The productivity in the beekeeping sector of Comalcalco, Tabasco, for the design of an improvement proposal

The objective of this research was to analyze the productivity of the beekeeping sector of the municipality of Comalcalco, Tabasco for the design of an improvement proposal, which was approached by studying the behavior of the context variables (environmental, cultural, economic, political, social and technological) and its influence on the dependent variable, (productivity). For this, a design of the Likert scale tool was carried out, which is composed of sections that include the context variables, through this tool the results were analyzed, then SWOT matrices (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) were generated. for each context variable, from which the following improvement proposals were obtained according to each variable respectively; characterize natural flowering, foster a business culture, create income control, manage political support, disseminate the benefits of bees to eradicate fear from society, and manage genetic improvement programs.

The implementation evaluation of school-industry cooperation to strengthen the vocational school students’ competence

This research aims to conduct an evaluation of the implementation of school-industry cooperation in form of internship program. The evaluation focused on the aspects of (1) context in terms of the purpose of the agreement, (2) input in terms of readiness of cooperation, (3) process in terms of the quality of implementing cooperation, and (4) product in terms of benefits gained from school partner industry cooperation to strengthen the vocational students’ competencies. This research is an evaluation research viewed from the Context, Input, Process, and Product (CIPP) components. The research data were obtained from a questionnaire given to students, supervisors, internship working group teams, and school industry partners of the Electric Power Installation Engineering Department of SMK Negeri 1 Windusari. The results are, (1) the context variable got a positive result, (2) the input variable got a negative result, (3) the process variable got a negative result, and (4) the product variable got a negative result. Therefore, the CIPP evaluation found positive, negative, negative, negative (+ - - -) which made the CIPP variable is included in quadrant III of the Glickman quadrant. Thus, we found that implementation of school-industry cooperation to strengthen the students’ competence was less effective. The school could use these findings to improve the performance of the cooperation implementation.

A Cross-National Service Strategy to Manage Product Returns: E-Tailers’ Return Policies and the Legitimating Role of the Institutional Environment

Global e-tailers face product returns from across the world, but research on service strategies for successful product return handling in culturally diverse markets is virtually nonexistent. This study examines the drivers of product return–related customer behavior across Western and Eastern cultures. Using a multimethod approach comprising two surveys and one experiment, results from the major Western (United States) and Eastern (China) retail markets show varying patterns for product return behavior and a uniform pattern for repurchase intention. Specifically, return policies that imply high effort restrictiveness decrease product returns in Western but not Eastern cultures, while the perceived customer-oriented institutional environment increases product returns in Eastern but not Western cultures. For repurchase intention, we find that effort restrictiveness in both cultures decreases repurchase intention, while the perceived customer-oriented institutional environment increases repurchase intention. We also find self-interest and legitimacy as the mechanisms responsible for the effect of perceived institutional environment, an important context variable in international marketing that has been neglected in the product return context. These findings enhance our understanding of product returns in different cultural environments and offer valuable insights for an adequate service strategy in product return management by global e-tailers.

Predicting field-goal success according to offensive, defensive and contextual variables in elite men’s wheelchair basketball

The purposes of this study were to (i) develop a field-goal shooting performance analysis template and (ii) explore the impact of each identified variable upon the likely outcome of a field-goal attempt using binary logistic regression modelling in elite men’s wheelchair basketball. First, a field-goal shooting performance analysis template was developed that included 71 Action Variables (AV) grouped within 22 Categorical Predictor Variables (CPV) representing offensive, defensive and game context variables. Second, footage of all 5,105 field-goal attempts from 12 teams during the men’s 2016 Rio De Janeiro Paralympic Games wheelchair basketball competition were analysed using the template. Pearson’s chi-square analyses found that 18 of the CPV were significantly associated with field-goal attempt outcome (p < 0.05), with seven of them reaching moderate association (Cramer’s V: 0.1–0.3). Third, using 70% of the dataset (3,574 field-goal attempts), binary logistic regression analyses identified that five offensive variables (classification category of the player, the action leading up to the field-goal attempt, the time left on the clock, the location of the shot, and the movement of the player), two defensive variables (the pressure being exerted by the defence, and the number of defenders within a 1-meter radius) and 1 context variable (the finishing position of the team in the competition) affected the probability of a successful field-goal attempt. The quality of the developed model was determined acceptable (greater than 65%), producing an area under the curve value of 68.5% when the model was run against the remaining 30% of the dataset (1,531 field-goal attempts). The development of the model from such a large sample of objective data is unique. As such it offers robust empirical evidence to enable coaches, performance analysts and players to move beyond anecdote, in order to appreciate the potential effect of various and varying offensive, defensive and contextual variables on field-goal success.

THE EVALUATION OF NATIONAL QUALIFICATION FRAMEWORK CURRICULUM (KKNI) AT UIN RADEN FATAH PALEMBANG

The purpose of the research was to evaluate the implementation of KKNI based curriculum. This study was a case study within qualitative approach. The data collection techniques were interviews, observation, and documentation. The data were analysed by using Miles and Huberman techniques. From the result of data analysis it was found that 1). in the aspect of the context variable, the perception of lecturers and students about curriculum implementation based on KKNI was already good, but the perceptions of the educational staffs were not good, 2). in terms of the input variable, it was seen from three points; the vision and mission, KKNI socialization, and learning management. Vision and Mission of UIN supports KKNI, socialization of KKNI is very intense at UIN Raden Fatah, good management supports the socialization of KKNI 3). from the aspect of the process variable, in the learning process, the lecturers of Faculty of Tarbiyah and Teacher Training (FITK) tended to have implemented student-centered learning. Meanwhile the lecturers of Faculty of Sharia and Law (FSH) still tended to implement teacher- centered learning processes, and 4). in terms of product variable, the students’ achievement was very good. Abstrak: Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk mengevaluasi pelaksanaan kurikulum berbasis KKNI. Penelitian ini merupakan studi kasus dengan pendekatan kualitatif. Teknik pengumpulan data adalah wawancara, observasi, dan dokumentasi. Analisis data menggunakan teknik Miles dan Huberman. Dari hasil analisis data ditemukan bahwa 1). Pada aspek variabel konteks, persepsi dosen dan mahasiswa tentang penerapan kurikulum berbasis KKNI sudah baik, namun tenaga kependidikan kurang baik, 2). dari segi variabel masukan dilihat dari tiga hal yaitu; visi dan misi, sosialisasi KKNI, dan manajemen pembelajaran. Visi dan Misi UIN mendukung KKNI, sosialisasi KKNI sangat intens di UIN Raden Fatah, manajemen yang baik mendukung sosialisasi KKNI 3). Dari aspek variabel proses, dalam proses pembelajaran dosen Fakultas Tarbiyah dan Keguruan (FITK) cenderung menerapkan pembelajaran yang berpusat pada siswa. Sedangkan dosen Fakultas Syariah dan Hukum (FSH) masih cenderung menerapkan proses pembelajaran yang berpusat pada guru, dan 4). Dilihat dari variabel produk, prestasi belajar siswa sangat baik.

THE IMPACT OF NEW NORMAL REGULATION TO THE IMPLEMENTATION OF SCL APPROACH IN SECONDARY LEVEL

The purpose of the research was to evaluate the implementation of KKNI based curriculum. This study used a qualitative approach, case study. The data collection techniques were interviews, observation, and documentation. The data were analyzed by using Miles and Huberman techniques. The results of the research show four variables that were evaluated. From the result of data analysis it was found that First, in the aspect of the context variable, the perception of lecturers and students about curriculum implementation based on KKNI was already good, but the perceptions of the educational staffs were not good. Second, in terms of the input variable, it was seen from three points; the vision and mission, KKNI socialization, and learning management. Third, from the aspect of the process variable, in the learning process, the lecturers of Faculty of Tarbiyah and Teacher Training (FITK) tended to have implemented student- centered learning. Meanwhile the lecturers of Faculty of Sharia and Law (FSH) still tended to implement teacher- centered learning processes. Fourth, in terms of product variable, the achievement of the students who took curriculum class in reference to KKNI were very good.Abstrak: Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk mengevaluasi pelaksanaan kurikulum berbasis KKNI. Penelitian ini menggunakan pendekatan kualitatif studi kasus. Teknik pengumpulan data adalah wawancara, observasi, dan dokumentasi. Analisis data menggunakan teknik Miles dan Huberman. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan empat variabel yang dievaluasi. Dari hasil analisis data diketahui bahwa Pertama, pada aspek variabel konteks, persepsi dosen dan mahasiswa tentang penerapan kurikulum berbasis KKNI sudah baik, namun tenaga kependidikan kurang baik. Kedua, ditinjau dari variabel input dilihat dari tiga poin; visi dan misi, sosialisasi KKNI, dan manajemen pembelajaran. Ketiga, dari aspek variabel proses, dalam proses pembelajaran dosen Fakultas Tarbiyah dan Keguruan (FITK) cenderung menerapkan pembelajaran yang berpusat pada siswa. Sementara dosen Fakultas Syariah dan Hukum (FSH) masih cenderung menerapkan proses pembelajaran yang berpusat pada guru. Keempat, ditinjau dari variabel produk, prestasi belajar siswa yang mengikuti kelas kurikulum mengacu pada KKNI sangat baik.

Variable Impedance Control and Learning—A Review

Robots that physically interact with their surroundings, in order to accomplish some tasks or assist humans in their activities, require to exploit contact forces in a safe and proficient manner. Impedance control is considered as a prominent approach in robotics to avoid large impact forces while operating in unstructured environments. In such environments, the conditions under which the interaction occurs may significantly vary during the task execution. This demands robots to be endowed with online adaptation capabilities to cope with sudden and unexpected changes in the environment. In this context, variable impedance control arises as a powerful tool to modulate the robot's behavior in response to variations in its surroundings. In this survey, we present the state-of-the-art of approaches devoted to variable impedance control from control and learning perspectives (separately and jointly). Moreover, we propose a new taxonomy for mechanical impedance based on variability, learning, and control. The objective of this survey is to put together the concepts and efforts that have been done so far in this field, and to describe advantages and disadvantages of each approach. The survey concludes with open issues in the field and an envisioned framework that may potentially solve them.

Local Structural Equation Modeling for Longitudinal Data

In this chapter, we illustrate how local structural equation modeling can be used to study the moderation effects of continous context variables on developmental trajectories. More specifically, we investigated the effects of parental education on students' reading and math ability acquisition across four school years. We used data from the National Educational Panel Study: Starting Cohort Grade 5, which contains math and reading ability estimates of N = 2,037 German students from Grade 5 to Grade 9 across three measurement occasions. We used bivariate latent growth curve models to differentiate between initial levels and growth of math and reading competence, as well as study the interplay between these two developmental processes. Using local structural equation modeling, we moderated this model across a continous indicator of parental education levels. This approach allowed us to examine the effects of parental education on all parameters of the model (e.g., factor mean, variance, covariance), without imposing a restriction on the shape of the effect (e.g., linear). This combination of modeling approaches is thus particularly useful to determine which aspects of the developmental process are affected by the context variable, and which form this effect has. We provide R code and output examples and discuss other potential applications of local structural equation modeling.

Examining context shifts’ effect on relationship trajectories in friendships using Turning Point Theory

Drawing from Turning Point Theory, this study explores whether context shifts, which are changes in the location where a friendship is enacted, affect relationship trajectories and friendship closeness. Study 1A ( N = 120) experimentally manipulated invitations for context shifts in college friendships to test their effects on perceived relationship trajectory, social attraction, and closeness. Study 1B ( N = 112) replicated the results of Study 1A with working adults. Both studies’ results suggest that context-variable shifts lead to a change in perceived relationship trajectory but did not influence social attraction or closeness. In Study 2, first-year students ( N = 98) reported on turning points in their friendships twice over 9 weeks. Friendships reporting context-variable shifts as a turning point were associated with higher friendship closeness than relationships that had no turning points and similar closeness as friendships that reported self-disclosure as a turning point.

Operational Efficiency of Mexican Water Utilities: Results of a Double-Bootstrap Data Envelopment Analysis

The objective of this paper is to estimate the operational efficiency of Mexican water utilities and identify the context variables that impact their efficiency. In particular, a bootstrap data envelopment analysis (DEA) and a bootstrap truncated regression analysis are combined in a two-stage research method. In the first stage, an input-oriented DEA model is used to determine bootstrap efficiency scores. Then, the corrected distribution function of the efficiency scores is used to estimate a truncated regression which is aimed to identify the significant influential context variables. Three categorical and two continuous context variables are considered in the analysis. Results show that only one context variable has a significant impact on the water utilities efficiency scores. Managerial recommendations are drawn from the analysis. It is suggested that water utilities continue or implement wastewater treatment, persist in decreasing and controlling leakage across the distribution network, and maximizing sewer coverage.