Search results for: Underlying causes

Authors: Si Chen, Caroline Wiltshire, Bin Li

Abstract:

This study statistically models the surface f0 contour and the underlying pitch target of a well-studied third sandhi tone of Mandarin Chinese. Although the growth curve analysis on the surface f0 contours indicates non-neutralization of this sandhi tone (T3) and the base T2, their underlying pitch targets do show neutralization. These results in Mandarin are also consistent with the perception of native speakers, where they cannot distinguish the third T3 from the base T2, compensating contextual variation. It is possible to use the proposed statistical procedure of testing underlying pitch targets to verify tone sandhi processes in other tonal languages.

Keywords: Growth curve analysis, tone sandhi, underlying pitch targets.

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Authors: D. I. De Souza, D. R. Fonseca, R. Rocha

Abstract:

In this paper we will develop further the sequential life test approach presented in a previous article by [1] using an underlying two parameter Weibull sampling distribution. The minimum life will be considered equal to zero. We will again provide rules for making one of the three possible decisions as each observation becomes available; that is: accept the null hypothesis H0; reject the null hypothesis H0; or obtain additional information by making another observation. The product being analyzed is a new type of a low alloy-high strength steel product. To estimate the shape and the scale parameters of the underlying Weibull model we will use a maximum likelihood approach for censored failure data. A new example will further develop the proposed sequential life testing approach.

Keywords: Sequential Life Testing, Underlying Weibull Model, Maximum Likelihood Approach, Hypothesis Testing.

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Authors: D. I. De Souza, G. P. Azevedo, D. R. Fonseca

Abstract:

In this paper we will develop further the sequential life test approach presented in a previous article by [1] using an underlying two parameter Inverse Weibull sampling distribution. The location parameter or minimum life will be considered equal to zero. Once again we will provide rules for making one of the three possible decisions as each observation becomes available; that is: accept the null hypothesis H0; reject the null hypothesis H0; or obtain additional information by making another observation. The product being analyzed is a new electronic component. There is little information available about the possible values the parameters of the corresponding Inverse Weibull underlying sampling distribution could have.To estimate the shape and the scale parameters of the underlying Inverse Weibull model we will use a maximum likelihood approach for censored failure data. A new example will further develop the proposed sequential life testing approach.

Keywords: Sequential Life Testing, Inverse Weibull Model, Maximum Likelihood Approach, Hypothesis Testing.

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Authors: Jan Rychtar, Brian Stadler

Abstract:

We study how the outcome of evolutionary dynamics on graphs depends on a randomness on the graph structure. We gradually change the underlying graph from completely regular (e.g. a square lattice) to completely random. We find that the fixation probability increases as the randomness increases; nevertheless, the increase is not significant and thus the fixation probability could be estimated by the known formulas for underlying regular graphs.

Keywords: evolutionary dynamics, small-world networks

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Authors: Carla Layana Luis Diambra

Abstract:

Microarrays technique allows the simultaneous measurements of the expression levels of thousands of mRNAs. By mining this data one can identify the dynamics of the gene expression time series. By recourse of principal component analysis, we uncover the circadian rhythmic patterns underlying the gene expression profiles from Cyanobacterium Synechocystis. We applied PCA to reduce the dimensionality of the data set. Examination of the components also provides insight into the underlying factors measured in the experiments. Our results suggest that all rhythmic content of data can be reduced to three main components.

Keywords: circadian rhythms, clustering, gene expression, PCA.

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Authors: Piotr Prewysz-Kwinto

Abstract:

A dynamic development of financial market is accompanied by the emergence of new products on stock exchanges which give absolutely new possibilities of investing money. Currently, the most innovative financial instruments offered to investors are exchange traded products (ETP). They can be defined as financial instruments whose price depends on the value of the underlying instrument. Thus, they offer investors a possibility of making a profit that results from the change in value of the underlying instrument without having to buy it. Currently, the Warsaw Stock Exchange offers many types of ETPs. They are investment products with full or partial capital protection, products without capital protection as well as leverage products, issued on such underlying instruments as indices, sector indices, commodity indices, prices of energy commodities, precious metals, agricultural produce or prices of shares of domestic and foreign companies. This paper presents the mechanism of functioning of ETP available on the Warsaw Stock Exchange and the results of the analysis of statistical data on these financial instruments.

Keywords: Exchange traded products, financial market, investment, stock exchange.

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Authors: O. J. Olaniran, P. E. D. Love, D. J. Edwards, O. Olatunji, J. Matthews

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Cost overruns are a persistent problem in oil and gas megaprojects. Whilst the extant literature is filled with studies on incidents and causes of cost overruns, underlying theories to explain their emergence in oil and gas megaprojects are few. Yet, a way to contain the syndrome of cost overruns is to understand the bases of ‘how and why’ they occur. Such knowledge will also help to develop pragmatic techniques for better overall management of oil and gas megaprojects. The aim of this paper is to explain the development of cost overruns in hydrocarbon megaprojects through the perspective of chaos theory. The underlying principles of chaos theory and its implications for cost overruns are examined and practical recommendations proposed. In addition, directions for future research in this fertile area provided.

Keywords: Chaos theory, oil and gas, cost overruns, megaprojects.

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Authors: Mai Al-Subaie

Abstract:

This research suggests that women in traditional families of Saudi Arabia are divided into two groups, the one who conforms to the society and the new type of women that has been emerged due to the changing and development of the culture, who do not want to conform to the rules. The factors underlying the differences were explored by using a test and an interview. And that concluded some of the main factors that were a real affect of why some women still want to follow the society and traditional rules, and other want to break free.

Keywords: Conformity, Non-Conformity, Saudi Arabia, Women.

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Authors: H. Fabian Weber, Betina Szkudlarek

Abstract:

The following study aims to outline, whether the perceptions of entrepreneurs about their entrepreneurial activities and the underlying meanings of their activities are universal or whether they vary systematically across cultures. In contrast to previous studies, the phenomenographical approach and the resulting findings of this study provide new insights into what constitutes entrepreneurship by drawing an inference from the perceptions of entrepreneurs in the United States and in Germany. Culture is shown to have an important impact on entrepreneurship, since the underlying meanings of entrepreneurship vary significantly among the two sample groups. Furthermore, the study sheds more light on the culturally contingent 'why' of entrepreneurship by looking at the internal motivations of individuals instead of exclusively focusing on character traits or external influences of the respective economic environments.

Keywords: Cross-Cultural Management, Entrepreneurship, Phenomenography, Qualitative Research.

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Authors: Soungwan Kim

Abstract:

This study identifies factors underlying the digital divide that is faced by the disabled. The results of its analysis showed that the digital divide in PC use is affected by age, number of years of education, employment status, and household income of more than KRW 3 million. The digital divide in smart device use is affected by sex, age, number of years of education, time when disability struck, and household income of more than KRW 3 million. Based on these results, this study proposes methods for bridging the digital divide faced by the disabled.

Keywords: Digital divide, digital divide for the disabled, information accessibility for pcs and smart devices.

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Authors: D. I. De Souza, G. P. Azevedo, R. Rocha

Abstract:

In this paper we will develop a sequential life test approach applied to a modified low alloy-high strength steel part used in highway overpasses in Brazil.We will consider two possible underlying sampling distributions: the Normal and theInverse Weibull models. The minimum life will be considered equal to zero. We will use the two underlying models to analyze a fatigue life test situation, comparing the results obtained from both.Since a major chemical component of this low alloy-high strength steel part has been changed, there is little information available about the possible values that the parameters of the corresponding Normal and Inverse Weibull underlying sampling distributions could have. To estimate the shape and the scale parameters of these two sampling models we will use a maximum likelihood approach for censored failure data. We will also develop a truncation mechanism for the Inverse Weibull and Normal models. We will provide rules to truncate a sequential life testing situation making one of the two possible decisions at the moment of truncation; that is, accept or reject the null hypothesis H0. An example will develop the proposed truncated sequential life testing approach for the Inverse Weibull and Normal models.

Keywords: Sequential life testing, normal and inverse Weibull models, maximum likelihood approach, truncation mechanism.

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Authors: Young-Seok Choi

Abstract:

It has been known that a characteristic Burst-Suppression (BS) pattern appears in EEG during the early recovery period following Cardiac Arrest (CA). Here, to explore the relationship between cortical and subcortical neural activities underlying BS, extracellular activity in the parietal cortex and the centromedian nucleus of the thalamus and extradural EEG were recorded in a rodent CA model. During the BS, the cortical firing rate is extraordinarily high, and that bursts in EEG correlate to dense spikes in cortical neurons. Newly observed phenomena are that 1) thalamic activity reemerges earlier than cortical activity following CA, and 2) the correlation coefficient of cortical and thalamic activities rises during BS period. These results would help elucidate the underlying mechanism of brain recovery after CA injury.

Keywords: Cortex, thalamus, cardiac arrest, burst-suppression.

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Authors: D. I. De Souza, D. R. Fonseca, G. P. Azevedo

Abstract:

Sometimes the amount of time available for testing could be considerably less than the expected lifetime of the component. To overcome such a problem, there is the accelerated life-testing alternative aimed at forcing components to fail by testing them at much higher-than-intended application conditions. These models are known as acceleration models. One possible way to translate test results obtained under accelerated conditions to normal using conditions could be through the application of the “Maxwell Distribution Law.” In this paper we will apply a combined approach of a sequential life testing and an accelerated life testing to a low alloy high-strength steel component used in the construction of overpasses in Brazil. The underlying sampling distribution will be three-parameter Inverse Weibull model. To estimate the three parameters of the Inverse Weibull model we will use a maximum likelihood approach for censored failure data. We will be assuming a linear acceleration condition. To evaluate the accuracy (significance) of the parameter values obtained under normal conditions for the underlying Inverse Weibull model we will apply to the expected normal failure times a sequential life testing using a truncation mechanism. An example will illustrate the application of this procedure.

Keywords: Sequential Life Testing, Accelerated Life Testing, Underlying Three-Parameter Weibull Model, Maximum Likelihood Approach, Hypothesis Testing.

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Authors: Nam Don Kim, Jungho Moon, Tae Yun Chung

Abstract:

This paper proposes an Internet of Things (IoT) based virtualization platform for providing smart tourism services. The virtualization platform provides a consistent access interface to various types of data by naming IoT devices and legacy information systems as pathnames in a virtual file system. In the other words, the IoT virtualization platform functions as a middleware which uses the metadata for underlying collected data. The proposed platform makes it easy to provide customized tourism information by using tourist locations collected by IoT devices and additionally enables to create new interactive smart tourism services focused on the tourist locations. The proposed platform is very efficient so that the provided tourism services are isolated from changes in raw data and the services can be modified or expanded without changing the underlying data structure.

Keywords: Internet of Things, IoT platform, service platform, virtual file system.

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Authors: R K Sinha

Abstract:

The statistical distributions are modeled in explaining nature of various types of data sets. Although these distributions are mostly uni-modal, it is quite common to see multiple modes in the observed distribution of the underlying variables, which make the precise modeling unrealistic. The observed data do not exhibit smoothness not necessarily due to randomness, but could also be due to non-randomness resulting in zigzag curves, oscillations, humps etc. The present paper argues that trigonometric functions, which have not been used in probability functions of distributions so far, have the potential to take care of this, if incorporated in the distribution appropriately. A simple distribution (named as, Sinoform Distribution), involving trigonometric functions, is illustrated in the paper with a data set. The importance of trigonometric functions is demonstrated in the paper, which have the characteristics to make statistical distributions exotic. It is possible to have multiple modes, oscillations and zigzag curves in the density, which could be suitable to explain the underlying nature of select data set.

Keywords: Exotic Statistical Distributions, Kurtosis, Mixture Distributions, Multi-modal

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Authors: Wajdan Al Malwi, Karen Renaud, Lewis Mackenzie

Abstract:

The privacy paradox describes a phenomenon whereby there is no connection between stated privacy concerns and privacy behaviours. We need to understand the underlying reasons for this paradox if we are to help users to preserve their privacy more effectively. In particular, the Social Networking System (SNS) domain offers a rich area of investigation due to the risks of unwise information disclosure decisions. Our study thus aims to untangle the complicated nature and underlying mechanisms of online privacy-related decisions in SNSs. In this paper, we report on the findings of a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) that revealed a number of factors that are likely to influence online privacy decisions. Our deductive analysis approach was informed by Communicative Privacy Management (CPM) theory. We uncovered a lack of clarity around privacy attitudes and their link to behaviours, which makes it challenging to design privacy-protecting SNS platforms and to craft legislation to ensure that users’ privacy is preserved.

Keywords: Privacy paradox, self-disclosure, privacy attitude, privacy behaviour, social networking sites.

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Authors: Montri Maleewong, Sirod Sirisup

Abstract:

The POD-assisted projective integration method based on the equation-free framework is presented in this paper. The method is essentially based on the slow manifold governing of given system. We have applied two variants which are the “on-line" and “off-line" methods for solving the one-dimensional viscous Bergers- equation. For the on-line method, we have computed the slow manifold by extracting the POD modes and used them on-the-fly along the projective integration process without assuming knowledge of the underlying slow manifold. In contrast, the underlying slow manifold must be computed prior to the projective integration process for the off-line method. The projective step is performed by the forward Euler method. Numerical experiments show that for the case of nonperiodic system, the on-line method is more efficient than the off-line method. Besides, the online approach is more realistic when apply the POD-assisted projective integration method to solve any systems. The critical value of the projective time step which directly limits the efficiency of both methods is also shown.

Keywords: Projective integration, POD method, equation-free.

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Authors: Roy Fritzsche, Rainer Lasch

Abstract:

Avoidable unscheduled maintenance events and unnecessary spare parts deliveries are mostly caused by an incorrect choice of the underlying maintenance strategy. For a faster and more efficient supply of spare parts for aircrafts of an airline we examine options for improving the underlying logistics network integrated in an existing aviation industry network. This paper presents a dynamic prediction model as decision support for maintenance method selection considering requirements of an entire flight network. The objective is to guarantee a high supply of spare parts by an optimal interaction of various network levels and thus to reduce unscheduled maintenance events and minimize total costs. By using a prognostics-based preventive maintenance strategy unscheduled component failures are avoided for an increase in availability and reliability of the entire system. The model is intended for use in an aviation company that utilizes a structured planning process based on collected failures data of components.

Keywords: Aviation industry, Prognosis, Reliability, Preventive maintenance.

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Authors: Kho Mei Ye, Hamzah Abdul Rahman

Abstract:

The purpose of this study is to identify the underlying causes of late payment from the contractors- perspective in the Malaysian construction industry and to recommend effective solutions to mitigate late payment problems. The target groups of respondents in this study were Grades G3, G5, G6 and G7 contractors with specialization in building works and civil engineering works registered with the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) in Malaysia. Results from this study were analyzed with Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS 15.0). From this study, it was found that respondents have highest ranked five significant variables out of a total of forty-one variables which can caused late payment problems: a) cash flow problems due to deficiencies in client-s management capacity (mean = 3.96); b) client-s ineffective utilization of funds (mean = 3.88); c) scarcity of capital to finance the project (mean = 3.81); d) clients failure to generate income from bank when sales of houses do not hit the targeted amount (mean=3.72); and e) poor cash flow because of lack of proper process implementation, delay in releasing of the retention monies to contractor and delay in the evaluation and certification of interim and final payment (mean = 3.66).

Keywords: Underlying causes, late payment, constructionindustry, Malaysia.

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Authors: Guanhao Tong, Li Li, Ben David

Abstract:

This study aims to provide an explanatory account of how the leisure tourist experience emerges from tourists and their surroundings through a critical realist lens. This was achieved by applying Archer’s realist social theory as the underlying theoretical ground to unpack the interplays between the external (tourism system or structure) and the internal (tourists or agency) factors. This theory argues that social phenomena can be analysed in three domains - structure, agency, and culture (SAC), and along three phases – structure conditioning, sociocultural interactions, and structure elaboration. From the realist perspective, the world is an open system; events and discourses are irreducible to present individuals and collectivities. Therefore, identifying the processes or mechanisms is key to help researchers understand how social reality is brought about. Based on the contextual nature of the tourist experience, the research focuses on Chinese tourists (from mainland China) to London as a destination and British culture conveyed through the concept of the destination image. This study uses an intensive approach based on Archer’s M/M approach to discover the mechanisms/processes of the emergence of the tourist experience. Individual interviews were conducted to reveal the underlying causes of lived experiences of the tourists. Secondary data were also collected to understand how British destinations are portrayed to Chinese tourists.

Keywords: Chinese Tourists, Destination Image, M/M Approach, Realist Social Theory, social mechanisms, tourist experience.

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Authors: Mohamed Al-Badrashiny, Abdelghani Bellaachia

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This paper presents a classifier ensemble approach for predicting the survivability of the breast cancer patients using the latest database version of the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program of the National Cancer Institute. The system consists of two main components; features selection and classifier ensemble components. The features selection component divides the features in SEER database into four groups. After that it tries to find the most important features among the four groups that maximizes the weighted average F-score of a certain classification algorithm. The ensemble component uses three different classifiers, each of which models different set of features from SEER through the features selection module. On top of them, another classifier is used to give the final decision based on the output decisions and confidence scores from each of the underlying classifiers. Different classification algorithms have been examined; the best setup found is by using the decision tree, Bayesian network, and Na¨ıve Bayes algorithms for the underlying classifiers and Na¨ıve Bayes for the classifier ensemble step. The system outperforms all published systems to date when evaluated against the exact same data of SEER (period of 1973-2002). It gives 87.39% weighted average F-score compared to 85.82% and 81.34% of the other published systems. By increasing the data size to cover the whole database (period of 1973-2014), the overall weighted average F-score jumps to 92.4% on the held out unseen test set.

Keywords: Classifier ensemble, breast cancer survivability, data mining, SEER.

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Authors: Yousef Bakhbakhi, Mourad Boumaza

Abstract:

Only recently have water ethics received focused interest in the international water community. Because water is metabolically basic to life, an ethical dimension persists in every decision related to water. Water ethics at once express human society-s approach to water and act as guidelines for behaviour. Ideas around water are often implicit and embedded as assumptions. They can be entrenched in behaviour and difficult to contest because they are difficult to “see". By explicitly revealing the ethical ideas underlying water-related decisions, human society-s relationship with water, and with natural systems of which water is part, can be contested and shifted or be accepted with conscious intention by human society. In recent decades, improved understanding of water-s importance for ecosystem functioning and ecological services for human survival is moving us beyond this growth-driven, supplyfocused management paradigm. Environmental ethics challenge this paradigm by extending the ethical sphere to the environment and thus water or water Resources management per se. An ethical approach is a legitimate, important, and often ignored approach to effect change in environmental decision making. This qualitative research explores principles of water ethics and examines the underlying ethical precepts of selected water policy examples. The constructed water ethic principles act as a set of criteria against which a policy comparison can be established. This study shows that water Resources management is a progressive issue by embracing full public participation and a new planning model, and knowledgegeneration initiatives.

Keywords: water resources, environmental management, publicparticipation.

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Authors: Nima Shakouri Masouleh, Razieh Bahraminezhad Jooneghani

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The study investigated the educational implications that can be derived from the work of a variety of celebrated figures such as Piaget, Vygotsky, and Bruner that will be helpful in the field of language learning. However, the writer believed these views were previously expressed not full–fledged by Comenius who has been described by Howatt (1984) as a genius–the one that the history of language teaching can claim. And we owe to him more than anyone.

Keywords: restructuring, assimilation, equiliberation

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Authors: V Krishnaveni, S Jayaraman, A Gunasekaran, K Ramadoss

Abstract:

The ElectroEncephaloGram (EEG) is useful for clinical diagnosis and biomedical research. EEG signals often contain strong ElectroOculoGram (EOG) artifacts produced by eye movements and eye blinks especially in EEG recorded from frontal channels. These artifacts obscure the underlying brain activity, making its visual or automated inspection difficult. The goal of ocular artifact removal is to remove ocular artifacts from the recorded EEG, leaving the underlying background signals due to brain activity. In recent times, Independent Component Analysis (ICA) algorithms have demonstrated superior potential in obtaining the least dependent source components. In this paper, the independent components are obtained by using the JADE algorithm (best separating algorithm) and are classified into either artifact component or neural component. Neural Network is used for the classification of the obtained independent components. Neural Network requires input features that exactly represent the true character of the input signals so that the neural network could classify the signals based on those key characters that differentiate between various signals. In this work, Auto Regressive (AR) coefficients are used as the input features for classification. Two neural network approaches are used to learn classification rules from EEG data. First, a Polynomial Neural Network (PNN) trained by GMDH (Group Method of Data Handling) algorithm is used and secondly, feed-forward neural network classifier trained by a standard back-propagation algorithm is used for classification and the results show that JADE-FNN performs better than JADEPNN.

Keywords: Auto Regressive (AR) Coefficients, Feed Forward Neural Network (FNN), Joint Approximation Diagonalisation of Eigen matrices (JADE) Algorithm, Polynomial Neural Network (PNN).

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Authors: Jinrui Ren, Li Wu

Abstract:

Anthropogenic activities and changes of underlying surface affect the temporal and spatial distribution of surface temperature in Kunming. Taking Kunming city as the research area, the surface temperature in 2000, 2010 and 2020 as the research object, using ENVI 5.3 and ArcGIS 10.8 as auxiliary tools, and based on the spatial autocorrelation method, this paper devoted to exploring the interactions among the changes of surface temperature, urban heat island effect and land use type, so as to provide theoretical basis and scientific basis for mitigating climate change. The results showed that: (1) The heat island effect was obvious in Kunming City, the high temperature area increased from 604 km2 in 2000 to 1269 km2 in 2020, and the sub-high temperature area reached 1099 km2 in 2020; (2) In terms of space, the spatial distribution of LST was significantly different with the change of underlying surface. The high temperature zone extended in three directions: south, north and east. The overall spatial distribution pattern of LST was high in the east and low in the west. (3) The inter-annual fluctuation of land surface temperature (LST) was large, and the growth rate was faster, from 2000 to 2010. The lowest temperature in 2000 was 13.45 ℃, which raised to 19.71 ℃ in 2010, and the temperature difference in 10 years was 6.26 ℃. (4) The land use/land cover type has a strong effect on the change of LST: the man-made land made a great contribution to the increase of LST, followed by grassland and farmland, while forest and water have a significant cooling effect on LST. To sum up, the variation of surface temperature in Kunming is the result of the interactions of human activities and climate change.

Keywords: Surface temperature, urban heat island effect, land use cover type, spatiotemporal variation.

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Authors: Fabrice Poirion, Benedicte Puig

Abstract:

Mathematical justifications are given for a simulation technique of multivariate nonGaussian random processes and fields based on Rosenblatt-s transformation of Gaussian processes. Different types of convergences are given for the approaching sequence. Moreover an original numerical method is proposed in order to solve the functional equation yielding the underlying Gaussian process autocorrelation function.

Keywords: Simulation, nonGaussian, random field, multivariate, stochastic process.

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Authors: Lobat Taghavi, Najaf Hedayat

Abstract:

Renewable water resources are crucial production variables in arid and semi-arid regions where intensive agriculture is practiced to meet ever-increasing demand for food and fiber. This is crucial for the Dez and Moghan command areas where water delivery problems and adverse environmental issues are widespread. This paper aims to identify major problems areas using on-farm surveys of 200 farmers, agricultural extensionists and water suppliers which was complemented by secondary data and field observations during 2010- 2011 cultivating season. The SPSS package was used to analyze and synthesis data. Results indicated inappropriate canal operations in both schemes, though there was no unanimity about the underlying causes. Inequitable and inflexible distribution was found to be rooted in deficient hydraulic structures particularly in the main and secondary canals. The inadequacy and inflexibility of water scheduling regime was the underlying causes of recurring pest and disease spread which often led to the decline of crop yield and quality, although these were not disputed, the water suppliers were not prepared to link with the deficiencies in the operation of the main and secondary canals. They rather attributed these to the prevailing salinity; alkalinity, water table fluctuations and leaching of the valuable agro-chemical inputs from the plants- route zone with farreaching consequences. Examples of these include the pollution of ground and surface resources due to over-irrigation at the farm level which falls under the growers- own responsibility. Poor irrigation efficiency and adverse environmental problems were attributed to deficient and outdated farming practices that were in turn rooted in poor extension programs and irrational water charges.

Keywords: water delivery, inequity, inflexibility, conflicts, environmental impact, Dez and Moghan

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Authors: Debal Saha, NirmalBaranHui

Abstract:

The present paper discusses the basic concepts and the underlying principles of Multi-Agent Systems (MAS) along with an interdisciplinary exploitation of these principles. It has been found that they have been utilized for lots of research and studies on various systems spanning across diverse engineering and scientific realms showing the need of development of a proper generalized framework. Such framework has been developed for the Multi-Agent Systems and it has been generalized keeping in mind the diverse areas where they find application. All the related aspects have been categorized and a general definition has been given where ever possible.

Keywords: Generalized framework, multiagent systems.

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Authors: Feryal Aslani, Mohammad Mousakhani, Alireza Aslani

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One of the most important areas of knowledge management studies is knowledge sharing. Measured in terms of number of scientific articles and organization-s applications, knowledge sharing stands as an example of success in the field. This paper reviews the related papers in the context of the underlying individual behavioral variables to providea direction framework for future research and writing.

Keywords: future research, individual variables, knowledge sharing, organizational behavior

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Authors: Yi-Fan Lin, Peter P. Howley, Frank A. Tuyl

Abstract:

Quality measurement and reporting systems are used in healthcare internationally. In Australia, the Australian Council on Healthcare Standards records and reports hundreds of clinical indicators (CIs) nationally across the healthcare system. These CIs are measures of performance in the clinical setting, and are used as a screening tool to help assess whether a standard of care is being met. Existing analysis and reporting of these CIs incorporate Bayesian methods to address sampling variation; however, such assessments are retrospective in nature, reporting upon the previous six or twelve months of data. The use of Bayesian methods within statistical process control for monitoring systems is an important pursuit to support more timely decision-making. Our research has developed and assessed a new graphical monitoring tool, similar to a control chart, based on the beta-binomial posterior predictive (BBPP) distribution to facilitate the real-time assessment of health care organizational performance via CIs. The BBPP charts have been compared with the traditional Bernoulli CUSUM (BC) chart by simulation. The more traditional “central” and “highest posterior density” (HPD) interval approaches were each considered to define the limits, and the multiple charts were compared via in-control and out-of-control average run lengths (ARLs), assuming that the parameter representing the underlying CI rate (proportion of cases with an event of interest) required estimation. Preliminary results have identified that the BBPP chart with HPD-based control limits provides better out-of-control run length performance than the central interval-based and BC charts. Further, the BC chart’s performance may be improved by using Bayesian parameter estimation of the underlying CI rate.

Keywords: Average run length, Bernoulli CUSUM chart, beta binomial posterior predictive distribution, clinical indicator, health care organization, highest posterior density interval.

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