Properties and Applications of the Modified Kies–Lomax Distribution with Estimation Methods

The present study introduces a new three-parameter model called the modified Kies–Lomax (MKL) distribution to extend the Lomax distribution and increase its flexibility in modeling real-life data. The MKL distribution, due to its flexibility, provides left-skewed, symmetrical, right-skewed, and reversed-J shaped densities and increasing, unimodal, decreasing, and bathtub hazard rate shapes. The MKF density can be expressed as a linear mixture of Lomax densities. Some basic mathematical properties of the MKF model are derived. Its parameters are estimated via six estimation algorithms. We explore their performances using detailed simulation results, and the partial and overall ranks are provided for the measures of absolute biases, mean square errors, and mean relative errors to determine the best estimation method. The results show that the maximum product of spacings and maximum likelihood approaches are recommended to estimate the MKL parameters. Finally, the flexibility of the MKL distribution is checked using two real datasets, showing that it can provide close fit to both datasets as compared with other competing Lomax models. The three-parameter MKL model outperforms some four-parameter and five-parameter rival models.

The Reception of Thomas Aquinas in Moral Theology and Moral Philosophy in the Late Twentieth Century

Richard McCormick, John Finnis, and Alasdair MacIntyre offer rival models of the reception of Aquinas in late twentieth century moral theology and philosophy. They differed in their interpretations of Aquinas as well as in how they conceived the relationship of Aquinas with predecessors such as Aristotle and with successors such as the neo-scholastic manualists. In a way, McCormick and MacIntyre are mirror images. McCormick became less and less Thomistic as the years went on, for he came to reject Thomas’s conclusions about many practical matters as well as coming to reject Thomistic principles. MacIntyre became more and more Thomistic as the years went on, coming to accept Thomas’s views, including on a great many matters that he had previously rejected. Finnis, by contrast to both, maintains a steady interest in Thomas over many decades and his reception of Thomas involves relatively minor organic developments.

Structured personal conflict as a main determinant of intragroup conflict: a study in Mexico

Managers can spot and target the common driving forces of conflicting employees to ensure their efficiency and productivity. The aim of this research is to provide evidence for the existence of a personal profile, named in this work Structured Personal Conflict, which is present in intragroup conflicts, traditionally studied based on the factoring of conflicts of processes, results and relationships. More than 400 questionnaires were distributed by mail among workers from different organizations and jobs in Mexico, the methodology used the information of 201 usable questionnaires. Various goodness-of-fit tests obtained were applied and rival models were compared using Confirmatory Factor Analysis (AFC). As a result, it was found that structured personal conflict can be estimated from the intragroup conflicts of processes, results and relationships, and that it has a greater explanatory power than either of them individually. The importance of structured personal conflict in the personnel selection and in the performance of teams should be emphasized.

Rival Models

This chapter discusses how gaining one-party control of state government (also known as a “trifecta”) has allowed the governing coalitions in Texas and California to develop their contrasting policy models. The Texas Republican coalition includes business interests, libertarians, and social conservatives. These groups are unified in their commitment to small government, low taxes, and light regulations, but sometimes divide over social issues. In California, the governing Democratic coalition includes organized labor, environmentalists, social progressives, and advocates of minority rights. This coalition broadly agrees on the state’s fusion of progressive economic, social, and environmental goals, but sometimes disagrees on how to manage trade-offs between them. The chapter compares these coalitions’ effectiveness in shaping state policy and describes how both states have intensified their efforts to influence federal policy, especially through federal litigation.

State of the Rivalry

The closing chapter assesses the rival models and looks to the future of the competition. The Texas Model has achieved great success stimulating broad-based economic growth and opportunity, yet may not be able to meet the basic needs of a diversifying population. Conversely, the California Model has advanced progressive goals, but has imposed heavy costs on residents and businesses and may not be sustainable. Looking forward, the nation’s political polarization will likely persist for some time, with Texas and California remaining on opposite sides of the partisan divide. Texas’s political future is increasingly uncertain, but its underlying conservative political culture will likely prevent it from aligning with the national Democratic Party. If so, the two states and their respective allies will continue to pursue divergent policy agendas. The book concludes with a discussion of the value of diverse models and a call for a respectful approach to the rivalry.

The Problem of Arbitrary Creation for Impassibility

There is a particular question that has plagued classical Christian theism over the centuries. What reason could God have for creating a universe? In this article, I shall articulate the unique claims of classical theism that other rival models of God lack. I shall argue that classical theism’s unique commitments entail that God cannot create the universe for a reason. Thus, any nonclassical model of God can claim to have the advantage over classical theism because they can affirm that God creates the universe for a reason. In Section 1, I shall articulate classical theism. In Section 2, I shall lay the groundwork for the debate by explaining what a reason is and what a creation is. In Section 3, I shall argue that a classical theist cannot affirm that God creates the universe for a reason, thus conflicting with God’s perfect rationality.

Bounded Futures: Growing a Boundary Foreknowledge Infrastructure in Food Security Research

One preferred way of coping with the openness or indeterminacy of future is to elaborate ‘fictional expectations’ that enable action by defining possible outcomes. In this article, I propose to focus on the career of the impact foresight model to analyse how agro-economists combine imaginaries, narratives, data and calculative technologies addressing the long-term future of agriculture. Impact is a partial equilibrium model, which has become increasingly comprehensive. Its modular structure now enables it to interweave scenarios produced by other legitimate institutions, and to run simulations for a number of configurations of climate change and socio-economic evolutions. In this article, foresight models are taken to be material discursive devices. My argument is that their evolutions as technologies and the framing of the future they operate should not be analysed separately. Transforming radical uncertainty into controlled variability – magnitude of change, they explicitly endeavour to ‘bound’ uncertainty. But it is ‘bounded’ in a way that is highly dependent on the knowledge infrastructure upon which the models rely. Quantified modelling also makes it possible for economists to compare rival models and create alignments or negotiate zones of consensus, that is, a certain form of knowledge on the future. In the case under scrutiny, technological choices and data processing work contribute to reinforce a certain point of view – market, production and technology-oriented – on food security. Studying infrastructure and model design therefore allows a better understanding of path dependency and cognitive lock-in effects regarding the way the future is envisaged and narrated.

The Effects of Service Quality on Customer Trust and Satisfaction in Internet Banking

Purpose - This study contributes a multidimensional measure of service quality impacting on the trust and satisfaction of customers using internet banking. Design/methodology/approach - Unlike previous studies reporting on independent factors of service quality affecting customer trust and satisfaction, this study elaborates and tests a multidimensional measure of service quality in the context of internet banking services. In addition, this study tests a proposed model and rival models showing how service quality impacts on customer trust and satisfaction. Findings - Service quality is a second-order factor with 6 dimensions revealing 6 important characteristics of the service quality that is expected in Internet banking. They are not separate characteristics of service quality but dimensions of a construct. The proposed model showing a direct impact of service quality on satisfaction and an indirect one on trust is the best tested model using structural equations. Research limitations/practical implications: The research limitations and practical implications of the results are discussed. Originality/value - The study elaborates and tests a multidimensional measure that is a comprehensive, and at the same time, parsimonious, approach to service quality when explaining customer trust and satisfaction in internet banking services