Driven by Inequalities: Exploring the Resurgence of Domestic Work in U.S. Cities

Domestic work, once the most common occupation for women around the globe, was thought to be well on its way to extinction at the end of the twentieth century. However, in the 1980s and 1990s, evidence began to appear that domestic work was in many places again becoming a growth occupation. My goal in this article is to examine the factors related to the recent expansion of domestic work in countries in the Global North, using the United States as a case study. I draw on U.S. Census data to document the resurgence of domestic work both nationally and in many large cities across the country, and then use multivariate analysis to compare rates of domestic work across these cities. The results indicate that rates of domestic work are highly related to variables measuring structural inequalities (racialization of the labor force, immigration, and economic polarization), while showing little relationship with variables measuring unmet care needs (care dependency ratios, female/maternal labor force participation, and availability of institutional care options). These findings underline the urgency of providing protections to domestic workers and point to the need for scholarship that better theorizes the relationships among unpaid care and different forms of paid care.     

Vendor Selection with Bundling*

Product bundling has become increasingly prevalent not only in consumer goods but also in the industrial sector. We study a purchasing problem in which a buyer must obtain necessary numbers of various stock items from a variety of vendors who charge different prices, have limited capacities and different levels of quality, and offer bundled products at discounted prices. We examine relationships among different bundling scenarios and show that the most general scenario is one in which free items are given to the buyer when sufficient quantities are purchased. We develop a mixed integer linear program that finds the purchasing strategy for the buyer that minimizes the total purchase cost. We present computational results which indicate that the problem is very tractable to solve optimally on a personal computer with standard optimization software. Finally, three extensions of the model are discussed.     

律师调查令正当性的法理思考

因现行法律限制,律师调查权受到极大制约,妨碍司法正义和当事人合法权益的实现,各地法院试行的"律师调查令制度"均缺乏法律依据,处于实践先行的尴尬境地.现阶段律师不可能享有强制调查权,但律师因客观情况不能调查取证时可以申请调查令.法院委托律师调查是合理的,律师是承担调查取证责任的合适人选.其他国家先进的立法经验可供我们借鉴.     

中学英语教学培养学生语感研究

语感意即学习者多方位接触某种语言及其相关文化而产生的一种规律性的感觉.语感能力作为重要能力结构因素贯穿于中学阶段,其影响作用日益增强.中学英语教学要从听说、读、写等三个环节,持之以恒地将语感训练和语感能力的培养贯穿于英语教学的每个环节,采用多种方法和途径,引导学生在一切语言交际中有意识地去感受语感、把握语感、实践语感.     

高校共青团团员意识教育长效机制建立研究

高校团员数量占学生总数的95%以上,团工作的优劣,团员表现的好坏直接影响着学校的整体工作.当前在全团开展增强团员意识主题教育活动,是共青团加强自身建设的一项重大战略举措.构建团员意识教育的长效机制,有利于长期深入广泛地开展团员意识教育工作,要从思想教育、组织建设、团务管理和"党建带团建"等方面去考虑.     

自主创业——青年学生就业的重要途径

在未来一段时期,我国面临的就业压力依然很大.要解决大学生就业难,自主创业是一条重要途径.为此,青年学生要注意培养自我创业的意识和企业家精神.学校应建立学生创业长效机制,在课程设置等方面加大创业型学生培养力度.近几年来,政府及有关部门,正努力为青年学生自主创业创造良好的外部环境.     

论中国早期电影的自由精神

中国早期电影突破传统模式、打破封建牢笼,善于吸收西方先进文化中所体现的自由价值取向.从电影的选题、创作、以至宣传发行都是独立自由、勇于创新的.早期电影深受多元文化的影响,直接倡导自由精神,鞭笞落后反动的旧式习俗思潮,这一切为早期中国电影的发展注入了无限活力,对整个社会也产生了深远的影响.     

A Decision Model for the Robot Selection Problem Using Robust Regression*

Industrial robots are increasingly used by many manufacturing firms. The number of robot manufacturers has also increased with many of these firms now offering a wide range of models. A potential user is thus faced with many options in both performance and cost. This paper proposes a decision model for the robot selection problem. The proposed model uses robust regression to identify, based on manufacturers' specifications, the robots that are the better performers for a given cost. Robust regression is used because it identifies and is resistant to the effects of outlying observations, key components in the proposed model. The robots selected by the model become candidates for testing to verify manufacturers' specifications. The model is tested on a real data set and an example is presented.     

Standard Container Size Discounts and the Single-Period Inventory Problem*

This paper analyzes the problem of choosing the optimal order quantity and its associated number of standard containers making up the order for single-period inventory models under standard container size discounts. A range is determined that contains the optimal order quantity. Two algorithms are presented. The first algorithm solves the general case in which there is no restriction on the types of containers included in an order. The second algorithm solves a more restricted policy that requires the buyer to accept the order with successively smaller container sizes.     

Graphical Presentations of Data Envelopment Analyses: Management Implications from Parallel Axes Representations*

The conversion of multivariate data analysis into information that managers can readily use in their decision making has always been a challenging task. In this paper we provide a parallel axis representation of multivariate data and demonstrate how this representation may be used as a tool for implementing the results of data envelopment analysis. We use an analysis of the efficiency of electricity generating plants to illustrate the technique.