Annualized hours as a capacity planning tool in make-to-order or assemble-to-order environment: An agricultural implements company case

Capacity planning is one of the most important elements for an efficient production planning and control system. It is even more important when the main strategies to fulfil sales requirements are make-to-order (MTO) or assemble-to-order (ATO). Neither MTO or ATO companies keep finished products in stock which means that production level is driven by actual sales figures. Therefore, it is very important to have an available capacity as flexible as possible to meet sales requirements. Annualized hours (AH) is a work time control system that helps in increasing the flexibility of available capacity. The main rule of the AH system is to hire employees to work a certain number of hours on a yearly basis. Following some other pre-defined rules and limits, the AH system allows a company to adjust weekly available time in order to reduce idle capacity or to fulfil requirements that could mean overtime. This paper proposes a linear programming model to plan the operations using AH. This model has been implemented in a company that produces agricultural implements, showing that it is very simple to use. It is producing excellent practical results.     

Testing the Normality Assumption in the Tobit Model

This paper examines a number of statistics that have been proposed to test the normality assumption in the tobit (censored regression) model. It argues that a number of commonly proposed statistics can be interpreted as different versions of the Lagrange multiplier, or score, test for a common null hypothesis. This observation is useful in examining the Monte Carlo results presented in the paper. The Monte Carlo results suggest that the computational convenience of a number of statistics is obtained at the cost of poor finite sample performance under the null hypothesis.     

论女性形象的再现机制——对电影《时时刻刻》的文化解读

电影《时时刻刻》是作为一部“女性主义”影片获得成功和被接受的。但是通过对它的文化解读我们可以发现,在这部艺术作品中,男性主导话语对女性形象“再现”过程起着潜移默化的置换和扭曲作用,而在文化研究中,代言人的身份是非常关键的一个考察前提。透过女性身份表现出的男权渗透才是女性文化中最为普遍的现象。     

《时时刻刻》中的“房间”意象

在美国当代作家迈克尔·坎宁安的小说《时时刻刻》中,＂房间＂意象具有明显的悖论性：它既可以是现实中监禁的牢笼,又可以是释放自我的自由之所。小说借助＂房间＂这样一个共通意象将三位处于不同时空的女性连接起来。她们对理想中＂房间＂的探求其实就是对自我存在和自我实现的追寻。面对悖论式的生存状况,无论是选择自杀、逃离还是享受当下,皆出于人们对生活无尽的信仰和热爱。同时这三种选择也表现出宏观上的进步性,反映出现代人在追寻生命意义的道路上对个人主体价值的强调,以及人们以乐观积极的姿态而实现的对当下社会的超越。     

The Consequences of Caregiving: Effects on Women’s Employment and Earnings

Caregiving to family members comprises a major part of familial obligations in the United States. Informal caregiving is unevenly distributed in society, with women performing most of the work and bearing the burden of its costs. This paper addresses the cost dimension of informal caregiving to family members by examining whether and how it penalizes women’s employment. Drawing data from the 1987 and 1992 National Survey of Families and Households, we examine whether and how caregiving transitions affect changes in women’s labor force participation and the implications of this caregiving transitions for their earnings. We calculate how these effects vary for demographically different groups of women: those older and younger, with and without high levels of education, and married and not married. Our findings reveal that for most women, the initiation of caregiving led to a substantial reduction in their weekly hours worked and annual earnings. However, the effects were different for various subgroups of women: those older, with fewer skills, and more competing roles paid substantial costs if they began caregiving between 1987 and 1992.     

Individual differences in working hours,work perceptions and accident rates in veterinary surgeries

This study addresses an under-researched outcome of occupational stress, namely the frequency of accidents at work and car accidents. A large, random sample of 778 vets and their auxiliary personnel was assessed in relation to socio-demographic variables, work perception and accident involvement. The study, involving veterinary practices in Germany, revealed that work-related injuries/accidents experienced during the previous 12-month period were significantly related to individual differences in job-related stress and job satisfaction. The average yearly number of car accidents was predicted by age, working climate and job satisfaction. Furthermore, driving accidents going to or from work during the previous year were calculated against distance travelled. Vets working in excess of 48 h/week displayed significantly more driving accidents when visiting clients. Results indicate heterogeneous correlations both between and within the two categories of car and work accidents, suggesting that these are different phenomena, each with its own associated personal and work factors. Results also suggest that work perceptions may act as intermediary influences on accident rates.     

《英国特色》与《英国风情》中的英国形象

美国作家爱默生和亨利·詹姆斯的游记《英国特色》、《英国风情》中的英国或似物质荒原,或如残阳悲歌,形象各不相同,可以用形象学和阐释学的方法从写作的受众、时代背景、作家自身的气质性情以及生活经历等方面对两者的异同进行比较和探究。     

气候因素对哲里木盟主要作物产量的影响

用正交多项式方法从哲里木盟1981－1995年五种主要作物的单产中分离出气象产量，结合同期气候资料进行相关分析，在此基础上，用多元回归的方法，定量分析气候因素对作物产量的影响。     

Working time in Great Britain, 1975–1994: evidence from the New Earnings Survey panel data

Using individual-based panel data from the New Earnings Survey, this paper provides a detailed analysis of the working time behaviour of British full-time male and female workers as well as part-time female workers. We investigate the following: male–female differences in basic and overtime working patterns; extensive overtime working; age-related patterns of weekly basic and overtime hours; the effects of collective bargaining on hours of work; industrial, public–private sector and occupational breakdowns of basic and total hours. The results for the last three topics are based on estimates from fixed effect regressions with time-varying parameters.     

亨利·詹姆斯的《意大利时光》——美国人身份的建构

亨利·詹姆斯游记合集《意大利时光》不仅呈现了作者对这个历史文化古国的热爱而且包含了他对自己美国人身份的认识和建构。本文认为,詹姆斯在向读者逐步构建和阐释自己对意大利的印象的过程中,也在探寻能够把自己和祖国联系在一起并建立自己美国人身份的途径。而这个身份的建构主要借由他在旅游途中频繁地将美国和意大利进行对比得以实现。