Bringing social policy back in: a look at the Middle East and North Africa

This article examines the evolution of social policy in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) during three periods: the post-colonial and oil-boom period, the post-oil period of structural adjustment, and the more recent oil-boom period. Drawing attention to key factors that shaped both social policy and the region's lack of competitiveness during the current global era, the authors argue for a new social development strategy that would put the region back on a growth path, while also recognizing citizen participation and rights.     

Globalization,Collective Action,and Social Theory

Sociological Forum -     

Comparison of estimation methods for the Weibull distribution

Weibull distributions have received wide ranging applications in many areas including reliability, hydrology and communication systems. Many estimation methods have been proposed for Weibull distributions. But there has not been a comprehensive comparison of these estimation methods. Most studies have focused on comparing the maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) with one of the other approaches. In this paper, we first propose an L-moment estimator for the Weibull distribution. Then, a comprehensive comparison is made of the following methods: the method of maximum likelihood estimation (MLE), the method of logarithmic moments, the percentile method, the method of moments and the method of L-moments.     

Operations research in the management of the airlines

This paper is intended to present an introduction to the use of operations research in the international airline industry, and to demonstrate the scope and significance of the airline OR activities. First, the special reasons for the viability and spread of airline OR are discussed. Then a functional framework for an airline is outlined, to be used in analyzing the problems of an airline and relating the OR work to it. Four major applications are described, corresponding to four major components of the framework. These applications are: schedule development, overbooking control, crew scheduling and engine management, respectively. In each case we describe the problem and its significance, indicate the types of solution techniques which have been developed, and assess the implemented solutions. The paper concludes with comments on the current state-of-the-art and the future of airline OR. A detailed bibliography is given.Both of the authors have been operations research directors in major airlines and more recently have focused their attention upon the industry as academic researchers. This background has provided us with an unusual opportunity to analyze the role of OR in the airlines, and our paper seeks to share with the reader some of the insights we have gained thereby.     

Institutionalizing and globalizing women’s studies at Illinois State University

Feminist thought and the women’s movement have had a major influence over most of the disciplines and many institutions of higher education. Women's Studies has matured as a field of study, and programs and departments may be found throughout the United States and around the world that combined high academic standards and critical feminist perspectives. Nonetheless, Women's Studies programs continue to be widely criticized and many are under-resourced. This article describes the successful efforts of one Women's Studies program to develop a rigorous multi-disciplinary curriculum, collaborate with departments and colleges across the university, and build ties with community organization through strategies of expansion, gender mainstreaming, and internationalization. Valentine M. Moghadam is Director of the Women's Studies Program at Illinois State University, and Associate Professor of Sociology. She teaches “Women, Gender, and Society” and “Contemporary Social Movements.” She is the author of Modernizing Women: Gender and Social Change in the Middle East (Lynne Rienner, 1993) and Women, Work and Economic Reform in the Middle East and North Africa (Lynne Rienner, 1998). She has edited five books, including Democratic Reform and the Position of Women in Transitional Economies (Clarendon Press/OUP, 1993) and Patriarchy and Economic Development: Women's Positions at the End of the Century (Clarendon Press/OUP, 1996). Her current research is on globalization and transnational feminist networks, and on women, citizenship and civil society in the Middle East and North Africa.