Materials receiving capacity and inventory management

This paper analyses the optimal level of materials receiving capacity for a manufacturer that receives deliveries from many suppliers. Inventory levels and inventory carrying costs depend on the frequency of deliveries and thus, on the materials receiving capacity. An analytic model that captures the tradeoff between inventory costs and materials receiving costs is presented and discussed. The receiving cost is modeled as increasing in discrete jumps of varying sizes whenever materials receiving resources are added. Practical issues in implementing the model are highlighted and methods to reduce the marginal materials receiving cost are discussed. The paper also discusses connections to the JIT approach for production environments where materials receiving is heavily automated.     

The effects of data input errors on subsequent statistical inference

Data input errors can potentially affect statistical inferences, but little research has been published to date on this topic. In the present paper, we report the effect of data input errors on the statistical inferences drawn about population parameters in an empirical study involving 280 students from two Polish universities, namely the Warsaw University of Life Sciences – SGGW and the University of Information Technology and Management in Rzeszow. We found that 28% of the students committed at least one data error. While some of these errors were small and did not have any real effect, a few of them had substantial effects on the statistical inferences drawn about the population parameters.     

Typology of Slovenian Drama in the Period Between the Two World Wars

From the 1970s, the term metafiction has been mostly confined to studies of American and Western European literatures; I propose using metafiction as a means of approaching Sergei Dovlatov’s Zona [The Zone], a novel which blurs the line between fiction and memoir. In one sense a prison text, in that it concerns the lives of guards and prisoners in a camp, it is, however, divorced from survivor narratives in that the camp does not contain political prisoners, so the “heroes” are the thieves and criminals so universally reviled in other memoirs of the Soviet gulag. It is also a record of its author’s developing need to write as it tracks the transformation of the guard Boris Alikhanov, Dovlatov’s alter-ego. Dovlatov’s authorial persona serves not to elucidate the text, but to construct a hybrid prison memoir which supports his views on the prison experience; views which are in opposition to the pre-existing tradition, and this leads me to describe The Zone as a metatextual camp narrative, containing many of the attributes of the metafictional novel, though originating from the memoiristic impulse and still straddling the line between fiction and nonfiction in a way that true metafictions do not.     

Paid maternal leave is associated with better language and socioemotional outcomes during toddlerhood

The United States is the only high-income country that does not have a national policy mandating paid leave to working women who give birth. Increased rates of maternal employment post-birth call for greater understanding of the effects of family leave on infant development. This study examined the links between paid leave and toddler language, cognitive, and socioemotional outcomes (24–36 months; N = 328). Results indicate that paid leave was associated with better language outcomes, regardless of socioeconomic status. Additionally, paid leave was correlated with fewer infant behavior problems for mothers with lower levels of educational attainment. Expanding access to policies that support families in need, like paid family leave, may aid in reducing socioeconomic disparities in infant development.     

Allocation Constraints in Stratification

When a finite population is to be stratified, one of constraints in stratification is that sample sizes from strata may not be greater than the corresponding stratum sizes and may not be smaller than two. There are several ways of treating this allocation constraint, each providing an alternative approach to stratification. In this article, it is shown that a choice of the approach has a bearing on stratification efficiency. Unfortunately, no particular approach out of the four compared is shown to be the most efficient for each population studied. In addition, the approaches are applied to stratify a real population.     

A photovoice study of older adults' conceptualizations of risk

Risk is a multifaceted and complex concept that mediates quality of life through the balance between risk taking and risk avoidance. Society expects older adults to identify and manage their personal risks yet little is known about the meaning of risk in their daily lives and how they balance the tensions between taking and avoiding risks. Therefore the purpose of this study was to explore how older adults construe risk. A qualitative exploratory study that incorporated photovoice methodology was used. Seventeen older adults, over a weeklong period, took pictures and kept a log of the places, spaces, events, activities, or situations that best represented risk. Subsequently, they participated in a follow-up individual interview. Older adults viewed risk both positively and negatively, judging the saliency of a risk according to criteria that related both to the risk itself and to personal characteristics. Although risk was avoided in specific situations, risk taking was participants' primary approach to risk, which assumed three forms: adaptive, opportunistic, and/or unjustifiable. Contrary to societal views, older adults view risk as constructive and personally relevant, and as something to be taken and need to be supported in risk taking rather than risk avoidance.     

On Sample Allocation in Multivariate Surveys

The problem of a sample allocation between strata in the case of multiparameter surveys is considered in this article. There are several multivariate sample allocation methods and, moreover, several criteria to deal with in such a case. A maximum coefficient of variation of estimators of the population mean of characters under study is taken as the optimality criterion. This article contains a study on a group of the methods that are easy to implement and do not need complex numerical computation; however, they all are approximate. Five such methods are presented and compared using a simulation study. Finally, it is shown which methods should be considered when designing a survey in which the multivariate sample allocation is to be involved.     

Comparison of Efficiency of Stratified and Unequal Probability Sampling

In this article, a choice of the optimum sampling design to study a finite population is studied. Three sampling schemes are compared, viz., Sunter's procedure of unequal probability sampling, stratified sampling under optimum stratification, and simple random sampling without replacement. The comparison is made against a background of various correlation between stratification and survey variables and various variability in the variables. Under weak correlation and large variability, stratification appeared to be more efficient than Sunter's procedure. Under strong correlation and/or low variability in the variables, the latter procedure was the most efficient. Simple random sampling was usually the least efficient.     

Victimization and Violence: An Exploration of the Relationship Between Child Sexual Abuse,Violence, and Delinquency

Child sexual abuse (CSA) continues to be a major public health issue with significant short- and long-term consequences. However, little contemporary research has examined the relationship between CSA and delinquent and violent behavior in adolescence. Children who have been sexually abused experience a unique form of victimization compared to children who have endured other forms of maltreatment, as CSA can result in feelings of shame, powerlessness and boundary violations. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of CSA on delinquent and violent behavior in adolescence. We examined self-report data at the age 18 interview from the Longitudinal Studies of Child Abuse and Neglect (LONGSCAN) on measures of sexual abuse experience, and engagement in delinquent and violent behavior in the past year. All participants reported either a history of maltreatment or were identified at-risk based on demographic risk factors. Participants included 368 males and 445 females who self-reported experiences of CSA and delinquent and violent behavior (N = 813). Findings indicated that, when controlling for gender and race, the odds of engagement in delinquent and violent behavior for those who have experienced CSA are 1.7 times higher than for those who have not. Additionally, female victims of CSA were .52 times less likely to engage in violent and delinquent behavior compared to their male counterparts. Further efforts are needed to examine the effects of CSA on violent and delinquent behavior to better guide treatment efforts that prevent juvenile justice involvement.