scholarly journals Impact of time pressure on software quality: A laboratory experiment on a game-theoretical model

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. e0245599
Author(s):  
Dirk Basten ◽  
Marcel Müller ◽  
Marion Ott ◽  
Oleg Pankratz ◽  
Christoph Rosenkranz

Research suggests the relationship between time pressure and software quality to be more complex than presumed. While software developers can adjust their output to improve observed performance at the expense of software quality, the latter has been found to increase with time pressure in case of work-pace dependent incentives. An untested, but widely disseminated game-theoretical model seeks to resolve this contradiction and hypothesizes that high rates of time pressure avoid so-called ‘shortcuts’, which occur in the form of imperfections induced by developers to meet unrealistically tight deadlines. We conduct two laboratory experiments to empirically test this model for the first time. Our results corroborate the model with regard to its suggestion that shortcuts can be reduced if developers perceive unrealistic deadlines as ever-present. However, we also show that the actual critical probability of unrealistic deadlines–the point at which shortcut taking is drastically reduced–is above the theoretical one. Although final conclusions on the impact of time pressure on software quality remain to be drawn, our results suggest that–considering the contingencies of our study–time pressure helps in striving for quality in software projects.

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-22
Author(s):  
Tofigh Maboudi ◽  
Ghazal P. Nadi ◽  
Todd A. Eisenstadt

Abstract Since the third wave of democracy, term limits have become a popular fixture of most constitutions intended to constrain the executive. Yet, recent constitutional reforms around the world show that presidents seeking re-election sometimes overturn the entire constitutional order to extend their power. What is the impact of these constitutional manipulations on the longevity of the executive in office? Using survival analysis of all political leaders and national constitutions from 1875 to 2015, this article demonstrates, for the first time, that when ‘authoritarian-aspiring’ presidents remove constitutional term limits, they increase their stay in office by more than 40%. Our findings contrast with a widely held position in the comparative authoritarian literature suggesting that dictators survive longer under institutional constraints. On the contrary, we argue that by removing constitutional barriers, rulers consolidate more power at the expense of their most ambitious allies and can stay in power longer.


Photonics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (12) ◽  
pp. 545
Author(s):  
Yang Yu ◽  
Zhangjun Wang ◽  
Kuntai Ma ◽  
Chao Chen ◽  
Xiufen Wang ◽  
...  

With the wide application of lidar in the future, the problem of crosstalk between lidars will become more serious. True random coding photon counting lidar with high anti-crosstalk ability will play an important role in solving this problem. In this paper, based on the working principle of Gm-APD, the detection probability theoretical model of true random coding photon counting lidar is built, and the impact of jitter on detection probability is considered for the first time. The influence of mean echo photon number, mean pulse count density, sequence length and pulse width on detection probability is analyzed. Monte Carlo simulation and experimental results are highly consistent with the theoretical model, which proves the correctness of the detection probability theoretical model. This theoretical model provides an effective means to evaluate the system performance.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Arthur Mustafin

The author of this article attempts to reveal and systematise archival data on grain prices in Russia between the 1650s and 1700s and analyse their dynamics by comparing them with data for the eighteenth century. The study is based on a wide range of archival sources from the funds of the RSAAA (RGADA), CSA of Moscow (TsGA of Moscow), DM NLR (OR RNB), and SFI CANNR (GKU TsANO). The data from these sources make it possible to construct time series describing rye and oat price dynamics in the northern and central non-black earth regions of Russia. The author substantiates the homogeneity and reliability of the data received and determines the real prices. The resulting numbers make the author doubt the “price revolution” in eighteenth-century Russia. Throughout the eighteenth century, the average real prices remained below the level of the 1660s and 1670s. Only in the 1790s did prices briefly exceed this level. Overall, the Russian grain market was characterised by long-term price fluctuations. The author aims to explain this dynamic by analysing supply and demand in the grain market. More particularly, for the first time in the historiography, the author examines the connection between Russian grain prices and yield in the second half of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. It is established that in most cases, the relationship between these indicators was direct: as grain yield increased, prices did too. The article explains this seeming paradox. The data published by the author help not only to estimate the impact of various factors on grain prices during the period in question, but also solve practical tasks regarding various price indicators in grain equivalents.


Author(s):  
Osareme Erhomosele

Investigations into the relationship between capital structure and firm performance over the years have consistently produced mixed results in the light of prevailing theories relevant to the concept of capital structure. The study examined the nature of the relationship between the capital structure of Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) in Nigeria and the trend of performance recorded in the industry. Leverage was adopted as a surrogate for capital structure, while firm performance was proxied by profit efficiency and return on equity. A regression analysis test was applied to a balanced panel data, pooled from a sample of 11 DMBs to determine the impact of capital structure on performance. The study found evidence that supports a non-monotonic relationship between capital structure and performance of DMBs, as predicted by the agency cost theoretical model. A major recommendation elicited from the findings of the study advocates for legal control on the proportion of debt DMBs can include in their capital structure if they are to operate as efficiently as expected.


2008 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naércio Aquino Menezes-Filho ◽  
José Paulo Chahad ◽  
Hélio Zylberstajn ◽  
Elaine Toldo Pazello

This paper examines, for the first time in the literature, the impact of trade unions on various performance indicators of Brazilian establishments. A unionism retrospective survey was carried out among 1,000 establishments in the manufacturing sector and its results were matched to performance indicators available from the Brazilian Industrial Surveys between 1990 and 2000. The results using the pooled data indicate that the relationship between unionism and some performance indicators, such as average wages, employment and productivity is non-linear (concave), so that a rise in unionism from low levels is associated with higher performance, but at a decreasing rate. Unions also reduce profitability. Establishments that introduced profit-sharing schemes increased their productivity and profitability overall and paid higher wages in more unionized plants.


2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 2055-2084 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Liang ◽  
Z. M. Chen ◽  
D. Huang ◽  
Q. Q. Wu ◽  
L. B. Huang

Abstract. The existence and importance of peroxyformic acid (PFA) in the atmosphere has been under controversy. We present here, for the first time, the observation data for PFA from four field measurements carried out in China. These data provided powerful evidence that PFA can stay in the atmosphere, typically in dozens of pptv level. The relationship between PFA and other detected peroxides was examined. The results showed that PFA had a strong positive correlation with its homolog, peroxyacetic acid, due to their similar sources and sinks. Through an evaluation of PFA production and removal rates, we proposed that the reactions between peroxyformyl radical (HC(O)O2) and formaldehyde or the hydroperoxyl radical (HO2) were likely to be the major source and degradation into formic acid (FA) was likely to be the major sink for PFA. Based on a box model evaluation, we proposed that the HC(O)O2 and PFA chemistry was a major source for FA under low NOx conditions. Furthermore, it is found that the impact of the HC(O)O2 and PFA chemistry on radical cycling was dependent on the yield of HC(O)O2 radical from HC(O) + O2 reaction. When this yield exceeded 50%, the HC(O)O2 and PFA chemistry should not be neglected for calculating the radical budget. To make clear the exact importance of HC(O)O2 and PFA chemistry in the atmosphere, further kinetic, field and modeling studies are required.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Guglielmo Faldetta

Purpose This study aims to explore the process that, from abusive supervision, leads to the different kinds of workplace deviant behaviors, using the norm of negative reciprocity as the main mechanism that can trigger this process. Design/methodology/approach This study is based on a literature review from organizational behavior and reciprocity fields and builds a theoretical model on the relationship between abusive supervision and workplace deviance within organizations. Findings This study develops a theoretical model where abusive supervision causes a feeling of injustice, which can motivate employees to seek revenge in the form of workplace deviant behaviors. Moreover, negative direct balanced reciprocity will moderate the relationship between the desire for revenge and minor interpersonal workplace deviance; negative direct non-balanced reciprocity will moderate the relationship between the desire for revenge and severe interpersonal workplace deviance; negative generalized balanced reciprocity will moderate the relationship between the desire for revenge and minor organizational workplace deviance; negative generalized non-balanced reciprocity will moderate the relationship between the desire for revenge and severe organizational workplace deviance. Originality/value Previous studies have used negative reciprocity as a moderator, but for the first time, it is split in direct and generalized and in balanced and non-balanced. In particular, when direct negative reciprocity is present, the revenge will take the form of interpersonal workplace deviance; when generalized negative reciprocity is present, the revenge will take the form of organizational workplace deviance. On the other side, when balanced reciprocity is present, revenge will take the form of minor workplace deviance, while when non-balanced reciprocity is present, revenge will take the form of severe workplace deviance.


2017 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 17-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vikram Desai ◽  
Joung W. Kim ◽  
Rajendra P. Srivastava ◽  
Renu V. Desai

ABSTRACT The primary objective of this paper is to employ search engine technology to investigate the relationship between first-time going concern opinions (GCOs) and the financial viability of the GCO recipients using delisting as a criterion rather than bankruptcy. The paper also investigates the impact of client distress factors on auditors' propensity to issue GCOs. The search engine enables us to examine the entire population of 10-K filings from 1995 to 2015 and also to obtain delisting data, which are not readily available in commercial databases. Contrary to prior research, we find that the survival rate of first-time GCOs is much lower when we use delisting as a measure of financial viability. Around 26 percent of the companies that receive their first GCOs are delisted within a period of one year of the audit opinion date, and 50 percent of the companies that receive their first GCOs are delisted within a period of three years. The bankruptcy rate of first-time GCO companies within one year is around 9 percent. Such evidence may prove useful to the PCAOB's effort to expeditiously assess the intended benefit of GCOs. In addition, we find that the propensity of auditors to issue GCOs varies for each distress factor.


2021 ◽  
Vol 49 (12) ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Weijun Gu ◽  
Xiaochun Chen ◽  
Rui Zhang ◽  
Wensong Zhang

We examined the impact of emotional leadership on employees' mental health by establishing a cross-level theoretical model to test this relationship as a function of employees' sense of job security, selfdirected learning, and organizational identification. The research sample consisted of 304 employees of 10 high-technology companies in China. Results show that emotional leadership was positively associated with employees' mental health, and that job security mediated this relationship. Organizational identification and selfdirected learning positively moderated the relationship between job security and employees' mental health, resulting in a moderated mediation effect on the model. The conclusions of this study have implications for improving employees' mental health via interactions with emotional leaders.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Angelos Pantouvakis ◽  
Maria Karakasnaki

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between market orientation and service quality in the context of shipping companies. Moreover, this study aims to explore the moderating role of risk propensity in the above-mentioned relationship. Design/methodology/approach A research study was carried out on a sample of 255 shipping companies located in Greece. Data were obtained through a structured questionnaire from the managing directors or other senior executives. Data were analyzed through exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, while the hypothesized relationships were determined through regression analyzes. Findings The analysis of the empirical data shows that intelligence generation and responsiveness have a positive and significant impact on the service quality of shipping companies. Also, the findings showed that this relationship is influenced by the degree of risk propensity, revealing, thus its moderating role on the market orientation – service quality link. Originality/value The current study contributes to the literature by examining for the first time the moderating role of risk propensity in the relationship between market orientation and service quality. Additionally, this is the first study that attempts to investigate the way the dimensions of market orientation predict service quality in the context of shipping companies.


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