Modelling critical success factors for sustainability initiatives in supply chains in Indian context using Grey-DEMATEL

Sustainability assists organisations to enhance ecological, financial and societal performances of their entire supply chains. The present paper uncovers the Critical Success Factors (CSFs) for effective adoption of sustainability initiatives in the supply chain in Indian context. Fifteen CSFs for the successful adoption of sustainability initiatives were identified and finalised firstly from the literature and followed by expert inputs. A methodology based on Grey-Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) was used to envisage the organisation of complex causal relationships between the recognised CSFs. ‘Government Legalisation’ has been found to be the most influential factor and ‘Community Welfare and Development’ is most easily influenced factor. A multiple case example of three automotive companies operating in India is conducted. To the end, some important policy measures and recommendations are proposed to help practicing managers and government bodies to adopt and effectively manage the concepts of sustainability oriented supply chains in India.     

MODEL‐BASED DIRECT ESTIMATION OF SMALL‐AREA DISTRIBUTIONS

Much of the small‐area estimation literature focuses on population totals and means. However, users of survey data are often interested in the finite‐population distribution of a survey variable and in the measures (e.g. medians, quartiles, percentiles) that characterize the shape of this distribution at the small‐area level. In this paper we propose a model‐based direct estimator (MBDE, Chandra and Chambers) of the small‐area distribution function. The MBDE is defined as a weighted sum of sample data from the area of interest, with weights derived from the calibrated spline‐based estimate of the finite‐population distribution function introduced by Harms and Duchesne, under an appropriately specified regression model with random area effects. We also discuss the mean squared error estimation of the MBDE. Monte Carlo simulations based on both simulated and real data sets show that the proposed MBDE and its associated mean squared error estimator perform well when compared with alternative estimators of the area‐specific finite‐population distribution function.     

Exploring spatial dependence in area-level random effect model for disaggregate-level crop yield estimation

This paper describes an application of small area estimation (SAE) techniques under area-level spatial random effect models when only area (or district or aggregated) level data are available. In particular, the SAE approach is applied to produce district-level model-based estimates of crop yield for paddy in the state of Uttar Pradesh in India using the data on crop-cutting experiments supervised under the Improvement of Crop Statistics scheme and the secondary data from the Population Census. The diagnostic measures are illustrated to examine the model assumptions as well as reliability and validity of the generated model-based small area estimates. The results show a considerable gain in precision in model-based estimates produced applying SAE. Furthermore, the model-based estimates obtained by exploiting spatial information are more efficient than the one obtained by ignoring this information. However, both of these model-based estimates are more efficient than the direct survey estimate. In many districts, there is no survey data and therefore it is not possible to produce direct survey estimates for these districts. The model-based estimates generated using SAE are still reliable for such districts. These estimates produced by using SAE will provide invaluable information to policy-analysts and decision-makers.     

Least squares estimation of the parameters of a stochastic difference equation with polynomial regression component

In this paper, strong consistency of least squares estimates of the coefficients of stochastic difference equations with polynomial regression components, has been established, using martingale arguments, under autoregressive, partially explosive and purely explosive situations. The asymptotic normality of these estimates have also been discussed in this paper.     

Optimal batch size and investment in multistage production systems with scrap

In this paper, we study the problem of selecting the optimum production batch size in multistage manufacturing facilities with scrap and determining the optimal amount of investment. We analyse the effect of investment for quality improvement on the reduction of the proportion of defectives, and the effect of this reduction on processing cost, setup cost, holding cost, and profit loss. The quality characteristic of the product manufactured is assumed to be normally distributed with a mean equal to the target value. The purpose of the investment is to reduce the variance of the quality characteristic and hence the proportion of defectives. The model assumes known demand, which must be satisfied completely, scrappage at each stage and profit loss due to scrap. Using this model, the optimal values of the production quantity and the proportion of defectives for minimizing the total cost are obtained. The optimal investment is then obtained using the relationship between the investment and the proportion of defectives.     

The Poverty Deconcentration Imperative and Public Housing Transformation

Public housing has been on the chopping block for almost two decades now in an effort to deconcentrate poverty. In 1992 the federal government created the Housing Opportunities for People Everywhere (HOPE) VI program. HOPE VI is driven by the assumption that deconcentrating neighborhood‐level poverty will yield better access to upward mobility opportunities for former public housing residents. To accomplish this, existing public housing is demolished and replaced with mixed‐income developments. Public housing residents are relocated, many with Housing Choice Voucher subsidies to private‐market rental housing. However, by its very definition mixed income means that only a small percentage of former residents get the opportunity to return. Do voucher relocated residents end up in lower poverty neighborhoods with greater upward mobility opportunities? We examine the spatial organization of relocation within the critical discourse on the deconcentration imperative. We highlight Atlanta because it recently became the first city in the nation to eliminate all of its public housing. Findings reveal that voucher relocatees end up in neighborhoods with modestly less poverty than the public housing neighborhoods they left. Questions remain about what poverty deconcentration means vis‐à‐vis policy goals. We provide recommendations for future research.     

‘I’m a different kind of biracial’: how black/white biracial Americans with immigrant parents negotiate race

Increasingly, multiracial families have garnered scholarly attention. However, the roles of ethnicity and immigrant ties are largely absent in bi/multiracial studies. Drawing on 17 in-depth interviews with black/white biracial Americans with at least one immigrant parent, this study analyzes the dynamic interplay of race, ethnicity, and immigrant roots in the bi/multiracial community. Our findings show that participants struggle to articulate the meaning of race, and they assert specific racial/ethnic identities to circumvent stereotypical connotations of whiteness and blackness. We highlight how biracial Americans with immigrant ties – those who we might assume would have a limited understanding of race – voice clear understandings of racial superiority and inferiority, racial relations, and racial stereotypes. Emphasizing their ethnic roots is not only an attempt to accurately describe their ancestry; it also allows them to avoid the social consequences (i.e. stereotypes, discrimination, etc.) of being (half) white or (half) black.     

Remigration: return of the prodigals--an analysis of the impact of the cycles of migration and remigration on caste mobility

"The focus of this research note is the migration of the Patidar community to East Africa--and remigration to Gujarat, India. The primary motive for migration of the immigrant Patidars was to work, accumulate money and return to India, claiming a higher caste status. By 1931, a sufficient number of the community had become economically affluent and were given a higher caste status by the census enumerators. This study illustrates the transient nature of Indian migration to East Africa and its impact on caste mobility."