The Department of Health's reaction to the Audit Commission's report on charging for home‐care services is considered in the light of its longstanding failure to help local…
Abstract
The Department of Health's reaction to the Audit Commission's report on charging for home‐care services is considered in the light of its longstanding failure to help local authorities in a clear and unequivocal way to deal with one of the most difficult policy issues in community care.
This paper documents and accounts for the globalization of the so-called national bourgeoisie in the late twentieth century. A substantial and growing body of sociological…
Abstract
This paper documents and accounts for the globalization of the so-called national bourgeoisie in the late twentieth century. A substantial and growing body of sociological literature holds that firms and investors from the developing world have been denationalized, neutered, or destroyed by their efforts to penetrate international markets – and that cross-national economic competition is therefore giving way to transnational class conflict over time. By way of contrast, I hold that not only peripheral capitalists but their elected and appointed representatives are compelled to undertake large-scale, fixed investments, exploit their competitive advantages, and challenge foreign firms – and their respective representatives – on their own soil by the very logic of capitalist competition, and that the aforementioned challenges will occur on political as well as economic terrain.
Li Li Eng, Bih-Ru Lea and Ran Cai
This chapter provides guidance on the types of questions appropriate for use with clickers in an introductory financial accounting course. This study further examines whether the…
Abstract
This chapter provides guidance on the types of questions appropriate for use with clickers in an introductory financial accounting course. This study further examines whether the use of clickers improved learning outcomes as measured by the students’ test scores. Our findings show that students had a positive experience with using clickers. We find that test scores were higher in the semester when we used clickers compared with the semester when we did not use clickers. Clicker scores also were positively associated with students’ test scores. Clickers may serve as a useful educational tool to assess assurance of learning of introductory financial accounting. The instructor receives immediate feedback regarding students’ understanding of the materials, and the students also receive feedback about whether their understanding is correct. Both the instructor and students can then work on reviewing materials that the class does not understand well.
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Condition‐based maintenance (CBM) has increasingly drawn attention in industry because of its many benefits. The CBM problem is a kind of state‐dependent scheduling problem, and…
Abstract
Purpose
Condition‐based maintenance (CBM) has increasingly drawn attention in industry because of its many benefits. The CBM problem is a kind of state‐dependent scheduling problem, and is very hard to solve within the conventional Markov decision process framework. The purpose of this paper is to present an intelligent CBM scheduling model for which incremental decision tree learning as an evolutionary system identification model and dynamic programming as a control model are developed.
Design/methodology/approach
To fully exploit the merits of CBM, this paper models CBM scheduling as a state‐dependent, sequential decision‐making problem. The objective function is formulated as the minimization of the total maintenance cost. Instead of interpreting the problem within the widely used Markovian framework, this paper proposes an intelligent maintenance scheduling approach that integrates an incremental decision tree learning method and deterministic dynamic programming techniques.
Findings
Although the intelligent maintenance scheduling approach proposed in this paper does not guarantee an optimal scheduling policy from a mathematical viewpoint, it is verified through a simulation‐based experiment that the intelligent maintenance scheduler is capable of providing a good scheduling policy that can be used in practice.
Originality/value
This paper presents an intelligent maintenance scheduler. As a system identification model, we devise a new incremental decision tree learning method by which interaction patterns among attributes and machine condition are disclosed in an evolutionary manner. A deterministic dynamic programming technique is then applied to select the best safe state in terms of the total maintenance cost.
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Ammar Ahmed, Berman Kayis and Sataporn Amornsawadwatana
This paper aims to provide a review of techniques that support risk management in product development projects using the concurrent engineering (CE) philosophy.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to provide a review of techniques that support risk management in product development projects using the concurrent engineering (CE) philosophy.
Design/methodology/approach
The Australia/New Zealand risk management standard AS/NZS 4360:1999 proposes a generic framework for risk management. This standard was adapted for product development projects in the CE environment. In this paper, existing techniques were reviewed for their applicability to processes in risk management; namely, techniques for establishing context, risk identification, risk assessment and treatment.
Findings
Risk management is an activity within project management that is gaining importance due to current business environment with a global focus and competition. The techniques reviewed in this paper are used on an ad hoc basis currently. A more risk focused approach is likely to result in an integration of several of these techniques, resulting in an increased effectiveness of project management.
Practical implications
The techniques reviewed in this paper can be used for the development of risk management tools for engineering and product development projects.
Originality/value
This paper provides a gist of techniques categorized in the form that they are applicable for implementation of risk management functions in product development projects using CE philosophy.
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Patrick Kreiser and Louis Marino
The concept of environmental uncertainty is recognized as a fundamental element of the strategic management and organizational theory literature. Unfortunately, the development of…
Abstract
The concept of environmental uncertainty is recognized as a fundamental element of the strategic management and organizational theory literature. Unfortunately, the development of inconsistent conceptualizations and operationalizations of uncertainty have muddled the true meanings of the construct. In an effort to reverse this disturbing trend, this paper systematically analyzes the historical development of the uncertainty construct. Seminal management literature is used to trace the construct’s evolution over the last 60 years and to speak to the original meanings of its key elements. The rise of the information uncertainty and resource dependence schools is explored, as is the evolution of the construct’s operationalization from simple to complex measures. Insights provided by this analysis form the basis of a categorization scheme for conceptualizations and operationalizations of uncertainty. This categorization and the discussion that accompanies it are intended to provide future researchers with greater precision and consistency in the use of the environmental uncertainty construct.
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This study first replicates, then perturbs, the centipede game as implemented by McKelvey and Palfrey (1992). It is thus both a replication study and an original research study…
Abstract
This study first replicates, then perturbs, the centipede game as implemented by McKelvey and Palfrey (1992). It is thus both a replication study and an original research study. We use controlled laboratory experiments, with computer interfaces for each treatment, anonymous round-robin matching among the subjects across rounds, multiple (10) rounds within each treatment, and incremental changes between adjacent treatments allowing for an assessment of effects at the margin of different game configurations. We find unraveling to the subgame perfect equilibrium somewhat faster than did McKelvey and Palfrey (1992), when using their exact design. Perturbations to that design show that setting non-taker payoffs to zero induces earlier unraveling, as does the use of higher stakes (as in Murphy, Rapoport, and Parco (2006), and Rapoport, Stein, Parco, and Nicholas (2003), respectively). Other, subsequent perturbations show: that there is at most a subtle effect associated with using a 10-second timer with a default move, relative to untimed active moves; and that clock format versus tree format has a minimal effect in common information, unchanging payoff-parameterization environments. We verify the robustness of some key past findings in real-time games. We also explore in a common information environment, the effect of design features previously used in independent private values settings; here we find new evidence that features which might modulate information acquisition and/or processing in an independent private values setting may not restrict behavior in a common information setting.
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James M. Wilson and Alvise Favotto
The Arsenale was the largest medieval industrial enterprise, famous for its assembly line. Management faced extreme variations between peace-time and war-time demands. Satisfying…
Abstract
Purpose
The Arsenale was the largest medieval industrial enterprise, famous for its assembly line. Management faced extreme variations between peace-time and war-time demands. Satisfying these unpredictable and sudden demands for a large, complex product with a multiple years–long production cycle was challenging. The purpose of this study is to analyze the Arsenale’s operations and supply chain arrangements, and to identify and assess their management policies. We also track its development and investigate its influence on other countries.
Design/methodology/approach
The research methodology used is archival research with content analysis of text and graphic representations of production processes.
Findings
These reveal that Venice’s supply chain management evolved from simply exploiting woodlands as needs arose, to a managed forest with planned planting, cultivation and harvesting, ending with the active modification of growing trees so their natural growth was artificially shaped to satisfy production requirements. Instead of fabricating components in their factory, the Venetians formed them by shaping the trees while they were still growing. These arboriculture techniques then provided a planned and regular supply of high-quality components that purely natural processes provided only randomly.
Research limitations/implications
There may be undiscovered archival documents despite the authors’ best efforts. The development of this historic supply chain reflects modern managerial concerns.
Practical implications
Modern restorations of historic ships and buildings use some of the fabrication methods identified, although the more intensive techniques would require higher volume production.
Social implications
This reveals historical forestry practices emphasised long-term needs and sustainable use.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is a unique long-term investigation of an integrated production system and considers its influence on Iberian, French, British and American forestry and ship building. The close integration of production requirements with forestry practices was a novel finding.
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Cameron McCordic, Ines Raimundo, Matthew Judyn and Duncan Willis
Climate hazards in the form of cyclones are projected to become more intense under the pressures of future climate change. These changes represent a growing hazard to low lying…
Abstract
Purpose
Climate hazards in the form of cyclones are projected to become more intense under the pressures of future climate change. These changes represent a growing hazard to low lying coastal cities like Beira, Mozambique. In 2019, Beira experienced the devastating impact of Cyclone Idai. One of the many impacts resulting from this Cyclone was disrupted drinking water access. This investigation explores the distribution of Cyclone Idai’s impact on drinking water access via an environmental justice lens, exploring how preexisting water access characteristics may have predisposed households to the impacts of Cyclone Idai in Beria.
Design/methodology/approach
Relying on household survey data collected in Beira, the investigation applied a decision tree algorithm to investigate how drinking water disruption was distributed across the household survey sample using these preexisting vulnerabilities.
Findings
The investigation found that households that mainly relied upon piped water sources and experienced inconsistent access to water in the year prior to Cyclone Idai were more likely to experience disrupted drinking water access immediately after Cyclone Idai. The results indicate that residents in formal areas of Beira, largely reliant upon piped water supply, experienced higher rates of disrupted drinking water access following Cyclone Idai.
Originality/value
These findings question a commonly held assumption that informal areas are more vulnerable to climate hazards, like cyclones, than formal areas of a city. The findings support the inclusion of informal settlements in the design of climate change adaptation strategies.
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Lucy Cradduck and Clive M.J. Warren
The purpose of this paper is to add to the academic discourse by developing a methodology by which a block of land’s goodwill, or lack of goodwill, can be factored into its…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to add to the academic discourse by developing a methodology by which a block of land’s goodwill, or lack of goodwill, can be factored into its valuation.
Design/methodology/approach
The research was undertaken utilising a mixed-methods approach, which involved doctrinal research, together with qualitative and quantitative analysis of the impact of neighbourhood disputes on real property value. The disputes engaged with for exemplar purposes were those of tree disputes resolved by QCAT order.
Findings
A dispute can adversely affect a property’s goodwill, which can impact both its saleability and value.
Research limitations/implications
Due to the sensitive nature of the valuation process and the potential negative impact that any identification of a property may have on its value, it was not appropriate to identify any properties specifically or the area in which these are located. Further, as regards the available details of disputes, the authors were only able to engage with disputes for which an order existed.
Practical implications
The methodology developed can be applied to other real property interests, for example, lots in freehold retirement village complexes or those within other strata title schemes of either residential or commercial use.
Social implications
As the number of neighbourhood disputes throughout Australia grows, addressing the impact that a dispute has for property value is a concern relevant to all valuers and owners.
Originality/value
The authors add to the academic discourse by developing a methodology by which a property’s goodwill, or lack of goodwill, can be factored into its valuation.