The Young and the Realigning: A Test of the Socialization Theory of Realignment

Recent research has demonstrated that Democrats and Republicansare divided along religious lines–98) confirm that thelink between religiosity and Republican Party identificationis stronger among younger than older voters.     

Social Work, Sectarianism and Anti-sectarian Practice in Northern Ireland

Correspondence to Dr Jim Campbell, Department of Social Work, The Queen's University of Belfast, 7 Lennoxvale, Belfast BT9 5BY, Northern Ireland. Jim Campbell lectures in the Department of Social Work, The Queen's University of Belfast. His doctoral thesis was on the concept of violence in social and political thought. His current research interests include social policy in Northern Ireland and mental health social work Summary This paper addresses a subject relatively unknown to the Britishand international social work audience—that of trainingfor anti-sectarian practice. In doing so, it points to someof the complex, even dangerous issues raised by such trainingfor social work students and practitioners in Northern Ireland.The paper comments upon the limited but significant ways inwhich social work educators and practitioners have tried tochallenge sectarian discrimination in Northern Ireland, andproposes methods in train ing and research which might facilitatea better understanding of these processes.     

Introduction to special section on blockchains and financial globalization

This special section shifts analytical attention onto efforts undertaken by dispersed sets of actors operating in online communities to mobilize a novel internet‐based technology that mysteriously appeared at the height of market volatility in 2008. Applications of blockchain technologies and the challenges presented to longstanding patterns of financial globalization are analysed by a group of scholars with backgrounds in anthropology, political science and sociology. This introductory article first elaborates what blockchain technologies consist of before foreshadowing the insights that the following interdisciplinary investigations yield for comprehending the implications that technological changes pose for global finance specifically and globalization more generally.     

Establishing safety stocks for master production schedules

The basic master production scheduling problem assumes that periodic demands are known with certainty. Uncertainty in the forecasts arc typically accommodated afterwards by adding safety stocks to a schedule. Two popular methods for establishing safety stocks are: (1) the constant cycle service level method; and (2) the constant safety stock method. This paper outlines these methods and then develops a third method which results in optimal safety stocks. The paper includes an experimental investigation aimed at comparing performances of the three safety stock methods. The constant safety stock method is shown to perform within one or two per cent of optimal, while the constant cycle service level method performs worse under most conditions. Shorter lead times, variable order interval lengths, and time-dependent forecast errors all adversely affect the performances of the non-optimal methods. An operations manager could use these results to evaluate the appropriateness of the methods for his master production scheduling environment.     

Students' Views on the Relationship between Religion and Science: Analyses of Results from a Comparative Survey*

Deux enquêtes ont été effectuées auprès d'étudiants de deux universitiés canadiennes sur leurs perceptions des relations entre la religion, la science et le sens de la vie. Les données démontrent que, tandis que les étudiants pensent régulièrement à la signification de la vie, leurs opinions sur la religion par rapport à la science ne laissent voir que de bas niveaux de corrélation. Les étudiants ont indiqué que leur plus grande préoccupation par rapport au sens de la vie était due à leur famille et à leurs amis. Dans l'ensemble, les données suggèrent que les étudiants considèrent la religion et la science comme des entités indépendantes, mais seulement en ce qui concerne la part qu'elles occupent dans la vie des individus et dans les affaires mondiales.
Students at two distinctly different Canadian universities were surveyed about their perceptions of the relationship between religion, science, and thinking about the meaning of life. The data show that while students regularly think about the latter, their views on religion and science show only low levels of correlation with each other. Students indicated that their greatest insights into the meaning of life came from family and friends. Overall, the data suggest that students view religion and science as independent entities, both with respect to the part that these play in the life of individuals and in world affairs.