A multi-objective model for lot-sizing with supplier selection for an assembly system

Lot-sizing with supplier selection (LS-SS) is a fast-growing offspring of two major problem parents in logistics and supply chain management (‘lot-sizing’ and ‘supplier selection’). The model proposed in this paper is an attempt to extend it to an assembly system, by formulating a multi-objective model for an integrative problem of LS-SS for assembly items. The total costs of the system, consisting of purchasing, ordering, transportation, assembly, and holding, is considered the first objective function, while the total reliability of the finished products is considered the second objective function. The decision-maker aims to minimise the total costs while maximising the total reliability. Several constraints of the system (e.g. storage capacity, supplier production capacity) are taken into account. Given the complexity of the model, a heuristic evolutionary algorithm is proposed to solve the model. The results indicate which assembly items to order in which quantities, from which suppliers and in which time periods.     

Productive opportunities,uncertainty, and science-based firm emergence

Small Business Economics - We provide greater theoretical precision to the concept of productive opportunities of Penrose. We show firm emergence as a recursive cycle of changing productive...     

Women's Paid Work and Intimate Partner Violence: Insights from Tanzania

Theoretical and empirical research provide conflicting views on whether women who do paid work are less at risk from violence by an intimate partner in low- and middle-income countries. Economic household-bargaining models propose increased access to monetary resources will enhance women's “agency” and hence their bargaining power within the household, which reduces their vulnerability to intimate-partner violence. Feminist theorists also argue, however, that culture, context, and social norms can impede women's ability to access and benefit from employment. This study uses semi-structured interviews conducted in 2009 to explore the implications of paid work among women market traders in Dar es Salaam and Mbeya, Tanzania. While in this sample, informal-sector work did not result in women being able to fully exercise agency, their access to money did have a positive effect on their lives and reduced one major source of conflict and trigger for violence: that of negotiating money from men.     

Will Women Lead the Way? Differences in Demand for Corporate Social Responsibility Information for Investment Decisions

Recent years have featured a leap in academic and public interest in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities and related corporate reporting. Two main themes in this literature are the exploration of management incentives to engage in and disclose this information, and of the use and value of this information to market participants. We extend the second theme by examining the interest that specific investor classes have in the use of CSR information. We rely on feminist intersectionality, which suggests that gender intersects with other identities to yield different values, experiences, and opportunities that can lead to gender-based preferences for CSR information. Based upon a survey of 750 US-based retail investors, we find that female retail investors have a greater interest in the use of CSR information, relative to male retail investors. Women express greater anticipated future demand for this information than do men. Further, the magnitude of the increase from current use to anticipated future demand is greater for women than men. Age is a significant modifying factor in that the discrepancy between women of any age and older men is greater than that between women and younger men. Finally, women also exhibit greater demand for streamlining of the information flow, consistent with pressures induced by time poverty. It appears that current disclosure practices provide a less than optimal match with the needs of the information consumers that are primarily interested in using this information. This mismatch may result in a systematic disenfranchisement of female investing classes which suggests an ethical need to level the playing field.     

Trust Influencers on the Web

The purpose of this study is to develop and empirically test a model of Web trust based on the previously proposed models of trust. Influencers on Web trust studied here are disposition to trust, attitude toward the Web, experience with the Web, anxiety toward the Web, innovativeness toward information technology, and Web ability. The findings indicate that a strong disposition to trust and increased years of Web experience positively influence Web trust. High anxiety toward the Web, positive attitude toward the Web, high innovativeness toward information technology, and high Web ability do not influence Web trust in this study. The designers of new Web sites and redesigners of existing Web sites, pages, or advertisements should consider these factors in order to promote trust in their representative company.     

Understanding Meta-Analysis: A Review of the Methodological Literature

Meta-analysis is a quantitative technique that uses specific measures (e.g., an effect size) to indicate the strength of variable relationships for the studies included in the analysis. The technique emphasizes results across multiple studies as opposed to results from a single investigation. This article provides an introduction to the meta-analysis literature and discusses the challenges of applying meta-analysis to human dimensions research. Specifically, we review the definitions of meta-analysis techniques, the steps in conducting a meta-analysis, and the advantages and disadvantages of meta-analysis.     

Tourist–resident interfaces: using reflexive photography to develop responsible rural tourism in Indonesia

This study examines how Indonesia can responsibly develop rural tourism within the tolerance range of local people, particularly for controlling their unique landscapes. It employs reflexive photography as a tool to involve residents for rural tourism development in Sambi village. Data were collected in Sambi using reflexive photography procedures, including a photo-making process and photo-interview. Twenty-eight residents were issued a single-use camera and requested to take photographs of what they deemed important to them. Cameras were provided for a two-week period followed by individual interviews; 618 useable photos were taken. They were coded into 15 topics, and then consolidated into five themes that residents wanted to share: their way of life, environmental features, built structures, people, art and ceremony, while also protecting the cemetery and mosque from tourists. Two strategies (time and space) were utilized by the residents to negotiate what they wanted to share as well as conceal. Residents view time in terms of sacred time (residents time spent alone, family time and time for religious prayer) and impartial time (devoted to working and other daily routines). A model based on four time and space zones was formulated to understand how residents control their landscapes for tourism development.     

Jobs Lost, Jobs Regained: An Analysis of Black/White Differences in Job Displacement in the 1980s

Over the period 1982–1991, black men were considerably more likely to experience job displacement than were white men, and following displacement, the likelihood of reemployment was substantially lower for black men. Using data from the 1984–1992 Displaced Worker Surveys, we find that black men experienced rates of job displacement that were 30 percent higher, and reemployment rates that were 30 percent lower than the corresponding rates for white men. We find that racial differences in education levels and occupational distributions explain part of these racial gaps in job displacement and reemployment, whereas racial differences in industry distributions worked to narrow these gaps.     

The Supply of Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosures Among U.S. Firms

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a dramatically expanding area of activity for managers and academics. Consumer demand for responsibly produced and fair trade goods is swelling, resulting in increased demands for CSR activity and information. Assets under professional management and invested with a social responsibility focus have also grown dramatically over the last 10 years. Investors choosing social responsibility investment strategies require access to information not provided through traditional financial statements and analyses. At the same time, a group of mainstream institutional investors has encouraged a movement to incorporate environmental, social, and governance information into equity analysis, and multi-stakeholder groups have supported enhanced business reporting on these issues. The majority of research in this area has been performed on European and Australian firms. We expand on this literature by exploring the CSR disclosure practices of a size- and industry-stratified sample of 50 publicly traded U.S. firms, performing a content analysis on the complete identifiable public information portfolio provided by these firms during 2004. CSR activity was disclosed by most firms in the sample, and was included in nearly half of public disclosures made during that year by the sample firms. Areas of particular emphasis are community matters, health and safety, diversity and human resources (HR) matters, and environmental programs. The primary venues of disclosure are mass media releases such as corporate websites and press releases, followed closely by disclosures contained in mandatory filings. Consistent with prior research, we identify industry effects in terms of content, emphasis, and reporting format choices. Unlike prior research, we can offer only mixed evidence on the existence of a size effect. The disclosure frequency and emphasis is significantly different for the largest one-fifth of the firms, but no identifiable trends are present within the rest of the sample. There are, however, identifiable size effects with respect to reporting format choice. Use of websites is positively related to firm size, while the use of mandatory filings is negatively related to firm size. Finally, and also consistent with prior literature, we document a generally self-laudatory tone in the content of CSR disclosures for the sample firms.     

Shifting responsibility to workers: the future of retirement adequacy in the United States

While many 401(k) participants at large companies can expect replacement of nearly 100% of preretirement income, not all workers participate in their 401(k) plan. Moreover, the authors show that even among participants, the extent of retirement preparedness depends on defined benefit (DB) plan coverage and retiree medical benefit generosity. Given recent trends in the elimination of DB plans and retiree medical subsidies and the voluntary nature of 401(k) participation, retirement income responsibility is increasingly shifting to workers. The authors discuss how employers might help workers meet their retirement income needs in this changing environment.