Abortion in amsterdam

Abstract Mortality from abortion is low in the Netherlands to-day, and approximately equal to mortality at delivery. Calculations suggest that about 4,000 abortions occur in Amsterdam every year, of which about 2,100 are induced. The abortion rate shows a very gradual decline after the Second World War. An investigation of the social background of women with induced abortion showed no relationship between occupational group and the incidence of abortion, but a strong negative correlation between religion and abortion. Abortion was more common among women with disturbed relationships in their own or parental families. Induced abortion usually occurred in pregnancies resulting from failure of contraception; these failures were caused not by lack of knowledge of good contraceptives, but by ineffective practice of contraception. The inability to use contraceptive methods in an effective way is related to a lack of communication between the two partners, and to a negative attitude of the women towards sex. An attempt has been made to formulate a theory of the causes of induced abortion among the women interviewed in Amsterdam.     

Developing an interactive approach in social work research: the example of a research study on head injury

Summary The paper examines the processes of a research project aboutthe continuing care needs of head-injured people in order toillustrate an interactive approach in social work research.Influenced by the social work values of empowerment and workingin partnership, the key function of the interactive approachinclude a multidisciplinary research team analysing the researchtopic through different disciplinary perspectives, and selectingresearch methods and dissemination strategies that promote interactiverelationships amongst researchers, respondents and sponsors.Social work practice supplies transferable knowledge, valuesand skills for the interactive approach. The skill of negotiationis used to mitigate unequal distributions of power between researchersand respondents. The paper concludes that the interactive approachis a distinctive characteristic of social work research thatdeserves wider recognition.     

Matching Performance of Continuous Sampling Plans with Single Sampling Plans

Single sampling plans are widely used for appraising incoming product quality. However, for situations where a continuous product flow exists, lot-by-lot demarcations may not exist, and it may be necessary to use alternate procedures, such as CSP-1, for continuous processes. In this case, one would like to be able to understand how average performance of the continuous sampling procedures compares to the more commonly used single sampling plans.

In this study, a model is devised which can be used to relate plan performance between single sample lot acceptance procedures and Dodge's(1943) CSP-1 continuous sampling plan. It is shown that it is generally not possible to match up performance based upon operating characteristic curve expressions for the two plans. Instead, the plans are matched by equating expressions for π(p), the long run proportion of product which is accepted, under both procedures. This is shown to be equivalent to matching up properties on an average outgoing quality basis. The methodology may be extended for any derivative plan under MIL-STD-1235B (1982), the military standard for continuous acceptance sampling.     

ON GENDER GAPS AND SELF‐FULFILLING EXPECTATIONS: ALTERNATIVE IMPLICATIONS OF PAID‐FOR TRAINING

This paper presents a model of self‐fulfilling expectations by firms and households which generates multiplicity of equilibria in pay and housework time allocation for ex‐ante identical spouses. Multiplicity arises from statistical discrimination exerted by firms in the provision of paid‐for training to workers, rather than from incentive problems in the labor market. Employers' beliefs about differences in spouses' reactions to housework shocks lead to symmetric (ungendered) and asymmetric (gendered) equilibria. We find that: (1) the ungendered equilibrium tends to prevail as aggregate productivity in the economy increases (regardless of the generosity of family aid policies), (2) the ungendered equilibrium could yield higher welfare under some scenarios, and (3) gender‐neutral job subsidies are more effective that gender‐targeted ones in removing the gendered equilibrium. (JEL J16, J70, J71)     

Scheduling a multi-stage production system with startup delays

The problem treated is that of multi-stage scheduling as affected by the interdependence of successive stages. An algorithm is developed which incorporates startup delays as analytical functions of cycle times and production rates at adjacent stages. This is accomplished in part by imposing integer multiple restrictions on the relationship between the cycle times at adjacent stages. Total cost is then minimized for a given set of integer multiples.     

How companies motivate entrepreneurial employees: the case of organizational spin-alongs

This paper investigates how high-profile employees with entrepreneurial abilities can be attracted, retained, and nurtured in order to foster companies’ corporate entrepreneurship through innovations. We find that the spin-along design provides entrepreneurial employees with a combination of flexibility and security (flexicurity), corporate management, and control. Based on five in-depth case studies within an innovative company, our results show that the organizational spin-along structure supports and enhances entrepreneurial employees’ motivation and leads to the attraction, nurturing, and retention of such employees. We also find that senior management has a critical leadership role in enabling such an organization design by balancing flexibility and security with control.