The effect of education on unemployment duration

Exploiting the variation in education induced by a reform that compelled individuals to obtain additional schooling in Turkey, and using administrative unemployment insurance (UI) records, we show that high-educated unemployed workers, compared to their low-educated counterparts, use unemployment benefits longer, and they are less likely to find employment before their benefit periods expire. This suggests education increases one's selectiveness over jobs. We also show benefit generosity impacts the high- versus low-educated differentially. Extended benefits increase low-educated workers' probability of finding employment more than the high-educated. Our findings highlight the importance of considering worker attributes when designing the UI system.     

A general algorithm fob,univariate and multivariate goodness of pit tests based on graphical representation

This paper presents a general algorithm tor assessing the distributional assumptions. Empirical distributions of the corresponding test statistics are obtained and examples are given to illustrate various applications of the proposed test. By using the squared radii and angles, it is shown that the problem of assessing multivariate normality can be reduced to that of testing for a univariate distribution. A limited comparison is made to investigate the power of the proposed test. This work was supported in part by the National Science Foundation under Grant NO.G88135. Support from the Computer Applications ami Software Engineering (CASE) Center of Syracuse University is also gratefully acknowledged     

Pricing Policy in a Supply Chain: Negotiation or Posted Pricing

This article examines the choice of pricing policy (posted pricing or negotiation) toward end customers in a supply chain. Many retailers actively decide whether or not to encourage negotiation on the shop floor. Of course, the retailer's pricing policy influences not only the retailer's profit, but also the profits of the manufacturers who sell through the retailer. However, little is known about the forces that shape the pricing policy when two self‐interested parties interact in a supply chain. We consider two alternative models depending on who has the power to decide the pricing policy: the manufacturer or the retailer. We find that an increase in the wholesale price weakens the retailer's ability to price discriminate through negotiation. Therefore, the retailer prefers negotiation at lower wholesale prices and posted pricing at higher wholesale prices. We also find that whenever the retailer prefers negotiation, the manufacturer does too. Therefore, the retailer's discretion over the pricing policy causes friction only when the retailer wants to use posted pricing, while the manufacturer wishes the retailer to use negotiation. We show that such friction arises only when product availability or the cost of negotiation is moderate. In this case, we show that the manufacturer may offer a substantial discount to persuade the retailer to negotiate. Surprisingly, in this region of friction, a decrease in the supply chain's capacity or an increase in negotiation costs (both of which are typically considered as worsening the retailer's business environment) translates into higher profit for the retailer.     

The effect on employees of violence climate in the workplace

Violent incidents in the workplace which negatively affect employees' health and safety present an important problem of health and safety at work. This study aimed to determine the effects of the violence prevention climate on employees' job satisfaction and stress by determining how they perceive the dimensions of the violence climate. The participants in this study were 240 employees in various sectors (health, service, etc.) in Turkey. The study used the 18 item Violence Prevention Climate scale developed by Kessler et al (2008) translated into Turkish. The mean age of the participants was 32.3 ± 9.53, mean working years 9.1 ± 8.02. According to the correlation analysis results, the violence prevention climate dimensions of policies, practices and pressure for unsafe practices were found to have a positive significant relationship with job satisfaction. A significant negative correlation was determined between policies and practices and depression. A significant negative correlation was determined between practices and stress. The stepwise regression analysis results determined a significant relationship between pressure and job satisfaction. The stepwise regression analysis results also determined a significant relationship between the dimension of practices and depression. However, the established regression model was found not to be statistically significant in terms of stress and anxiety dependent variables.     

Social Stratification and Consumption Patterns in Turkey

In this article, by analyzing consumption practices of Turkish households, I attempted to identify whether there are distinctions between different social classes in Turkey. Stated another way, I assessed and explored the impact of socio-economic forces on consumption patterns, taste and lifestyle. In doing so, I tested emprically, two theoretical approaches, Bourdieu’s “reproduction theory” and Giddens “class Structuration thesis”. A total of eight dependent variables are analyzed in terms of the linkages between those selected consumption items and social structure. In general, the emprical findings indicated that the intersection and reinforcement of social class variables, such as income, education, occupation, sector, and neighborhood differentiation, determined consumption patterns and lifestyle differences in Turkey.     

RFID for Better Supply‐Chain Management through Enhanced Information Visibility

Mostly fueled by mandates, adoption, and implementation of the RFID, technology in the retail industry is growing rapidly. At these early stages of adoption, one puzzling issue for retailers and suppliers is the compelling business case for RFID. In order to explore the potential business case for RFID, we conducted a case study using actual RFID data collected by a major retailer for the cases shipped by one of its major suppliers. We show the physical layout of the RFID readers on a partial supply‐chain covering product movement from distribution centers to retail stores. First, in the analysis phase, we identify several performance metrics that can be computed from the RFID readings. Next, using this RFID data, we compute the values of those performance metrics. These values represent mean time between movements at different locations. Then, we discuss how these measures can assist in improving logistical performance at a micro supply chain level of operations between a distribution center and a retail store. We present how such information can be valuable to both the retail store operator and the supplier. We also discuss the initial lessons learned from actual RFID data collected in the field, in terms of data quality issues.