Patterns of variation and correlation in quality control characteristics of segment installation

2015 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 236-249 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Mohammad E. Hosseininasab ◽  
Mohammad Javad Ershadi
Keyword(s):  
Quality Control ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Original Data ◽  
Tunnel Lining ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Applicable Knowledge ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Different Characteristics

Purpose – Evaluation of the quality and performance of a tunnel lining during the installation of segments are the main objects of tunneling projects. Because the quality is affected by several attributes, the purpose of this paper is an appropriate multivariate data analysis that is helpful in extracting applicable knowledge of the data collected regarding the related attributes of the initial installed rings. Design/methodology/approach – Principal component analysis (PCA) is used to analyze the data obtained by the quality control team. The authors use canonical correlation analysis (CCA) to extract some linear combinations of the original attributes of the two groups that produce the largest correlations with the second set of variables. Findings – The authors reduce the dimensionality of the original data set for further analyses, and use a small number of uncorrelated variables rather than a larger set of correlated variables to take effective and efficient action to control the quality of the tunnel lining. The authors also explore the correlation structure and relationship between two main groups of characteristics used for assessing the quality of the installed rings. Then, instead of a large number of the original characteristics in the two groups, the authors can easily control these few to attain a reasonable quality for the tunnel lining. Originality/value – This is a case study, and for each ring selected for inspection, 16 different characteristics are measured and the observations are recorded. The authors use PCA and CCA to analyse the data and interpret the results. Although the methods are not new, applying them to this data results in useful and informative outcomes and interpretation.

Assessment of performance using MPSS based DEA

2015 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 624-642 ◽  
Author(s):  
Subhadip Sarkar
Keyword(s):  
Principal Component ◽  
Original Data ◽  
Data Envelopment ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Cost Strategy ◽  
A New Technique ◽  
Most Productive Scale Size ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose – Identification of the best school among other competitors is done using a new technique called most productive scale size based data envelopment analysis (DEA). The paper aims to discuss this issue. Design/methodology/approach – A non-central principal component analysis is used here to create a new plane according to the constant return to scale. This plane contains only ultimate performers. Findings – The new method has a complete discord with the results of CCR DEA. However, after incorporating the ultimate performers in the original data set this difference was eliminated. Practical implications – The proposed frontier provides a way to identify those DMUs which follow cost strategy proposed by Porter. Originality/value – A case study of six schools is incorporated here to identify the superior school and also to visualize gaps in their performances.

scholarly journals Multivariate techniques in the analysis of carcass traits of Morada Nova breed sheep

2018 ◽  
Vol 48 (9) ◽  
Author(s):  
Déborah Galvão Peixôto Guedes ◽  
Maria Norma Ribeiro ◽  
Francisco Fernando Ramos de Carvalho
Keyword(s):  
Total Variation ◽  
Principal Components ◽  
Strong Association ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Original Data ◽  
Discriminatory Power ◽  
Multivariate Techniques ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Canonical Variables ◽  
And Performance

ABSTRACT: This study aimed to use multivariate techniques of principal component analysis and canonical discriminant analysis in a data set from Morada Nova sheep carcass to reduce the dimensions of the original data set, identify variables with the best discriminatory power among the treatments, and quantify the association between biometric and performance traits. The principal components obtained were efficient in reducing the total variation accumulated in 19 original variables correlated to five linear combinations, which explained 80% of the total variation present in the original variables. The first two principal components together accounted for 56.12% of the total variation of the evaluated variables. Eight variables were selected using the stepwise method. The first three canonical variables were significant, explaining 92.25% of the total variation. The first canonical variable showed a canonical correlation coefficient of 0.94, indicating a strong association between biometric traits and animal performance. Slaughter weight and hind width were selected because these variables presented the highest discriminatory power among all treatments, based on standard canonical coefficients.

An empirical investigation of the relationship between workload and performance

2015 ◽  
Vol 53 (10) ◽  
pp. 2377-2389 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Bruggen
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Capacity Decisions ◽  
Quantitative Performance ◽  
And Performance ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Different Levels

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of workload on quantitative and qualitative job performance. Different levels of workload can affect performance of employees, and it is important for firms to assess the effect of this in order to improve capacity decisions. The literature is not entirely clear on the relationship and calls for further empirical evidence on that matter. Design/methodology/approach – The study uses field data from a mid-sized grocery supplier. In total, 9,210 observations of 27 employees over three years and eight months are analyzed with different statistical models. Employees all work in the same department so that it is a very homogenous data set. Findings – Results show that there is an inverted U-shape relationship between workload and performance. Output of employees increases up to a certain point after which it decreases. Similarly, the quality of performance is highest under moderate levels of workload, which provides evidence against a tradeoff between quantity and quality. Research limitations/implications – The study uses a unique set of data from one firm, which limits generalizability, but adds to an important stream of literature. Practical implications – Results show how workload has a direct effect on performance. Consequently, firms need to balance the workload in order to be able to maximize the performance of their employees. Originality/value – Despite the relevance of the topic, there is hardly any empirical evidence on the relationship between workload and performance. This study thus contributes to the management literature and provides significant evidence on an inverted U-shape between workload and quantitative performance.

scholarly journals Women in the Egyptian parliament: a different agenda?

2019 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hala Abdelgawad ◽  
Mazen Hassan
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Original Data ◽  
Extensive Literature ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Parliamentary Debates ◽  
Legislative Agenda ◽  
Female Legislators

Purpose Theoretically, the quality of representation is likely to be enhanced when more societal segments are included in formal political structures. An interesting question, however, is whether a similar correlation holds empirically outside established Western democracies. In the 2015 Egyptian parliament, women representation achieved an all-time high of 14.9% of total seats – nearly four times the historical Egyptian average. It is asked whether female legislators riding this unprecedent tide were different from their male colleagues in terms of their socio-economic backgrounds. But more importantly, the authors examine whether this increased representation led to any change in inclusion of more women’s issues in the legislative agenda, and how traditional topics are debated. Design/methodology/approach The authors conducted a content analysis of selected parliamentary scripts – generating on an original data set – to trace the topics and interventions raised by female MPs. The authors draw on the extensive literature on women’s representation, giving special attention to the structure versus agency dichotomy in this quest. Findings The authors conclude that female MPs were as active in parliamentary debates as to their male colleagues. Moreover, women did stress women issues more than men. The results indicate that the inclusion of traditionally under-represented groups does affect parliamentary agendas. Originality/value The authors conducted a content analysis of selected parliamentary scripts – generating on an original data set – to trace the topics and interventions raised by female MPs based on a case study of the 2015 Egyptian parliament.

How do resources and diversification strategy explain the performance consequences of internationalization?

2014 ◽  
Vol 52 (5) ◽  
pp. 897-915 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yan Chen ◽  
Yiwei Jiang ◽  
Chengqi Wang ◽  
Wen Chung Hsu
Keyword(s):  
Emerging Market ◽  
Product Diversification ◽  
Firm Resources ◽  
Diversification Strategy ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Listed Firms ◽  
Performance Consequences ◽  
Performance Effects ◽  
And Performance

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine how firm resources and diversification strategy explain the performance consequences of internationalization of emerging market enterprises. Design/methodology/approach – The paper conducts a regression analysis by using a novel panel data set comprising of 685 listed Chinese firms over the period of 2008-2011. Findings – The results show that the relationship between internationalization and performance is inverse U-shaped. Further, marketing resources play a greater role in enhancing the performance effects of internationalization than technological resources do. Related product diversification enhances the performance effects, while unrelated product diversification does the contrary. Research limitations/implications – The study focusses on listed firms in one country, and as a result, the findings cannot be generalized to non-listed firms and firms in other countries. Practical implications – This paper offers guidelines for international managers to improve performance of internationalization by developing a particular type of resources and diversification strategy. Originality/value – This paper extends the literature on the functional form of the internationalization-performance relationship, and further suggests that the analysis of the performance consequences of internationalization should go beyond the nexus between internationalization and performance, and focusses on firm-specific resources and strategies that may facilitate or constrain the performance effects of internationalization.

Increasing revenue and attendance in Canadian Baptist churches

2015 ◽  
Vol 42 (12) ◽  
pp. 1071-1089
Author(s):  
Alan Chan ◽  
Bruce G. Fawcett ◽  
Shu-Kam Lee
Keyword(s):  
Church Health ◽  
Eastern Canada ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Scarce Resources ◽  
Baptist Churches ◽  
And Performance ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Simulation Exercises

Purpose – Church giving and attendance are two important indicators of church health and performance. In the literature, they are usually understood to be simultaneously determined. The purpose of this paper is to estimate if there a sustainable church congregation size using Wintrobe’s (1998) dictatorship model. The authors want to examine the impact of youth and adult ministry as well. Design/methodology/approach – Using the data collected from among Canadian Baptist churches in Eastern Canada, this study investigates the factors affecting the level of the two indicators by the panel-instrumental variable technique. Applying Wintrobe’s (1998) political economy model on dictatorship, the equilibrium level of worship attendance and giving is predicted. Findings – Through various simulation exercises, the actual church congregation sizes is approximately 50 percent of the predicted value, implying inefficiency and misallocation of church resources. The paper concludes with insights on effective ways church leaders can allocate scarce resources to promote growth within churches. Originality/value – The authors are the only researchers getting the permission from the Atlantic Canada Baptist Convention to use their mega data set on church giving and congregation sizes as per the authors’ knowledge. The authors are also applying a theoretical model on dictatorship to religious/not for profits organizations.

Cost effectiveness in palliative care setting

2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 62-71
Author(s):  
Henry O’Lawrence ◽  
Rohan Chowlkar
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Palliative Care ◽  
End Of Life ◽  
Hospice Care ◽  
Home Health ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Care Services ◽  
The Cost

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to determine the cost effectiveness of palliative care on patients in a home health and hospice setting. Secondary data set was utilized to test the hypotheses of this study. Home health care and hospice care services have the potential to avert hospital admissions in patients requiring palliative care, which significantly affects medicare spending. With the aging population, it has become evident that demand of palliative care will increase four-fold. It was determined that current spending on end-of-life care is radically emptying medicare funds and fiscally weakening numerous families who have patients under palliative care during life-threatening illnesses. The study found that a majority of people registering for palliative and hospice care settings are above the age group of 55 years old. Design/methodology/approach Different variables like length of stay, mode of payment and disease diagnosis were used to filter the available data set. Secondary data were utilized to test the hypothesis of this study. There are very few studies on hospice and palliative care services and no study focuses on the cost associated with this care. Since a very large number of the USA, population is turning 65 and over, it is very important to analyze the cost of care for palliative and hospice care. For the purpose of this analysis, data were utilized from the National Home and Hospice Care Survey (NHHCS), which has been conducted periodically by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics. Descriptive statistics, χ2 tests and t-tests were used to test for statistical significance at the p<0.05 level. Findings The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was utilized for this result. H1 predicted that patients in the age group of 65 years and up have the highest utilization of home and hospice care. This study examined various demographic variables in hospice and home health care which may help to evaluate the cost of care and the modes of payments. This section of the result presents the descriptive analysis of dependent, independent and covariate variables that provide the overall national estimates on differences in use of home and hospice care in various age groups and sex. Research limitations/implications The data set used was from the 2007 NHHCS survey, no data have been collected thereafter, and therefore, gap in data analysis may give inaccurate findings. To compensate for this gap in the data set, recent studies were reviewed which analyzed cost in palliative care in the USA. There has been a lack of evidence to prove the cost savings and improved quality of life in palliative/hospice care. There is a need for new research on the various cost factors affecting palliative care services as well as considering the quality of life. Although, it is evident that palliative care treatment is less expensive as compared to the regular care, since it eliminates the direct hospitalization cost, but there is inadequate research to prove that it improves the quality of life. A detailed research is required considering the additional cost incurred in palliative/hospice care services and a cost-benefit analysis of the same. Practical implications While various studies reporting information applicable to the expenses and effect of family caregiving toward the end-of-life were distinguished, none of the previous research discussed this issue as their central focus. Most studies addressed more extensive financial effect of palliative and end-of-life care, including expenses borne by the patients themselves, the medicinal services framework and safety net providers or beneficent/willful suppliers. This shows a significant hole in the current writing. Social implications With the aging population, it has become evident that demand of palliative/hospice care will increase four-fold. The NHHCS have stopped keeping track of the palliative care requirements after 2007, which has a negative impact on the growing needs. Cost analysis can only be performed by analyzing existing data. This review has recognized a huge niche in the evidence base with respect to the cost cares of giving care and supporting a relative inside a palliative/hospice care setting. Originality/value The study exhibited that cost diminishments in aggressive medications can take care of the expenses of palliative/hospice care services. The issue of evaluating result in such a physically measurable way is complicated by the impalpable nature of large portions of the individual components of outcome. Although physical and mental well-being can be evaluated to a certain degree, it is significantly more difficult to gauge in a quantifiable way, the social and profound measurements of care that help fundamentally to general quality of care.

scholarly journals On self-neglect and safeguarding adult reviews: diminishing returns or adding value?

2017 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 53-66 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Preston-Shoot
Keyword(s):  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Annual Reports ◽  
National Database ◽  
Service Improvement ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Core Data ◽  
The Core

Purpose The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to update the core data set of self-neglect serious case reviews (SCRs) and safeguarding adult reviews (SARs), and accompanying thematic analysis; second, to respond to the critique in the Wood Report of SCRs commissioned by Local Safeguarding Children Boards (LSCBs) by exploring the degree to which the reviews scrutinised here can transform and improve the quality of adult safeguarding practice. Design/methodology/approach Further published reviews are added to the core data set from the websites of Safeguarding Adults Boards (SABs) and from contacts with SAB independent chairs and business managers. Thematic analysis is updated using the four domains employed previously. The findings are then further used to respond to the critique in the Wood Report of SCRs commissioned by LSCBs, with implications discussed for Safeguarding Adult Boards. Findings Thematic analysis within and recommendations from reviews have tended to focus on the micro context, namely, what takes place between individual practitioners, their teams and adults who self-neglect. This level of analysis enables an understanding of local geography. However, there are other wider systems that impact on and influence this work. If review findings and recommendations are to fully answer the question “why”, systemic analysis should appreciate the influence of national geography. Review findings and recommendations may also be used to contest the critique of reviews, namely, that they fail to engage practitioners, are insufficiently systemic and of variable quality, and generate repetitive findings from which lessons are not learned. Research limitations/implications There is still no national database of reviews commissioned by SABs so the data set reported here might be incomplete. The Care Act 2014 does not require publication of reports but only a summary of findings and recommendations in SAB annual reports. This makes learning for service improvement challenging. Reading the reviews reported here against the strands in the critique of SCRs enables conclusions to be reached about their potential to transform adult safeguarding policy and practice. Practical implications Answering the question “why” is a significant challenge for SARs. Different approaches have been recommended, some rooted in systems theory. The critique of SCRs challenges those now engaged in SARs to reflect on how transformational change can be achieved to improve the quality of adult safeguarding policy and practice. Originality/value The paper extends the thematic analysis of available reviews that focus on work with adults who self-neglect, further building on the evidence base for practice. The paper also contributes new perspectives to the process of conducting SARs by using the analysis of themes and recommendations within this data set to evaluate the critique that reviews are insufficiently systemic, fail to engage those involved in reviewed cases and in their repetitive conclusions demonstrate that lessons are not being learned.

Exploring the impact of intellectual capital on company reputation and performance

2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (5) ◽  
pp. 915-934 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gianluca Ginesti ◽  
Adele Caldarelli ◽  
Annamaria Zampella
Keyword(s):  
Human Capital ◽  
Intellectual Capital ◽  
Corporate Reputation ◽  
Intangible Asset ◽  
Competition Authority ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Capital Efficiency ◽  
And Performance ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyse the impact of intellectual capital (IC) on the reputation and performance of Italian companies. Design/methodology/approach The paper exploits a unique data set of 452 non-listed companies that obtained a reputational assessment from the Italian Competition Authority (ICA). To test the hypotheses, this study implemented several regression analyses. Findings Results support the argument that human capital efficiency is a key driver of corporate reputation. Findings also reveal that companies, which obtained reputational rating under ICA scrutiny, show a positive relationship between IC elements and various measures of financial performance. Research limitations/implications The study focuses on a single country; it is not free from the imprecisions of Pulic’s VAIC model. Practical implications This paper recommends companies that are interested to achieve a robust reputation should consider the human capital as a strategic intangible asset. Second, the results suggest that companies with an ICA reputational rating are able to leverage their intangibles to potentiate performance and competitiveness. Originality/value This is the first empirical investigation on the contribution of IC in generating value for corporate reputation. Additionally, the study contributes to the literature on the link between IC and performance by examining a sample of firms not yet explored in prior research.

Towards a framework for measuring creative economy: evidence from Balkan countries

2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valentina Ndou ◽  
Giovanni Schiuma ◽  
Giuseppina Passiante
Keyword(s):  
Business Environment ◽  
Creative Economy ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Balkan Countries ◽  
World Economic ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Diverse Data ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Performance Dimension

PurposeThe creative process through which the territorial resources, knowledge and culture are used, exploited and configured to match needs and to achieve congruence with the changing business environment has become a crucial process for competitiveness. This is even more relevant for economies of developing countries which are continuously struggling to reap the benefits of globalisation, as well as to grasp the new opportunities for competitiveness. As such, this paper aims to try to concentrate on the dynamic perspectives of the creative economy of countries by distinguishing between the potentialities and performance. The paper tackles the influence that creativity capacities might have on performance of countries.Design/methodology/approachThe methodology consists in identifying creative economy indicators from a diverse data set of the World Economic Forum and distinguish them between potential and performance indicators.FindingsData reveal as good progress and emphasis is being devoted to increasing the level of creativity; however, the Balkan countries still holdup in their capacity to boost innovation.Practical implicationsThe paper provide a new focus of research on creativity measurement that is significant for understanding what creative capacities territories possess and the ability to make proficient use for growth and innovation.Originality/valueThis paper proposes a new operational framework for measuring and interpreting the creative economy indicators by identifying not only indicators that gauge the potentialities of a country, but also indicators that are linked with the performance dimension, as well as the relationship amongst them.

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