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Defines data mining as the extraction of potentially useful information from large databases. Shows how data mining can be applied to detecting anomalous behaviour in American agriculture and thus support the Risk Protection Agency in its compliance mission to detect fraud in crop insurance, using corn as the crop studied and percentage of acres harvested as the key indicator for “proof of concept”. Indicates potential areas of improvement, such as the development of a single data warehouse, and the role of social scientists with knowledge of data analysis and agricultural management. Concludes that data mining could be more effective than the current technique of random selection for investigation of individual entities.

Distribution has been a major element of retailers′ marketing strategy in recent years as companies strive to control costs but at the same time seek competitive advantage through improving service to stores and gaining greater control of stock in the supply chain. In an interview survey of distribution directors from major multiple groups, all companies were reviewing their distribution strategy and many had made major changes to their distribution system. Centralisation of stock in strategically located RDCs and the use of third party contractors were main features of retail companies′ strategy. Contractors were much more aggressive in marketing their services to retailers than hitherto. This is partly related to the competitive and turbulent nature of the industry. In a survey of marketing directors/managers of distribution companies, it was clear that firms were trying to raise their profile in the market as they “went public” and/or because they were moving into new industry sectors away from their “core” specialist areas.

In a recent speech LORD ROSEBERY charged the people of this country with possessing, to an inordinate extent, the fatal gift of complacency, and he observed that the nation which is not progressive is retrogressive. “Rest and be thankful,” said LORD ROSEBERY, is a motto which spells decay, and those who have any experience of the methods of the manufacturers of the country will admit that this seemingly severe impeachment is by no means unfounded or uncalled‐for. Industries, of which at one time the English were masters, are now gradually falling into other hands. The workers of other lands are successfully competing with our own, and yet, in spite of this condition of our mercantile affairs, the spirit of complacency is rampant. The sons are content to continue in the footsteps of the fathers, oblivious of the fact that time and seasons do not stand still and that they may be overwhelmed by the advancing flood of competition. The trade conservatism which was in the past opposed to the introduction of the steam‐engine, the power‐loom, and other mechanical appliances, is still responsible for the extreme slowness with which English firms appreciate the necessity for such innovations in the conduct of their business as would place them in a position to hold their own in the markets of the world. In respect to the protection of pure food production Great Britain and the British manufacturers are still a long way behind. Although the Sale of Food and Drugs Act of 1875 was one of the first Acts passed in any country to prevent the sale of adulterated food and drink, its machinery is cumbrous, and the subsequent Amendment Acts have not added materially to its efficiency; with the result that the Adulteration Acts do not compare favourably with those of many other countries. The spirit of complacency in regard to food products has affected alike the producer and the distributor, and the result is that in many instances there is no adequate inducement to produce anything but a mediocre article—such an article, in fact, as only escapes condemnation because of the faulty construction of the machinery of the law.

Aarhus Kommunes Biblioteker (Teknisk Bibliotek), Ingerslevs Plads 7, Aarhus, Denmark. Representative: V. NEDERGAARD PEDERSEN (Librarian).

We expand on the use of monuments and memorials in the social studies classroom, while further promoting a more inclusive curriculum that better represents women in the social studies. The way and frequency in which history textbooks and social studies classrooms represent women has improved over the decades; though, it still needs refining. The imbalance goes beyond the social studies classroom and includes the very resources we are advocating social studies teachers use, the United States’ historical monuments and memorials. We, therefore, offer social studies teachers a rationale, resources, and suggested activities for incorporating monuments and memorials commemorating the role of females in U.S. history. Considering less than eight percent of the United States’ cataloged, public outdoor statues honoring individuals are of women.

The Equal Pay Act 1970 (which came into operation on 29 December 1975) provides for an “equality clause” to be written into all contracts of employment. S.1(2) (a) of the 1970 Act (which has been amended by the Sex Discrimination Act 1975) provides:

Before this great innovation assaults the long‐suffering British public in mind and matter, in the retailer's cash register and the spender's pocket, a brief comparison between the present coinage and the promised decimal one might not be amiss. The £sd system has its faults and understandably is difficult for the foreigner, but no more so than the language and the weather. Like many things British it is so haphazard: why should there be 240 pennies to the pound? Why 12 pennies to the shilling? One thing, however, about this awkward currency is that it is amazingly well‐adapted to price variations at the lower level, and most commodities are in this range. Whether prices have adapted themselves to the flexibility of the coinage or the other way round is immaterial but the centuries have well and truly married the two. As a lowly coin such as the farthing has ceased to have commercial use with the falling value of money, it has disappeared and its place has been taken by the next larger, the halfpenny and then by the penny, and this must surely be the one great advantage of the £sd system.

After a few years away from the countryside, a brief visit to some farms in the heart of England reveals a changed scene. Farming is obviously prosperous and there are now many more young men farming; because of better conditions, older men have been able to retire and hand over to the younger man who has often attended an agricultural college and shows it in the methods he employs, especially in milk production Nowadays there seems to be a surfeit of machines, a greater use of machine‐milking, sometimes with pipe‐systems to cooler and direct to churns, without manual effort from start to finish. The rural water supply schemes and electrification between the two wars have revolutionised farming and taken the drudgery out of milk production. The farm kitchen is a revelation and the farmer's wife, young, strong, efficient, attractive and fashionable, surrounded with every electrical domestic appliance devised by the ingenuity of man, is as much changed as the farmer himself.

The square root law (SRL) is a popular model for assessing inventory levels when changing the number of warehouses. Previous empirical research, however, has shown that mostly its underlying assumptions do not hold in practice. This sparks the question how inaccurate the SRL’s results are. The paper aims to discuss this issue.

In 26 company cases of reducing the number of warehouses, the estimation error of the SRL is analysed irrespective of its underlying assumptions.

The analysis reveals an average estimation error for total inventory of 27.85 per cent (median=27.84 per cent), but a high variability across the cases. The SRL seems to mostly overestimate inventory savings from centralisation and inventory increases from decentralisation. Managers should only use the SRL if inventory depends on the number of warehouses in their situation, i.e. if they use the economic order or production quantity policy and safety factor approach. Suggestions for coping with the SRL’s estimation error are given.

This paper is based on the 26 cases that could be found in a thorough literature review in the ten most widely spoken languages and that contained or allowed to deduce the necessary information. In order to enable wider generalisations, this sample could be extended.

Most past research has been more theoretical in nature. This research is the first to investigate the SRL’s estimation error using a variety of company cases and how to cope with this error.

The high and persistent unemployment rates of people with intellectual disabilities (PwID) reveal the wide gap that still remains to be bridged. Entrepreneurship combinedly with a high enterprising tendency could improve PwID's life satisfaction.

A mixed-method approach was used, based on questionnaires and structured face-to-face interviews on 37 PwID who had recently become entrepreneurs. Data were firstly quantitatively analyzed using partial least squares-structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM), and qualitative data were used to enable robust findings.

The entrepreneurial tendency of PwID who had recently become entrepreneurs was found to be a positive to their life quality (LQ), job satisfaction and life satisfaction.

This study revealed that entrepreneurship among PwID who had high enterprising tendency enhances their LQ, job satisfaction and life satisfaction. However, further research could evaluate whether becoming an entrepreneur is in itself enough to change PwID's life to better, such that a comparison could be done between PwID who become entrepreneurs and PwID who have a salaried job.

New aspects in the design of public social policies to improve PwID's life satisfaction are suggested. These include the facilitation of both entrepreneurship and enterprising tendency for PwID to enhance their life satisfaction.

There are very few occasions in which PwID set up businesses. This is one of the first studies to analyze the benefit of entrepreneurship and enterprising tendency on the LQ, the satisfaction at work and the life satisfaction of PwID.