Abdelkebir Sahid, Yassine Maleh and Mustapha Belaissaoui
Chandan Sharma and Rajat Setia
– This paper aims to examine the relationship between Indian rupee-US dollar exchange rate and the macroeconomic fundamentals for the post-economic reform period.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine the relationship between Indian rupee-US dollar exchange rate and the macroeconomic fundamentals for the post-economic reform period.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors have used an empirical model which includes a range of important macroeconomic variables based on the basic monetary theories of exchange rate determination. At the first stage of the analysis, they have tested structural break in the data. Subsequently, they have employed the fully modified ordinary least square, Wald’s coefficient restriction and impulse response functions (IRF) to estimate the monetary model in the long- and short-run horizons.
Findings
Results of analyses indicate that the macroeconomic fundamentals determine exchange rate in a significant way, but their effect varies sizably across the periods. The IRF illustrate the importance of interest rate in controlling exchange rate volatility.
Practical implications
The analysis of the behavior of inter-relationship among macroeconomic variables will help policymakers in a deep-rooted understanding of this complex and time-varying relationship.
Originality/value
Most of the existing studies have tested the impact of a single or a few macroeconomic fundamentals on exchange rate. But in the present study, we have tested the impact of a range of important variables, i.e. money supply, real income or output, price level and trade balance. Further, considering the importance of structural breaks in data, they authors have employed standard tests of structural break and incorporated the issue in the cointegration analysis.
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The historical study aims to trace moves towards professionalising university teaching in the era of post‐war expansion in higher education using the University of Auckland, New…
Abstract
Purpose
The historical study aims to trace moves towards professionalising university teaching in the era of post‐war expansion in higher education using the University of Auckland, New Zealand, as the specific case study.
Design/methodology/approach
The historical analysis draws from published papers and original documents chronicling the state of teaching abilities in New Zealand in the late 1950s and 1960s and also draws from the University of Auckland's own archives.
Findings
University teaching by the early 1970s was no longer a private matter. Facing greater accountability from the New Zealand government and university students over the quality of teaching, New Zealand universities responded by creating professional development units to enhance the teaching capabilities of their academic staff.
Originality/value
This case study adds to the emerging histories of higher education academic and staff development units in Australasia and the United Kingdom. It demonstrates the growing realisation amongst academics, students and policy makers in the 1960s that lecturers could not be entirely left to their own devices given the potential harm poor teaching could have on student performance.
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AN important factor in the design of a modern high speed aircraft is the time taken to carry out an analysis of the wing structure. The modern tendency is to design wings which…
Abstract
AN important factor in the design of a modern high speed aircraft is the time taken to carry out an analysis of the wing structure. The modern tendency is to design wings which contain a large number of spars and ribs, thus giving rise to structural problems of high order redundancy.
This paper aims to propose a parallel automated assembly line system to produce multiple products in a semi-continuous system.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to propose a parallel automated assembly line system to produce multiple products in a semi-continuous system.
Design/methodology/approach
The control system developed in this research consists of a manufacturing system for two-level hierarchical dynamic decisions of autonomous/automated/automatic-guided vehicles (AGVs) dispatching/next station selection and machining schedules and a station control scheme for operational control of machines and components. In this proposed problem, the assignment of multiple AGVs to different assembly lines and the semi-continuous stations is a critical objective. AGVs and station scheduling decisions are made at the assembly line level. On the other hand, component and machining resource scheduling are made at the station level.
Findings
The proposed scheduler first decomposes the dynamic scheduling problems into a static AGV and machine assignment during each short-term rolling window. It optimizes weighted completion time of tasks for each short-term window by formulating the task and resource assignment problem as a minimum cost flow problem during each short-term scheduling window. A comprehensive decision making process and heuristics are developed for efficient implementation. A simulation study is worked out for validation.
Originality/value
Several assembly lines are configured to produce multiple products in which the technologies of machines are shared among the assembly lines when required. The sequence of stations is pre-specified in each assembly line and the components of a product are kept in machine magazine. The transportation between the stations in an assembly line (intra assembly line) and among stations in different assembly lines (inter assembly line) are performed using AGVs.
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Hybrid flow shop with multiprocessor task (HFSMT) has received considerable attention in recent years. The purpose of this paper is to consider an HFSMT scheduling under the…
Abstract
Purpose
Hybrid flow shop with multiprocessor task (HFSMT) has received considerable attention in recent years. The purpose of this paper is to consider an HFSMT scheduling under the environment of a common time window. The window size and location are considered to be given parameters. The research deals with the criterion of total penalty cost minimization incurred by earliness and tardiness of jobs. In this research, a new memetic algorithm in which a global search algorithm is accompanied with the local search mechanism is developed to solve the HFSMT with jobs having a common time window. The operating parameters of memetic algorithm have an important role on the quality of solution. In this paper, a full factorial experimental design is used to determining the best parameters of memetic algorithm for each problem type. Memetic algorithm is tested using HFSMT problems.
Design/methodology/approach
First, hybrid flow shop scheduling system and hybrid flow shop scheduling with multiprocessor task are defined. The applications of the hybrid flow shop system are explained. Also the background of hybrid flow shop with multiprocessor is given in the introduction. The features of the proposed memetic algorithm are described in Section 2. The experiment results are presented in Section 3.
Findings
Computational experiments show that the proposed new memetic algorithm is an effective and efficient approach for solving the HFSMT under the environment of a common time window.
Originality/value
There is only one study about HFSMT scheduling with time window. This is the first study which added the windows to the jobs in HFSMT problems.
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Since conducting agile strategies provides sustainable passenger satisfaction and revenue by replacing applied policies with more profitable ones rapidly, the focus of this study…
Abstract
Purpose
Since conducting agile strategies provides sustainable passenger satisfaction and revenue by replacing applied policies with more profitable ones rapidly, the focus of this study is to evaluate agile attributes for managing low-cost carriers (LCCs) operations by means of resources and competences based on dynamic capabilities built on resource-based view (RBV) theory and to achieve sustainable competitive advantage in a volatile and dynamic air transport environment. LCCs in Turkey are also evaluated in this study since the competition among LCCs is high to gain market share and they can adapt quickly to all kinds of circumstances.
Design/methodology/approach
Two well-known Multi-Criteria Decision-Making Methods (MCDM) named as the Stepwise Weight Assessment Ratio Analysis (SWARA) and multi-attributive border approximation area comparison (MABAC) methods by employing Picture fuzzy sets (PiFS) are employed to determine weight of agile attributes and superiority of LCCs based on agile attributes in the market, respectively. To check the consistency and robustness of the results for the proposed approach, comparative and sensitivity analysis are performed at the end of the study.
Findings
While the ranking orders of agile attributes are Strategic Responsiveness (AG1), Financial Management (AG4), Quality (AG2), Digital integration (AG3) and Reliability (AG5), respectively, LCC2 is selected as the best agile airline company in Turkey with respect to agile attributes. SWARA and MABAC method based on PiFS is appropriate and effective method to evaluate agile attributes that has important reference value for the airline companies in aviation industry.
Practical implications
The findings of this study will support managers in the airline industry to conduct airline operations more flexibly and effectively to take sustainable competitive advantage in unexpected and dynamic environment.
Originality/value
To the author' best knowledge, this study is the first developed to identify the attributes necessary to increase agility in LCCs. Thus, as a systematic tool, a framework is developed for the implementation of agile attributes to achieve sustainable competitive advantage in the airline industry and presented a roadmap for airline managers to deal with crises and challenging situations by satisfying customer and increasing competitiveness.
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Acácia Gonçalves Ferreira Leal, Rodrigo Luiz Vancini, Paulo Gentil, Ana Amélia Benedito-Silva, Antonio Carlos da Silva, Mário Hebling Campos, Marilia Santos Andrade and Claudio Andre Barbosa de Lira
The purpose of this paper was to assess the knowledge on sport and exercise science held by a sample of Brazilian physiotherapists, nutritionists and physical educators.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper was to assess the knowledge on sport and exercise science held by a sample of Brazilian physiotherapists, nutritionists and physical educators.
Design/methodology/approach
A cross-sectional research design was used. The answers given by 1,147 professionals (300 physiotherapists, 705 physical educators and 142 nutritionists) who participated in a qualifying process for a specialization course on exercise physiology were analyzed. Questions were analyzed on maximal oxygen uptake (four questions), physical fitness assessment (three questions), physical training (two questions), bioenergetics (one question) and exercise in extreme environments (one question).
Findings
The results revealed misconceptions held by Brazilian health professionals on a number of concepts related to sport and exercise science, such as maximal oxygen uptake.
Practical implications
These results reinforce the need for continuing education programs to maximize the quality of the service provided by sport and exercise science professionals in Brazil. Improvements in the undergraduate courses curriculum are also recommended.
Originality/value
This is the first study to assess misconceptions about sport and exercise science among Brazilian health professionals.
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Satish Kumar Reddy and Prabir K. Pal
– The purpose of this paper is to detect traversable regions surrounding a mobile robot by computing terrain unevenness using the range data obtained from a single 3D scan.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to detect traversable regions surrounding a mobile robot by computing terrain unevenness using the range data obtained from a single 3D scan.
Design/methodology/approach
The geometry of acquiring range data from a 3D scan is exploited to probe the terrain and extract traversable regions. Nature of terrain under each scan point is quantified in terms of an unevenness value, which is computed from the difference in range of scan point with respect to its neighbours. Both radial and transverse unevenness values are computed and compared with threshold values at every point to determine if the point belongs to a traversable region or an obstacle. A region growing algorithm spreads like a wavefront to join all traversable points into a traversable region.
Findings
This simple method clearly distinguishes ground and obstacle points. The method works well even in presence of terrain slopes or when the robot experiences pitch and roll.
Research limitations/implications
The method applies on single 3D scans and not on aggregated point cloud in general.
Practical implications
The method has been tested on a mobile robot in outdoor environment in our research centre.
Social implications
This method, along with advanced navigation schemes, can reduce human intervention in many mobile robot applications including unmanned ground vehicles.
Originality/value
Range difference between scan points has been used earlier for obstacle detection, but no methodology has been developed around this concept. The authors propose a concrete method based on computation of radial and transverse unevenness at every point and detecting obstacle edges using range-dependent threshold values.
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Mercy M. Ojoyi and Jean-Marc Mwenge Kahinda
The purpose of this paper is to investigate climate change perceptions and adaptation strategies in the communities of Morogoro region of Tanzania. Climate change is a vital issue…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate climate change perceptions and adaptation strategies in the communities of Morogoro region of Tanzania. Climate change is a vital issue of global concern.
Design/methodology/approach
Rain fall data trends collected from different meteorological stations in the region were useful in assessment of climate variability and change trends from the historical perspective. In addition, quantitative interviews, surveys and focussed discussion groups were used to collect data capturing past and present trends in the catchment, and reasons provided by 199 respondents from a total of six villages. The data were collected with the aid of trained research assistants and trained graduates selected from each of the randomly select villages.
Findings
Significant differences in rainfall intensities have been recorded by use of feedback results from analysis of variance tests conducted. Major indicators of climate variability and change include: increased dry spells (39.7 per cent), drying of rivers (34.7 per cent), a reduction in water flows (14.6 per cent) and poor economy of the area (11.1 per cent).
Research limitations/implications
The scope of the study does not cover certain aspects such as the spatial and temporal changes in daily temperature which could have provided important and additional dimension. This study also did not take into consideration institutional arrangements required to successfully implement national adaptation programmes to climate change. Finally, it is important to remember that peoples’ perceptions determine the social mental picture of climate change.
Practical implications
The study suggests the need for leverage on resource use through education and good governance strategies to be employed by resource planners, leaders and policy makers.
Social implications
This study links scientific and participatory data as an approach for incorporating modern technologies and local knowledge into the design of useful practices and strategies as well as their successful implementation. Opinions from communities supported the urgent need for effective use and management of resources while laying emphasis on advancement of both indigenous and imported technologies.
Originality/value
An understanding of how the community views climate change is crucial in design of practices aimed at improving their well-being. In this regard, a study investigating smallholder farmers’ views regarding major drivers of change, assessing main factors leading to changes in climate experienced and identifying potential coping strategies against climate change, was conducted in East Africa, Tanzania between 2009 and 2010. This paper identifies potential resilient practices intended to minimize destruction and maximize opportunities likely to benefit Morogoro region.