Measuring operational excellence: an operational excellence profitability (OEP) approach

The pursuit of operational excellence in the manufacturing industry is at rise but its measurement still lacks of appropriate indicators to determine its financial benefits. The ambiguity is due to the impact arisen from manufacturing fluctuations such as price and cost, production mix and direct and indirect parameters variations. Manufacturing fluctuations distort the cost benefit of operational excellence. This paper, therefore, proposes the OEP (Operational Excellence Profitability) indicators to isolate the impact of manufacturing fluctuation and distinctly identify the payback of operational excellence strategies and initiatives through cost benefits of achieving higher efficiency and yield. The paper presents the conceptual and mathematical development of the proposed OEP indicators and the formulas used for their calculation. Hypothetical and industrial-based investigations and applications of the OEP indicators are conducted for their validation. The results obtained from the hypothetical exercise and industrial case suggest that OEP indicators can provide an effective cost-benefit analysis of operational excellence. This would contribute in providing manufacturing organizations with more complete information regarding the performance of their processes, which will allow their directors and managers to take better decisions related to the management and improvement of their processes.     

Narratives of exile twenty years on: long-term impacts of Indonesia’s 1998 violence on transnational Chinese-Indonesian women

ABSTRACT

In response to Indonesia’s 1998 riots, which included mass rape of Chinese-Indonesian women, many Chinese-Indonesian families sent their daughters out of country to try and ensure their safety. Drawing on interviews with Chinese-Indonesian women currently living in Singapore and Australia, this article considers the long-term effects on transnational families of this departure. In contrast to current views of Chinese-Indonesians as an affluent diaspora, we show Chinese-Indonesian women’s experience to be that of exile, living outside Indonesia with little possibility of permanent return. We illuminate the subtle and enduring effects of political violence on women’s marital, reproductive, and childrearing practices. Interviews reveal fragmented identities and contingent household formations which enabled family resilience for some but created long-term fissures for the majority. We argue for more critical attention to how gender mutually constitutes experiences of exile, and the long-term impacts of political violence on reproduction and family relations for Chinese-Indonesian women.     

‘Fuck It,Shit Happens (FISH)’: a social generations approach to understanding young people’s imaginings of life after school in 2016–2017

ABSTRACT

This article uses a social generations approach to explore the lives of young people transitioning to life after schooling. Drawing on ethnographic research in England during the geopolitical uncertainty of 2016–2017, we track the trajectories and narratives of six individuals. The research begins with final year pupils in schools talking about their futures, during and after their A-Level exams. We then follow these individuals on routes to Higher Education and employment, exploring how they are socialised into imaginings of the future and/or struggle to inhabit these futures. A deeply ingrained, modernist, neoliberal reckoning of future time is normalised through experiences of schooling. However, this logic is troubled profoundly in the transition to life after school. Young people’s experiences in an unpredictable present run in stark contrast to the ordered trajectory of future action they have been socialised to expect. Amidst this uncertainty, ambivalence towards shaping the future (‘Fuck It, Shit Happens’) can in some ways feel like the most agentic stance to take. Furlong et al.’s (2011) social generations approach to understanding youth transitions reveals how we must critique the very concept of ‘the future’ if we are to understand the reality of youth transitions in the present.     

Multidimensional Analysis of Water Poverty and Subjective Well-Being: A Case Study on Local Household Variation in Faisalabad,Pakistan

Water poverty is difficult to evaluate because it is multidimensional. It is determined not only by the availability of water sources but also whether communities have adequate access to clean, uncontaminated water. It is also dependent on the resource needs of those using the water. Under the premise that water scarcity is multidimensional, we use a Water Poverty Index approach using Principal Component Analysis to develop an index at the household level in 10 villages in one large farming community to examine each household’s subjective view of well being as a result of water poverty. This paper reviews how water resources endowments and depletion because of indiscriminate disposal of untreated industrial wastewater, household sewage and climate change are posing serious threats to water poverty at the household level in developing agrarian economies like Pakistan. We report from our results that both the perceived level of pollution and the proximity to clean and polluted water sources matter significantly for subjective well-being in rural households of Pakistan. The villages closer to polluted water sources are unhappier while the villages, which have better access to fresh water, have relatively higher subjective well-being. A strong implementation of environmental protection measures and regional strategies are suggested to alleviate water poverty and increase subjective well-being in local communities.     

Selecting better process based on difference statistic using double sampling plan

Supplier management plays an important role in the quality improvement process. Recently, supplier selection has received much attention in many production industries. In this paper, we propose a double sampling plan for selecting a better supplier comparing two suppliers with linear profiles. The difference test statistic based on the process yield index S_pkA is used to determine the optimal parameters of the proposed double sampling plan. The efficiency of the proposed sampling plan is compared with the existing single sampling plan.     

Low‐Income Latina Mothers' Expectations for Their Pregnant Daughters' Autonomy and Interdependence

Forty‐five pregnant Latina adolescents and their mothers (23 English‐speaking, 22 Spanish‐speaking) were videotaped conversing about feelings and plans related to the adolescent's pregnancy. The prevalence of the mothers' messages about the daughter's reliance on the family unit (interdependence) and the daughter's self‐sufficiency (autonomy) were related to adolescents' reported and observed feelings about their pregnancies, pending motherhood challenges, and their relationships with their mothers. Increased interdependence messages appeared to denote positive family relations among Spanish‐speaking dyads, in that these adolescents reported more positive feelings about their pregnancy, perceived that their mothers felt more positive, and perceived more maternal social support and open communication. The role of interdependence messages was less clear for adolescents from English‐speaking families. Higher levels of maternal autonomy messages had positive associations for both groups, in that it was related to higher disclosure about concerns about childcare needs among adolescents from English‐speaking families, and about educational goals for adolescents from Spanish‐speaking families.     

Compelling Evidence: Research Methods,HIV/AIDS,and Politics in Papua,Indonesia

Increasing calls for an evidence-based public health (EBPH) rely on forms of quantitative evidence to decide HIV/AIDS interventions. A major criticism of this method is it downplays the significance of experiential, cultural or political facets of HIV/AIDS. We apply the concept of ‘rendering technical’ to explore the relationship between methods used in HIV/AIDS research in Papua, Indonesia and current socioeconomic conditions. We analysed research methods used in sixty-two HIV/AIDS studies, assessed presentations at an international AIDS conference, and conducted ethnographic research in Papua. Nation-wide EBPH initiatives are implemented in Papua, yet there remains a critical mass of qualitative ethnographic studies carried out by indigenous scholars emphasising experiences of persons and culture, often within a colonial or post-colonial framework. We argue these studies partially counter approaches which render technical complex realities. In political conditions where indigenous minorities suffer inequities, qualitative ethnographic research may yield critical kinds of evidence, potentially contributing to more nuanced decision-making around HIV.     

Predictors of attitudes towards physician-assisted suicide

Psychological factors may influence an individual's acceptance of euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide (PAS). The purpose of the present investigation was to evaluate predictors of attitudes towards PAS. Data were collected from 136 college students at a private Midwestern university. In addition to demographic and family history information, respondents completed measures of attitudes toward seeking mental health services, depression, hopelessness, and PAS attitudes. Respondent age, race, and hopelessness scores emerged as the only significant predictors (R2=.20) in a multiple regression model used to identify potential predictors of PAS attitudes. Younger, non-minority respondents, and those enduring more hopelessness reported more accepting attitudes towards PAS. Data from a three month follow-up assessment supported the stability of this pattern. The findings highlight the important role that mental health professionals should play in PAS decision making. Implications for the evaluation of medically ill considering PAS and their caregivers are discussed.     

Savings–Investment Correlation and Capital Outflow: The Case of Pakistan

This study explores the savings–investment relationship in the context of financial liberalization and flexible exchange rate regime in Pakistan. Ng–Perron test is employed to examine the order of integration of the variables used in the model. For long-run analysis, ARDL bounds testing approach is used and short-run dynamics are captured from error correction model (ECM). Time series data are utilized covering the period 1976–2006. Empirical findings indicate that in the case of Pakistan, there is a weak correlation between savings and investment. The study suggests that in the presence of inadequate capital mobility within the country, domestic investors have financed investment projects from international market. Furthermore, devaluation and inflation have stimulated investment activities in the country and significantly contributed in closing the gap between domestic savings and investment.