Nicole Adler, Alfred Shalom Hakkert, Jonathan Kornbluth and Mali Sher
The purpose of this paper is to study the traffic‐police enforcement process and develop models to improve enforcement effectiveness given substantial budgetary and resource…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to study the traffic‐police enforcement process and develop models to improve enforcement effectiveness given substantial budgetary and resource constraints.
Design/methodology/approach
The formulation crosses the concepts of lean manufacturing and linear programming. Traffic police officers, automated machines and the back‐office are modeled in a similar manner to that of a manufacturing plant, working together to achieve ticket production as a function of quantity and quality, based on a preferential ranking of offence types.
Findings
Using data from the Israeli traffic police over a six‐year period, the case study shows that given available resources, it is possible to retain ticket quantity whilst significantly improving ticket quality as defined in the road safety literature. The case study shows a 24 per cent increase in quality ticket processing whilst taking into account the court summons constraint and maintaining throughput levels. This draws from changes in the method of ticket‐production, production of warnings rather than tickets in certain cases and the application of new technologies.
Research limitations/implications
The results are limited by the current lack of data and require a cost‐benefit analysis in order to further develop certain parameters.
Practical implications
The application of the approach improves the holistic planning of traffic enforcement activities as well as providing specific details, such as the number and distribution of ticket production.
Originality/value
This research merges three disciplines; operations research, road safety and operations management, generating a methodology for the planning and control of traffic police ticket issuance, which has not been analyzed in the literature to date.
Details
Keywords
The purpose of this paper is to identify important dimensions which are essential to remain competitive. To generate scores which will be as effective as the original outputs to…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify important dimensions which are essential to remain competitive. To generate scores which will be as effective as the original outputs to determine the radial efficiency scores etc.
Design/methodology/approach
A non-central principal component analysis (PCA) were used to determine various dimensions for each output. The objective was set to identify those special schools which could minimize certain pre-prescribed scores.
Findings
Few schools were trying to concentrate on the students from the rich society and spending less per student. There were other schools which targeted to minimize the social loss by providing education to the poorer section and were funding more for them.
Research limitations/implications
Small group was considered. However, the number can be extended.
Practical implications
The valuable findings of Hillman and Jenkner (2002), stated that – “Children are entitled to a free, quality basic education. Many children who do attend school receive an inadequate education because of poorly trained, underpaid teachers, overcrowded classrooms, and a lack of basic teaching tools such as textbooks, blackboards, and pens and paper […].” “In an ideal world, primary education would be universal and publicly financed, and all children would be able to attend school regardless of their parents’ ability or willingness to pay. The reason is simple: when any child fails to acquire the basic skills needed to function as a productive, responsible member of society, […] The cost of educating children is far outweighed by the cost of not educating them. Adults who lack basic skills have greater difficulty in finding well-paying jobs and escaping poverty […].” In order to understand which fact has been stressed more the proposed model is very useful.
Social implications
It is capable of describing the current standpoint of a group of homogenous schools or firms. Quality and cost cutting principals can be isolated quite easily.
Originality/value
Introduces concepts of non-central PCA. Provides alternative scores which are as important as the original output. Detects and analyze various important dimensions.
Details
Keywords
Identification of the best school among other competitors is done using a new technique called most productive scale size based data envelopment analysis (DEA). The paper aims to…
Abstract
Purpose
Identification of the best school among other competitors is done using a new technique called most productive scale size based data envelopment analysis (DEA). The paper aims to discuss this issue.
Design/methodology/approach
A non-central principal component analysis is used here to create a new plane according to the constant return to scale. This plane contains only ultimate performers.
Findings
The new method has a complete discord with the results of CCR DEA. However, after incorporating the ultimate performers in the original data set this difference was eliminated.
Practical implications
The proposed frontier provides a way to identify those DMUs which follow cost strategy proposed by Porter.
Originality/value
A case study of six schools is incorporated here to identify the superior school and also to visualize gaps in their performances.
Details
Keywords
A cost-oriented data envelopment analysis (DEA) is a non-parametric tool for discriminating the best performers from a number of homogenous decision-making units (DMU) using…
Abstract
Purpose
A cost-oriented data envelopment analysis (DEA) is a non-parametric tool for discriminating the best performers from a number of homogenous decision-making units (DMU) using allocative efficiency, technical efficiency and a cost-based efficiency score. Cost of each resource has been an important input in such cases. However, the purpose of this paper is to propose a method, which, in absence of it, helps to define the targeted output for all DMUs. Eigenvector derived from the first principal component of specific covariance matrix from each allocated outputs is used here for computing such targets. An orthogonal projection of resources to such radial directions is another indicator of a relative economic use of resources. Unlike regular cost-oriented DEA model, the current model proposes a multiplier model of BCC DEA. With the provision of the targeted output set for a DMU, the modified multiplier model measures the orientation of a DMU towards cost. A case study of six schools is incorporated here to identify the superior cost efficient school.
Design/methodology/approach
The problem referred here is concerned about six private pre-primary schools situated in a locality. The financial condition of the population is heterogeneous. The school management has the option to select the group of students according to the richness of the family. Thus, an average richness is taken into account here for each school to understand the motive of providing service to the targeted section of the society. Cost borne by each school per student per month is incorporated here to notice the intention of the school to offer education. The selection of input variables is inspired from the valuable findings of Hillman and Jenkner (2002). According to them in many developing countries, the governments lack either the financial resources or the political will to meet their citizens’ educational needs. Moreover, “Children are entitled to a free, quality basic education. Many children who do attend school receive an inadequate education because of poorly trained, underpaid teachers, overcrowded classrooms, and a lack of basic teaching tools such as textbooks, blackboards, and pens and paper […].” The inclusion of the first input is due to the measurement of willingness of a primary school to impart education. Commenting on the ill-effects, they mentioned “In an ideal world, primary education would be universal and publicly financed, and all children would be able to attend school regardless of their parents’ ability or willingness to pay. The reason is simple: when any child fails to acquire the basic skills needed to function as a productive, responsible member of society, […]. The cost of educating children is far outweighed by the cost of not educating them. Adults who lack basic skills have greater difficulty in finding well-paying jobs and escaping poverty […].” Thus, the second input plays a key role to measure the intention of a primary school to stand them in a good stead serve for the sake of ensuring social benefit. In this regard, two scores refer the outcome of the endeavor of whole system to create better students and to help society to progress.
Findings
The cost-oriented multiplier BCC DEA model is presented here to cite a proof of an existence of an ideal cost frontier originating from an MPSS-based DEA (referred in Sarkar, 2014a). The former model has mentioned that it is not necessary for a CCR efficient DMU to remain cost competent. However, the major drawback of that model was its inability to show the impact of return to scale. In the present model, this problem has been tackled nicely. School A, in this example, under the variable return to scale, can become a cost efficient school. However, the proposed model, in this paper, under constant return to scale, has accepted the ranking, which was proposed before.
Research limitations/implications
Only six schools, situated around Northwest Durgapur, were observed.
Practical implications
The prescribed model iterates how a smaller number of intermediate inputs can be used in DEA to identify benchmark. These variables, which emblem the control through lean approaches, can be representative of a large number of other actual inputs which have already been mentioned by many erstwhile researchers.
Social implications
The selection of input variables is inspired from the valuable findings of Hillman and Jenkner (2002). According to them in many developing countries, the governments’ lack either the financial resources or the political will to meet their citizens’ educational needs. Moreover, “Children are entitled to a free, quality basic education. Many children who do attend school receive an inadequate education because of poorly trained, underpaid teachers, overcrowded classrooms, and a lack of basic teaching tools such as textbooks, blackboards, and pens and paper […].” The inclusion of the first input is due to the measurement of willingness of a primary school to impart education. Commenting on the ill-effects, they mentioned “In an ideal world, primary education would be universal and publicly financed, and all children would be able to attend school regardless of their parents’ ability or willingness to pay. The reason is simple: when any child fails to acquire the basic skills needed to function as a productive, responsible member of society, […]. The cost of educating children is far outweighed by the cost of not educating them. Adults who lack basic skills have greater difficulty in finding well-paying jobs and escaping poverty […].” Thus, the second input plays a key role to measure the intention of a primary school to stand them in a good stead serve for the sake of ensuring social benefit. In this regard, two scores refer the outcome of the endeavor of whole system to create better students and to help society to progress.
Originality/value
The application of the directional distance model (prescribed by Chambers et al., 1998) in the present problem is because the target for each DMU is settled using the non-central PCA. Such a radial direction not only explains a comprehensive variation of the corresponding specific covariance matrix but also provides a cost function, which is orthogonal to it. The targeted output for any DMU is predicted by minimizing the cost function bearing with the respective utilization of resources. The current model allows deriving the radial efficiency score in reference to such targeted goals. The outcome of this model is validated with the outputs of an MPSS-based constant return on scale frontier function described in Sarkar (2014a). Both models show a substantial association in this regard.
Details
Keywords
Rachael L. Lewis, David A. Brown and Nicole C. Sutton
The purpose of this paper is to reframe the debate about the tension between management control and employee empowerment by drawing on a theory of paradox. Reframing the problem…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to reframe the debate about the tension between management control and employee empowerment by drawing on a theory of paradox. Reframing the problem in this way draws attention to the variety of ways in which organisations can attend to both control and empowerment simultaneously.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors undertake a conceptual examination of the relationship between empowerment and control using a paradox theory lens. First, the authors bring together two dimensions of empowerment – structural empowerment and psychological empowerment – and combine them to produce three new empowerment “scenarios”: illusory empowerment, obstructed empowerment and authentic empowerment. For each of these three scenarios, the central tenets of paradox theory are applied in order to explain the nature of the paradoxical tension, anticipated behavioural responses and the resulting challenges for ongoing management control.
Findings
The authors find that neither structural nor psychological empowerment alone can account for variation in behavioural responses to management control. The conceptual analysis highlights the interplay of socio-ideological control and systems of accountability in generating psychological empowerment and demonstrates that this does not come at a cost to management control but instead results in a reduction in the scale and scope of ongoing challenges.
Originality/value
This paper contributes a new theoretical perspective on the classic problem of tension between management control and employee empowerment. Rather than positioning control and empowerment either as a managerial choice or dialectic, the authors identify three different ways in which organisations can engage with both paradoxical elements simultaneously.
Details
Keywords
Nicole Brown and Jennifer Leigh
Due to the diversity of academics engaging with research into higher education, there is no single methodological approach or method that would embody higher education research…
Abstract
Due to the diversity of academics engaging with research into higher education, there is no single methodological approach or method that would embody higher education research. In this chapter, we put forward the case that this is a good thing and argue that higher education research can benefit from fusing existing methodological and theoretical paradigms with more creative, playful and artistic approaches, more commonly associated with sociological or anthropological research and performance-based disciplines. In order to frame this attitude of creativity, playfulness and openness, we start by providing a brief delineation of the research field and methods of higher education research. In this context we introduce the Deleuzoguattarian concept of rhizomes and assemblages to provide the grounding for what we mean by creativity and playfulness, which leads to our proposal of a renewed approach to research into higher education. We draw upon our own work on embodied academic identity and trainee teachers’ perceptions of their placement experiences in order to critically explore the benefits and potential pitfalls of incorporating this creativity and playfulness into higher education research.
Details
Keywords
Tri Lam, Jon Heales and Nicole Hartley
The continuing development of digital technologies creates expanding opportunities for information transparency. Consumers use social media to provide online reviews that are…
Abstract
Purpose
The continuing development of digital technologies creates expanding opportunities for information transparency. Consumers use social media to provide online reviews that are focused on changing levels of consumer trust. This study examines the effect of perceived risk that prompts consumers to search for online reviews in the context of food safety.
Design/methodology/approach
Commitment-trust theory forms the theoretical lens to model changes in consumer trust resulting from online reviews. Consumer-based questionnaire surveys collected data to test the structural model, using structural equation modelling (SEM).
Findings
The findings show when consumers perceive high levels of risk, they use social media to obtain additional product-related information. The objective, unanimous, evidential and noticeable online reviews are perceived as informative to consumers. Perceived informativeness of positive online reviews is found to increase consumers trust and, in turn, increase their purchase intentions.
Originality/value
The findings contribute to the knowledge of online review-based trust literature and provide far-reaching implications for information system (IS)-practitioners in business.
Details
Keywords
Nicole Muscanell and Sonja Utz
The purpose of this paper is to examine the usage and utility of ResearchGate (RG), which is a social networking site where scientists disseminate their work and build their…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the usage and utility of ResearchGate (RG), which is a social networking site where scientists disseminate their work and build their reputations. In a sample consisting largely of American and European academics, the authors analyzed the ways they use the site, what they thought about the site’s utility, and the effects of usage on career outcomes.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors employed an online survey approach to target scientists who have an active RG account. Scientists who were not users were also recruited in order to get a better idea of the reasons for their nonuse.
Findings
Most academics who have an RG account did not use it very heavily. Users did not perceive many benefits from using the site, and RG use was not related to career satisfaction or informational benefits, but was related to productivity and stress.
Research limitations/implications
Systematic research is needed to explore positive and negative consequences of using professional social media in academia, especially productivity and stress. Findings also suggest that RG needs to increase user engagement.
Originality/value
This study is one of the first to closely examine how and why people in academia use professional social media sites and whether usage leads to perceived benefits and effects on more general career outcomes.
Details
Keywords
Alison Taysum, Khalid Arar and Hauwa Imam
In this chapter, we present a critical engagement with the methodology that each research team presenting a case study in this book from England, Arab Israel, Northern Ireland…
Abstract
In this chapter, we present a critical engagement with the methodology that each research team presenting a case study in this book from England, Arab Israel, Northern Ireland, Trinidad and Tobago and the United States adopted.
Education is a cultural project that consists of history, narrative and faith. The Black, Asian Minority Ethnicity (BAME) and senior leaders representing marginalised groups that we talked to in this research all stated that their faith, and religion was central to their service as an educational leader. The faiths represented in our research are Islam, Christianity, Sikhism and no faith where a humanitarian approach is taken. The chapter presents the scientific significance of what values underpin these leaders’ behaviours, and to understand how their values align with legislation, education policy and the values found in Education Governance Systems.
A constructivist comparative analysis approach was adopted to address four research questions. First, how do the senior-level leaders describe and understand how school governance systems and school commissioners empower them to develop school communities as societal innovators for equity and renewal for peace in our time? Second, how do they describe and understand the role mentors, and/or advocates play to support their navigation through the governance systems? Third, to what extent do they believe a cultural change is required to empower them in school communities to Empower Young Societal Innovators for Equity and Renewal for peace in our time? Finally, how can the findings be theorised to generate a theory of knowledge to action through impact strategies within an international comparative analysis framework?
Each of the five international cases collected the narrative biographies of up to 15 superintendents, or chief executive officers of multi-academy trusts of colour. In the Northern Ireland case, eight religiously divided key agents of change were selected as an equivalence for the governance structures in the other five case studies. The total number of senior-level leaders participating in the five case studies was 40.
Each author read their findings through Gross’ (2014) Turbulence Theory and typology to categorise the level and the impact of the challenges the key agents of change need to navigate as they mediate between the governance systems. Gross (2014, p. 248) theory of turbulence is used as a metaphor and states that ‘turbulence can be described as “light” with little or no movement of the craft. “Moderate” with very noticeable waves. “Severe” with strong gusts that threaten control of the aircraft. “Extreme” with forces so great that control is lost and structure damage to the craft occurs’. The chapter identifies the findings were read through the theory of turbulence to reveal the state of the Education Governance Systems and their impact on empowering cosmopolitan citizens to participate fully and freely in societal interactions and cooperation between diverse groups. The authors’ chapters are subject to a comparative analysis that took place at the European Conference for Educational Research Annual Conference in two large seminars (Taysum et al., 2017) in Denmark, further developed by the editors and committed to peer-review.