The nth-Order Comprehensive Adjoint Sensitivity Analysis Methodology for Response-Coupled Forward/Adjoint Linear Systems (nth-CASAM-L): II. Illustrative Application

This work illustrates the application of the nth-order comprehensive adjoint sensitivity analysis methodology for response-coupled forward/adjoint linear systems (abbreviated as “nth-CASAM-L”) to a paradigm model that describes the transmission of particles (neutrons and/or photons) through homogenized materials, as encountered in radiation protection and shielding. The first-, second-, and third-order sensitivities of responses that depend on both the forward and adjoint particle fluxes are obtained exactly, in closed-form, underscoring the principles and methodology underlying the nth-CASAM-L. The results presented in this work underscore the fundamentally important role of the nth-CASAM-L in the quest to overcome the “curse of dimensionality” in sensitivity analysis, uncertainty quantification and predictive modeling.

Causal Relationships in Longitudinal Observational Data: An Integrative Modelling Approach

Much research in psychology relies on data from observational studies that traditionally do not allow for causal interpretation. However, a range of approaches in statistics and computational sciences have been developed to infer causality from correlational data. Based on conceptual and theoretical considerations on the integration of interventional and time-restrainment notions of causality, we set out to design and empirically test a new approach in order to identify potential causal factors in longitudinal correlational data. A principled and representative set of simulations and an illustrative application to identify early-life determinants of cognitive development in a large cohort study are presented. The simulation results illustrate the potential but also the limitations for discovering causal factors from observational data. In the illustrative application, plausible and reasonably well-established early life determinants of cognitive abilities in 5-year-old children were identified. Based on these results, we discuss the possibilities of using exploratory causal discovery in psychological research but also highlight its limits and potential misuses and misinterpretations.

A New Group Decision-Making Technique under Picture Fuzzy Soft Expert Information

As an extension of intuitionistic fuzzy sets, the theory of picture fuzzy sets not only deals with the degrees of rejection and acceptance but also considers the degree of refusal during a decision-making process; therefore, by incorporating this competency of picture fuzzy sets, the goal of this study is to propose a novel hybrid model called picture fuzzy soft expert sets by combining picture fuzzy sets with soft expert sets for dealing with uncertainties in different real-world group decision-making problems. The proposed hybrid model is a more generalized form of intuitionistic fuzzy soft expert sets. Some novel desirable properties of the proposed model, namely, subset, equality, complement, union and intersection, are investigated together with their corresponding examples. Two well-known operations AND and OR are also studied for the developed model. Further, a decision-making method supporting by an algorithmic format under the proposed approach is presented. Moreover, an illustrative application is provided for its better demonstration, which is subjected to the selection of a suitable company of virtual reality devices. Finally, a comparison of the initiated method is explored with some existing models, including intuitionistic fuzzy soft expert sets.

Principles, methods, contributions, and limitations of design science research in marketing: Illustrative application to customer journey management

The purpose of this article is to present the principles, application methods, contributions, and limitations of the design science research methodology (DSRM), a research strategy based on design science research (DSR). After presenting the principles of DSRM, we show how to use this method by applying it to the problem of customer journey management. We make practical recommendations for applying the method, and discuss its contributions and limitations. By presenting a method that meets the requirements of both rigor and relevance, this article contributes to the renewal of research methods used in our discipline.

COMPARING THE SMALL-SAMPLE ESTIMATION ERROR OF CONCEPTUALLY DIFFERENT RISK MEASURES

Motivated by the need to correctly rank risky alternatives in many investment, insurance and operations research applications, this paper uses a generalized location and scale framework from utility theory to propose a simple but powerful metric for comparing the estimation error of conceptually different risk measures. In an illustrative application, we obtain this metric — the probability that a risk measure ranks two assets falsely in finite samples — via Monte Carlo simulation for fourteen popular measures of risk and different distributional settings. Its results allow us to highlight interesting risk measure properties such as their relative quality under varying degrees of skewness and kurtosis. Because of the generality of our approach, the error probabilities derived for classic risk measures can serve as a benchmark for newly proposed measures seeking to replace the classic ones in decision making. It also supports the identification of the most suitable risk measures for a given distributional environment.

Network screening for specific collision types at urban signalized intersections - conventional and spatial methods

Transportation authorities are always looking for ways to improve road safety since vehicle collisions cost Canada 25 billion dollars of capital loss and around 2800 deaths each year. An important step in improving road safety is to sieve out the problem sites through network screening processes. screening for specific accident types is discussed in this thesis, using signalized intersections in Toronto in an illustrative application. each such collision type is associated with corresponding countermeasures, which allows the engineer to rank the entities with specific remedies in mind. In this way, the effectiveness of road network screening can improved through targeted treatments. Three different screening methods are introduced and compared; procedures for selecting entities from screening results by different methods are also presented. A process for ranking jurisdictions by regions is proposed. This is a method which combines the conventional network screening techniques with geographic information system (GIS) tools. The GIS can integrate the spatial information of a selected area with the conventional accident and road characteristic data and facilitate network screening by region.

Network screening for specific collision types at urban signalized intersections - conventional and spatial methods

Transportation authorities are always looking for ways to improve road safety since vehicle collisions cost Canada 25 billion dollars of capital loss and around 2800 deaths each year. An important step in improving road safety is to sieve out the problem sites through network screening processes. screening for specific accident types is discussed in this thesis, using signalized intersections in Toronto in an illustrative application. each such collision type is associated with corresponding countermeasures, which allows the engineer to rank the entities with specific remedies in mind. In this way, the effectiveness of road network screening can improved through targeted treatments. Three different screening methods are introduced and compared; procedures for selecting entities from screening results by different methods are also presented. A process for ranking jurisdictions by regions is proposed. This is a method which combines the conventional network screening techniques with geographic information system (GIS) tools. The GIS can integrate the spatial information of a selected area with the conventional accident and road characteristic data and facilitate network screening by region.

On the Development of Triple Homogeneously Weighted Moving Average Control Chart

To detect sustainable changes in the manufacturing processes, memory-type charting schemes are frequently functioning. The recently designed, homogenously weighted moving average (HWMA) technique is effective for identifying substantial changes in the processes. To make the HWMA chart more effective for persistent shifts in the industrial processes, a double HWMA (DHWMA) chart has been proposed recently. This study intends to develop a triple HWMA (THWMA) chart for efficient monitoring of the process mean under zero- and steady-state scenarios. The non-normal effects of monitoring characteristics under in-control situations for heavy-tailed highly skewed and contaminated normal environments are computed under both states. The relative efficiency of the proposed structure is compared with HWMA, DHWMA, exponentially weighted moving average (EWMA), double EWMA, and the more effective triple EWMA control charting schemes. The relative analysis reveals that the proposed THWMA design performs more efficiently than the existing counterparts. An illustrative application related to substrate manufacturing is also incorporated to demonstrate the proposal.

Increasing Career Advancement Opportunities Through Sponsorship: An Identity-Based Model With Illustrative Application to Cross-Race Mentorship of African Americans

The sponsorship function of mentoring has vast potential to increase career advancement for African American protégés in cross-race mentoring relationships but is not well understood. We conceptualize the processes, practices, and challenges involved in cross-race sponsorship of African American protégés through an identity perspective. We provide a theory regarding how identity processes are involved at different stages of cross-race sponsorship involving African American protégés, as well as for their mentors, by drawing on identity, diversity, and mentoring research. This work is suggestive of opportunities for improvement in the sponsorship function of mentoring in order to increase career advancement for African American protégés and provides theoretical contributions to research on identity, diversity, and career advancement.