shops. In a simple job shop, all operations are performed serially; but an assembly shop encompasses both serial and parallel operations. As a result of the increased complexity of assembly shops, the results associated with the performance of sequencing rules in simple job shops cannot be expected for an assembly shop. In this paper, 11 sequencing rules (some of which are common to simple job shops and some decigned specifically for assembly shops) are evaluated using a simulation analysis of a hypothetical assembly shop. The simulation results are analyzed using an ANOVA procedure that identifies significant differences in the results of several performance measures. Sensitivity analysis also is performed to determine the effect of job structure on the performance of the sequencing rules.     

Adoption by Lesbians and Gay Men in Europe: Challenges and Barriers on the Journey to Adoption

No psychological research has been done investigating the experiences of adoption by sexual minorities living in Europe. This qualitative study is the first cross-national research within the European context giving the floor to LG (lesbian and gay) adoptive parents in order to explore the main challenges they encountered in the transition to adoptive parenthood. Sixty-two LG adoptive parents (16 lesbians and 46 gay men) living in Belgium (n = 14), France (n = 26), and Spain (n = 22) participated in this study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted in order to gather information about two key steps in the adoptive path: the decision making and the adoption process itself. Results revealed that while choosing to adopt, LG adoptive parents experienced numerous self-doubts and emotional conflicts driven by introjected heteronormative assumptions about family. During the adoption procedure, they were confronted with a large number of challenges and legal roadblocks connected to their sexual minority status. Exploring the experience of the first generation of LG adoptive parents in Europe provides insight into the great impact that the sociolegal context has on their lives. Findings suggest the necessity of promoting practice geared not only to fight discrimination but also to provide better support to LG people throughout the adoption process.     

Which are the Factors Influencing Innovation Performances? Evidence from Italian Cohesion Policy

Our paper aims at evaluating the role that the local administrations play on Italian regional innovation performance, by using a revised version of Regional Innovation Scoreboard. Carrying out a panel data analysis and a logistic regression, the analysis is based on a combined approach towards institutions, involving socio-political aspects, considered by the institutional quality index, and the capability of regional administrators of expending Structural and Cohesion Funds, by a quantitative index. Firstly, a panel data analysis helped us to highlight the role of institutions and which sectoral themes of EU investments affected the most regional innovative performances in the time span 2007-2015. Secondly, the logistic regression captures which investment is more likely to affect innovation performances within Italian Regions. The results underline that major effect on innovation performance derive from the combined effect of high quality institutions and efficient public expenditure.