Search results for: empirical measure

Authors: Paul W. Murray, Marco Barajas

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Recent changes in supply chains, especially globalization and collaboration, have created new risks for enterprises of all sizes. A variety of complex frameworks, often based on enterprise risk management strategies have been presented under the heading of Supply Chain Risk Management (SCRM). The literature on promotes the benefits of a robust SCRM strategy; however, implementing SCRM is difficult and resource demanding for Large Enterprises (LEs), and essentially out of reach for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). This research debunks the idea that SCRM is necessary for all enterprises and instead proposes a simple and effective Vendor Selection Template (VST). Empirical testing and a survey of supply chain practitioners provide a measure of validation to the VST. The resulting VSTis a valuable contribution because is easy to use, provides practical results, and is sufficiently flexible to be universally applied to SMEs.

Keywords: multiple regression analysis, supply chain management, risk assessment, vendor selection

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Authors: Nour Mohamad Fayad

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Complex and extensively researched, the impact of corruption on economic growth seems to be intricate. Many experts believe that corruption reduces economic development. However, counterarguments have suggested that corruption either promotes growth and development or has no significant impact on economic performance. Clearly, there is no consensus in the economics literature regarding the possible relationship between corruption and economic development. Corruption's complex and clandestine nature, which makes it difficult to define and measure, is one of the obstacles that must be overcome when investigating its effect on an economy. In an attempt to contribute to the ongoing debate, this study examines the impact of corruption on economic growth in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region between 2000 and 2021 using a Customized Corruption Index-CCI and panel data on MENA countries. These countries were selected because they are understudied in the economic literature, and despite the World Bank's recent emphasis on corruption in the developing world, the MENA countries have received little attention. The researcher used Cobb-Douglas functional form to test corruption in MENA using a customized index known as Customized Corruption Index-CCI to track corruption over almost 20 years, then used the dynamic panel data. The findings indicate that there is a positive correlation between corruption and economic growth, but this is not consistent across all MENA nations. First, the relatively recent lack of data from MENA nations. This issue is related to the inaccessibility of data for many MENA countries, particularly regarding the returns on resources, private malfeasance, and other variables in Gulf countries. In addition, the researcher encountered several restrictions, such as electricity and internet outages, due to the fact that he is from Lebanon, a country whose citizens have endured difficult living conditions since the Lebanese crisis began in 2019. Demonstrating a customized index known as Customized Corruption Index-CCI that suits the characteristics of MENA countries to peculiarly measure corruption in this region, the outcome of the Customized Corruption Index-CCI is then compared to the Corruption Perception Index-CPI and Control of Corruption from World Governance Indicator-CC from WGI.

Keywords: corruption, economic growth, corruption measurements, empirical review, impact of corruption

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Authors: Khadija Mushtaq, Mian Saqib Mehmood

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This paper attempts to determine the impact of leadership style and learning orientation on organizational performance in Pakistan. A sample of 158 middle managers selected from sports and surgical factories from Sialkot. The empirical estimation is based on a multiple linear regression analysis of the relationship between leadership style, learning orientation and organizational performance. Leadership style is measure through transformational leadership and transactional leadership. The transformational leadership has insignificant impact on organizational performance. The transactional leadership has positive and significant relation with organizational performance. Learning orientation also has positive and significant relation with organizational performance. Linear regression used to estimate the relation between dependent and independent variables. This study suggests top manger should prefer continuous process for improvement for any change in system rather radical change.

Keywords: transformational leadership, transactional leadership, learning orientation, organizational performance, Pakistan

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Authors: Arash Rahmani, Ahmad Ghanbari, Abbas Baghernezhad, Babak Safaei

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In the design of parallel manipulators, usually mean value of a dexterity measure over the workspace volume is considered as the objective function to be used in optimization algorithms. The mentioned indexes in a hybrid parallel manipulator (HPM) are quite complicated to solve thanks to infinite solutions for every point within the workspace of the redundant manipulators. In this paper, spatial isotropic design axioms are extended as a well-known method for optimum design of manipulators. An upper limit for the isotropy measure of HPM is calculated and instead of computing and minimizing isotropy measure, minimizing the obtained limit is considered. To this end, two different objective functions are suggested which are obtained from objective functions of comprising modules. Finally, by using genetic algorithm (GA), the best geometric parameters for a specific hybrid parallel robot which is composed of two modified Gough-Stewart platforms (MGSP) are achieved.

Keywords: hybrid manipulator, spatial isotropy, genetic algorithm, optimum design

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Authors: Aïda C. Terblanché-Greeff

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Afro-polychronism is a unique amalgamated cultural value of social self-construal and time orientation. As such, the construct Afro-polychronism is conceptually analysed by focusing on the aspects of Ubuntu as collectivism and African time as polychronism. It is argued that these cultural values have a reciprocal and thus inseparable relationship. As it is general practice to measure cultural values empirically, the author conducted empirically engaged philosophy and aimed to develop a scale to measure Afro-polychronism based on its two dimensions of Ubuntu as social self-construal and African time as time orientation. From the scale’s psychometric properties, it was determined that the scale was, in fact, not reliable and valid. It was found that the correlation between the Ubuntu dimension and the African time is moderate (albeit statistically significant). In conclusion, the author abduced why this cultural value cannot be empirically measured based on its theoretical definition and indicated which different path would be more promising.

Keywords: African time, Afro-polychronism, empirically engaged African philosophy, Ubuntu

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Authors: Oscar Javier Herrera, Manuel Angel Camacho

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This paper addresses a cutting edge method of business demand forecasting, based on an empirical probability function when the historical behavior of the data is random. Additionally, it presents error determination based on the numerical method technique ‘propagation of errors’. The methodology was conducted characterization and process diagnostics demand planning as part of the production management, then new ways to predict its value through techniques of probability and to calculate their mistake investigated, it was tools used numerical methods. All this based on the behavior of the data. This analysis was determined considering the specific business circumstances of a company in the sector of communications, located in the city of Bogota, Colombia. In conclusion, using this application it was possible to obtain the adequate stock of the products required by the company to provide its services, helping the company reduce its service time, increase the client satisfaction rate, reduce stock which has not been in rotation for a long time, code its inventory, and plan reorder points for the replenishment of stock.

Keywords: demand forecasting, empirical distribution, propagation of error, Bogota

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Authors: Daniel James Pitchforth, Timothy James Rogers, Ulf Tyge Tygesen, Elizabeth Jane Cross

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Wave loading is a primary cause of fatigue within offshore structures and its quantification presents a challenging and important subtask within the SHM framework. The accurate representation of physics in such environments is difficult, however, driving the development of data-driven techniques in recent years. Within many industrial applications, empirical laws remain the preferred method of wave loading prediction due to their low computational cost and ease of implementation. This paper aims to develop an approach that combines data-driven Gaussian process models with physical empirical solutions for wave loading, including Morison’s Equation. The aim here is to incorporate physics directly into the covariance function (kernel) of the Gaussian process, enforcing derived behaviors whilst still allowing enough flexibility to account for phenomena such as vortex shedding, which may not be represented within the empirical laws. The combined approach has a number of advantages, including improved performance over either component used independently and interpretable hyperparameters.

Keywords: offshore structures, Gaussian processes, Physics informed machine learning, Kernel design

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Authors: Tapan Kumar Dhar

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How well are our city forms designed to adapt to climate change and its resulting uncertainty? What urban design tools can be used to measure and improve resilience to climate change, and how would they do so? In addressing these questions, this paper considers indeterminacy, a concept originated in the resilience literature, to measure the resilience of built environments. In the realm of urban design, ‘indeterminacy’ can be referred to as built-in design capabilities of an urban system to serve different purposes which are not necessarily predetermined. An urban system, particularly that with a higher degree of indeterminacy, can enable the system to be reorganized and changed to accommodate new or unknown functions while coping with uncertainty over time. Underlying principles of this concept have long been discussed in the urban design and planning literature, including open architecture, landscape urbanism, and flexible housing. This paper argues that the concept indeterminacy holds the potential to reduce the impacts of climate change incrementally and proactively. With regard to sustainable development, both planning and climate change literature highly recommend proactive adaptation as it involves less cost, efforts, and energy than last-minute emergency or reactive actions. Nevertheless, the concept still remains isolated from resilience and climate change adaptation discourses even though the discourses advocate the incremental transformation of a system to cope with climatic uncertainty. This paper considers indeterminacy, as an urban design tool, to measure and increase resilience (and adaptive capacity) of Long Bay’s coastal settlements in Negril, Jamaica. Negril is one of the popular tourism destinations in the Caribbean highly vulnerable to sea-level rise and its associated impacts. This paper employs empirical information obtained from direct observation and informal interviews with local people. While testing the tool, this paper deploys an urban morphology study, which includes land use patterns and the physical characteristics of urban form, including street networks, block patterns, and building footprints. The results reveal that most resorts in Long Bay are designed for pre-determined purposes and offer a little potential to use differently if needed. Additionally, Negril’s street networks are found to be rigid and have limited accessibility to different points of interest. This rigidity can expose the entire infrastructure further to extreme climatic events and also impedes recovery actions after a disaster. However, Long Bay still has room for future resilient developments in other relatively less vulnerable areas. In adapting to climate change, indeterminacy can be reached through design that achieves a balance between the degree of vulnerability and the degree of indeterminacy: the more vulnerable a place is, the more indeterminacy is useful. This paper concludes with a set of urban design typologies to increase the resilience of coastal settlements.

Keywords: climate change adaptation, resilience, sea-level rise, urban form

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Authors: Sandeep, A. Joshi, Kamal, Piu Dhibar, Parveen Kumar

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In the present work strong ground motion has been simulated using a modified semi-empirical technique (MSET), with frequency dependent radiation pattern model. Joshi et al. (2014) have modified the semi-empirical technique to incorporate the modeling of strong motion generation areas (SMGAs). A frequency dependent radiation pattern model is applied to simulate high frequency ground motion more precisely. Identified SMGAs (Kurahashi and Irikura 2012) of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake (Mw 9.0) were modeled using this modified technique. Records are simulated for both frequency dependent and constant radiation pattern function. Simulated records for both cases are compared with observed records in terms of peak ground acceleration and pseudo acceleration response spectra at different stations. Comparison of simulated and observed records in terms of root mean square error suggests that the method is capable of simulating record which matches in a wide frequency range for this earthquake and bears realistic appearance in terms of shape and strong motion parameters. The results confirm the efficacy and suitability of rupture model defined by five SMGAs for the developed modified technique.

Keywords: strong ground motion, semi-empirical, strong motion generation area, frequency dependent radiation pattern, 2011 Tohoku Earthquake

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Authors: Alasdair Stanton

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What makes for a good explanation? Twenty years after Wendt’s important treatment of constitution and causation, non-causal explanations (sometimes referred to as ‘understanding’, or ‘descriptive inference’) have become, if not mainstream, at least accepted within International Relations. This article proceeds in two parts: firstly, it examines closely Wendt’s constitutional claims, and while it agrees there is a difference between causal and constitutional, rejects the view that constitutional explanations lack temporality. In fact, this author concludes that a constitutional argument is only possible if it relies upon a more foundational, causal argument. Secondly, through theoretical analysis of the constitutional argument, this research seeks to delineate temporal and non-temporal ways of explaining within International Relations. This article concludes that while the constitutional explanation, like other logical arguments, including comparative, and counter-factual, are not truly non-causal explanations, they are not bound as tightly to the ‘real world’ as temporal arguments such as cause-effect, process tracing, or even interpretivist accounts. However, like mathematical models, non-temporal arguments should aim for empirical testability as well as internal consistency. This work aims to give clear theoretical grounding to those authors using non-temporal arguments, but also to encourage them, and their positivist critics, to engage in thoroughgoing empirical tests.

Keywords: causal explanation, constitutional understanding, empirical, temporality

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Authors: Patrick Mbassegue, Mickael Gardoni

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In a market environment centered more and more on services and the digital economy, knowledge management becomes a framework that can help organizations to create value and to improve their overall performance. Based on an optimal allocation of scarce resources, managers are interested in demonstrating the added value generated by knowledge management projects. One of the challenges faced by organizations is the difficulty in measuring impacts and concrete results of knowledge management initiatives. The present article concerns the measure of concrete results coming from knowledge management projects based on balance scorecard model. One of the goals is to underline what can be done based on this model but also to highlight the limits associated. The present article is structured in five parts; 1-knowledge management projects and organizational impacts; 2- a framework and a methodology to measure organizational impacts; 3- application illustrated in two case studies; 4- limits concerning the proposed framework; 5- the proposal of a new framework to measure organizational impacts.

Keywords: knowledge management, project, balance scorecard, impacts

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Authors: Hamid Reza Zeraatpisheh, Ali Akbar Heidari, Soleiman Mohammadi Doust

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This study has examined the relationship between place attachment and sustainable development of urban spaces. To perform this, the components of place identity, emotional attachment, place attachment and social bonding which totally constitute the output of place attachment, by means of the standardized questionnaire measure place attachment in three domains of (cognitive) the place identity, (affective) emotional attachment and (behavioral) place attachment and social bonding. To measure sustainable development, three components of sustainable development, including society, economy and environment has been considered. The study is descriptive. The assessment instrument is the standard questionnaire of Safarnia which has been used to measure the variable of place attachment and to measure the variable of sustainable development, a questionnaire has been made by the researcher and been based on the combined theoretical framework. The statistical population of this research has been the city of Shiraz. The statistical sample has been Hafeziyeh. SPSS software has been used to analyze the data and examined the results of both descriptive and inferential statistics. In inferential statistics, Pearson correlation coefficient has been used to examine the hypotheses. In this study, the variable of place attachment is high and sustainable development is also in a high level. These results suggest a positive relationship between attachment to place and sustainable development.

Keywords: place attachment, sustainable development, economy-society-environment, Hafez's tomb

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Authors: Kaoutar Abbahaddou, Mohammed Salah Chiadmi

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The need to find a relevant way to predict the next-day price of a stock index is a real concern for many financial stakeholders and researchers. We have known across years the proliferation of several methods. Nevertheless, among all these methods, the most controversial one is a machine learning algorithm that claims to be reliable, namely neural networks. Thus, the purpose of this article is to study the prediction power of neural networks in the particular case of Islamic finance as it is an under-looked area. In this article, we will first briefly present a review of the literature regarding neural networks and Islamic finance. Next, we present the architecture and principles of artificial neural networks most commonly used in finance. Then, we will show its empirical application on two Islamic stock indexes. The accuracy rate would be used to measure the performance of the algorithm in predicting the right price the next day. As a result, we can conclude that artificial neural networks are a reliable method to predict the next-day price for Islamic indices as it is claimed for conventional ones.

Keywords: Islamic finance, stock price prediction, artificial neural networks, machine learning

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Authors: Salma Akter, Mohammad M. Haque, Lawrence Akwetey

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An empirical research design will analyze different factors/predictors children use to influence their parents in the family buying decision process in the unexplored area of British Bangladeshi children in the United Kingdom. The proposed conceptual model of factors- buying decision making process will be tested by the Structure Equation Model. A structured Questionnaire and secondary sources will employ to collect data and analyse and measure the validity by Statistical tools (SPSS) and Microsoft Excel. The Contemporary research aims to use the deductive approach developing the research questions and testing the hypothesis to identify the impact of different strategies British Bangladeshi children used to influence their parents in the family buying decision which was overlooked in the previous research.

Keywords: British Bangladeshi children, buying decision process, children influence, influential factors

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Authors: Chang Lee Shu-Jung, Mei-Se Chien, Chien-Chiang Lee, Hui-Ting Hu

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This paper applies recursive cointegration analysis to examine the dynamic changes in Feldstein-Horioka saving-investment (S-I) coefficients across China and the ASEAN-5 countries over time. To the extent that the S-I coefficients measure international capital mobility, the main empirical results are as follows. The recursive trace statistics show that the investment- savings nexus varies in these six countries. There is no cointegration between investment and savings in three countries (China, Malaysia, and Singapore), which means that the mobility of the capital markets in the three is high and that domestic investment in them will be financed by the global pool of capital. As to the other three countries (Indonesia, Thailand, and Philippines), there is cointegration between investment and savings for part of the sample period in the three, including before 2002 for Thailand, before 2001 for Indonesia, and before 2002 for Philippines. This shows these three countries achieved highly mobile and open capital markets later.

Keywords: investment, savings, recursive cointegration test, ASEAN, China

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Authors: Cheng Xu

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As the metaverse emerges as a dynamic virtual simulacrum of reality, its implications on user privacy have become a focal point of interest. While previous discussions have ventured into metaverse privacy dynamics, a glaring empirical gap persists, especially concerning the effects of personalization in the context of news recommendation services. This study stands at the forefront of addressing this void, meticulously examining how users' privacy concerns shift within the metaverse's personalization context. Through a pre-registered randomized controlled experiment, participants engaged in a personalization task across both the metaverse and traditional online platforms. Upon completion of this task, a comprehensive news recommendation service provider offers personalized news recommendations to the users. Our empirical findings reveal that the metaverse inherently amplifies privacy concerns compared to traditional settings. However, these concerns are notably mitigated when users have a say in shaping the algorithms that drive these recommendations. This pioneering research not only fills a significant knowledge gap but also offers crucial insights for metaverse developers and policymakers, emphasizing the nuanced role of user input in shaping algorithm-driven privacy perceptions.

Keywords: metaverse, privacy concerns, personalization, digital interaction, algorithmic recommendations

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Authors: Olivier Delage, Hassan Bencherif, Alain Bourdier

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Signal decomposition approaches represent an important step in time series analysis, providing useful knowledge and insight into the data and underlying dynamics characteristics while also facilitating tasks such as noise removal and feature extraction. As most of observational time series are nonlinear and nonstationary, resulting of several physical processes interaction at different time scales, experimental time series have fluctuations at all time scales and requires the development of specific signal decomposition techniques. Most commonly used techniques are data driven, enabling to obtain well-behaved signal components without making any prior-assumptions on input data. Among the most popular time series decomposition techniques, most cited in the literature, are the empirical mode decomposition and its variants, the empirical wavelet transform and singular spectrum analysis. With increasing popularity and utility of these methods in wide ranging applications, it is imperative to gain a good understanding and insight into the operation of these algorithms. In this work, we describe all of the techniques mentioned above as well as their ability to denoise signals, to capture trends, to identify components corresponding to the physical processes involved in the evolution of the observed system and deduce the dimensionality of the underlying dynamics. Results obtained with all of these methods on experimental total ozone columns and rainfall time series will be discussed and compared

Keywords: denoising, empirical mode decomposition, singular spectrum analysis, time series, underlying dynamics, wavelet analysis

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Authors: Mariusz Hofman

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The paper ‘Theoretical framework for value creation in Project-Oriented Companies’ is designed to determine, how organisations create value and whether this allows them to achieve market success. An assumption has been made that there are two routes to achieving this value. The first one is to create intangible assets (i.e. the resources of human, structural and relational capital), while the other one is to create added value (understood as the surplus of revenue over costs). It has also been assumed that the combination of the achieved added value and unique intangible assets translates to the success of a project-oriented company. The purpose of the paper is to present hypothetical and deductive model which describing the modus operandi of such companies and approach to model operationalisation. All the latent variables included in the model are theoretical constructs with observational indicators (measures). The existence of a latent variable (construct) and also submodels will be confirmed based on a covariance matrix which in turn is based on empirical data, being a set of observational indicators (measures). This will be achieved with a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Due to this statistical procedure, it will be verified whether the matrix arising from the adopted theoretical model differs statistically from the empirical matrix of covariance arising from the system of equations. The fit of the model with the empirical data will be evaluated using χ2, RMSEA and CFI (Comparative Fit Index). How well the theoretical model fits the empirical data is assessed through a number of indicators. If the theoretical conjectures are confirmed, an interesting development path can be defined for project-oriented companies. This will let such organisations perform efficiently in the face of the growing competition and pressure on innovation.

Keywords: value creation, project-oriented company, structural equation modelling

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Authors: Feddaoui Amina

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Income smoothing represents an attempt on the part of the company's management to reduce variations in earnings through the manipulation of the accounting principles. In this study, we aimed to measure income smoothing practices in a sample of 30 French joint stock companies during the period (2007-2009), we used Dummy variables method and “ECKEL” model to measure income smoothing practices and Binomial test accourding to SPSS program, to confirm or refute our hypothesis. This study concluded that there are no significant statistical indicators of income smoothing practices in the sample studied of French companies during the period (2007-2009), so the income series in the same sample studied of is characterized by stability and non-volatility without any intervention of management through accounting manipulation. However, this type of accounting manipulation should be taken into account and efforts should be made by control bodies to apply Eckel model and generalize its use at the global level.

Keywords: income, smoothing, 'Eckel', French companies

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Authors: Kang Won Lee, Jung Won Lee

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Characterizing the network flow is of fundamental importance to understand the complex dynamics of networks. And passenger flow characteristics of the subway network are very relevant for an effective transportation management in urban cities. In this study, passenger flow of Seoul metropolitan subway network is investigated and characterized through statistical analysis. Traditional betweenness centrality measure considers only topological structure of the network and ignores the transportation factors. This paper proposes a weighted betweenness centrality measure that incorporates monthly passenger flow volume. We apply the proposed measure on the Seoul metropolitan subway network involving 493 stations and 16 lines. Several interesting insights about the network are derived from the new measures. Using Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, we also find out that monthly passenger flow between any two stations follows a power-law distribution and other traffic characteristics such as congestion level and throughflow traffic follow exponential distribution.

Keywords: betweenness centrality, correlation coefficient, power-law distribution, Korea traffic DB

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Authors: Kingsley Ononogbo, Ashiru Bello

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The purpose of this study is to determine the factors responsible for the inclination of the youths of Bida to passive recreation, with a view to finding out whether their occupations influence their attitudes towards active recreation. Using the 5-point Likert scale, a total number of 267 participants were drawn from the two major wards in Bida town. They are Cheniyan and Nassarafu. Study evidence revealed that youths were constrained from participating in active recreation due to preoccupation with family responsibilities and lack of their choices of recreational facilities. The result of the Chi Square Test showed that the youths had positive attitudes towards physical exercises, while the Spearman’s Correlation (r=0.21) signifies a positive but weak correlation. The P- value, however, equals .7610 which is greater than 0.05 and, so significant. The study concluded by suggesting regular enlightenment programmes, focusing on the values of participating in active recreation, and building and maintenance of desired neighborhood recreation facilities for youths, as a measure to encourage them to take part in the active form of recreation.

Keywords: attitudes, Bida, recreation development, recreation of youth

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Authors: K. Usanova

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This study contributes to the conceptual and empirical understanding of how gender diversity management (GDM) is integrated into talent management (TM). Following the grounded theory, we interviewed 40 HR managers and talents from the space industry in Luxembourg. We provide a nuanced picture of what attitude on the GDM in TM organizations have, what strategies and practices they conduct, and how they differ from each other. Based on these differences, we developed three types of GDM integration to TM and explained the talents’ view on this issue. To the author's best knowledge, this study is the first empirical investigation of GDM in TM in the space industry that integrates both the TM executives' and TM receivers' views on gender equality in TM.

Keywords: gender diversity management, high-technology industry, human resource management, talent management

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Authors: Esther Yin-Nei Cho

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There is inconsistency among studies about whether there is an association between poverty and the subjective wellbeing of children. Some have found a positive association, though its magnitude could be limited, others have shown no association. One possible explanation for this inconsistency is that household income, an often-adopted measure of child poverty, may not accurately and stably reflect the actual life experience of children. Some studies have suggested, however, that material deprivation covering various dimensions of children’s lives could be a better measure of child poverty. Another possible explanation for the inconsistency is that the link between poverty and subjective wellbeing of children may not be that straightforward, as there could be underlying mechanisms, such as mediation and moderation, influencing its direction or strength. While a mediator refers to the mechanism through which an independent variable affects a dependent variable, a moderator changes the direction or strength of the relationship between an independent variable and a dependent variable. As suggested by empirical evidence, family relationships and friendships could be potential mediators or moderators of the link between poverty and subjective well-being: poverty affects relationships; relationships are an important element in children’s subjective well-being; and economic status affects child outcomes, though not necessarily subjective wellbeing, through relationships. Since the potential links have not been adequately understood, this study fills this gap by examining the possible role of family relationships and friendships as mediators or moderators between poverty (using child-derived material deprivation as measure) and the subjective wellbeing of children. Improving subjective wellbeing is increasingly considered as a policy goal. The finding of no or a limited association between poverty and subjective wellbeing of children could be a justification for less effort to improve poverty in this regard. But if the observed magnitude of that association is due to some underlying mechanisms at work, the effect of poverty may be underestimated and the potentially useful strategies that take into account both poverty and other mediators or moderators for improving children’s subjective well-being may be overlooked. Multiple mediation, and multiple moderation models, based on regression analyses, are performed to a sample of approximately 1,600 children, who are aged 10 to 15, from the wellbeing survey conducted by The Children’s Society in England from 2010 to 2011. Results show that the effect of children’s material deprivation on their subjective well-being is mediated by their family relationships and friendships. Moreover, family relationships are a significant moderator. It is found that the negative impact of child deprivation on subjective wellbeing could be exacerbated if family relationships are not going well, while good family relationships may prevent the further decline in subjective well-being. Policy implications of the findings are discussed. In particular, policy measures that focus on strengthening the family relationships or nurturing home environment through supporting household’s economic security and parental time with children could promote the subjective wellbeing of children.

Keywords: child poverty, mediation, moderation, subjective well-being of children

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Authors: Ibrahim A. Elshaer, Alaa M. Shaker

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Several previous empirical studies have operationalized service quality as either a multidimensional or unidimensional construct. While few earlier studies investigated some practices of the assumed dimensional structure of service quality, no study has been found to have tested the construct’s dimensionality using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). To gain a better insight into the dimensional structure of service quality construct, this paper tests its dimensionality using three CFA models (higher order factor model, oblique factor model, and one factor model) on a set of data collected from 390 British tourists visited Egypt. The results of the three tests models indicate that service quality construct is multidimensional. This result helps resolving the problems that might arise from the lack of clarity concerning the dimensional structure of service quality, as without testing the dimensional structure of a measure, researchers cannot assume that the significant correlation is a result of factors measuring the same construct.

Keywords: service quality, dimensionality, confirmatory factor analysis, Egypt

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Authors: Gladie Lui

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The global credit crisis of 2008 aroused renewed interest in the effectiveness of corporate governance mechanisms to safeguard investor interests. In this paper, we measure the effect of the crisis from 2008 to 2009 on the stock performance of 976 Hong Kong-listed companies and examine its link to corporate governance mechanisms. It is evident that the crisis and the economic downturn affected different industries. Empirical results show that firms with an independent board and a high concentration of ownership and management ownership had lower abnormal stock returns, but a lower price volatility during the global financial crisis. These results highlight that no single corporate governance mechanism is fit for all types of financial crises and time frames. To strengthen investors’ confidence in the ability of companies to deal with such swift financial catastrophes, companies should enhance the dynamism and responsiveness of their governance mechanisms in times of turbulence.

Keywords: board of directors, capital market, corporate governance, financial crisis

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Authors: J. B. Clapp, S. Croarkin, C. Dolphin, S. K. Lyons

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Chronic pain or stress in farm animals impacts both on their welfare and productivity. Measuring chronic pain or stress can be problematic using hormonal or behavioural changes because hormones are modulated by homeostatic mechanisms and observed behaviour can be highly subjective. We propose that heart rate variability (HRV) can quantify chronic pain or stress in farmed animal and represents a more robust and objective measure of their welfare.

Keywords: dairy calf, welfare, heart rate variability, non-invasive, biomonitor

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Authors: Alsnosy Balbaa, Mohamed Nabil Elnabawi, Yasmin El Meladi

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With the ever-growing concerns of climate change, Mediterranean ports, as vital economic and transport hubs face unique challenges in maintaining operations and infrastructure. This empirical study seeks to understand the current adaptations and preparedness levels of Egyptian Mediterranean ports against climate-induced disruptions. Drawing from a structured questionnaire, the research gathers insights on observed climate impacts, infrastructure adaptations, operational changes, and stakeholder engagement, aiming to shed light on the resilience of these ports in the face of a changing climate.

Keywords: climate, infrastructures, port, mediterranean

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Authors: Seyed Hamed Hashemi Sohi, Gerald Jo Denoga

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Machining or metal cutting is one of the most widely used production processes in industry. The quality of the process and the resulting machined product depends on parameters like tool geometry, material, and cutting conditions. However, the relationships of these parameters to the cutting process are often based mostly on empirical knowledge. In this study, computer modeling and simulation using LS-DYNA software and a Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamic (SPH) methodology, was performed on the orthogonal metal cutting process to analyze three-dimensional deformation of AISI 1045 medium carbon steel during machining. The simulation was performed using the following constitutive models: the Power Law model, the Johnson-Cook model, and the Zerilli-Armstrong models (Z-A). The outcomes were compared against the simulated results obtained by Cenk Kiliçaslan using the Finite Element Method (FEM) and the empirical results of Jaspers and Filice. The analysis shows that the SPH method combined with the Zerilli-Armstrong constitutive model is a viable alternative to simulating the metal cutting process. The tangential force was overestimated by 7%, and the normal force was underestimated by 16% when compared with empirical values. The simulation values for flow stress versus strain at various temperatures were also validated against empirical values. The SPH method using the Z-A model has also proven to be robust against issues of time-scaling. Experimental work was also done to investigate the effects of friction, rake angle and tool tip radius on the simulation.

Keywords: metal cutting, smoothed particle hydrodynamics, constitutive models, experimental, cutting forces analyses

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Authors: Clif P. Lewis, Ise-Lu Möller

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The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on employment. The ‘future of work’ is now the ‘present of work’. Changes in the social context within which organisations are embedded necessitated drastic changes in how we work. Through the leveraging of technology and changes in mindset, we have seen exciting innovations in the world of work. This global shift in the context of employment offers a unique opportunity to examine a key unresolved issue in the study of Burnout, namely contextual antecedents. This study answers the call for deeper empirical insight into the contexts within which Burnout occur. We explore the emergence of Burnout within a remote work context by using survey data that incorporates the latest global work trends into the Areas of Worklife framework.

Keywords: burnout, remote work, pandemic, wellness

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Authors: Stephan Koehler, Thomas Friedli

Abstract:

Performance measurement has evolved over time from a unidimensional short-term efficiency focused approach into a balanced multidimensional approach. Today, integrated performance measurement frameworks are often used to avoid local optimization and to encourage continuous improvement of an organization. In literature, the multidimensional characteristic of performance measurement is often described by competitive priorities. At the same time, on the highest abstraction level an effectiveness and efficiency dimension of performance measurement can be distinguished. This paper aims at a better understanding of the composition of effectiveness and efficiency and their relation in pharmaceutical quality control labs. The research comprises a lab-specific operationalization of effectiveness and efficiency and examines how the two dimensions are interlinked. The basis for the analysis represents a database of the University of St. Gallen including a divers set of 40 different pharmaceutical quality control labs. The research provides empirical evidence that labs with a high effectiveness also accompany a high efficiency. Lab effectiveness explains 29.5 % of the variance in lab efficiency. In addition, labs with an above median operational excellence performance have a statistically significantly higher lab effectiveness and lab efficiency compared to the below median performing labs.

Keywords: empirical study, operational excellence, performance measurement, pharmaceutical quality control lab

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