Poverty Among Elderly in India

Using consumption expenditure data of the National Sample Survey 2004?C2005, this paper estimates the size of elderly poor and tests the hypotheses that elderly households are not economically better-off compared to non-elderly households in India. Poverty estimates are derived under three scenarios??by applying the official cut-off point of the poverty line to household consumption expenditure (unadjusted), consumption expenditure adjusted to household size and consumption expenditure adjusted to household composition. Results show that an estimated 18?million elderly in India are living below the poverty line. On adjusting the consumption expenditure to household size and composition, there are no significant differences in the incidence of poverty among elderly and non-elderly households in India. This is in contrast to the notion that elderly households are better off than non-elderly households in India. Based on the findings, we suggest that the age dimension should be integrated into social policies for evidence based planning.     

Managing retailer-supplier partnerships with EDI: Evaluation and implementation

Methods for electronically linking suppliers and retailers (Electronic data interchange systems also known as EDI) have become commonplace. This study develops a methodology for assessing the value provided by an EDI system. The importance of implementation in generating value through EDI is illustrated through the use of a case study of a major retailer implementing an EDI system using the methodology. The case study also shows that EDI systems are likely to be most effective for product categories with unpredictable sales patterns and demonstrates how other technologies (e.g. flexible manufacturing capabilities) can be leveraged to increase the value of EDI.     

Estimation of the inverse of mean

For the inverse of mean, a class of estimators with finite moments is considered and its properties are analyzed in the context of normal and non-normal populations.     

A TWO-PHASE SAMPLING ESTIMATOR IN SAMPLE SURVEYS

A two-phase sampling estimator of the ratio-type for estimating the mean of a finite population, has been considered where the value of ρC_y/C_x can be guessed or estimated in advance. Here C_y and C_x denote respectively the coefficients of variation of the characteristic under study, y, and the auxiliary characteristic x and ρ denotes the coefficient of correlation between y and x. When the value of ρC_y/C_x is guessed or estimated exactly, the estimator has a smaller large-sample variance compared with either an ordinary ratio estimator or an ordinary linear regression estimator in two-phase sampling in the case where the first-phase sample is drawn independently from the second-phase sample. If the sample at the second phase is a subsample of the first-phase sample, the estimator has variance equal to that of the linear regression estimator. The largest value of the difference between the assumed value and the actual value of ρC_y/C_x has been obtained so as not to result in the variance of the estimator being larger than the variances of either an ordinary ratio estimator or an ordinary linear regression estimator.     

Mindfulness in the Context of Romantic Relationships: Initial Development and Validation of the Relationship Mindfulness Measure

Trait mindfulness and mindfulness in the context of romantic relationships may not be completely overlapping constructs. This study adapted an existing measure of trait mindfulness to assess the tendency to be mindful in romantic relationships, the Relationship Mindfulness Measure (RMM). Using data from 185 young adults, the results supported the RMM's internal consistency, test–retest reliability, and concurrent and predictive validity. The RMM accounted for a significant portion of variance in positive relationship quality, negative relationship quality, and anxious and avoidant attachment, even after controlling for trait mindfulness. Based on these findings, assessing relationship mindfulness may improve research exploring the role of mindfulness in romantic relations and therefore facilitate the development and refinement of mindfulness training programs for couples.     

Forecasting Product Returns for Remanufacturing Operations

Driven by legislative pressures, an increasing number of manufacturing companies have been implementing comprehensive recycling and remanufacturing programs. The accurate forecasting of product returns is important for procurement decisions, production planning, and inventory and disposal management in such remanufacturing operations. In this study, we consider a manufacturer that also acts as a remanufacturer, and develop a generalized forecasting approach to determine the distribution of the returns of used products, as well as integrate it with an inventory model to enable production planning and control. We compare our forecasting approach to previous models and show that our approach is more consistent with continuous time, provides accurate estimates when the return lags are exponential in nature, and results in fewer units being held in inventory on average. The analysis revealed that these gains in accuracy resulted in the most cost savings when demand volumes for remanufactured products were high compared to the volume of returned products. Such situations require the frequent acquisition of cores to meet demand. The results show that significant cost savings can be achieved by using the proposed approach for sourcing product returns.