Quadratic Assignment Problems and M/G/C/C/ State Dependent Network Flows

One of the most notorious network design problems is the Quadratic Assignment Problem (QAP). We develop an heuristic algorithm for QAPs along with an M/G/C/C state dependent queueing model for capturing congestion in the traffic system interconnecting the nodes in the network. Computational results are also presented.     

Intercultural qualitative research and Ph.D. students

The educational environment for postgraduate health professionals from developing countries in contemporary western universities is an intermediate zone between home and host culture. In this zone, knowledge is shaped through the development of concepts within the limitations of (often) pre‐fluent language capacity. It is characterized by the mutual exchange of knowledge between western teachers and their developing‐country students, who will return home to leadership roles working with marginalized individuals, communities and populations. This qualitative research aims to improve health education for global health professionals from developing countries, and in so doing it illustrates many of the difficulties and benefits involved in intercultural qualitative research for Ph.D. students.     

The value of the second income to two-earner families with children

An increasing number and percentage of families in the United States endeavor to improve family income by placing two adults in the paid work force. This study examines the impact of the second earner on family income for 1,624 married-couple families with children, including 871 one-earner and 753 two-earner families. After-tax income is regressed on one- or two-earner status as well as covariates which confound the income-earner relationship for families of various income levels. The actual after-tax income differential of $7,172 is reduced to $6,076 in the regression analysis. Further, income for each family type is estimated by applying the regression coefficients from one-earner households to the characteristics of two-earner households and the regression coefficients from two-earner households to one-earner household characteristics. Actual incomes for two-earner families are found to be higher than those of one-earner families. However, income differences are reduced from 34% higher actual before-tax income to an estimated 14% lower after-tax income. The findings have important implications for families selecting two earners solely for the purpose of increasing after-tax income.This study received funding from the Graduate School Fund at Northern Illinois University. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the Family Economics/Home Management Conference, Indianapolis, IN, June 1987.Mary Pritchard is an Assistant Professor, Department of Human and Family Resources, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL 60115. She received her Ph.D. from Purdue University and includes family economic well-being, family income and expenditures, and spending patterns of adolescents among her research interests.     

Engaging the Process of Transformation

The contributions included in this issue demonstrate the variety of ways in which participatory and interpretive methods are transforming the field of psychology and clarify the integration of the personal and political commitments of the authors within their research. A number of issues remain to be negotiated, however, before these methods take their full place in the field. This conclusion considers a few of these issues, including an examination of how these approaches demand a fundamental reassessment of validity in psychological research. It also considers the critical issue of the ownership of knowledge, and proposes a reframing of the ethical guidelines for research in the field. Finally, it invites further discussion and debate around the issues raised in this issue.     

Sample Selection in Models of Academic Performance

This article shows how admission and enrollment processes affect the interpretation of simple validation studies of academic performance. In a competitive market for students, optimal behavior of admissions committees and applicants drives the simple correlation between test scores and performance toward zero, regardless of the relationship in the population of prospective students. Data from our university's MBA program support the prediction that applicants exhibit a higher correlation between test scores and undergraduate GPAs than do current students. This suggests that standard validation studies will understate the importance of GMAT scores in predicting performance of potential MBA students. (JEL C24 , I121 , C52 )     

A hazard model of the probability of medical school drop-out in the UK

Summary.  From individual level longitudinal data for two entire cohorts of medical students in UK universities, we use multilevel models to analyse the probability that an individual student will drop out of medical school. We find that academic preparedness—both in terms of previous subjects studied and levels of attainment therein—is the major influence on withdrawal by medical students. Additionally, males and more mature students are more likely to withdraw than females or younger students respectively. We find evidence that the factors influencing the decision to transfer course differ from those affecting the decision to drop out for other reasons.     

Compulsive buying: Does it matter how it’s measured?

The primary purpose of the present study is to compare and contrast the validity and reliability of the Faber and O’Guinn [Faber, R. J., & O’Guinn, T. C. (1992). A clinical screener for compulsive buying. Journal of Consumer Research, 19, 459–469] and Edwards [Edwards, E. A. (1993). Development of a new scale for measuring compulsive buying behavior. Financial Counseling and Planning, 4, 67–84] compulsive buying scales within a nomological network. Although both psychometric scales were designed to measure compulsive buying, the two instruments appear to be distinct in how they conceptualize the compulsive buying phenomenon. The seven-item compulsive buying scale developed by Faber and O’Guinn (1992) is the most commonly used scale for measuring compulsive buying. The Edwards scale in contrast is not as well-known. Empirical results of the present study suggest that the two compulsive buying scales may be capturing either separate constructs, or different dimensions of the same compulsive buying construct. Edwards (1993) compulsive buying scale, for instance, is correlated with materialism but not with attitudes toward money while the Faber and O’Guinn scale is not correlated with materialism but is correlated with attitudes toward money. The present study’s results suggest, among other things, that it does in fact appear to matter how compulsive buying is measured.     

The Development of Intergroup Forgiveness in Northern Ireland

As societies like Northern Ireland, Israel, and South Africa strive to resolve social conflict, there is growing theoretical and empirical interest in the role of intergroup forgiveness. This study examined intergroup forgiveness among 340 young adults in Northern Ireland. A short form of the Enright Forgiveness Inventory explored possible influences on propensity to forgive. All participants were Catholic and female (mean age 17.36 years), and had experienced verbal or physical injury or bereavement due to the Northern Irish political violence. Overall forgiveness levels were low in comparison with previous studies of interpersonal forgiveness but similar to previous studies of intergroup forgiveness in Northern Ireland. The strongest (negative) predictor of forgiveness was the perceived degree of hurt caused by the injury .     

Social workers, parents and stigma

This paper draws on an empirical study of stigma and child welfare services in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Spain. It focuses exclusively on the findings relating to the United Kingdom and shows how stigma continues to be a part of the experience of using and delivering child welfare services, despite the positive determination of policies that this should not be so. More optimistically, however, it is also evident that the experience of stigma and exclusion can be reduced, and the paper concludes by outlining the implications for policy and practice together with those factors which would appear to be most significant in combating stigma.