Flexible work planning of service agents with load balancing

This work emerged from the need to better plan the daily work of 29 travelling service agents, who provide 1090 services to 412 customers in 283 sites, on daily average. A handy and flexible tool was developed and is presented herein. A major contribution of this study is an explicit consideration of the multi-dimensional nature of the problem by the inclusion of workload balancing, which may stand in conflict to cost minimisation. Further, the geographical distribution of the demand is highly irregular. Therefore, two load measures are required and balanced. This required to fitting a proper planning scheme. The planning tool has been applied successfully by the commercial service provider. Improvements in the order of 20% and more were obtained in key performance measures. Moreover, cost reductions, service improvement and load balance were obtained simultaneously: the standard deviations of the service times and working day’s duration were reduced by 18 and 58%, respectively. This enables to reduce the number of agents with no significant harm in performance. Additional practical advantages of the proposed tool are also discussed and demonstrated, for example, the ability to cope with geographical distributions and the flexibility to respond to daily variations in demand.     

Conspicuous conservatism in risk choice

We analyze the risk levels chosen by agents who have private information regarding their quality, and whose performance will be judged and rewarded by outsiders. Assume that risk choice is observable. Agents will choose risk strategically to enhance their expected reputations. We show that conspicuous conservatism results: agents of different qualities choose levels below those that would be chosen if quality were observable. This happens because bad agents must cloak their identity by choosing the same risk level as good agents, and good agents are more likely to distinguish themselves if they reduce the risk level. Our results contrast starkly with those for the case when risk choice cannot be observed.

Therapeutic implications of continuing bonds expressions following the death of a pet

Through the exploration of 12 continuing bonds expressions (CBE), this current study investigated the grief reaction and continuing impact of the death of a pet. Thirty-three individuals were interviewed to determine the degree of connection maintained with the deceased pet and how that affects their coping. Findings emphasize that the majority of respondents frequently maintain ongoing meaningful ties with their deceased pet through the use of CBE such as fond memories, rituals, dreams. The findings suggest that it is not the number of CBE but the degree of adaptability that is significant. The importance of recognizing the unique, total experience of those grieving the death of a pet is addressed. Implications for those working with and supporting those in grief are included. Future directions for research are described.     

Childhood Autism and Proactive Family Coping: Intergenerational Perspectives

This article considers the value of intergenerational and specifically, grandparental support, in the management of adaptive tasks posed by raising a young child with autism. The tasks addressed range from accessing early intervention to enhancing family social functioning. We note unique social, financial, and health-related stressors faced by families of children with autism. We outline an innovative, stress theory-based framework, the Autism Proactive Intergenerational Adaptation (APIA) Model, which delineates the role of grandparents in contributing to family adaptation to the stresses of raising a child with autism. We focus on proactive family coping strategies in building resilience and ameliorating the adverse impact of stressors on quality of life (QOL) for individual family members and for the family unit. We discuss barriers and facilitators of intergenerational alliances involving grandparental participation and support.     

When do older adults become "disabled"? Social and health antecedents of perceived disability in a panel study of the oldest old

Disability carries negative social meaning, and little is known about when (or if), in the process of health decline, persons identify themselves as "disabled." We examine the social and health criteria that older adults use to subjectively rate their own disability status. Using a panel study of older adults (ages 72+), we estimate ordered probit and growth curve models of perceived disability over time. Total prevalent morbidity, functional limitations, and cognitive impairment are predictors of perceived disability. Cessation of driving and receipt of home health care also influence older adults 'perceptions of their own disability. A dense social network slowed the rate of labeling oneself disabled, while health anxiety accelerated the process over time, independent of health status. When considering perceived disability, the oldest old use multidimensional criteria capturing function, recent changes in health status and social networks, and anxiety about their health.     

R&D project evaluation: An integrated DEA and balanced scorecard approach

We present and demonstrate a multi-criteria approach for evaluating R&D projects in different stages of their life cycle. Our approach integrates the balanced scorecard (BSC) and data envelopment analysis (DEA) and develops an extended DEA model. The input and output measures for the integrated DEA–BSC model are grouped in “cards” which are associated with a “BSC for R&D projects”. The BSC is embedded in the DEA model through a hierarchical structure of constraints that reflect the BSC balance considerations. We illustrate the proposed approach with a case study involving an industrial research laboratory that selects and executes dozens of R&D projects every year.     

The Role Structure of Chinese Managers

The study investigates the role structure of managers in China's Henan province. The results produce a two-facet classification consistent with Shapira and Dunbar's findings for North American managers, yet displaying a number of unique features attributed to the Chinese business environment. The leader's role of the Chinese manager splits into task-related and relationship-oriented activities, and the monitor role is plotted across the informational and decision facets. An addition to this study, the political role is also found across the two facets, providing integration across the various managerial activities. An open system model of the Chinese managerial role is proposed.     

Assessing the Quality of Knowledge in Social Care: Exploring the Potential of a Set of Generic Standards

Social care policy and practice draw on multiple sources ofknowledge. In order to help practitioners and policymakers identifyand act on the basis of high quality evidence, ways of assessingthe quality of this knowledge are needed. Part of the answermay lie in the use of a set of generic standards. To test thepotentiality of this approach, one document from each of fivecore domains of social care knowledge was selected and assessedindependently by three researchers using a set of generic standardsdeveloped within a study commissioned by the Social Care Institutefor Excellence. Critical reflections on feasibility and addedvalue were recorded. Each reviewer successfully applied theset of standards to each document, but faced problems with interpretationand the identification of source-specific standards. Use ofthe TAPUPAS schema forced consideration of the strengths andweaknesses of each document and broadened the common notionof quality and quality assessment to sources beyond the traditionalresearch domain. This small-scale testing suggests the potentialof the schema to enable assessments of quality to be appliedacross knowledge sources within both social care and other applieddiscipline areas such as health and education. As with any qualityassessment tool, training in its use is required.