Productivity metrics in the context of knowledge work: literature vs practice

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to perform a comparative analysis between the productivity metrics recommended in the literature and those that companies in the knowledge-intensive services sector use in practice.Design/methodology/approachTo collect information, a systematic review of the literature was used, to apply virtual surveys and interviews among managers of different companies representing the sector. For data analysis, categorical optimal scales, homogeneity tests, tetrachoric correlation matrices, word clouds and association coefficients for dichotomous variables were used.FindingsThere are association patterns between the metrics used and the nature of the work performed. Despite the heterogeneity observed in the productivity metrics, categorization guidelines related to the traditional, human resources and customer-oriented approaches emerge.Practical implicationsPossible neglects using metrics aimed at valuing the intellectual capital immersed in human resources are evident, particularly in the follow-up to autonomy, knowledge management, human capital, teamwork, training and capacity building metrics, among others. Conversely, face-to-face monitoring metrics, such as absenteeism, are overvaluation.Originality/valueThe approaches and metrics discussed and the results obtained, provide information so that knowledge-intensive companies have a reference framework to identify and select useful metrics to assess the work carried out by their workforce.

Using Data-Compressors for Classification Hunting Behavioral Sequences in Rodents as “Ethological Texts”

One of the main problems in comparative studying animal behavior is searching for an adequate mathematical method for evaluating the similarities and differences between behavioral patterns. This study aims to propose a new tool to evaluate ethological differences between species. We developed the new compression-based method for the homogeneity testing and classification to investigate hunting behavior of small mammals. A distinction of this approach is that it belongs to the framework of mathematical statistics and allows one to compare the structural characteristics of any texts in pairwise comparisons. To validate a new method, we compared the hunting behaviors of different species of small mammals as ethological “texts.” To do this, we coded behavioral elements with different letters. We then tested the hypothesis whether the behavioral sequences of different species as “texts” are generated either by a single source or by different ones. Based on association coefficients obtained from pairwise comparisons, we built a new classification of types of hunting behaviors, which brought a unique insight into how particular elements of hunting behavior in rodents changed and evolved. We suggest the compression-based method for homogeneity testing as a relevant tool for behavioral and evolutionary analysis.

Comparison of some correlation measures for continuous and categorical data

SummaryIn the literature there can be found a wide collection of correlation and association coefficients used for different structures of data. Generally, some of the correlation coefficients are conventionally used for continuous data and others for categorical or ordinal observations. The aim of this paper is to verify the performance of various approaches to correlation coefficient estimation for several types of observations. Both simulated and real data were analysed. For continuous variables, Pearson’s r2 and MIC were determined, whereas for categorized data three approaches were compared: Cramér’s V, Joe’s estimator, and the regression-based estimator. Two method of discretization for continuous data were used. The following conclusions were drawn: the regression-based approach yielded the best results for data with the highest assumed r2 coefficient, whereas Joe’s estimator was the better approximation of true correlation when the assumed r2 was small; and the MIC estimator detected the maximal level of dependency for data having a quadratic relation. Moreover, the discretization method applied to data with a non-linear dependency can cause loss of dependency information. The calculations were supported by the R packages arules and minerva.

АЛЕЛЬНИЙ ПОЛІМОРФІЗМ СИСТЕМИ HLA У ХВОРИХ НА ХРОНІЧНУ МІЄЛОЇДНУ ЛЕЙКЕМІЮ З е13а2 та е14а2 ТРАНСКРИПТАМИ ГЕНА BCR/ABL1

To study the associative relation of polymorphic HLA gene variants and BCR/ABL1 transcript types in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) 87 CML patients were examined. 42 patients had e13a2 BCR/ABL1 transcript and 45 patients had e14a2 BCR/ABL1 transcript. The prevalence of the genes allelic variants of major histocompatibility complex was analyzed and the association coefficients for the disease risk depending on the presence of certain types of BCR/ABL1 transcripts were calculated. Unconditional markers of increased risk of CML (HLA-DRB1*11) and markers of resistance to CML (HLA-A*03) were highlighted. The allele frequencies of HLA-A*03, HLA-A*68, HLA-B*08, HLA-B*15, HLA-B*40, HLA-DRB1*04, DQB1*06 were significantly reduced and allele frequencies of HLA-DRB1*12 and DRB1*11 were increased in patients with the e13a2 transcript compared to healthy people. The allele frequencies of HLA-A*03, HLA-A*11, HLA-B*08, HLA-B*14, HLA-B*40, HLA-DRB1*04 and DQB1* 03 were significantly reduced and the allele frequency of HLA-DRB1*11 was significantly increased in patients with e14a2 transcript compared to healthy persons. Thus, the individual analysis of the complex of fusion proteins e13a2 and e14a2 and HLA alleles in CML patients could indicate the additive effect of both molecular structures joint carrier for CML developing risk.

Copula-Based Dependence Measures For Piecewise Monotonicity

The aim of the present paper is to develop and examine association coefficients which can be helpfully applied in the framework of regression analysis. The construction of the coeffiecients is connected with the well-known Spearman coeffiecient and extensions of it (see Liebscher [5]). The proposed coeffiecient measures the discrepancy between the data points and a function which is strictly increasing on one interval and strictly decreasing in the remaining domain.We prove statements about the asymptotic behaviour of the estimated coeffiecient (convergence rate, asymptotic normality).

Mezőgazdasági társas vállalkozások vizsgálata a KSH Cég-Kód-Tár adatbázisa alapján

The enterprises which are involved in agriculture as their main activity represent about 1.7 percent of the Hungarian enterprises. Most of the food industry enterprises can be found in the Southern Great Plain Region, the Northern Great Plain and in Central Hungary (including the capital city). The most popular form of operation is the limited liability company (62%) and the limited partnership (25%). Nearly 90% can be considered as micro or small-sized companies, 55 percent has an annual income under 20 million HUF (-70.0006), 83 percent of the companies operate with less than 10 employees. Most of the firms are involved in growing of cereals (except rice), leguminous crops and oil seeds: support activities for crop production; raising of poultry; growing of vegetables and melons, roots and tubers; raising of swin^pigs; growing of pome fruits and stone fruits; raising of dairy cattle and support activities for animal production. By calculating association coefficients, moderate connection was found between the place of headquarter and the form of operation, the main activity. There was a little bit weaker connection detectable between the place of headquarter and the number of employees or the annual income.

Shared Reproductive State Enhances Female Associations in Dolphins

Female bottlenose dolphins (genusTursiops) usually associate at moderate level with other females within social clusters called bands or cliques. It has been suggested that reproductive state may play the predominant role in determining associations within femaleT. truncatusbands. Here, we test the hypothesis that reproductive state correlates with associations of female Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins (T. aduncus). We found that females in similar reproductive state, which included females from late pregnancy to the first year of their calves' life or females from early pregnancy to their calves' newborn period, had higher-association coefficients with each other than they did with females in different reproductive states (females with older calves or without calves). This was observed both within and across social clusters suggesting that reproductive state, at least for pregnant females and those with young calves, plays an important role in determining who to associate with. However, a female's most frequent associate was not always with another in similar reproductive state. We suggest that several factors, including reproductive state, may be of importance in determining associations of female bottlenose dolphins.