Studies on the properties of buffer operators

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 14-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tianxiang Yao ◽  
Hong Gao
Keyword(s):  
Fixed Point ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Data Sequence ◽  
Raw Data ◽  
Simulation Accuracy ◽  
Operator Model ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Constant Sequence ◽  
Operator Sequence ◽  
Very High

Purpose Buffer operators can be utilized to improve the smooth degree of the raw data sequence, and to increase the simulation accuracy of the model. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the cause of increase in the simulation accuracy of the buffer operator. Design/methodology/approach This paper probed into the modeling mechanism of several typical buffer operators such as the arithmetic buffer operators, the buffer operators with monotonic function and weighted buffer operators. The paper also gives an example of the buffer operator sequence. Findings The results indicate that after applying an infinite buffer operator, whether the authors adopt a weakening buffer operator or a strengthen buffer operator, the raw sequence can be changed into a constant sequence. Because the discrete GM(1,1) model can completely simulate constant sequence, the simulation accuracy is 100 percent. Because the discrete GM(1,1) model is the accurate form of the GM(1,1) model, after applying an infinite buffer operator, the GM(1,1) model can have a very high simulation accuracy. The buffer operator model can increase the simulation accuracy of both the GM(1,1) model and the discrete GM(1,1) model. Originality/value The paper analyses the cause of increasing simulation accuracy of the buffer operator model. The paper may indicate that possible results can be studied in the future. All the buffer operator models have similar properties. After applying an infinite buffer operator, the raw sequence can be changed into a constant sequence. A fixed-point axiom may be the basic cause.

Employee competences in manufacturing companies – an expert survey

2015 ◽  
Vol 34 (8) ◽  
pp. 1004-1018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerrit Meyer ◽  
Bianca Brünig ◽  
Peter Nyhuis
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Production Management ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Manufacturing Companies ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Openness To Change ◽  
Future Production ◽  
Quality Awareness ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Very High

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present competences that are highly relevant for manufacturing today and tomorrow. Following a discussion on the concept of “competence”, a variety of competences are presented and classified into the four facets professional, methodological, social, and self-competence. Design/methodology/approach – Using an exploratory method, the paper aims at describing relevant manufacturing-related competences with the help of an online survey. Experts, mostly from the production management or HR departments of manufacturing companies in Germany, were polled and asked to evaluate the relevancy of a list of competences for manufacturing. Findings – For the experts, flawless execution and quality awareness are competences with a very high relevance, whereas analytical abilities have very little meaning. The experts questioned expect openness to change to undergo the strongest increase in importance. Practical implications – This paper shows competences particularly relevant for future production, so that companies can derive specific competence development measures. The findings are descriptive only, but should enable companies to identify specific competence gaps and to select measures to develop competences. Originality/value – This paper attempts to bridge the gap between academics and practice by outlining relevant manufacturing competences that have been evaluated by managers. This is in contrast to most scientific research that classifies manufacturing-related competences as important based on own assessment.

Beyond rarity: the paths of luxury desire. How luxury brands grow yet remain desirable

2016 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 120-133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-Noël Kapferer ◽  
Pierre Valette-Florence
Keyword(s):  
Latent Variables ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Luxury Brands ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Selective Distribution ◽  
The World ◽  
Luxury Industry ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Very High ◽  
Selection Of

Purpose Luxury is a growing sector worldwide. This creates a major managerial challenge: How can luxury brands prevent becoming a victim of their own success? Once objective rarity is lost, what other levers still sustain desire for these luxury brands, nurture their dream and, thus, prevent the dilution of desirability created by their growing penetration and sales? Design/methodology/approach Based on 1,286 actual luxury consumers interviewed about 12 highly known and successful luxury brands on 42 experiential and perceptual items, a PLS hierarchical fourth-order latent variables model unveils the paths of luxury dream building. Findings The authors have identified how, beyond mere physical rarity and very high quality, eight experiential and perceptual levers fuel luxury desirability through two structural paths: selection and seduction. Research limitations/implications The concept of luxury is associated to rarity. But to grow, luxury brands need to abandon mere scarcity and selectivity (value created by limitation of production, highly selective distribution and selection of customers) and switch instead to an “abundant rarity”, where feelings of privilege are attached to the brand itself, seducing through its experiential facets, pricing, prestige and the world it symbolizes. Practical implications Luxury executives can use this paper as a compass to manage, sustain and monitor their brand desirability, all along the brand’s growth, as it moves away from being niche and rare. Social implications Considering the growing social diffusion of the need for luxury in different strata of the population, this paper reveals the levers of the attractiveness of the mega-brands of luxury. Originality/value This paper addresses the main problem of the luxury industry: How to grow yet remain desirable. It is based on 1,286 actual luxury buyers and 12 actual brands. Thanks to PLS modelization, the structure of the levers of brand desirability is revealed.

Contractors’ opportunism: construction professionals’ awareness of influencing factors

2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 102-114
Author(s):  
Matthew Osivue Ikuabe ◽  
Ayodeji Emmanuel Oke
Keyword(s):  
Construction Industry ◽  
Influencing Factors ◽  
Construction Projects ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Item Score ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Post Hoc ◽  
Very High

Purpose Construction contractors serve as economic partners to owners of construction projects, but often times, they could depict opportunistic tendencies which are to the detriment of the client. This study aims to focus on the awareness of construction professionals with respect to influencing factors of construction contractors’ opportunism. Design/methodology/approach A questionnaire survey was adopted in eliciting responses from construction professionals, namely, architects, quantity surveyors, builders and engineers. In total, 337 questionnaires were distributed, of which 264 were retrieved and deemed fit for analysis. Methods of data analysis used are mean item score, factor analysis, analysis of variance, Kruskal–Wallis and Student Newman Kaul post hoc test. Findings The study revealed that the level of construction professionals’ awareness of contractors’ susceptibility of opportunism is very high. Equally, the most ranked factor is “No sanction for not reporting inconsistency of drawings.” The postulated hypothesis was subjected to a test, and the result showed that there is a significant difference in professionals’ perceived level of awareness of factors responsible for contractors’ opportunistic behaviors. Originality/value The study brings to the fore professionals’ knowledge of the awareness of influencing factors to contractors’ opportunism. The established level of its awareness portends a dangerous trend and has a large negative impact on the construction industry as this opens a vista to discouraging prospective investors, developers and owners, taking into cognizance the effect this would have on the economy.

Earthmoving trucks condition level prediction using neural networks

2014 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 182-192 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marina Marinelli ◽  
Sergios Lambropoulos ◽  
Kleopatra Petroutsatou
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Predictive Accuracy ◽  
Ann Model ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Construction Companies ◽  
Predictive Methods ◽  
Artificial Neural Network Ann ◽  
Very High ◽  
Sound Condition

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present an artificial neural network (ANN) model that predicts earthmoving trucks condition level using simple predictors; the model's performance is compared to the respective predictive accuracy of the statistical method of discriminant analysis (DA). Design/methodology/approach – An ANN-based predictive model is developed. The condition level predictors selected are the capacity, age, kilometers travelled and maintenance level. The relevant data set was provided by two Greek construction companies and includes the characteristics of 126 earthmoving trucks. Findings – Data processing identifies a particularly strong connection of kilometers travelled and maintenance level with the earthmoving trucks condition level. Moreover, the validation process reveals that the predictive efficiency of the proposed ANN model is very high. Similar findings emerge from the application of DA to the same data set using the same predictors. Originality/value – Earthmoving trucks’ sound condition level prediction reduces downtime and its adverse impact on earthmoving duration and cost, while also enhancing the maintenance and replacement policies effectiveness. This research proves that a sound condition level prediction for earthmoving trucks is achievable through the utilization of easy to collect data and provides a comparative evaluation of the results of two widely applied predictive methods.

Exposing/correcting SME underperformance myths

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-88
Author(s):  
John Watson
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Small And Medium Enterprises ◽  
Unintended Consequences ◽  
Research Experience ◽  
Control Variables ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Key Points ◽  
Medium Enterprises ◽  
Very High ◽  
Young Researchers

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to share with up-and-coming young researchers some of the important lessons the author has learnt on his research journey. Design/methodology/approach In researching the performance of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) (and, in particular, female-controlled SMEs), the author was very careful to ensure, as far as practical, that appropriate control variables (such as age of business, industry and hours worked) were included in the research design. Findings There are two key findings that emerge from the research the author has been involved with over many years. First, the very high SME failure rate often referred to in the literature and popular press is a myth. Second, the belief that female-controlled SMEs underperform male-controlled SMEs is also a myth. Research limitations/implications Based on the author’s research experience, there are three key points the author would like to share with the young researchers. First, do not be afraid to question what might appear to be a generally accepted fact. Second, do not jump to a quick and what might appear to be the most obvious conclusion. Third, be aware that unintended consequences can often be associated with quick conclusions drawn from research where there has not been adequate attention paid to a study’s methodology/limitations. Originality/value The results from the research the author has been involved with highlight the importance of incorporating key control variables when assessing, and comparing, the performances of female- and male-controlled SMEs.

Spillovers between output and stock prices: a wavelet approach

2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 625-637 ◽  
Author(s):  
David G. McMillan ◽  
Aviral Kumar Tiwari
Keyword(s):  
Stock Prices ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Raw Data ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Market Participants ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Annual Time Series ◽  
Annual Time

Purpose This paper seeks to examine the nature of spillovers between output and stock prices using both a long annual time series spanning 200 years and a shorter but quarterly observed data set. Design/methodology/approach The authors’ particular interest is to examine both the time-varying nature of the spillovers and spillovers across the frequency using wavelet analysis. Findings The results reveal an interesting detail that is missed when considering spillovers for the raw data. Using annual long run data, spillovers in the raw data are in the order of approximately 10 per cent for stocks to output and 25 per cent for output to stocks. But this increases up to 50 per cent and above (in both directions) when considering different frequencies. Similar results are reported with the quarterly data, although the differences between the raw data and the wavelets are smaller in nature. Finally, output explains more of the variation in stocks than stocks explains in output. Originality/value The nature of these results is important for policy-makers, market participants and academics alike, while the use of wavelets provides information across different frequencies.

Property of derived grey verhulst model with multiple transformation

2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 144-153 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jie Cui ◽  
Naiming Xie ◽  
Hongyan Ma ◽  
Hong liang Hu ◽  
Zhengya Yang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Predictive Accuracy ◽  
Data Sequence ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Application Range ◽  
Modeling Accuracy ◽  
Grey Verhulst Model ◽  
Multiple Transformation ◽  
Verhulst Model ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to study the properties of derived grey verhulst prediction model with multiplication transformation and reduce its modeling complexity. Design/methodology/approach – The paper discussed the parameter characteristics of grey derived verhulst model under multiple transformation, and demonstrated its effect on its simulative value and predictive value by investigating the multiple transformation acting on the raw data sequence of this grey model. The parameter characteristics of this model under multiple transformations and its effect of the simulation value and forecasting value are analyzed by studying the properties of multiply transformation of this model. Findings – The research finding shows that the modeling accuracy of derived grey verhulst model is in no relation to multiple transformations. Practical implications – The above results imply that the data level can be reduced; the process of building derived grey verhulst model can be simplified; but the simulative and predictive accuracy of this model remain unchanged. Originality/value – The paper succeeds in realising the properties of derived grey verhulst model by using the method of multiplication transformation, which is helpful to understand the modeling mechanism and expand the application range of derived grey verhulst model.

Effect of halal awareness, halal logo and attitude on foreign consumers’ purchase intention

2019 ◽  
Vol 121 (9) ◽  
pp. 1998-2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdalla Mohamed Bashir
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Purchase Intention ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Food Products ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Equation Modelling ◽  
Halal Food ◽  
Buying Behaviour ◽  
Very High

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to determine the factors that affect foreign consumers’ purchase intention towards purchasing halal food products in South Africa. These factors are halal awareness, halal logo and attitude, which are important factors in affecting the intention of consumers. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected via a self-questionnaire with a sample of 230 foreign consumers. For analysing these data, a structural equation modelling technique was used in this study. Findings Based on the study’s results, all factors significantly influence foreign consumers’ intention towards purchasing halal food products and, subsequently, their buying behaviour. Interestingly, the study found that attitudes and halal awareness of non-Muslim consumers are very high compared with those of the Muslim consumers. Although the study addressed halal food consumers, most of the respondents participated in the study were non-Muslims and the majority of them were Christians. Research limitations/implications The respondents were only limited to the Cape Town city in South Africa, and the focus was only on five variables related to halal food consumers, namely, halal awareness halal logo, attitude, purchase intention and buying behaviour. Social implications This study can be used to develop halal food products to attract both Muslim and non-Muslim consumers, who are foreigners to a particular country. Originality/value This study is one of the first studies seeking to determine the factors that affect foreign consumers with regard to the purchase of halal food products in South Africa. It is regarded one of the first attempts to determine halal awareness, halal logo and attitude and how purchase intention and buying behaviour can be influenced.

scholarly journals Difficult bosses: real strategies for surviving

2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-47 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marius Pretorius
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Legacy Effects ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Relative Ease ◽  
Self Learning ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Very High

Purpose The plight of dissatisfied employees has become a recurring theme. A question often asked by management trainees is “How do I handle my difficult boss?” Hence, this paper aims to address the difficult boss problem successfully from the perspective of the subordinate. Design/methodology/approach The conceptualized legacy framework had been presented to participants and who verified its accuracy by their experiences. They could apply the framework with relative ease. Workshops, interview and online questionnaires informed the development of the framework. Findings The framework proposes four legacy effects on subordinates that bosses leave after interaction, namely, tense, dark, false and calm legacies. The legacies assist subordinates in classifying their bosses as either a hammer, flat battery, fire-lighter or dynamo. Once the boss is categorized, strategies to assist subordinates in handling their difficult boss flow from the framework. Research limitations/implications While extremely useful for subordinates, bosses are limited in the use of the legacy model as it requires very high trust levels to exist. The nature of the difficult boss problem suggests that such trust does not exist. Practical implications Benefits of understanding the legacy framework has two benefits: subordinates can use the legacy tool to classify their bosses and find strategies for how to handle difficult bosses. For bosses, subordinate evaluation of their legacies presents an alternative avenue to seek feedback and improve “self-learning” through reflection. Originality/value The legacy matrix was shown to be applicable to all bosses at all levels in virtually all organizations. The value of the framework was also observed at the informal level.

Teaching self- and social competencies in the retail sector

2016 ◽  
Vol 58 (9) ◽  
pp. 1041-1059 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sabrina Edeling ◽  
Matthias Pilz
Keyword(s):  
Vocational Training ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Retail Sector ◽  
Self Assessment ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Social Competencies ◽  
Reliable Methods ◽  
Very High

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to use teaching and learning units specially devised for development of self-competencies and social competencies in the retail sector to explore how learners assess these units in relation to acceptance, quality and self-assessment of improvement in their own performance. Design/methodology/approach The study focuses on Poland, Italy and Germany, with a total of 1,020 learners undergoing initial vocational training in the retail sector taking part. Findings The findings point to high levels of acceptance by participants and to significant appreciation of the quality of the teaching and learning units. Learners also perceived a marked improvement in their performance after completing the units. Differences in outcomes between individual countries can be explained at least in part by the differing training framework in each country. Research limitations/implications The approach did not enable the authors adequately to evaluate the increase in learners’ competencies: participants’ self-assessment is of only limited value for this purpose. Moreover, only three countries were involved in the study. This area in particular will require substantial further research if reliable methods for evaluating competencies are to be developed that improve on the current instruments. Originality/value The pedagogical objective of the project was to develop teaching and learning materials that would accelerate the development of self- and social competencies in the retail sector. The aim was that the material should be capable of use right across a range of European countries and be evaluated in a proper way. The findings are based on a very high number of involved students. Also the results are positive and enable teachers in VET-courses to use well tested teaching materials.

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