[Factors influencing research activity of Andalusian nurses and improvement strategies].

Science.gov (United States)

López Alonso, Sergio R; Gálvez González, María; Amezcua, Manuel

2013-04-01

To identify factors influencing research activity of Andalusian nurses and to find improvement strategies. Qualitative research using SWOT analysis (weaknesses, threats, strengths, opportunities). Nurses were selected deliberately in eight groups according to predetermined criteria. Analysis included categorization and relationship of factors and strategies. 81 participants were included in groups of 7-12 range. 45 categories were identified with 212 factors: 12 weaknesses (50 factors), 10 strengths (44 factors), 12 threats (68 factors) and 11 opportunities (50 factors). In addition, 32 categories were identified with 53 strategies: 14 categories of W-T strategies (42 strategies), 3 categories of S-T strategies (11 strategies), 5 categories of W-O strategies (13 strategies) and 10 categories of S-O strategies (41 strategies). Nurses identified numerous factors, mainly threats. The strategies are focused on W-T but they also suggest many but weak 5-0 strategies due to the low potential of the opportunities and strengths perceived.

Selection of intellectual capital management strategies

OpenAIRE

Shcherbachenko Viktoriia Oleksiivna

2016-01-01

This article deals with the selection of intellectual capital management strategy. The attention is paid to the structure of intellectual capital, which consists of human capital, customer capital, process capital, intellectual property, intangible assets. The algorithm of selection of intellectual capital management strategy was created by author.

Influence of Support Configurations on the Characteristics of Selective Laser-Melted Inconel 718

Science.gov (United States)

Nadammal, Naresh; Kromm, Arne; Saliwan-Neumann, Romeo; Farahbod, Lena; Haberland, Christoph; Portella, Pedro Dolabella

2018-03-01

Samples fabricated using two different support configurations by following identical scan strategies during selective laser melting of superalloy Inconel 718 were characterized in this study. Characterization methods included optical microscopy, electron back-scattered diffraction and x-ray diffraction residual stress measurement. For the scan strategy considered, microstructure and residual stress development in the samples were influenced by the support structures. However, crystallographic texture intensity and the texture components formed within the core part of the samples were almost independent of the support. The formation of finer grains closer to the support as well as within the columnar grain boundaries resulted in randomization and texture intensity reduction by nearly half for the sample built on a lattice support. Heat transfer rates dictated by the support configurations in addition to the scan strategy influenced the microstructure and residual stress development in selective laser-melted Inconel 718 samples.

Selection of intellectual capital management strategies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shcherbachenko Viktoriia Oleksiivna

2016-02-01

Full Text Available This article deals with the selection of intellectual capital management strategy. The attention is paid to the structure of intellectual capital, which consists of human capital, customer capital, process capital, intellectual property, intangible assets. The algorithm of selection of intellectual capital management strategy was created by author.

Therapists' causal attributions of clients' problems and selection of intervention strategies.

Science.gov (United States)

Royce, W S; Muehlke, C V

1991-04-01

Therapists' choices of intervention strategies are influenced by many factors, including judgments about the bases of clients' problems. To assess the relationships between such causal attributions and the selection of intervention strategies, 196 counselors, psychologists, and social workers responded to the written transcript of a client's interview by answering two questionnaires, a 1982 scale (Causal Dimension Scale by Russell) which measured causal attribution of the client's problem, and another which measured preference for emotional, rational, and active intervention strategies in dealing with the client, based on the 1979 E-R-A taxonomy of Frey and Raming. A significant relationship was found between the two sets of variables, with internal attributions linked to rational intervention strategies and stable attributions linked to active strategies. The results support Halleck's 1978 hypothesis that theories of psychotherapy tie interventions to etiological considerations.

Decision method for optimal selection of warehouse material handling strategies by production companies

Science.gov (United States)

Dobos, P.; Tamás, P.; Illés, B.

2016-11-01

Adequate establishment and operation of warehouse logistics determines the companies’ competitiveness significantly because it effects greatly the quality and the selling price of the goods that the production companies produce. In order to implement and manage an adequate warehouse system, adequate warehouse position, stock management model, warehouse technology, motivated work force committed to process improvement and material handling strategy are necessary. In practical life, companies have paid small attantion to select the warehouse strategy properly. Although it has a major influence on the production in the case of material warehouse and on smooth costumer service in the case of finished goods warehouse because this can happen with a huge loss in material handling. Due to the dynamically changing production structure, frequent reorganization of warehouse activities is needed, on what the majority of the companies react basically with no reactions. This work presents a simulation test system frames for eligible warehouse material handling strategy selection and also the decision method for selection.

Use of Behavior and Influence Functions for Relay Selection in Cooperative Communications

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Craciunescu, Razvan; Mihovska, Albena Dimitrova; Prasad, Ramjee

2015-01-01

This paper uses a novel set of functions to model the relay selection process in a scenario of cooperative wireless communications. We define a utility function that reflects the behavior and influence that a selected relay may have on the quality of the link to be established for the forwarding...... of data. The utility function takes into account also the strategies of other players. To this end, we define a relay selection game and a supporting Nash Equilibrium (NE) algorithm for the choice of a relay during communication. The successful selection of a relay is evaluated by simulations in terms...

Processes in arithmetic strategy selection: A fMRI study.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Julien eTaillan

2015-02-01

Full Text Available This neuroimaging (fMRI study investigated neural correlates of strategy selection. Young adults performed an arithmetic task in two different conditions. In both conditions, participants had to provide estimates of two-digit multiplication problems like 54 x 78. In the choice condition, participants had to select the better of two available rounding strategies, rounding-up strategy (RU (i.e., doing 60x80 = 4,800 or rounding-down strategy (RD (i.e., doing 50x70=3,500 to estimate product of 54x78. In the no-choice condition, participants did not have to select strategy on each problem but were told which strategy to use; they executed RU and RD strategies each on a series of problems. Participants also had a control task (i.e., providing correct products of multiplication problems like 40x50. Brain activations and performance were analyzed as a function of these conditions. Participants were able to frequently choose the better strategy in the choice condition; they were also slower when they executed the difficult RU than the easier RD. Neuroimaging data showed greater brain activations in right anterior cingulate cortex (ACC, dorso-lateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC, and angular gyrus (ANG, when selecting (relative to executing the better strategy on each problem. Moreover, RU was associated with more parietal cortex activation than RD. These results suggest an important role of fronto-parietal network in strategy selection and have important implications for our further understanding and modelling cognitive processes underlying strategy selection.

Processes in arithmetic strategy selection: a fMRI study.

Science.gov (United States)

Taillan, Julien; Ardiale, Eléonore; Anton, Jean-Luc; Nazarian, Bruno; Félician, Olivier; Lemaire, Patrick

2015-01-01

This neuroimaging (functional magnetic resonance imaging) study investigated neural correlates of strategy selection. Young adults performed an arithmetic task in two different conditions. In both conditions, participants had to provide estimates of two-digit multiplication problems like 54 × 78. In the choice condition, participants had to select the better of two available rounding strategies, rounding-up (RU) strategy (i.e., doing 60 × 80 = 4,800) or rounding-down (RD) strategy (i.e., doing 50 × 70 = 3,500 to estimate product of 54 × 78). In the no-choice condition, participants did not have to select strategy on each problem but were told which strategy to use; they executed RU and RD strategies each on a series of problems. Participants also had a control task (i.e., providing correct products of multiplication problems like 40 × 50). Brain activations and performance were analyzed as a function of these conditions. Participants were able to frequently choose the better strategy in the choice condition; they were also slower when they executed the difficult RU than the easier RD. Neuroimaging data showed greater brain activations in right anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), dorso-lateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), and angular gyrus (ANG), when selecting (relative to executing) the better strategy on each problem. Moreover, RU was associated with more parietal cortex activation than RD. These results suggest an important role of fronto-parietal network in strategy selection and have important implications for our further understanding and modeling cognitive processes underlying strategy selection.

Local Strategy Combined with a Wavelength Selection Method for Multivariate Calibration

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Haitao Chang

2016-06-01

Full Text Available One of the essential factors influencing the prediction accuracy of multivariate calibration models is the quality of the calibration data. A local regression strategy, together with a wavelength selection approach, is proposed to build the multivariate calibration models based on partial least squares regression. The local algorithm is applied to create a calibration set of spectra similar to the spectrum of an unknown sample; the synthetic degree of grey relation coefficient is used to evaluate the similarity. A wavelength selection method based on simple-to-use interactive self-modeling mixture analysis minimizes the influence of noisy variables, and the most informative variables of the most similar samples are selected to build the multivariate calibration model based on partial least squares regression. To validate the performance of the proposed method, ultraviolet-visible absorbance spectra of mixed solutions of food coloring analytes in a concentration range of 20–200 µg/mL is measured. Experimental results show that the proposed method can not only enhance the prediction accuracy of the calibration model, but also greatly reduce its complexity.

Influence Of The Laser Cladding Strategies On The Mechanical Properties Of Inconel 718

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lamikiz, A.; Tabernero, I.; Ukar, E.; Lopez de Lacalle, L. N.; Delgado, J.

2011-01-01

This work presents different experimental results of the mechanical properties of Inconel registered 718 test parts built-up by laser cladding. Recently, turbine manufacturers for aeronautical sector have presented high interest on laser cladding processes. This process allows building fully functional structures on superalloys, such as Inconel registered 718, with high flexibility on complex shapes. However, there is limited data on mechanical properties of the laser cladding structures. Moreover, the available data do not include the influence of process parameters and laser cladding strategies. Therefore, a complete study of the influence of the laser cladding parameters and mainly, the variation of the tensile strength with the laser cladding strategy is presented. The results show that there is a high directionality of mechanical properties, depending on the strategies of laser cladding process. In other words, the test parts show a fiber -like structure that should be considered on the laser cladding strategy selection.

Disentangling social selection and social influence effects on adolescent smoking: the importance of reciprocity in friendships.

Science.gov (United States)

Mercken, Liesbeth; Candel, Math; Willems, Paul; de Vries, Hein

2007-09-01

The goal of this study was to examine social selection and social influence within reciprocal and non-reciprocal friendships, and the role of parents and siblings, as factors explaining similarity of smoking behaviour among adolescent friends. A new social selection-social influence model is proposed. Longitudinal design with two measurements. Data were gathered among Dutch high school students in the control group of the European Smoking prevention Framework Approach (ESFA) study. The sample consisted of 1886 adolescents with a mean age of 12.7 years. The main outcome measures were the smoking behaviours of the respondents, best friends, parents and siblings. We tested the social selection-social influence model with structural equation modelling techniques. Social selection and social influence both played an important role in explaining similarity of smoking behaviour among friends. Within non-reciprocal friendships, only social selection explained similarity of smoking behaviour, whereas within reciprocal friendships, social influence and possibly also social selection explained similarity of smoking behaviour. Sibling smoking behaviour was a more important predictor of adolescent smoking behaviour than parental smoking behaviour. Social selection and social influence both promote similarity of smoking behaviour, and the impact of each process differs with the degree of reciprocity of friendships. These insights may contribute to further refinement of smoking prevention strategies.

Sex Ratio Elasticity Influences the Selection of Sex Ratio Strategy

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Yaqiang; Wang, Ruiwu; Li, Yaotang; (Sam) Ma, Zhanshan

2016-12-01

There are three sex ratio strategies (SRS) in nature—male-biased sex ratio, female-biased sex ratio and, equal sex ratio. It was R. A. Fisher who first explained why most species in nature display a sex ratio of ½. Consequent SRS theories such as Hamilton’s local mate competition (LMC) and Clark’s local resource competition (LRC) separately explained the observed deviations from the seemingly universal 1:1 ratio. However, to the best of our knowledge, there is not yet a unified theory that accounts for the mechanisms of the three SRS. Here, we introduce the price elasticity theory in economics to define sex ratio elasticity (SRE), and present an analytical model that derives three SRSs based on the following assumption: simultaneously existing competitions for both resources A and resources B influence the level of SRE in both sexes differently. Consequently, it is the difference (between two sexes) in the level of their sex ratio elasticity that leads to three different SRS. Our analytical results demonstrate that the elasticity-based model not only reveals a highly plausible mechanism that explains the evolution of SRS in nature, but also offers a novel framework for unifying two major classical theories (i.e., LMC & LRC) in the field of SRS research.

You are what you choose to eat: factors influencing young adults' food selection behaviour.

Science.gov (United States)

Hebden, L; Chan, H N; Louie, J C; Rangan, A; Allman-Farinelli, M

2015-08-01

Young or 'emerging' adulthood (ages 18-24 years) is a life-stage characterised by rapid weight gain, particularly among those born in recent decades, when environments have become saturated with cheap, highly palatable, processed foods. Although intervening in the immediate food environments of emerging adults is indicated, little is known about the factors influencing their food selection. The present study aimed to: (i) measure the relative importance of different influences on foods selected by emerging adults for consumption from a tertiary education setting and (ii) examine whether these influences differ according to gender, adiposity status, perceived stress and dieting or physical activity behaviours. An online survey was administered with 112 emerging adults aged 19-24 years assessing demographics, perceived stress, dieting, physical activity and influences on food selection. Adiposity indicators (body mass index and waist circumference) were measured. Analyses compared the importance of influences on food selection by gender, adiposity, perceived stress, dieting and physical activity. Taste was the most important influence on food selection, followed by convenience (availability), cost, nutrition/health value, smell and stimulatory properties (alertness). Participants with an elevated waist circumference selected foods to help them cope with stress and control their weight. Those reporting a higher level of physical activity placed greater importance on nutritional/health value of foods but less importance on taste. Female dieters also placed less importance on taste and value for money. Health promotion strategies addressing tertiary education food environments of emerging adults should ensure the ready availability of tasty and nutritious foods at a low cost. © 2015 The British Dietetic Association Ltd.

Combining multiple influence strategies to increase consumer compliance

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kaptein, M.C.; Duplinsky, S.

2013-01-01

In this paper, we investigate the effects and implications of utilising multiple social influence strategies simultaneously to endorse a single product or call to action. In three, studies we show that combinations of social influence strategies do not increase compliance - this is contrary to

SELECT COMPANY BUSINESS STRATEGIES IN FULL OF UNCERTAINTY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mikhail N. Konotopov

2013-01-01

Full Text Available This article proposes an approach to the choice of the business strategies of the company in the conditions of complete market demand uncertainty. It is based on using the so-called strategic statistical games - market becomes the first player and the head of the organization, receiving the administrative decision, the second. Formed matrix losses of the company, the relevant combinations of possible states of a market demand and selected business strategies. To select the optimal business strategies, corresponding to the concrete possibilities of the company, Wald, Savage and Hurwitz rules are used.

Exit selection strategy in pedestrian evacuation simulation with multi-exits

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yue Hao; Zhang Bin-Ya; Shao Chun-Fu; Xing Yan

2014-01-01

A mixed strategy of the exit selection in a pedestrian evacuation simulation with multi-exits is constructed by fusing the distance-based and time-based strategies through a cognitive coefficient, in order to reduce the evacuation imbalance caused by the asymmetry of exits or pedestrian layout, to find a critical density to distinguish whether the strategy of exit selection takes effect or not, and to analyze the exit selection results with different cognitive coefficients. The strategy of exit selection is embedded in the computation of the shortest estimated distance in a dynamic parameter model, in which the concept of a jam area layer and the procedure of step-by-step expending are introduced. Simulation results indicate the characteristics of evacuation time gradually varying against cognitive coefficient and the effectiveness of reducing evacuation imbalance caused by the asymmetry of pedestrian or exit layout. It is found that there is a critical density to distinguish whether a pedestrian jam occurs in the evacuation and whether an exit selection strategy is in effect. It is also shown that the strategy of exit selection has no effect on the evacuation process in the no-effect phase with a low density, and that evacuation time and exit selection are dependent on the cognitive coefficient and pedestrian initial density in the in-effect phase with a high density. (general)

Combining multiple influence strategies to increase consumer compliance

OpenAIRE

Kaptein, M.C.; Duplinsky, S.

2013-01-01

In this paper, we investigate the effects and implications of utilising multiple social influence strategies simultaneously to endorse a single product or call to action. In three, studies we show that combinations of social influence strategies do not increase compliance - this is contrary to commonly held beliefs and practice. Studies 1 and 2 show that combining implementations of both the consensus and authority strategies to promote a single behaviour does not lead to an increase in the e...

How Metastrategic Considerations Influence the Selection of Frequency Estimation Strategies

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Norman R.

2008-01-01

Prior research indicates that enumeration-based frequency estimation strategies become increasingly common as memory for relevant event instances improves and that moderate levels of context memory are associated with moderate rates of enumeration [Brown, N. R. (1995). Estimation strategies and the judgment of event frequency. Journal of…

Selection of appropriates E-learning personalization strategies from ontological perspectives

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fathi Essalmi

2010-10-01

Full Text Available When there are several personalization strategies of E-learning, authors of courses need to be supported for deciding which strategy will be applied for personalizing each course. In fact, the time, the efforts and the learning objects needed for preparing personalized learning scenarios depend on the personalization strategy to be applied. This paper presents an approach for selecting personalization strategies according to the feasibility of generating personalized learning scenarios with minimal intervention of the author. Several metrics are proposed for putting in order and selecting useful personalization strategies. The calculus of these metrics is automated based on the analyses of the LOM (Learning Object Metadata standard according to the semantic relations between data elements and learners’ characteristics represented in the Ontology for Selection of Personalization Strategies (OSPS.

Coevolution of Cooperation and Layer Selection Strategy in Multiplex Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Katsuki Hayashi

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Recently, the emergent dynamics in multiplex networks, composed of layers of multiple networks, has been discussed extensively in network sciences. However, little is still known about whether and how the evolution of strategy for selecting a layer to participate in can contribute to the emergence of cooperative behaviors in multiplex networks of social interactions. To investigate these issues, we constructed a coevolutionary model of cooperation and layer selection strategies in which each an individual selects one layer from multiple layers of social networks and plays the Prisoner’s Dilemma with neighbors in the selected layer. We found that the proportion of cooperative strategies increased with increasing the number of layers regardless of the degree of dilemma, and this increase occurred due to a cyclic coevolution process of game strategies and layer selection strategies. We also showed that the heterogeneity of links among layers is a key factor for multiplex networks to facilitate the evolution of cooperation, and such positive effects on cooperation were observed regardless of the difference in the stochastic properties of network topologies.

Containment severe accident management - selected strategies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Duco, J.; Royen, J.; Rohde, J.; Frid, W.; De Boeck, B.

1994-01-01

The OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) organized in June 1994, in collaboration with the Swedish Nuclear Power Inspectorate (SKI), a Specialist Meeting on Selected Containment Severe Accident Management Strategies, to discuss their feasibility, effectiveness, benefits and drawbacks, and long-term impact. The meeting focused on water reactors, mainly on existing systems. The technical content covered topics such as general aspects of accident management strategies in OECD Member countries, hydrogen management techniques and other containment accident management strategies, surveillance and protection of the containment function. The main conclusions of the meeting are summarized in the paper. (author)

Designing a fuzzy expert system for selecting knowledge management strategy

OpenAIRE

Ameneh Khadivar; Shohreh Nasri Nasr Abadi; Elham Fallah

2014-01-01

knowledge management strategy is mentioned as one of the most important success factors for implementing knowledge management. The KM strategy selection is a complex decision that requires consideration of several factors. For evaluation and selection of an appropriate knowledge management strategy in organizations, many factors must be considered. The identified factors and their impact on knowledge management strategy are inherently ambiguous. In this study, an overview of theoretical found...

The Influence of Free Space Environment in the Mission Life Cycle: Material Selection

Science.gov (United States)

Edwards, David L.; Burns, Howard D.; de Groh, Kim K.

2014-01-01

The natural space environment has a great influence on the ability of space systems to perform according to mission design specification. Understanding the natural space environment and its influence on space system performance is critical to the concept formulation, design, development, and operation of space systems. Compatibility with the natural space environment is a primary factor in determining the functional lifetime of the space system. Space systems being designed and developed today are growing in complexity. In many instances, the increased complexity also increases its sensitivity to space environmental effects. Sensitivities to the natural space environment can be tempered through appropriate design measures, material selection, ground processing, mitigation strategies, and/or the acceptance of known risks. The design engineer must understand the effects of the natural space environment on the space system and its components. This paper will discuss the influence of the natural space environment in the mission life cycle with a specific focus on the role of material selection.

Simulating Dynamic Network Models and Adolescent Smoking: The Impact of Varying Peer Influence and Peer Selection.

Science.gov (United States)

Lakon, Cynthia M; Hipp, John R; Wang, Cheng; Butts, Carter T; Jose, Rupa

2015-12-01

We used a stochastic actor-based approach to examine the effect of peer influence and peer selection--the propensity to choose friends who are similar--on smoking among adolescents. Data were collected from 1994 to 1996 from 2 schools involved in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health, with respectively 2178 and 976 students, and different levels of smoking. Our experimental manipulations of the peer influence and selection parameters in a simulation strategy indicated that stronger peer influence decreased school-level smoking. In contrast to the assumption that a smoker may induce a nonsmoker to begin smoking, adherence to antismoking norms may result in an adolescent nonsmoker inducing a smoker to stop smoking and reduce school-level smoking.

Stability of a Model Explaining Selected Extramusical Influences on Solo and Small-Ensemble Festival Ratings

Science.gov (United States)

Bergee, Martin J.; Westfall, Claude R.

2005-01-01

This is the third study in a line of inquiry whose purpose has been to develop a theoretical model of selected extra musical variables' influence on solo and small-ensemble festival ratings. Authors of the second of these (Bergee & McWhirter, 2005) had used binomial logistic regression as the basis for their model-formulation strategy. Their…

Strategy selection as rational metareasoning.

Science.gov (United States)

Lieder, Falk; Griffiths, Thomas L

2017-11-01

Many contemporary accounts of human reasoning assume that the mind is equipped with multiple heuristics that could be deployed to perform a given task. This raises the question of how the mind determines when to use which heuristic. To answer this question, we developed a rational model of strategy selection, based on the theory of rational metareasoning developed in the artificial intelligence literature. According to our model people learn to efficiently choose the strategy with the best cost-benefit tradeoff by learning a predictive model of each strategy's performance. We found that our model can provide a unifying explanation for classic findings from domains ranging from decision-making to arithmetic by capturing the variability of people's strategy choices, their dependence on task and context, and their development over time. Systematic model comparisons supported our theory, and 4 new experiments confirmed its distinctive predictions. Our findings suggest that people gradually learn to make increasingly more rational use of fallible heuristics. This perspective reconciles the 2 poles of the debate about human rationality by integrating heuristics and biases with learning and rationality. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

It Takes Three: Selection, Influence, and De-Selection Processes of Depression in Adolescent Friendship Networks

Science.gov (United States)

Van Zalk, Maarten Herman Walter; Kerr, Margaret; Branje, Susan J. T.; Stattin, Hakan; Meeus, Wim H. J.

2010-01-01

The authors of this study tested a selection-influence-de-selection model of depression. This model explains friendship influence processes (i.e., friends' depressive symptoms increase adolescents' depressive symptoms) while controlling for two processes: friendship selection (i.e., selection of friends with similar levels of depressive symptoms)…

Strategy Guideline: Proper Water Heater Selection

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hoeschele, M. [Alliance for Residential Building Innovation, Davis, CA (United States); Springer, D. [Alliance for Residential Building Innovation, Davis, CA (United States); German, A. [Alliance for Residential Building Innovation, Davis, CA (United States); Staller, J. [Alliance for Residential Building Innovation, Davis, CA (United States); Zhang, Y. [Alliance for Residential Building Innovation, Davis, CA (United States)

2015-04-01

This Strategy Guideline on proper water heater selection was developed by the Building America team Alliance for Residential Building Innovation to provide step-by-step procedures for evaluating preferred cost-effective options for energy efficient water heater alternatives based on local utility rates, climate, and anticipated loads.

Strategy Guideline. Proper Water Heater Selection

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hoeschele, M. [Alliance for Residential Building Innovation (ARBI), Davis, CA (United States); Springer, D. [Alliance for Residential Building Innovation (ARBI), Davis, CA (United States); German, A. [Alliance for Residential Building Innovation (ARBI), Davis, CA (United States); Staller, J. [Alliance for Residential Building Innovation (ARBI), Davis, CA (United States); Zhang, Y. [Alliance for Residential Building Innovation (ARBI), Davis, CA (United States)

2015-04-09

This Strategy Guideline on proper water heater selection was developed by the Building America team Alliance for Residential Building Innovation to provide step-by-step procedures for evaluating preferred cost-effective options for energy efficient water heater alternatives based on local utility rates, climate, and anticipated loads.

Pricing Strategy Selection Using Fuzzy Linear Programming

OpenAIRE

Elif Alaybeyoğlu; Y. Esra Albayrak

2013-01-01

Marketing establishes a communication network between producers and consumers. Nowadays, marketing approach is customer-focused and products are directly oriented to meet customer needs. Marketing, which is a long process, needs organization and management. Therefore strategic marketing planning becomes more and more important in today’s competitive conditions. Main focus of this paper is to evaluate pricing strategies and select the best pricing strategy solution while considering internal a...

Analysis of Contract Source Selection Strategy

Science.gov (United States)

2015-07-07

accomplish this milestone due to his unconditional love. I would like to thank my mom, Saraswati, and my dad , Khilendra, for their support and patience...FOR FURTHER RESEARCH The task of understanding the impact of a source selection strategy on resultant contract outcomes is a topic rich for further

Influence of scan strategy and molten pool configuration on microstructures and tensile properties of selective laser melting additive manufactured aluminum based parts

Science.gov (United States)

Dai, Donghua; Gu, Dongdong; Zhang, Han; Xiong, Jiapeng; Ma, Chenglong; Hong, Chen; Poprawe, Reinhart

2018-02-01

Selective laser melting additive manufacturing of the AlSi12 material parts through the re-melting of the previously solidified layer using the continuous two layers 90° rotate scan strategy was conducted. The influence of the re-melting behavior and scan strategy on the formation of the ;track-track; and ;layer-layer; molten pool boundaries (MPBs), dimensional accuracy, microstructure feature, tensile properties, microscopic sliding behavior and the fracture mechanism as loaded a tensile force has been studied. It showed that the defects, such as the part distortion, delamination and cracks, were significantly eliminated with the deformation rate less than 1%. The microstructure of a homogeneous distribution of the Si phase, no apparent grain orientation on both sides of the MPBs, was produced in the as-fabricated part, promoting the efficient transition of the load stress. Cracks preferentially initiate at the ;track-track; MPBs when the tensile stress increases to a certain value, resulting in the formation of the cleavage steps along the tensile loading direction. The cracks propagate along the ;layer-layer; MPBs, generating the fine dimples. The mechanical behavior of the SLM-processed AlSi12 parts can be significantly enhanced with the ultimate tensile strength, yield strength and elongation of 476.3 MPa, 315.5 MPa and 6.7%, respectively.

Motivational Strategies and Possible Influence on Secondary School ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

... and administered to the 360 teachers. The data collected were subjected to statistical analyses using ANOVA. The test yielded significant influence of motivational strategies on teachers' work performance. Based on the findings, recommendations were made. KEY WORDS: Motivational Strategies, Teaching Performance.

Waste Management Strategy in The Netherlands. Part 3. Strategy Selection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Haverkate, B.R.W.

2003-01-01

This report reflects the Dutch input prepared in the framework of work package 3 of the EU thematic network COMPAS, which dealt with the evaluation and comparison of waste management strategies in EU member states and their applicant countries. Based on three generic decision trees the current strategy as well as the reason(s) for the selected options regarding radioactive waste management in The Netherlands is extensively described in this report. The trees are represented in terms of (numbered) decision nodes. Each node is discussed in the context of the Dutch situation, with relevant potential outcomes being highlighted where possible. After a short introduction (chapter 1) followed by a brief waste management policy overview (chapter 2), this approach is considered, in chapter 3, for: spent nuclear fuel and high level waste; low and intermediate level waste; disposal strategy

Strategy for selection of soybean genotypes tolerant to drought during germination.

Science.gov (United States)

Dantas, S A G; Silva, F C S; Silva, L J; Silva, F L

2017-05-10

Water deficit is the main reason for instability in the context of soybean culture. The development of strategies for the selection of more tolerant genotypes is necessary. These strategies include the use of polyethylene glycol 6000 solutions (PEG-6000) for conducting the germination test under conditions of water restriction. Thus, the objective of this study was to determine the osmotic potential and the main characteristics that promote the discrimination of soybean genotypes with regard to water stress tolerance during germination and the vigor test. Thirteen soybean cultivars were used. The seeds were allowed to germinate on sheets of germitest paper moistened in solution with PEG-6000, simulating different levels of water availability, which is expressed as osmotic potential (0.0, -0.2, -0.4, and -0.6 MPa). We assessed germination, length, and dry mass for seedlings and seeds, as well as reserve dynamics. Germination and variables related to the dynamics of reservation have great influence on the expression of variability in environments under stress. Among the different osmotic potentials, the -0.2 MPa was the most efficient for the expression of genetic variability among the cultivars. Conducting the germination test with PEG-6000 solution to -0.2 MPa was efficient for selecting soybean cultivars tolerant to water stress. This was accomplished by evaluating the percentage of germination, along with variables related to the dynamics of reservation.

The Influence of Membership Groups on Selecting Accommodations: the Case of the Residential Tourist

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Javier Perez-Aranda

2017-06-01

Full Text Available An understanding of consumer behavior when choosing property as accommodations improves the use of limited resources such as land and may promote the suitable development of tourism destinations. Knowledge of the factors that influence consumer behavior and that condition the process of purchasing a residential tourism property is useful in managing and designing strategies for segmenting tourism destinations. This study analyzes the influence of membership groups such as social class, culture, and family on choosing the type of property (ownership versus renting or using family or friends’ property and the typology (single- or multifamily that is in demand among residential tourists in the destination. Firstly, we identify which membership groups specifically influence the selection of type of property (social class and family. Then, we identify which groups influence the property typology (social class and people who are traveling and, in addition, those that influence both choices (social class.

Improved targeted immunization strategies based on two rounds of selection

Science.gov (United States)

Xia, Ling-Ling; Song, Yu-Rong; Li, Chan-Chan; Jiang, Guo-Ping

2018-04-01

In the case of high degree targeted immunization where the number of vaccine is limited, when more than one node associated with the same degree meets the requirement of high degree centrality, how can we choose a certain number of nodes from those nodes, so that the number of immunized nodes will not exceed the limit? In this paper, we introduce a new idea derived from the selection process of second-round exam to solve this problem and then propose three improved targeted immunization strategies. In these proposed strategies, the immunized nodes are selected through two rounds of selection, where we increase the quotas of first-round selection according the evaluation criterion of degree centrality and then consider another characteristic parameter of node, such as node's clustering coefficient, betweenness and closeness, to help choose targeted nodes in the second-round selection. To validate the effectiveness of the proposed strategies, we compare them with the degree immunizations including the high degree targeted and the high degree adaptive immunizations using two metrics: the size of the largest connected component of immunized network and the number of infected nodes. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed strategies based on two rounds of sorting are effective for heterogeneous networks and their immunization effects are better than that of the degree immunizations.

Health information technology vendor selection strategies and total factor productivity.

Science.gov (United States)

Ford, Eric W; Huerta, Timothy R; Menachemi, Nir; Thompson, Mark A; Yu, Feliciano

2013-01-01

The aim of this study was to compare health information technology (HIT) adoption strategies' relative performance on hospital-level productivity measures. The American Hospital Association's Annual Survey and Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society Analytics for fiscal years 2002 through 2007 were used for this study. A two-stage approach is employed. First, a Malmquist model is specified to calculate hospital-level productivity measures. A logistic regression model is then estimated to compare the three HIT adoption strategies' relative performance on the newly constructed productivity measures. The HIT vendor selection strategy impacts the amount of technological change required of an organization but does not appear to have either a positive or adverse impact on technical efficiency or total factor productivity. The higher levels in technological change experienced by hospitals using the best of breed and best of suite HIT vendor selection strategies may have a more direct impact on the organization early on in the process. However, these gains did not appear to translate into either increased technical efficiency or total factor productivity during the period studied. Over a longer period, one HIT vendor selection strategy may yet prove to be more effective at improving efficiency and productivity.

Structure coefficients and strategy selection in multiplayer games.

Science.gov (United States)

McAvoy, Alex; Hauert, Christoph

2016-01-01

Evolutionary processes based on two-player games such as the Prisoner's Dilemma or Snowdrift Game are abundant in evolutionary game theory. These processes, including those based on games with more than two strategies, have been studied extensively under the assumption that selection is weak. However, games involving more than two players have not received the same level of attention. To address this issue, and to relate two-player games to multiplayer games, we introduce a notion of reducibility for multiplayer games that captures what it means to break down a multiplayer game into a sequence of interactions with fewer players. We discuss the role of reducibility in structured populations, and we give examples of games that are irreducible in any population structure. Since the known conditions for strategy selection, otherwise known as [Formula: see text]-rules, have been established only for two-player games with multiple strategies and for multiplayer games with two strategies, we extend these rules to multiplayer games with many strategies to account for irreducible games that cannot be reduced to those simpler types of games. In particular, we show that the number of structure coefficients required for a symmetric game with [Formula: see text]-player interactions and [Formula: see text] strategies grows in [Formula: see text] like [Formula: see text]. Our results also cover a type of ecologically asymmetric game based on payoff values that are derived not only from the strategies of the players, but also from their spatial positions within the population.

Factors Influencing BI Data Collection Strategies: An Empirical Investigation

Science.gov (United States)

Ramakrishnan, Thiagarajan

2010-01-01

The purpose of this dissertation is to examine the external factors that influence an organizations' business intelligence (BI) data collection strategy when mediated by BI attributes. In this dissertation, data warehousing strategies are used as the basis on which to frame the exploration of BI data collection strategies. The attributes include…

Influence of Information Technology on Organization Strategy

OpenAIRE

Sibanda Mabutho; Ramrathan Durrel

2017-01-01

The exponential development of information technology has presented many opportunities to organizations; however, it has also presented several challenges. A key challenge is how do organizations effectively use information technology and incorporate it into their strategies to make full use of its capabilities as an enabler. The fast-changing nature of information technology has resulted in little empirical evidence on how it influences organization strategy. The Strategic Alignment Model wa...

Selection of a management strategy for depleted uranium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Patton, S.; Hanrahan, E.; Bradley, C. Jnr.

1995-01-01

A consequence of the uranium enrichment process is the accumulation of a significant amount of depleted uranium hexafluoride (UF 6 ). Currently, in the United States approximately 560 000 tonnes of the material are stored at three different sites. The US Department of Energy (DOE) has recently initiated a programme to consider alternative strategies for the cost-effective and environmentally safe long-term management of this inventory of depleted UF 6 . The programme involves a technology and engineering assessment of proposed management options (which are: use/reuse, conversion, storage, or disposal) and an analysis of the potential environmental impacts and life-cycle costs of alternative management strategies. The information obtained from the studies will be used by the DOE to select a preferred long-term management strategy. Because of its provisions for considering a wide range of relevant issues and involving the public, this programme has become a model for future DOE materials disposition programmes. This paper presents an overview of the Depleted Uranium Hexafluoride Management Programme. Technical findings of the programme to date are presented, and major issues involved in selecting and implementing a management strategy are discussed. (author)

Recalled Aspects of Original Encoding Strategies Influence Episodic Feeling of Knowing

Science.gov (United States)

Hertzog, Christopher; Fulton, Erika K.; Sinclair, Starlette M.; Dunlosky, John

2013-01-01

We tested the hypothesis that feeling of knowing (FOK) after a failed recall attempt is influenced by recalling aspects of the original encoding strategy. Individuals were instructed to use interactive imagery to encode unrelated word pairs. We manipulated item concreteness (abstract versus concrete) and item repetition at study (1 versus 3). Participants orally described the mediator produced immediately after studying each item, if any. After a delay they were given cued recall, made FOK ratings, and attempted to recall their original mediator. Concreteness and item repetition enhanced strategy recall, which had a large effect on FOKs. Controlling on strategy recall reduced the predictive validity of FOKs for recognition memory, indicating that access to original aspects of encoding influenced FOK accuracy. Confidence judgments (CJs) for correctly recognized items covaried with FOKs, but FOKs did not fully track strategy recall associations with CJs, suggesting emergent effects of strategy cues elicited by recognition tests not accessed at the time of the FOK judgment. In summary, cue-generated access to aspects of the original encoding strategy strongly influenced episodic FOK, although other influences are also implicated. PMID:23835601

The use of influence diagrams for evaluating severe accident management strategies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jae, M.; Apostolakis, G.E.

1992-01-01

In this paper, the influence diagram, a new analytical tool for developing and evaluating severe accident management strategies, is presented. Influence diagrams are much simpler than decision trees because they do not lead to the large number of branches that are generated when decision trees are used in realistic problems; furthermore, they show explicitly the dependencies between the variables of the problem. One of the accident management strategies proposed for light water reactors, flooding the reactor cavity as a means of preventing vessel breach during a short-term station blackout sequence, is presented. The influence diagram associated with this strategy is constructed. Finally, the advantages of using influence diagrams in accident management are explored

Information access in a dual-task context: testing a model of optimal strategy selection

Science.gov (United States)

Wickens, C. D.; Seidler, K. S.

1997-01-01

Pilots were required to access information from a hierarchical aviation database by navigating under single-task conditions (Experiment 1) and when this task was time-shared with an altitude-monitoring task of varying bandwidth and priority (Experiment 2). In dual-task conditions, pilots had 2 viewports available, 1 always used for the information task and the other to be allocated to either task. Dual-task strategy, inferred from the decision of which task to allocate to the 2nd viewport, revealed that allocation was generally biased in favor of the monitoring task and was only partly sensitive to the difficulty of the 2 tasks and their relative priorities. Some dominant sources of navigational difficulties failed to adaptively influence selection strategy. The implications of the results are to provide tools for jumping to the top of the database, to provide 2 viewports into the common database, and to provide training as to the optimum viewport management strategy in a multitask environment.

Firms dealing with regulatory change: innovation and political influence strategies

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wesseling, Joeri; Farla, Jacco; Hekkert, Marko

2014-01-01

Firm-level strategies, particularly political strategies, are overlooked in transition studies. Therefore, we study how car manufacturers combine and change their innovation and political influence strategies in response to a technology-forcing regulation that attempts to drive transition. We use

Metacognition for strategy selection during arithmetic problem-solving in young and older adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Geurten, Marie; Lemaire, Patrick

2018-04-19

We examined participants' strategy choices and metacognitive judgments during arithmetic problem-solving. Metacognitive judgments were collected either prospectively or retrospectively. We tested whether metacognitive judgments are related to strategy choices on the current problems and on the immediately following problems, and age-related differences in relations between metacognition and strategy choices. Data showed that both young and older adults were able to make accurate retrospective, but not prospective, judgments. Moreover, the accuracy of retrospective judgments was comparable in young and older adults when participants had to select and execute the better strategy. Metacognitive accuracy was even higher in older adults when participants had to only select the better strategy. Finally, low-confidence judgments on current items were more frequently followed by better strategy selection on immediately succeeding items than high-confidence judgments in both young and older adults. Implications of these findings to further our understanding of age-related differences and similarities in adults' metacognitive monitoring and metacognitive regulation for strategy selection in the context of arithmetic problem solving are discussed.

Selection of a management strategy for depleted uranium hexafluoride

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Patton, S.E.; Hanrahan, E.J.; Bradley, C.E.

1995-01-01

A consequence of the uranium enrichment process used in the United States (US) is the accumulation of a significant amount of depleted uranium hexafluoride (UF 6 ). Currently, approximately 560,000 metric tons of the material are stored at three different sites. The US Department of Energy (DOE) has recently initiated a program to consider alternative strategies for the cost-effective and environmentally safe long-term management of this inventory of depleted UF 6 . The program involves a technology and engineering assessment of proposed management options (use/reuse, conversion, storage, or disposal) and an analysis of the potential environmental impacts and life-cycle costs of alternative management strategies. The information obtained from the studies will be used by the DOE to select a preferred long-term management strategy. The selection and implementation of a management strategy will involve consideration of a number of important issues such as environmental, health, and safety effects; the balancing of risks versus costs in a context of reduced government spending; socioeconomic implications, including effects on the domestic and international uranium industry; the technical status of proposed uses or technologies; and public involvement in the decision making process. Because of its provisions for considering a wide range of relevant issues and involving the public, this program has become a model for future DOE materials disposition programs. This paper presents an overview of the Depleted Uranium Hexafluoride Management Program. Technical findings of the program to date are presented, and major issues involved in selecting and implementing a management strategy are discussed

SELECTION OF BUSINESS STRATEGIES FOR QUALITY IMPROVEMENT USING FUZZY ANALYTICAL HIERARCHY PROCESS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Prasun Das

2010-12-01

Full Text Available Fuzzy linguistic concepts are often used to enhance the traditional analytic hierarchy process (AHP in capturing the fuzziness and subjectiveness of decision makers' judgments. In this paper, fuzzy AHP methodology is adopted for selection of the strategies for business improvement in an Indian industry as a decision making problem. Due to simplicity and effectiveness, triangular fuzzy numbers are adopted as a reference to indicate the influence strength of each element in the hierarchy structure. The confidence level and the optimistic levels of multiple decision makers are captured by using ? -cut based fuzzy number methods. This fuzzy set theory based multi-attribute decision making method is found to be quite useful and effective in industrial environment.

LPTA versus Tradeoff: Analysis of Contract Source Selection Strategies and Performance Outcomes

Science.gov (United States)

2016-06-15

7 - Naval Postgraduate School source selection strategies to be made on a best value basis and not the lowest price ” (Office of...cost is an evaluation factor in all procurements, regardless of the source selection strategy chosen. In evaluating cost or price , FAR...contract performance is minimal, cost or price may play a dominant role in source selection. The less definitive the requirement, the more

Evolution of conditional cooperation under multilevel selection.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Huanren; Perc, Matjaž

2016-03-11

We study the emergence of conditional cooperation in the presence of both intra-group and inter-group selection. Individuals play public goods games within their groups using conditional strategies, which are represented as piecewise linear response functions. Accordingly, groups engage in conflicts with a certain probability. In contrast to previous studies, we consider continuous contribution levels and a rich set of conditional strategies, allowing for a wide range of possible interactions between strategies. We find that the existence of conditional strategies enables the stabilization of cooperation even under strong intra-group selection. The strategy that eventually dominates in the population has two key properties: (i) It is unexploitable with strong intra-group selection; (ii) It can achieve full contribution to outperform other strategies in the inter-group selection. The success of this strategy is robust to initial conditions as well as changes to important parameters. We also investigate the influence of different factors on cooperation levels, including group conflicts, group size, and migration rate. Their effect on cooperation can be attributed to and explained by their influence on the relative strength of intra-group and inter-group selection.

The Effect of Vocabulary Self-Selection Strategy and Input Enhancement Strategy on the Vocabulary Knowledge of Iranian EFL Learners

Science.gov (United States)

Masoudi, Golfam

2017-01-01

The present study was designed to investigate empirically the effect of Vocabulary Self-Selection strategy and Input Enhancement strategy on the vocabulary knowledge of Iranian EFL Learners. After taking a diagnostic pretest, both experimental groups enrolled in two classes. Learners who practiced Vocabulary Self-Selection were allowed to…

Perceived peer influence and peer selection on adolescent smoking.

Science.gov (United States)

Hoffman, Beth R; Monge, Peter R; Chou, Chih-Ping; Valente, Thomas W

2007-08-01

Despite advances in tobacco control, adolescent smoking remains a problem. The smoking status of friends is one of the highest correlates with adolescent smoking. This homophily (commonality of friends based on a given attribute) may be due to either peer pressure, where adolescents adopt the smoking behaviors of their friends, or peer selection, where adolescents choose friends based on their smoking status. This study used structural equation modeling to test a model of peer influence and peer selection on ever smoking by adolescents. The primary analysis of the model did not reach significance, but post hoc analyses did result in a model with good fit. Results indicated that both peer influence and peer selection were occurring, and that peer influence was more salient in the population than was peer selection. Implications of these results for tobacco prevention programs are discussed.

Strategy selection in cue-based decision making.

Science.gov (United States)

Bryant, David J

2014-06-01

People can make use of a range of heuristic and rational, compensatory strategies to perform a multiple-cue judgment task. It has been proposed that people are sensitive to the amount of cognitive effort required to employ decision strategies. Experiment 1 employed a dual-task methodology to investigate whether participants' preference for heuristic versus compensatory decision strategies can be altered by increasing the cognitive demands of the task. As indicated by participants' decision times, a secondary task interfered more with the performance of a heuristic than compensatory decision strategy but did not affect the proportions of participants using either type of strategy. A stimulus set effect suggested that the conjunction of cue salience and cue validity might play a determining role in strategy selection. The results of Experiment 2 indicated that when a perceptually salient cue was also the most valid, the majority of participants preferred a single-cue heuristic strategy. Overall, the results contradict the view that heuristics are more likely to be adopted when a task is made more cognitively demanding. It is argued that people employ 2 learning processes during training, one an associative learning process in which cue-outcome associations are developed by sampling multiple cues, and another that involves the sequential examination of single cues to serve as a basis for a single-cue heuristic.

Task-selective memory effects for successfully implemented encoding strategies.

Science.gov (United States)

Leshikar, Eric D; Duarte, Audrey; Hertzog, Christopher

2012-01-01

Previous behavioral evidence suggests that instructed strategy use benefits associative memory formation in paired associate tasks. Two such effective encoding strategies--visual imagery and sentence generation--facilitate memory through the production of different types of mediators (e.g., mental images and sentences). Neuroimaging evidence suggests that regions of the brain support memory reflecting the mental operations engaged at the time of study. That work, however, has not taken into account self-reported encoding task success (i.e., whether participants successfully generated a mediator). It is unknown, therefore, whether task-selective memory effects specific to each strategy might be found when encoding strategies are successfully implemented. In this experiment, participants studied pairs of abstract nouns under either visual imagery or sentence generation encoding instructions. At the time of study, participants reported their success at generating a mediator. Outside of the scanner, participants further reported the quality of the generated mediator (e.g., images, sentences) for each word pair. We observed task-selective memory effects for visual imagery in the left middle occipital gyrus, the left precuneus, and the lingual gyrus. No such task-selective effects were observed for sentence generation. Intriguingly, activity at the time of study in the left precuneus was modulated by the self-reported quality (vividness) of the generated mental images with greater activity for trials given higher ratings of quality. These data suggest that regions of the brain support memory in accord with the encoding operations engaged at the time of study.

Gender influences on preschool children's social problem-solving strategies.

Science.gov (United States)

Walker, Sue; Irving, Kym; Berthelsen, Donna

2002-06-01

The authors investigated gender influences on the nature and competency of preschool children's social problem-solving strategies. Preschool-age children (N = 179; 91 boys, 88 girls) responded to hypothetical social situations designed to assess their social problem-solving skills in the areas of provocation, peer group entry, and sharing or taking turns. Results indicated that, overall, girls' responses were more competent (i.e., reflective of successful functioning with peers) than those of boys, and girls' strategies were less likely to involve retaliation or verbal or physical aggression. The competency of the children's responses also varied with the gender of the target child. Findings are discussed in terms of the influence of gender-related social experiences on the types of strategies and behaviors that may be viewed as competent for boys and girls of preschool age.

Spontaneous gestures influence strategy choices in problem solving.

Science.gov (United States)

Alibali, Martha W; Spencer, Robert C; Knox, Lucy; Kita, Sotaro

2011-09-01

Do gestures merely reflect problem-solving processes, or do they play a functional role in problem solving? We hypothesized that gestures highlight and structure perceptual-motor information, and thereby make such information more likely to be used in problem solving. Participants in two experiments solved problems requiring the prediction of gear movement, either with gesture allowed or with gesture prohibited. Such problems can be correctly solved using either a perceptual-motor strategy (simulation of gear movements) or an abstract strategy (the parity strategy). Participants in the gesture-allowed condition were more likely to use perceptual-motor strategies than were participants in the gesture-prohibited condition. Gesture promoted use of perceptual-motor strategies both for participants who talked aloud while solving the problems (Experiment 1) and for participants who solved the problems silently (Experiment 2). Thus, spontaneous gestures influence strategy choices in problem solving.

Unveiling Research Agendas: a study of the influences on research problem selection among academic researchers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bianco, M.; Sutz, J.

2016-07-01

Research problem selection is central to the dynamics of scientific knowledge production. Research agendas result from the selection of research problems and the formulation of individual and/or collective academic strategies to address them. But, why researchers study what they study? This paper presents incipient research focused on the way different factors influence the construction of academic research agendas. It takes a researcher-oriented approach relying on opinions and perspectives of a wide range of researchers in all fields of knowledge. The empirical work is carried out in Uruguay, a country in the periphery of mainstream science, whose academic community struggles in search of a balance between the requirements of the world community of scholars and the demands from different national stakeholders. The methodology and research results from this study may be relevant to other countries, at different peripheries. Further, understanding the interplay of influences that shape research agendas is an important tool for policy analysis and planning everywhere. (Author)

The Process of Marketing Segmentation Strategy Selection

OpenAIRE

Ionel Dumitru

2007-01-01

The process of marketing segmentation strategy selection represents the essence of strategical marketing. We present hereinafter the main forms of the marketing statategy segmentation: undifferentiated marketing, differentiated marketing, concentrated marketing and personalized marketing. In practice, the companies use a mix of these marketing segmentation methods in order to maximize the proffit and to satisfy the consumers’ needs.

Natural selection on floral morphology can be influenced by climate.

Science.gov (United States)

Campbell, Diane R; Powers, John M

2015-06-07

Climate has the potential to influence evolution, but how it influences the strength or direction of natural selection is largely unknown. We quantified the strength of selection on four floral traits of the subalpine herb Ipomopsis sp. in 10 years that differed in precipitation, causing extreme temporal variation in the date of snowmelt in the Colorado Rocky Mountains. The chosen floral traits were under selection by hummingbird and hawkmoth pollinators, with hawkmoth abundance highly variable across years. Selection for flower length showed environmental sensitivity, with stronger selection in years with later snowmelt, as higher water resources can allow translation of pollination success into fitness based on seed production. Selection on corolla width also varied across years, favouring narrower corolla tubes in two unusual years with hawkmoths, and wider corollas in another late snowmelt year. Our results illustrate how changes in climate could alter natural selection even when the primary selective agent is not directly influenced. © 2015 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.

Bully Victimization: Selection and Influence Within Adolescent Friendship Networks and Cliques.

Science.gov (United States)

Lodder, Gerine M A; Scholte, Ron H J; Cillessen, Antonius H N; Giletta, Matteo

2016-01-01

Adolescents tend to form friendships with similar peers and, in turn, their friends further influence adolescents' behaviors and attitudes. Emerging work has shown that these selection and influence processes also might extend to bully victimization. However, no prior work has examined selection and influence effects involved in bully victimization within cliques, despite theoretical account emphasizing the importance of cliques in this regard. This study examined selection and influence processes in adolescence regarding bully victimization both at the level of the entire friendship network and the level of cliques. We used a two-wave design (5-month interval). Participants were 543 adolescents (50.1% male, Mage = 15.8) in secondary education. Stochastic actor-based models indicated that at the level of the larger friendship network, adolescents tended to select friends with similar levels of bully victimization as they themselves. In addition, adolescent friends influenced each other in terms of bully victimization over time. Actor Parter Interdependence models showed that similarities in bully victimization between clique members were not due to selection of clique members. For boys, average clique bully victimization predicted individual bully victimization over time (influence), but not vice versa. No influence was found for girls, indicating that different mechanisms may underlie friend influence on bully victimization for girls and boys. The differences in results at the level of the larger friendship network versus the clique emphasize the importance of taking the type of friendship ties into account in research on selection and influence processes involved in bully victimization.

Age Differences in Children's Strategies for Influencing Parents' Purchases.

Science.gov (United States)

Fuehrer, Ann; And Others

The specific purposes of this study were to examine (1) age differences in the sophistication of influence strategies children use to affect parents' consumption decisions, and (2) whether or not parents differentially reinforce such strategies according to the child's age. Data were gathered by observing the interactions of 145 parent-child dyads…

Testosterone influences spatial strategy preferences among adult male rats.

Science.gov (United States)

Spritzer, Mark D; Fox, Elliott C; Larsen, Gregory D; Batson, Christopher G; Wagner, Benjamin A; Maher, Jack

2013-05-01

Males outperform females on some spatial tasks, and this may be partially due to the effects of sex steroids on spatial strategy preferences. Previous work with rodents indicates that low estradiol levels bias females toward a striatum-dependent response strategy, whereas high estradiol levels bias them toward a hippocampus-dependent place strategy. We tested whether testosterone influenced the strategy preferences in male rats. All subjects were castrated and assigned to one of three daily injection doses of testosterone (0.125, 0.250, or 0.500 mg/rat) or a control group that received daily injections of the drug vehicle. Three different maze protocols were used to determine rats' strategy preferences. A low dose of testosterone (0.125 mg) biased males toward a motor-response strategy on a T-maze task. In a water maze task in which the platform itself could be used intermittently as a visual cue, a low testosterone dose (0.125 mg) caused a significant increase in the use of a cued-response strategy relative to control males. Results from this second experiment also indicated that males receiving a high dose of testosterone (0.500 mg) were biased toward a place strategy. A third experiment indicated that testosterone dose did not have a strong influence on the ability of rats to use a nearby visual cue (floating ball) in the water maze. For this experiment, all groups seemed to use a combination of place and cued-response strategies. Overall, the results indicate that the effects of testosterone on spatial strategy preference are dose dependent and task dependent. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Task-selective memory effects for successfully implemented encoding strategies.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eric D Leshikar

Full Text Available Previous behavioral evidence suggests that instructed strategy use benefits associative memory formation in paired associate tasks. Two such effective encoding strategies--visual imagery and sentence generation--facilitate memory through the production of different types of mediators (e.g., mental images and sentences. Neuroimaging evidence suggests that regions of the brain support memory reflecting the mental operations engaged at the time of study. That work, however, has not taken into account self-reported encoding task success (i.e., whether participants successfully generated a mediator. It is unknown, therefore, whether task-selective memory effects specific to each strategy might be found when encoding strategies are successfully implemented. In this experiment, participants studied pairs of abstract nouns under either visual imagery or sentence generation encoding instructions. At the time of study, participants reported their success at generating a mediator. Outside of the scanner, participants further reported the quality of the generated mediator (e.g., images, sentences for each word pair. We observed task-selective memory effects for visual imagery in the left middle occipital gyrus, the left precuneus, and the lingual gyrus. No such task-selective effects were observed for sentence generation. Intriguingly, activity at the time of study in the left precuneus was modulated by the self-reported quality (vividness of the generated mental images with greater activity for trials given higher ratings of quality. These data suggest that regions of the brain support memory in accord with the encoding operations engaged at the time of study.

Green supply chain management strategy selection using analytic network process: case study at PT XYZ

Science.gov (United States)

Adelina, W.; Kusumastuti, R. D.

2017-01-01

This study is about business strategy selection for green supply chain management (GSCM) for PT XYZ by using Analytic Network Process (ANP). GSCM is initiated as a response to reduce environmental impacts from industrial activities. The purposes of this study are identifying criteria and sub criteria in selecting GSCM Strategy, and analysing a suitable GSCM strategy for PT XYZ. This study proposes ANP network with 6 criteria and 29 sub criteria, which are obtained from the literature and experts’ judgements. One of the six criteria contains GSCM strategy options, namely risk-based strategy, efficiency-based strategy, innovation-based strategy, and closed loop strategy. ANP solves complex GSCM strategy-selection by using a more structured process and considering green perspectives from experts. The result indicates that innovation-based strategy is the most suitable green supply chain management strategy for PT XYZ.

Marketing strategy and product performance: a study of selected ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Marketing strategy and product performance: a study of selected firms in Nigeria. ... Ethiopian Journal of Environmental Studies and Management ... This paper therefore recommends that business organisations should accord necessary ...

An Optimization Model For Strategy Decision Support to Select Kind of CPO’s Ship

Science.gov (United States)

Suaibah Nst, Siti; Nababan, Esther; Mawengkang, Herman

2018-01-01

The selection of marine transport for the distribution of crude palm oil (CPO) is one of strategy that can be considered in reducing cost of transport. The cost of CPO’s transport from one area to CPO’s factory located at the port of destination may affect the level of CPO’s prices and the number of demands. In order to maintain the availability of CPO a strategy is required to minimize the cost of transporting. In this study, the strategy used to select kind of charter ships as barge or chemical tanker. This study aims to determine an optimization model for strategy decision support in selecting kind of CPO’s ship by minimizing costs of transport. The select of ship was done randomly, so that two-stage stochastic programming model was used to select the kind of ship. Model can help decision makers to select either barge or chemical tanker to distribute CPO.

Influence of smallholder farmers’ perceptions on adaptation strategies to climate change and policy implications in Zimbabwe

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jiri Obert

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Smallholder agricultural production is largely affected by climate change and variability. Despite the negative effects brought by climate variability, smallholder farmers are still able to derive livelihoods. An understanding of factors that influence farmers’ responses and adaptation to climate variability can improve decision making for governments and development partners. This study investigated farmers’ perceptions and adaptation strategies to climate change and how these influence adaptation policies at local level. A survey was conducted with 100 households randomly selected from Chiredzi district. Data collected was used to derive farmer perceptions to climate change as well as the influence of their perceptions and subsequent adaptation methods to ensuing local agricultural adaptation measures and policies. The results indicated that smallholder farmers perceived general reduction in long-term annual rainfall and rising local average temperatures. Adverse trends in rainfall and average temperature perceived by farmers were consistent with empirical data. These perceptions and other socio-economic factors helped to shape smallholder farmer agricultural adaptation strategies. Policy implications are that the government and development partners should seek ways to assist autonomous adaptations by farmers through investments in planned adaptation initiatives.

Social influence promotes cooperation in the public goods game

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Te; Fu, Feng; Dou, Puxuan; Wang, Long

2014-11-01

Previous studies mainly consider the random selection pattern in which individuals randomly choose reference models from their neighbors for strategy updating. However, the random selection pattern is unable to capture all real world circumstances. We institute a spatial model to investigate the effects of influence-based reference selection pattern on the evolution of cooperation in the context of public goods games. Whenever experiencing strategy updating, all the individuals each choose one of its neighbors as a reference with the probability proportional to this neighbor’s influence. Levels of individuals’ influence are dynamical. When an individual is imitated, the level of its influence increases, thus constituting a positive feedback between the frequencies of individuals being imitated and the likelihood for them to be reference models. We find that the level of collective cooperation can be enhanced whenever the influence-based reference selection pattern is integrated into the strategy updating process. Results also show that the evolution of cooperation can be promoted when the increase in individuals’ frequency of being imitated upholds their influence in large magnitude. Our work may improve the understanding of how influence-based selection patterns promote cooperative behavior.

Case Report: Evaluation strategies and cognitive intervention: the case of a monovular twin child affected by selective mutism.

Science.gov (United States)

Capobianco, Micaela; Cerniglia, Luca

2018-01-01

The present work describes the assessment process, evaluation strategies, and cognitive intervention on a 9 years old child with selective mutism (SM), a monovular twin of a child also affected by mutism. Currently, the cognitive behavioral multimodal treatment seems the most effective therapeutic approach for children diagnosed with selective mutism (Capobianco & Cerniglia, 2018). The illustrated case confirms the role of biological factors involved in mutacic disorder but also highlights the importance of environmental influences in the maintenance of the disorder with respect to relational and contextual dynamics (e.g. complicity between sisters, family relationships). The article discusses furthermore the importance of an early diagnosis as a predictor of positive treatment outcomes.

How turn-taking strategies influence users’ impressions of an agent

NARCIS (Netherlands)

ter Maat, Mark; Truong, Khiet Phuong; Heylen, Dirk K.J.; Allbeck, Jan; Badler, Norman; Bickmore, Timothy; Pelachaud, Catherine; Safonova, Alla

Different turn-taking strategies of an agent influence the impression that people have of it. We recorded conversations of a human with an interviewing agent, controlled by a wizard and using a particular turn-taking strategy. A questionnaire with 27 semantic differential scales concerning

Finding the Perfect Match: Factors That Influence Family Medicine Residency Selection.

Science.gov (United States)

Wright, Katherine M; Ryan, Elizabeth R; Gatta, John L; Anderson, Lauren; Clements, Deborah S

2016-04-01

Residency program selection is a significant experience for emerging physicians, yet there is limited information about how applicants narrow their list of potential programs. This study examines factors that influence residency program selection among medical students interested in family medicine at the time of application. Medical students with an expressed interest in family medicine were invited to participate in a 37-item, online survey. Students were asked to rate factors that may impact residency selection on a 6-point Likert scale in addition to three open-ended qualitative questions. Mean values were calculated for each survey item and were used to determine a rank order for selection criteria. Logistic regression analysis was performed to identify factors that predict a strong interest in urban, suburban, and rural residency programs. Logistic regression was also used to identify factors that predict a strong interest in academic health center-based residencies, community-based residencies, and community-based residencies with an academic affiliation. A total of 705 medical students from 32 states across the country completed the survey. Location, work/life balance, and program structure (curriculum, schedule) were rated the most important factors for residency selection. Logistic regression analysis was used to refine our understanding of how each factor relates to specific types of residencies. These findings have implications for how to best advise students in selecting a residency, as well as marketing residencies to the right candidates. Refining the recruitment process will ensure a better fit between applicants and potential programs. Limited recruitment resources may be better utilized by focusing on targeted dissemination strategies.

Influence of Information Technology on Organization Strategy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sibanda Mabutho

2017-02-01

Full Text Available The exponential development of information technology has presented many opportunities to organizations; however, it has also presented several challenges. A key challenge is how do organizations effectively use information technology and incorporate it into their strategies to make full use of its capabilities as an enabler. The fast-changing nature of information technology has resulted in little empirical evidence on how it influences organization strategy. The Strategic Alignment Model was a popular model created to assist organizations to align their information technology and their business strategy; however, the growth of technology may have made this model irrelevant in this age. Therefore, organizations need to determine what factors drive this alignment. Using hermeneutic phenomenology, 12 in-depth interviews were conducted within IBM South Africa to determine real-life drivers that help create this alignment. The themes derived from the interview texts reveal that consumers are becoming more empowered; therefore, organizations need to be more flexible in their business models and strategies. Furthermore, the integration of cross-functional roles in the organization at the management level allow for improved alignment between information technology and strategy as better integrated roles bring a combination of these two elements.

Method for selecting FBR development strategies in the presence of uncertainty

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fraley, D.W.; Burnham, J.B.

1981-12-01

This report describes the methods used to probabilistically analyze data related to the uranium supply the FBR's competitive dates, development strategies' time and costs, and economic benefits. It also describes the econometric methods used to calculate the economic risks of mistiming the development. Seven strategies for developing the FBR are analyzed. The various measures of a strategy's performance - timing, costs, benefits, and risks - are combined into several criteria which are used to evaluate the seven strategies. Methods are described for selecting a strategy based on a number of alternative criteria

The Effect of Exit Strategy on Optimal Portfolio Selection with Birandom Returns

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Guohua Cao

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The aims of this paper are to use a birandom variable to denote the stock return selected by some recurring technical patterns and to study the effect of exit strategy on optimal portfolio selection with birandom returns. Firstly, we propose a new method to estimate the stock return and use birandom distribution to denote the final stock return which can reflect the features of technical patterns and investors' heterogeneity simultaneously; secondly, we build a birandom safety-first model and design a hybrid intelligent algorithm to help investors make decisions; finally, we innovatively study the effect of exit strategy on the given birandom safety-first model. The results indicate that (1 the exit strategy affects the proportion of portfolio, (2 the performance of taking the exit strategy is better than when the exit strategy is not taken, if the stop-loss point and the stop-profit point are appropriately set, and (3 the investor using the exit strategy become conservative.

Effects of selected coping strategies on impediment oriented ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The study was carried out to determine the effects of selected coping strategies on the impediment oriented academic stress of the visually impaired pupils in Oji- River School for the Blind, Enugu State. The study is a quasi-Experimental design involving two treatment groups and one control group. Twenty visually impaired ...

Influence of feasibility constrains on the bidding strategy selection in a day-ahead electricity market session

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Borghetti, Alberto; Massucco, Stefano; Silvestro, Federico

2009-01-01

Large part of liberalized electricity markets, including the Italian one, features an auction mechanism, called day-ahead energy market, which matches producers' and buyers' simple bids, consisting of energy quantity and price pairs. The match is achieved by a merit-order economic dispatch procedure independently applied for each of the hours of the following day. Power plants operation should, however, take into account several technical constraints, such as maximum and minimum production bounds, ramp constraints and minimum up and downs times, as well as no-load and startup costs. The presence of these constraints forces to adjust the scheduling provided by the market in order to obtain a feasible scheduling. The paper presents an analysis of the possibility and the limits of taking into account the power plants technical constraints in the bidding strategy selection procedure of generating companies (Gencos). The analysis is carried out by using a computer procedure based both on a simple static game-theory approach and on a cost-minimization unit-commitment algorithm. For illustrative purposes, we present the results obtained for a system with three Gencos, each owning several power plants, trying to model the bidding behaviour of every generator in the system. This approach, although complex from the computational point of view, allows an analysis of both price and quantity bidding strategies and appears to be applicable to markets having different rules and features. (author)

Factors influencing the, selection of state office furniture

Science.gov (United States)

R. Bruce Anderson; R. Bruce Anderson

1973-01-01

Evaluation of the factors influencing the selection of office furniture by nine state governments shows that quality and purchase price have the most important influence on the purchase decision. The intended use of the furniture and the purchasing regulations of the states were key f8CbrS in the use of wood furniture.

System for selecting a postponement strategy portfolio for supply chains

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luiz Eduardo Simão

2015-03-01

Full Text Available The stagnation of the economy has increased competition and uncertainty in the industrial sector. Trends such as the increase in the proliferation of the variety of products and the requirement for customization of products has contributed to difficulties in forecasting demand, due to increased uncertainty of demand for final products. In this new competitive environment, it is no longer possible to use the traditional “one size fits all” supply chain process, with unique policies for all products because this practice can lead to significant profitability losses due to the increase in stock levels and lost sales. However, research on supply chains has given relatively little attention to the need to use different, segmented supply chain strategies as well as to develop and manage these multiple supply chains strategies simultaneously. Thus, this paper aims to present an approach for selecting a portfolio of postponement strategies based on segmentation of supply chain, based on analysis of the demand profile (volume-variety analysis and a tool to assist in the selection of postponement strategies driven by the customer-product sector and their respective propositions of value.

Proceedings of the specialist meeting on selected containment severe accident management strategies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1995-07-15

Twenty papers were presented at the first specialist meeting on Selected Containment Severe Accident management Strategies, held in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1994, half of them dealing with accident management strategies implementation status, half of them with research aspects. The four sessions were: general aspects of containment accident management strategies, hydrogen management techniques, other containment accident management strategies (spray cooling, core catcher...), surveillance and protection of containment function

Proceedings of the specialist meeting on selected containment severe accident management strategies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1995-07-01

Twenty papers were presented at the first specialist meeting on Selected Containment Severe Accident management Strategies, held in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1994, half of them dealing with accident management strategies implementation status, half of them with research aspects. The four sessions were: general aspects of containment accident management strategies, hydrogen management techniques, other containment accident management strategies (spray cooling, core catcher...), surveillance and protection of containment function

Influence of Different CAM Strategies on the Fit of Partial Crown Restorations: A Digital Three-dimensional Evaluation.

Science.gov (United States)

Zimmermann, M; Valcanaia, A; Neiva, G; Mehl, A; Fasbinder, D

2018-04-09

CAM fabrication is an important step within the CAD/CAM process. The internal fit of restorations is influenced by the accuracy of the subtractive CAM procedure. Little is known about how CAM strategies might influence the fit of CAD/CAM fabricated restorations. The aim of this study was to three-dimensionally evaluate the fit of CAD/CAM fabricated zirconia-reinforced lithium silicate ceramic partial crowns fabricated with three different CAM strategies. The null hypothesis was that different CAM strategies did not influence the fitting accuracy of CAD/CAM fabricated zirconia-reinforced lithium silicate ceramic partial crowns. Preparation for a partial crown was performed on a maxillary right first molar on a typodont. A chairside CAD/CAM system with the intraoral scanning device CEREC Omnicam (Dentsply Sirona, York, PA, USA) and the 3+1 axis milling unit CEREC MCXL was used. There were three groups with different CAM strategies: step bur 12 (12), step bur 12S (12S), and two step-mode (12TWO). The zirconia-reinforced lithium silicate ceramic Celtra Duo (Dentsply Sirona) was used as the CAD/CAM material. A new 3D method for evaluating the fit was applied, consisting of the quadrant scan with the intraoral scanning device CEREC Omnicam. The scan of the PVS material adherent to the preparation and the preparation scan were matched, and the difference analysis was performed with special software OraCheck (Cyfex AG, Zurich, Switzerland). Three areas were selected for analysis: margin (MA), axial (AX), and occlusal (OC). Statistical analysis was performed using 80% percentile, one-way ANOVA, and the post hoc Scheffé test with α=0.05. Statistically significant differences were found both within and between the test groups. The aspect axial fit results varied from 90.5 ± 20.1 μm for the two-step milling mode (12TWO_AX) to 122.8 ± 12.2 μm for the milling with step bur 12S (12S_AX). The worst result in all groups was found for the aspect occlusal fit with the highest

Strategies to intervene on causal systems are adaptively selected.

Science.gov (United States)

Coenen, Anna; Rehder, Bob; Gureckis, Todd M

2015-06-01

How do people choose interventions to learn about causal systems? Here, we considered two possibilities. First, we test an information sampling model, information gain, which values interventions that can discriminate between a learner's hypotheses (i.e. possible causal structures). We compare this discriminatory model to a positive testing strategy that instead aims to confirm individual hypotheses. Experiment 1 shows that individual behavior is described best by a mixture of these two alternatives. In Experiment 2 we find that people are able to adaptively alter their behavior and adopt the discriminatory model more often after experiencing that the confirmatory strategy leads to a subjective performance decrement. In Experiment 3, time pressure leads to the opposite effect of inducing a change towards the simpler positive testing strategy. These findings suggest that there is no single strategy that describes how intervention decisions are made. Instead, people select strategies in an adaptive fashion that trades off their expected performance and cognitive effort. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Recurrent selection as breeding strategy for heat tolerance in wheat

OpenAIRE

Juarez Campolina Machado; Moacil Alves de Souza; Davi Melo de Oliveira; Adeliano Cargnin; Aderico Júnior Badaró Pimentel; Josiane Cristina de Assis

2010-01-01

The development of heat-tolerant varieties is an important goal of wheat breeding programs, requiringefficient selection methods. In the present study the use of recurrent selection was evaluated as a strategy to improve heatstress tolerance in wheat. Two cycles of recurrent selection were performed in experiments conducted in research areas of theUniversidade Federal de Viçosa, located in Coimbra-MG and Viçosa-MG, in 2004 and 2007, in two growing seasons (summerand winter). The genetic gain ...

Analysis for Influence of Market Information on Firms＇ Optimal Strategies in Multidimensional Bertrand Game

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

DeqingTan; GuangzhongLiu

2004-01-01

The Bertrand model of two firms' static multidimensional game with incomplete information for two kinds of product with certain substitution is discussed in the paper,and analyzes influences of the firms' forecasting results of total market demands on their optimal strategies according to marxet information. The conclusions are that the more a firm masters market information, the greater differences of forecasted values and expected values of market demands for products have influence upon equilibrium strategies; conversely, the less they have influence upon equilibrium strategies.

A MOORA based fuzzy multi-criteria decision making approach for supply chain strategy selection

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bijan Sarkar

2012-08-01

Full Text Available To acquire the competitive advantages in order to survive in the global business scenario, modern companies are now facing the problems of selecting key supply chain strategies. Strategy selection becomes difficult as the number of alternatives and conflicting criteria increases. Multi criteria decision making (MCDM methodologies help the supply chain managers take a lead in a complex industrial set-up. The present investigation applies fuzzy MCDM technique entailing multi-objective optimization on the basis of ratio analysis (MOORA in selection of alternatives in a supply chain. The MOORA method is utilized to three suitable numerical examples for the selection of supply chain strategies (warehouse location selection and vendor/supplier selection. The results obtained by using current approach almost match with those of previous research works published in various open journals. The empirical study has demonstrated the simplicity and applicability of this method as a strategic decision making tool in a supply chain.

Influence of Pre-question and genre-based instructional strategies on reading

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Titi J. Fola-Adebayo

2014-12-01

Full Text Available This study investigated the influence of Pre-question and genre-based instructional strategies on science undergraduates’ achievement in, and attitude to, reading. Using purposive sampling,two specialised universities in Nigeria were selected and stratified sampling was employed in assigning students to research groups based on gender and performance in a verbal ability test. Two hundred and eighty-five students participated in the study. Pre-post randomised block experimental design was used with three experimental groups and one control group. The experimental procedure involving Pre-question, genre-based instruction and a combination of Pre-question and genre-based instructional strategies were used for the experimental groups for four weeks whilst the control group received normal teacher input. Data were collected through a Reading Comprehension Achievement Test and Students’ Attitude Questionnaire. Qualitative data, obtained from videotapes of classroom interactions, were subjected to conversation and interaction analyses and quantitative data were analysed with Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA. The results indicate that although there was no significant main effect of instructional strategy on students’ achievement in reading comprehension, there was significant main effect of instructional strategy on students’ attitude to reading (F(3,231 = 30.9;p <.05. Findings from the qualitative enquiry revealed that female students were more voluble and assertive in their responses probably because of the need to resist male domination whilst male students used discourse strategies to affirm their authority. The study indicated that the combination of pre-question and genre-based approach was the most effective in enhancing the students’ attitude to reading. Reading is one of the most useful of the Language Arts skills which learners need for academic reasons and for lifelong learning. The globalised world demands that the second language

Recurrent selection as breeding strategy for heat tolerance in wheat

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Juarez Campolina Machado

2010-01-01

Full Text Available The development of heat-tolerant varieties is an important goal of wheat breeding programs, requiringefficient selection methods. In the present study the use of recurrent selection was evaluated as a strategy to improve heatstress tolerance in wheat. Two cycles of recurrent selection were performed in experiments conducted in research areas of theUniversidade Federal de Viçosa, located in Coimbra-MG and Viçosa-MG, in 2004 and 2007, in two growing seasons (summerand winter. The genetic gain and the existence of variability show the possibility of successful recurrent selection for heattolerancein wheat.

Influence of signal processing strategy in auditory abilities.

Science.gov (United States)

Melo, Tatiana Mendes de; Bevilacqua, Maria Cecília; Costa, Orozimbo Alves; Moret, Adriane Lima Mortari

2013-01-01

The signal processing strategy is a parameter that may influence the auditory performance of cochlear implant and is important to optimize this parameter to provide better speech perception, especially in difficult listening situations. To evaluate the individual's auditory performance using two different signal processing strategy. Prospective study with 11 prelingually deafened children with open-set speech recognition. A within-subjects design was used to compare performance with standard HiRes and HiRes 120 in three different moments. During test sessions, subject's performance was evaluated by warble-tone sound-field thresholds, speech perception evaluation, in quiet and in noise. In the silence, children S1, S4, S5, S7 showed better performance with the HiRes 120 strategy and children S2, S9, S11 showed better performance with the HiRes strategy. In the noise was also observed that some children performed better using the HiRes 120 strategy and other with HiRes. Not all children presented the same pattern of response to the different strategies used in this study, which reinforces the need to look at optimizing cochlear implant clinical programming.

The influence of business strategy on new product activity: the role of market orientation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Frambach, R.T.; Prabhu, Jaideep; Verhallen, T.M.M.

2003-01-01

In this paper, we propose that business strategy influences new product activity both directly and indirectly via its influence on market orientation. Accordingly, we develop a framework linking firms' relative emphasis on cost leadership, product differentiation and focus strategies to firms'

SUPPLIER SELECTION STRATEGY AND MANUFACTURING FLEXIBILITY: IMPACT OF QUALITY AND TECHNOLOGY ROADMAPS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Muhamad Jantan

2006-01-01

Full Text Available The study evaluates the relationship between technology, quality, cost and delivery performance-based, supplier selection strategies, and manufacturing flexibilities namely, product flexibility, launch flexibility, and volume flexibility. Moreover, the moderating impact of supplier management strategies, namely quality roadmap and technology roadmap on the above relationships were also explored. The data for the study was drawn from a sample of companies listed in the factory directory published by the Penang Development Corporation (PDC. A postal survey of 120 manufacturers provided a return of 92 usable responses. The results reveal that the selection of suppliers based on technological and quality performance positively affects all the three dimensions of manufacturing flexibility, with complementary effects of good technology and quality roadmaps. Technology and quality roadmaps act as predictors for product and volume flexibilities. However, when launch flexibility is the focus, both technology and quality roadmaps moderate the impact of supplier selection strategies. Details of the findings, theoretical and practical implications, and the research limitation are discussed.

[Willingness and influencing factors related to "centralized slaughtering, fresh poultry listing and marketing" strategy among the household chefs in Guangzhou].

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, W H; Ma, Y; Lu, J Y; Yan, H C; Zhou, J H; Liao, X L; Zeng, J H; Lin, W Q; Wu, D; Zhang, Z B; Yang, Z C; Chen, Z Q; Chen, J D; Li, T G

2018-02-10

Objective: To study the willingness and influence factors related to "centralized slaughtering, fresh poultry listing and marketing" strategy, among the household chefs, and provide reference for government to adjust and optimize the strategy on avian influenza prevention. Methods: According to the geographical characteristics and regional functions, 6 'monitoring stations' were selected from 12 residential districts of Guangzhou, respectively. Another 21 meat markets which selling live poultry, were selected in each station and 5 household chefs of each market were invited to attend a face to face interview. Basic information, personal cognitive, willingness and influencing factors to the policy were under study. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression methods were used. Results: A total of 664 household chefs underwent the survey and results showed that the rate of support to the "centralized slaughtering, fresh poultry listing and marketing" strategy was 44.6% (296/664). Results from the multi-factor logistic regression showed that those household chefs who were males ( OR =1.618, 95% CI : 1.156-2.264, P =0.005), having received higher education ( OR =1.814, 95% CI : 1.296-2.539, P =0.001), or believing that the existence of live poultry stalls was related to the transmission of avian influenza ( OR =1.918, 95% CI : 1.341-2.743, P marketing" strategy. Conclusion: Detailed study on this subject and, setting up pilot project in some areas as well as prioritizing the education programs for household chefs seemed helpful to the implementation of the 'freezing-fresh poultry' policy.

Competitive seeds-selection in complex networks

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Jiuhua; Liu, Qipeng; Wang, Lin; Wang, Xiaofan

2017-02-01

This paper investigates a competitive diffusion model where two competitors simultaneously select a set of nodes (seeds) in the network to influence. We focus on the problem of how to select these seeds such that, when the diffusion process terminates, a competitor can obtain more supports than its opponent. Instead of studying this problem in the game-theoretic framework as in the existing work, in this paper we design several heuristic seed-selection strategies inspired by commonly used centrality measures-Betweenness Centrality (BC), Closeness Centrality (CC), Degree Centrality (DC), Eigenvector Centrality (EC), and K-shell Centrality (KS). We mainly compare three centrality-based strategies, which have better performances in competing with the random selection strategy, through simulations on both real and artificial networks. Even though network structure varies across different networks, we find certain common trend appearing in all of these networks. Roughly speaking, BC-based strategy and DC-based strategy are better than CC-based strategy. Moreover, if a competitor adopts CC-based strategy, then BC-based strategy is a better strategy than DC-based strategy for his opponent, and the superiority of BC-based strategy decreases as the heterogeneity of the network decreases.

motivational strategies and possible influence on secondary school ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

UDUAK

This study investigated the influence of motivational strategies on teachers' teaching performance in public secondary schools in Uyo – Urban, Akwa Ibom State. One hypothesis was formed to guide the study and Expo Facto design was adopted for the study. A sample of three hundred and sixty (360) teachers were ...

Influence Strategies Used When Couples Make Work-Family Decisions and Their Importance for Marital Satisfaction.

Science.gov (United States)

Zvonkovic, Anisa M.; And Others

1994-01-01

Investigated how marital partners influenced each other concerning work and family decisions and connected influence strategies to martial satisfaction in 61 married couples who had faced work-family decisions in past 6 months. Found that gender role ideology and indirect influence strategies were related to marital satisfaction. Variables related…

Emotion regulation strategy selection in daily life: The role of social context and goals

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Ihno A.; John, Oliver P.; Gross, James J.

2016-01-01

Recent studies have begun to document the diversity of ways people regulate their emotions. However, one unanswered question is why people regulate their emotions as they do in everyday life. In the present research, we examined how social context and goals influence strategy selection in daily high points and low points. As expected, suppression was particularly tied to social features of context: it was used more when others were present, especially non-close partners, and when people had instrumental goals, especially more interpersonal ones (e.g., avoid conflict). Distraction and reappraisal were used more when regulating for hedonic reasons (e.g., to feel better), but these strategies were also linked to certain instrumental goals (e.g., getting work done). When contra-hedonic regulation occurred, it primarily took the form of dampening positive emotion during high points. Suppression was more likely to be used for contra-hedonic regulation, whereas reappraisal and distraction were used more for pro-hedonic regulation. Overall, these findings highlight the social nature of emotion regulation and underscore the importance of examining regulation in both positive and negative contexts. PMID:28652647

Emotion regulation strategy selection in daily life: The role of social context and goals.

Science.gov (United States)

English, Tammy; Lee, Ihno A; John, Oliver P; Gross, James J

2017-04-01

Recent studies have begun to document the diversity of ways people regulate their emotions. However, one unanswered question is why people regulate their emotions as they do in everyday life. In the present research, we examined how social context and goals influence strategy selection in daily high points and low points. As expected, suppression was particularly tied to social features of context: it was used more when others were present, especially non-close partners, and when people had instrumental goals, especially more interpersonal ones (e.g., avoid conflict). Distraction and reappraisal were used more when regulating for hedonic reasons (e.g., to feel better), but these strategies were also linked to certain instrumental goals (e.g., getting work done). When contra-hedonic regulation occurred, it primarily took the form of dampening positive emotion during high points. Suppression was more likely to be used for contra-hedonic regulation, whereas reappraisal and distraction were used more for pro-hedonic regulation. Overall, these findings highlight the social nature of emotion regulation and underscore the importance of examining regulation in both positive and negative contexts.

First selection, then influence : Developmental differences in friendship dynamics regarding academic achievement

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gremmen, Mariola Claudia; Dijkstra, Jan Kornelis; Steglich, Christian; Veenstra, René

This study concerns peer selection and influence dynamics in early adolescents' friendships regarding academic achievement. Using longitudinal social network analysis (RSiena), both selection and influence processes were investigated for students' average grades and their cluster-specific grades

Strategies, limitations and opportunities for marker-assisted selection in livestock

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dekkers, J.C.M.; Werf, H.J. van der

2007-01-01

This chapter reviews the principles, opportunities and limitations for detection of quantitative trait loci (QTL) in livestock and for their use in genetic improvement programmes. Alternate strategies for QTL detection are discussed, as are methods for inclusion of marker and QTL information in genetic evaluation. Practical issues regarding implementation of marker-assisted selection (MAS) for selection in breed crosses and for selection within breeds are described, along with likely routes towards achieving that goal. Opportunities and challenges are also discussed for the use of molecular information for genetic improvement of livestock in developing countries. (author)

Customer relationship management influence on sales of selected companies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jana Němeček

2012-01-01

Full Text Available General awareness of information technology and business strategy Customer Relationship Management (CRM among managers in the Czech Republic is for several years, but in comparison with Western states of the European Union the Czech companies are underdeveloped. Apparently also because of the economic crisis is CRM in the Czech Republic begins to be used more. The main goal of implementing CRM is to help to company increase the quality of relationship and communication with customers. In this article are the most common definitions of CRM.The main content of this article is about the analysing and comparing of Trading Income of selected companies doing business in the Czech Republic. There are compared selected companies with implemented information technology and business strategy CRM with companies without implemented CRM and how it could have an impact to the Trading Income of these selected companies. Has CRM implementation helped to increase the positive Trading Income during the economic crisis? Included is an analysis of Trading Income from 2007 to 2010 for selected companies grouped by number of employees. The conclusion summarizes the analysis of results and assumptions and benefits of CRM.

How Consumers Persuade Each Other: Rhetorical Strategies of Interpersonal Influence in Online Communities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daiane Scaraboto

2012-07-01

Full Text Available Persuasive messages are central to interpersonal influence in online communities, where consumers interact mainly through text. We employed a combination of netnography and computer-mediated discourse analysis to investigate how consumers exchange information related to products and brands in an online community. We identified a set of rhetorical strategies used by community members, including setting expectations, claiming expertise, prescribing, and celebrating acquiescence. Consumers employ these rhetorical strategies to influence each other's consumption decisions, report consumption decisions back to the community, and to gauge their influence on each other's choices. We compare this process to traditional types of interpersonal influence and discuss how our findings contribute to advancing the burgeoning literature on interpersonal influence in online contexts.

Variable selection in multiple linear regression: The influence of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

provide an indication of whether the fit of the selected model improves or ... and calculate M(−i); quantify the influence of case i in terms of a function, f(•), of M and ..... [21] Venter JH & Snyman JLJ, 1997, Linear model selection based on risk ...

Strategy selection for the decommissioning of nuclear facilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2004-01-01

As modern nuclear power programmes mature and large, commercial nuclear power plants and fuel cycle facilities approach the end of their useful life by reason of age, economics or change of policy on the use of nuclear power, new challenges associated with decommissioning and dismantling come to the fore. Politicians and the public may expect there to be a 'right answer' to the choice of strategy for a particular type of facility, or even all facilities. Both this seminar and wider experience show that this is not the case. Local factors and national political positions have a significant input and often result in widely differing strategy approaches to broadly similar decommissioning projects. All facility owners represented at the seminar were able to demonstrate a rational process for strategy selection and compelling arguments for the choices made. In addition to the papers that were presented, these proceedings include a summary of the discussions that took place. (author)

The Success Of Stock Selection Strategies In Emerging Markets: Is It Risk Or Behavioral Bias?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

J. van der Hart; G.J. de Zwart (Gerben); D.J.C. van Dijk (Dick)

2005-01-01

textabstractWe examine competing explanations, based on risk and behavioral models, for the profitability of stock selection strategies in emerging markets. We document that both emerging market risk and global risk factors cannot account for the significant excess returns of selection strategies

The Effects of Relationship Type, Partner Intent, and Gender on the Selection of Relationship Maintenance Strategies.

Science.gov (United States)

Shea, B. Christine; Pearson, Judy C.

1986-01-01

Indicates that relationship type did not affect the maintenance strategies that partners chose; however, the partners' relationship intent and the sex-composition of the dyad had a significant impact on the selection of directness strategies. Suggests that individuals are not necessarily more likely to select directness strategies than balance or…

Selecting for memory? The influence of selective attention on the mnemonic binding of contextual information.

Science.gov (United States)

Uncapher, Melina R; Rugg, Michael D

2009-06-24

Not all of what is experienced is remembered later. Behavioral evidence suggests that the manner in which an event is processed influences which aspects of the event will later be remembered. The present experiment investigated the neural correlates of "selective encoding," or the mechanisms that support the encoding of some elements of an event in preference to others. Event-related MRI data were acquired while volunteers selectively attended to one of two different contextual features of study items (color or location). A surprise memory test for the items and both contextual features was subsequently administered to determine the influence of selective attention on the neural correlates of contextual encoding. Activity in several cortical regions indexed later memory success selectively for color or location information, and this encoding-related activity was enhanced by selective attention to the relevant feature. Critically, a region in the hippocampus responded selectively to attended source information (whether color or location), demonstrating encoding-related activity for attended but not for nonattended source features. Together, the findings suggest that selective attention modulates the magnitude of activity in cortical regions engaged by different aspects of an event, and hippocampal encoding mechanisms seem to be sensitive to this modulation. Thus, the information that is encoded into a memory representation is biased by selective attention, and this bias is mediated by cortical-hippocampal interactions.

Selecting for memory? The influence of selective attention on the mnemonic binding of contextual information

Science.gov (United States)

Uncapher, Melina R.; Rugg, Michael D.

2009-01-01

Not all of what is experienced is remembered later. Behavioral evidence suggests that the manner in which an event is processed influences which aspects of the event will later be remembered. The present experiment investigated the neural correlates of ‘selective encoding’, or the mechanisms that support the encoding of some elements of an event in preference to others. Event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data were acquired while volunteers selectively attended to one of two different contextual features of study items (color or location). A surprise memory test for the items and both contextual features was subsequently administered to determine the influence of selective attention on the neural correlates of contextual encoding. Activity in several cortical regions indexed later memory success selectively for color or location information, and this encoding-related activity was enhanced by selective attention to the relevant feature. Critically, a region in the hippocampus responded selectively to attended source information (whether color or location), demonstrating encoding-related activity for attended but not for nonattended source features. Together, the findings suggest that selective attention modulates the magnitude of activity in cortical regions engaged by different aspects of an event, and hippocampal encoding mechanisms seem to be sensitive to this modulation. Thus, the information that is encoded into a memory representation is biased by selective attention, and this bias is mediated by cortico-hippocampal interactions. PMID:19553466

Contract Source Selection: An Analysis of Lowest Price Technically Acceptable and Tradeoff Strategies

Science.gov (United States)

2016-06-01

it can start moderately, and as it progresses to the right, price is seen to be less important than the advantage (non-cost factor) gained. 3... advantages compared to the LPTA source selection strategy. These include “learning,” “ business judgment,” “flexibility,” and “customer satisfaction...2014, p. 5). The next advantage is the use of business judgment. The tradeoff source selection strategy is highly subjective and this allows the source

Influence of Organizational Culture on Service Provider Selection

OpenAIRE

Yılmaz, Mehmet; Yılmaz Börekçi, Dilek; Örnek, Ali

2017-01-01

Although Third Party Logistics Service Provider (3PL) selection literature mentions organizational culture’s role in the development as well as in the maintenance of 3PL arrangements, there is a paucity of attempts to underline the significance of organizational culture’s influence on the formation and management of 3PL relationships. In this study, the influence of different organizational cultural orientations in uncertainty avoidance, future orientation, performance orientation and paterna...

Program Characteristics Influencing Allopathic Students' Residency Selection.

Science.gov (United States)

Stillman, Michael D; Miller, Karen Hughes; Ziegler, Craig H; Upadhyay, Ashish; Mitchell, Charlene K

2016-04-01

Medical students must consider many overt variables when entering the National Resident Matching Program. However, changes with the single graduate medical education accreditation system have caused a gap in knowledge about more subtle considerations, including what, if any, influence the presence of osteopathic physician (ie, DO) and international medical graduate (IMG) house officers has on allopathic students' residency program preferences. Program directors and selection committee members may assume students' implicit bias without substantiating evidence. To reexamine which program characteristics affect US-trained allopathic medical students' residency selection, and to determine whether the presence of DO and IMG house officers affects the program choices of allopathic medical students. Fourth-year medical students from 4 allopathic medical schools completed an online survey. The Pearson χ(2) statistic was used to compare demographic and program-specific traits that influence ranking decisions and to determine whether school type (private vs public), valuing a residency program's prestige, or interest in a competitive specialty dictated results. Qualitative data were analyzed using the Pandit variation of the Glaser and Strauss constant comparison. Surveys were completed by 323 of 577 students (56%). Students from private vs public institutions were more likely to value a program's prestige (160 [93%] vs 99 [72%]; P<.001) and research opportunities (114 [66%] vs 57 [42%]; P<.001), and they were less likely to consider their prospects of being accepted (98 [57%] vs 111 [81%]; P<.001). A total of 33 (10%) and 52 (16%) students reported that the presence of DO or IMG trainees, respectively, would influence their final residency selection, and these percentages were largely unchanged among students interested in programs' prestige or in entering a competitive specialty. Open-ended comments were generally optimistic about diversification of the physician

Social influence on selection behaviour: Distinguishing local- and global-driven preferential attachment.

Science.gov (United States)

Pan, Xue; Hou, Lei; Liu, Kecheng

2017-01-01

Social influence drives human selection behaviours when numerous objects competing for limited attentions, which leads to the 'rich get richer' dynamics where popular objects tend to get more attentions. However, evidences have been found that, both the global information of the whole system and the local information among one's friends have significant influence over the one's selection. Consequently, a key question raises that, it is the local information or the global information more determinative for one's selection? Here we compare the local-based influence and global-based influence. We show that, the selection behaviour is mainly driven by the local popularity of the objects while the global popularity plays a supplementary role driving the behaviour only when there is little local information for the user to refer to. Thereby, we propose a network model to describe the mechanism of user-object interaction evolution with social influence, where the users perform either local-driven or global-driven preferential attachments to the objects, i.e., the probability of an objects to be selected by a target user is proportional to either its local popularity or global popularity. The simulation suggests that, about 75% of the attachments should be driven by the local popularity to reproduce the empirical observations. It means that, at least in the studied context where users chose businesses on Yelp, there is a probability of 75% for a user to make a selection according to the local popularity. The proposed model and the numerical findings may shed some light on the study of social influence and evolving social systems.

The path to memory is guided by strategy: distinct networks are engaged in associative encoding under visual and verbal strategy and influence memory performance in healthy and impaired individuals

Science.gov (United States)

Hales, J. B.; Brewer, J. B.

2018-01-01

Given the diversity of stimuli encountered in daily life, a variety of strategies must be used for learning new information. Relating and encoding visual and verbal stimuli into memory has been probed using various tasks and stimulus-types. Engagement of specific subsequent memory and cortical processing regions depends on the stimulus modality of studied material; however, it remains unclear whether different encoding strategies similarly influence regional activity when stimulus-type is held constant. In this study, subjects encoded object pairs using a visual or verbal associative strategy during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), and subsequent memory was assessed for pairs encoded under each strategy. Each strategy elicited distinct regional processing and subsequent memory effects: middle / superior frontal, lateral parietal, and lateral occipital for visually-associated pairs and inferior frontal, medial frontal, and medial occipital for verbally-associated pairs. This regional selectivity mimics the effects of stimulus modality, suggesting that cortical involvement in associative encoding is driven by strategy, and not simply by stimulus-type. The clinical relevance of these findings, probed in two patients with recent aphasic strokes, suggest that training with strategies utilizing unaffected cortical regions might improve memory ability in patients with brain damage. PMID:22390467

Missing Data Bias on a Selective Hedging Strategy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kiss Gábor Dávid

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Foreign exchange rates affect corporate profitability both on the macro and cash-flow level. The current study analyses the bias of missing data on a selective hedging strategy, where currency options are applied in case of Value at Risk (1% signs. However, there can be special occasions when one or some data is missing due to lack of a trading activity. This paper focuses on the impact of different missing data handling methods on GARCH and Value at Risk model parameters, because of selective hedging and option pricing based on them. The main added value of the current paper is the comparison of the impact of different methods, such as listwise deletion, mean substitution, and maximum likelihood based Expectation Maximization, on risk management because this subject has insufficient literature. The current study tested daily closing data of floating currencies from Kenya (KES, Ghana (GHS, South Africa (ZAR, Tanzania (TZS, Uganda (UGX, Gambia (GMD, Madagascar (MGA and Mozambique (MZN in USD denomination against EUR/USD rate between March 8, 2000 and March 6, 2015 acquired from the Bloomberg database. Our results suggested the biases of missingness on Value at Risk and volatility models, presenting significant differences among the number of extreme fluctuations or model parameters. A selective hedging strategy can have different expenditures due to the choice of method. This paper suggests the usage of mean substitution or listwise deletion for daily financial time series due to their tendency to have a close to zero first momentum

Statistical power of model selection strategies for genome-wide association studies.

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Zheyang Wu

2009-07-01

Full Text Available Genome-wide association studies (GWAS aim to identify genetic variants related to diseases by examining the associations between phenotypes and hundreds of thousands of genotyped markers. Because many genes are potentially involved in common diseases and a large number of markers are analyzed, it is crucial to devise an effective strategy to identify truly associated variants that have individual and/or interactive effects, while controlling false positives at the desired level. Although a number of model selection methods have been proposed in the literature, including marginal search, exhaustive search, and forward search, their relative performance has only been evaluated through limited simulations due to the lack of an analytical approach to calculating the power of these methods. This article develops a novel statistical approach for power calculation, derives accurate formulas for the power of different model selection strategies, and then uses the formulas to evaluate and compare these strategies in genetic model spaces. In contrast to previous studies, our theoretical framework allows for random genotypes, correlations among test statistics, and a false-positive control based on GWAS practice. After the accuracy of our analytical results is validated through simulations, they are utilized to systematically evaluate and compare the performance of these strategies in a wide class of genetic models. For a specific genetic model, our results clearly reveal how different factors, such as effect size, allele frequency, and interaction, jointly affect the statistical power of each strategy. An example is provided for the application of our approach to empirical research. The statistical approach used in our derivations is general and can be employed to address the model selection problems in other random predictor settings. We have developed an R package markerSearchPower to implement our formulas, which can be downloaded from the

Developing TOPSIS method using statistical normalization for selecting knowledge management strategies

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Amin Zadeh Sarraf

2013-09-01

Full Text Available Purpose: Numerous companies are expecting their knowledge management (KM to be performed effectively in order to leverage and transform the knowledge into competitive advantages. However, here raises a critical issue of how companies can better evaluate and select a favorable KM strategy prior to a successful KM implementation. Design/methodology/approach: An extension of TOPSIS, a multi-attribute decision making (MADM technique, to a group decision environment is investigated. TOPSIS is a practical and useful technique for ranking and selection of a number of externally determined alternatives through distance measures. The entropy method is often used for assessing weights in the TOPSIS method. Entropy in information theory is a criterion uses for measuring the amount of disorder represented by a discrete probability distribution. According to decrease resistance degree of employees opposite of implementing a new strategy, it seems necessary to spot all managers’ opinion. The normal distribution considered the most prominent probability distribution in statistics is used to normalize gathered data. Findings: The results of this study show that by considering 6 criteria for alternatives Evaluation, the most appropriate KM strategy to implement  in our company was ‘‘Personalization’’. Research limitations/implications: In this research, there are some assumptions that might affect the accuracy of the approach such as normal distribution of sample and community. These assumptions can be changed in future work. Originality/value: This paper proposes an effective solution based on combined entropy and TOPSIS approach to help companies that need to evaluate and select KM strategies. In represented solution, opinions of all managers is gathered and normalized by using standard normal distribution and central limit theorem. Keywords: Knowledge management; strategy; TOPSIS; Normal distribution; entropy

Selection of the Bank Investment Strategy on the Basis of the Hierarchy Analysis Method

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Zhytar Maksym O.

2014-02-01

Full Text Available The goal of the article lies in identification of a methodical approach to selection of the investment strategy of banks on the basis of factors of its formation with the use of the hierarchy analysis method. Factors of formation of the bank’s investment strategy were identified in the result of the study. The article demonstrates that selection of the investment strategy of the bank could be efficiently realised on the basis of the hierarchy analysis method, which is the most popular under conditions of a multi-criteria assessment of the search for optimal solution of the set task. The article offers a hierarchical structure of decision making, which could be a basis of selection of the bank’s investment strategy with consideration of the institutional flexibility. The prospect of further study in this direction is development of an optimisation model of the bank’s investment portfolio with consideration of not only institutional, but also market flexibility of decision making.

Effect of "owners" selection strategies on autumn weight in reindeer (Rangifer t. tarandus calves

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Robert B. Weladji

2002-03-01

Full Text Available Many northern indigenous peoples, including the Sami are dependent on reindeer herding for their livelihood. In view of the socio-cultural and economical importance of reindeer herding, emphasis should be put on appropriate herd structure and selection strategies that maximise marketable products, such as meat (the primary marketable product nowadays. Empirical observations reveal that within a herd, some owners seem to have better productivity in term of carcass autumn weight of calves, than others. We hypothesized that there may be an "owner" effect in reindeer herding, i.e. some owners may be applying particular selection strategies that might be beneficial. We investigated this in three reindeer grazing districts in South Norway, using mixed linear models. We found that autumn carcass weight of calves varied significantly with year and "owner" within herd in all three districts. Consistently some particular owners within a herd had higher average autumn carcass weight of their calves than others. We attributed this difference to "individual selection strategies", meaning that some owners may follow more accurately the sex, age and weight-based recommended strategy and in addition, they may make superior choices when selecting animals for slaughtering. We conclude that individual owners have the capability, through appropriate selection decisions to improve the average annual autumn weight of their reindeer calves. This might be an important aspect of "Traditional Ecological Knowledge", in addition to the recommended modern sex, age and weight-based selection criteria.

Real-Time Adaptation of Influence Strategies in Online Selling

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kaptein, M.C.; Parvinen, P.

2014-01-01

Real-time adjustments in online selling are becoming increasingly common. In this paper we describe a novel method of real-time adaptation, and introduce influence strategies as a useful level of analysis for personalization of online selling. The proposed method incorporates three perspectives on

Feature Extraction and Selection Strategies for Automated Target Recognition

Science.gov (United States)

Greene, W. Nicholas; Zhang, Yuhan; Lu, Thomas T.; Chao, Tien-Hsin

2010-01-01

Several feature extraction and selection methods for an existing automatic target recognition (ATR) system using JPLs Grayscale Optical Correlator (GOC) and Optimal Trade-Off Maximum Average Correlation Height (OT-MACH) filter were tested using MATLAB. The ATR system is composed of three stages: a cursory region of-interest (ROI) search using the GOC and OT-MACH filter, a feature extraction and selection stage, and a final classification stage. Feature extraction and selection concerns transforming potential target data into more useful forms as well as selecting important subsets of that data which may aide in detection and classification. The strategies tested were built around two popular extraction methods: Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Independent Component Analysis (ICA). Performance was measured based on the classification accuracy and free-response receiver operating characteristic (FROC) output of a support vector machine(SVM) and a neural net (NN) classifier.

Research on the influence of institutional pressures on green innovation strategy

Science.gov (United States)

Zewen, Chen; xin, Li; Hongjun, Cao

2017-11-01

Based on the new Institutional theory and the sample of 116 enterprises, this paper explores the influencing factors of green innovation strategy from the perspective of forced pressure, normative pressure and imitation pressure. The results show that the mandatory regulation, the incentive regulation, the supply chain pressure, and the competitive pressure all have a significant and positive impact on the green innovation strategy. Therefore, the government should take steps to stimulate enterprises to choose the green innovation strategy.

Public Speaking Apprehension, Decision-Making Errors in the Selection of Speech Introduction Strategies and Adherence to Strategy.

Science.gov (United States)

Beatty, Michael J.

1988-01-01

Examines the choice-making processes of students engaged in the selection of speech introduction strategies. Finds that the frequency of students making decision-making errors was a positive function of public speaking apprehension. (MS)

Community pharmacy customer segmentation based on factors influencing their selection of pharmacy and over-the-counter medicines.

Science.gov (United States)

Kevrekidis, Dimitrios Phaedon; Minarikova, Daniela; Markos, Angelos; Malovecka, Ivona; Minarik, Peter

2018-01-01

Within the competitive pharmacy market environment, community pharmacies are required to develop efficient marketing strategies based on contemporary information about consumer behavior in order to attract clients and develop customer loyalty. This study aimed to investigate the consumers' preferences concerning the selection of pharmacy and over-the-counter (OTC) medicines, and to identify customer segments in relation to these preferences. A cross-sectional study was conducted between February and March 2016 on a convenient quota sample of 300 participants recruited in the metropolitan area of Thessaloniki, Greece. The main instrument used for data collection was a structured questionnaire with close-ended, multiple choice questions. To identify customer segments, Two-Step cluster analysis was conducted. Three distinct pharmacy customer clusters emerged. Customers of the largest cluster (49%; 'convenience customers') were mostly younger consumers. They gave moderate to positive ratings to factors affecting the selection of pharmacy and OTCs; convenience, and previous experience and the pharmacist's opinion, received the highest ratings. Customers of the second cluster (35%; 'loyal customers') were mainly retired; most of them reported visiting a single pharmacy. They gave high ratings to all factors that influence pharmacy selection, especially the pharmacy's staff, and factors influencing the purchase of OTCs, particularly previous experience and the pharmacist's opinion. Customers of the smallest cluster (16%; 'convenience and price-sensitive customers') were mainly retired or unemployed with low to moderate education, and low personal income. They gave the lowest ratings to most of the examined factors; convenience among factors influencing pharmacy selection, whereas previous experience, the pharmacist's opinion and product price among those affecting the purchase of OTCs, received the highest ratings. The community pharmacy market comprised of distinct

The sequence relay selection strategy based on stochastic dynamic programming

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Rui; Chen, Xihao; Huang, Yangchao

2017-07-01

Relay-assisted (RA) network with relay node selection is a kind of effective method to improve the channel capacity and convergence performance. However, most of the existing researches about the relay selection did not consider the statically channel state information and the selection cost. This shortage limited the performance and application of RA network in practical scenarios. In order to overcome this drawback, a sequence relay selection strategy (SRSS) was proposed. And the performance upper bound of SRSS was also analyzed in this paper. Furthermore, in order to make SRSS more practical, a novel threshold determination algorithm based on the stochastic dynamic program (SDP) was given to work with SRSS. Numerical results are also presented to exhibit the performance of SRSS with SDP.

Influence of selected washing treatments and drying temperatures ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Influence of selected washing treatments and drying temperatures on ... with regard to the optimal retention of the crude protein and fat levels of the dried dagaa. ... are accessible to most of the households involved in dried fish processing.

The Influence of Training Strategy and Physical Condition toward Forehand Drive Ability in Table Tennis

Science.gov (United States)

Langitan, F. W.

2018-02-01

The objective of this research is to find out the influence of training strategy and physical condition toward forehand drive ability in table tennis of student in faculty of sport in university of Manado, department of health and recreation education. The method used in this research was factorial 2x2 design method. The population was taken from the student of Faculty of Sport at Manado State University, Indonesia, in 2017 of 76 students for sample research. The result of this research shows that: In general, this training strategy of wall bounce gives better influence toward forehand drive ability compare with the strategy of pair training in table tennis. For the students who have strong forehand muscle, the wall bounce training strategy give better influence to their ability of forehand drive in table tennis. For the student who have weak forehand muscle, pair training strategy give better influence than wall bound training toward forehand drive ability in table tennis. There is an interaction between training using hand muscle strength to the training result in table tennis using forehand drive.

Novel Distance Measure in Fuzzy TOPSIS for Supply Chain Strategy Based Supplier Selection

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B. Pardha Saradhi

2016-01-01

Full Text Available In today’s highly competitive environment, organizations need to evaluate and select suppliers based on their manufacturing strategy. Identification of supply chain strategy of the organization, determination of decision criteria, and methods of supplier selection are appearing to be the most important components in research area in the field of supply chain management. In this paper, evaluation of suppliers is done based on the balanced scorecard framework using new distance measure in fuzzy TOPSIS by considering the supply chain strategy of the manufacturing organization. To take care of vagueness in decision making, trapezoidal fuzzy number is assumed for pairwise comparisons to determine relative weights of perspectives and criteria of supplier selection. Also, linguistic variables specified in terms of trapezoidal fuzzy number are considered for the payoff values of criteria of the suppliers. These fuzzy numbers satisfied the Jensen based inequality. A detailed application of the proposed methodology is illustrated.

Time-Consistent Strategies for a Multiperiod Mean-Variance Portfolio Selection Problem

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Huiling Wu

2013-01-01

Full Text Available It remained prevalent in the past years to obtain the precommitment strategies for Markowitz's mean-variance portfolio optimization problems, but not much is known about their time-consistent strategies. This paper takes a step to investigate the time-consistent Nash equilibrium strategies for a multiperiod mean-variance portfolio selection problem. Under the assumption that the risk aversion is, respectively, a constant and a function of current wealth level, we obtain the explicit expressions for the time-consistent Nash equilibrium strategy and the equilibrium value function. Many interesting properties of the time-consistent results are identified through numerical sensitivity analysis and by comparing them with the classical pre-commitment solutions.

Do Culture-based Segments Predict Selection of Market Strategy?

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Veronika Jadczaková

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Academists and practitioners have already acknowledged the importance of unobservable segmentation bases (such as psychographics yet still focusing on how well these bases are capable of describing relevant segments (the identifiability criterion rather than on how precisely these segments can predict (the predictability criterion. Therefore, this paper intends to add a debate to this topic by exploring whether culture-based segments do account for a selection of market strategy. To do so, a set of market strategy variables over a sample of 251 manufacturing firms was first regressed on a set of 19 cultural variables using canonical correlation analysis. Having found significant relationship in the first canonical function, it was further examined by means of correspondence analysis which cultural segments – if any – are linked to which market strategies. However, as correspondence analysis failed to find a significant relationship, it may be concluded that business culture might relate to the adoption of market strategy but not to the cultural groupings presented in the paper.

Friendship selection and friends' influence : Dynamics of networks and actor attributes in early adolescence

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Knecht, Andrea Beate

2008-01-01

Adolescent friends are often found to be similar. Similarity can be caused by selection and influence processes. This book examines selection and influence processes for delinquency, school attitudes, and alcohol use in early adolescence. For selection processes, we hypothesize that adolescents

Clinicians in management: a qualitative study of managers’ use of influence strategies in hospitals

Science.gov (United States)

2014-01-01

Background Combining a professional and managerial role can be challenging for doctors and nurses. We aimed to explore influence strategies used by doctors and nurses who are managers in hospitals with a model of unitary and profession neutral management at all levels. Methods We did a study based on data from interviews and observations of 30 managers with a clinical background in Norwegian hospitals. Results Managers with a nursing background argued that medical doctors could more easily gain support for their views. Nurses reported deliberately not disclosing their professional background, and could use a doctor as their agent to achieve a strategic advantage. Doctors believed that they had to use their power as experts to influence peers. Doctors attempted to be medical role models, while nurses spoke of being a role model in more general terms. Managers who were not able to influence the system directly found informal workarounds. We did not identify horizontal strategies in the observations and accounts given by the managers in our study. Conclusions Managers’ professional background may be both a resource and constraint, and also determine the influence strategies they use. Professional roles and influence strategies should be a theme in leadership development programs for health professionals. PMID:24927743

Building Cell Selectivity into CPP-Mediated Strategies

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Irene Martín

2010-05-01

Full Text Available There is a pressing need for more effective and selective therapies for cancer and other diseases. Consequently, much effort is being devoted to the development of alternative experimental approaches based on selective systems, which are designed to be specifically directed against target cells. In addition, a large number of highly potent therapeutic molecules are being discovered. However, they do not reach clinical trials because of their low delivery, poor specificity or their incapacity to bypass the plasma membrane. Cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs are an open door for cell-impermeable compounds to reach intracellular targets. Putting all these together, research is sailing in the direction of the design of systems with the capacity to transport new drugs into a target cell. Some CPPs show cell type specificity while others require modifications or form part of more sophisticated drug delivery systems. In this review article we summarize several strategies for directed drug delivery involving CPPs that have been reported in the literature.

Influence of the Farmer’s Livelihood Assets on Livelihood Strategies in the Western Mountainous Area, China

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Zhifei Liu

2018-03-01

Full Text Available The livelihood strategies of farm households depend on the conditions of their assets, and farm households cope with risks and shocks through portfolios consisting of different types of assets. Thus, discussing the relationship between the livelihood assets and the livelihood strategies of farm households helps in understanding their livelihood conditions and in formulating reasonable poverty reduction policies. Taking Zunyi City, which is located in a western, mountainous area of China, as the study region and using the framework of sustainability analysis, this study first tries to establish the mechanism of the influence of farm household livelihood assets on livelihood strategies, then evaluates different farm household livelihood assets by establishing an evaluation index system for them, and finally conducts an empirical analysis on the influence of farm household livelihood assets on livelihood strategies using a multinomial logit model. The research results indicate the following: (1 natural assets and material assets have a significant negative influence on farm households’ choice of livelihood strategies, that is, the more natural assets and material assets that farm households own, the more likely they are to choose livelihood strategies involving engaging in agricultural production; (2 Manpower assets and financial assets have a significant positive influence on farm households’ choice of livelihood strategy, namely, the more manpower assets and financial assets that farm households own, the more likely they are to choose livelihood strategies involving engaging in non-agricultural production; (3 Social assets have no significant influence on farm households’ choice of livelihood strategy.

Stress, Time Pressure, Strategy Selection and Math Anxiety in Mathematics: A Review of the Literature.

Science.gov (United States)

Caviola, Sara; Carey, Emma; Mammarella, Irene C; Szucs, Denes

2017-01-01

We review how stress induction, time pressure manipulations and math anxiety can interfere with or modulate selection of problem-solving strategies (henceforth "strategy selection") in arithmetical tasks. Nineteen relevant articles were identified, which contain references to strategy selection and time limit (or time manipulations), with some also discussing emotional aspects in mathematical outcomes. Few of these take cognitive processes such as working memory or executive functions into consideration. We conclude that due to the sparsity of available literature our questions can only be partially answered and currently there is not much evidence of clear associations. We identify major gaps in knowledge and raise a series of open questions to guide further research.

Multi-objective optimization of cellular scanning strategy in selective laser melting

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ahrari, Ali; Deb, Kalyanmoy; Mohanty, Sankhya

2017-01-01

The scanning strategy for selective laser melting - an additive manufacturing process - determines the temperature fields during the manufacturing process, which in turn affects residual stresses and distortions, two of the main sources of process-induced defects. The goal of this study is to dev......The scanning strategy for selective laser melting - an additive manufacturing process - determines the temperature fields during the manufacturing process, which in turn affects residual stresses and distortions, two of the main sources of process-induced defects. The goal of this study......, the problem is a combination of combinatorial and choice optimization, which makes the problem difficult to solve. On a process simulation domain consisting of 32 cells, our multi-objective evolutionary method is able to find a set of trade-off solutions for the defined conflicting objectives, which cannot...

Community pharmacy customer segmentation based on factors influencing their selection of pharmacy and over-the-counter medicines

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dimitrios Phaedon Kevrekidis

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Background: Within the competitive pharmacy market environment, community pharmacies are required to develop efficient marketing strategies based on contemporary information about consumer behavior in order to attract clients and develop customer loyalty. Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the consumers’ preferences concerning the selection of pharmacy and over-the-counter (OTC medicines, and to identify customer segments in relation to these preferences. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted between February and March 2016 on a convenient quota sample of 300 participants recruited in the metropolitan area of Thessaloniki, Greece. The main instrument used for data collection was a structured questionnaire with close-ended, multiple choice questions. To identify customer segments, Two-Step cluster analysis was conducted. Results: Three distinct pharmacy customer clusters emerged. Customers of the largest cluster (49%; ‘convenience customers’ were mostly younger consumers. They gave moderate to positive ratings to factors affecting the selection of pharmacy and OTCs; convenience, and previous experience and the pharmacist’s opinion, received the highest ratings. Customers of the second cluster (35%; ‘loyal customers’ were mainly retired; most of them reported visiting a single pharmacy. They gave high ratings to all factors that influence pharmacy selection, especially the pharmacy’s staff, and factors influencing the purchase of OTCs, particularly previous experience and the pharmacist’s opinion. Customers of the smallest cluster (16%; ‘convenience and price-sensitive customers’ were mainly retired or unemployed with low to moderate education, and low personal income. They gave the lowest ratings to most of the examined factors; convenience among factors influencing pharmacy selection, whereas previous experience, the pharmacist’s opinion and product price among those affecting the purchase of OTCs

Influence of prey body characteristics and performance on predator selection.

Science.gov (United States)

Holmes, Thomas H; McCormick, Mark I

2009-03-01

At the time of settlement to the reef environment, coral reef fishes differ in a number of characteristics that may influence their survival during a predatory encounter. This study investigated the selective nature of predation by both a multi-species predator pool, and a single common predator (Pseudochromis fuscus), on the reef fish, Pomacentrus amboinensis. The study focused on the early post-settlement period of P. amboinensis, when mortality, and hence selection, is known to be highest. Correlations between nine different measures of body condition/performance were examined at the time of settlement, in order to elucidate the relationships between different traits. Single-predator (P. fuscus) choice trials were conducted in 57.4-l aquaria with respect to three different prey characteristics [standard length (SL), body weight and burst swimming speed], whilst multi-species trials were conducted on open patch reefs, manipulating prey body weight only. Relationships between the nine measures of condition/performance were generally poor, with the strongest correlations occurring between the morphological measures and within the performance measures. During aquaria trials, P. fuscus was found to be selective with respect to prey SL only, with larger individuals being selected significantly more often. Multi-species predator communities, however, were selective with respect to prey body weight, with heavier individuals being selected significantly more often than their lighter counterparts. Our results suggest that under controlled conditions, body length may be the most important prey characteristic influencing prey survival during predatory encounters with P. fuscus. In such cases, larger prey size may actually be a distinct disadvantage to survival. However, these relationships appear to be more complex under natural conditions, where the expression of prey characteristics, the selectivity fields of a number of different predators, their relative abundance, and

Selection and Penalty Strategies for Genetic Algorithms Designed to Solve Spatial Forest Planning Problems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thompson, M.P.; Sessions, J.; Hamann, J.D.

2009-01-01

Genetic algorithms (GAs) have demonstrated success in solving spatial forest planning problems. We present an adaptive GA that incorporates population-level statistics to dynamically update penalty functions, a process analogous to strategic oscillation from the tabu search literature. We also explore performance of various selection strategies. The GA identified feasible solutions within 96%, 98%, and 93% of a non spatial relaxed upper bound calculated for landscapes of 100, 500, and 1000 units, respectively. The problem solved includes forest structure constraints limiting harvest opening sizes and requiring minimally sized patches of mature forest. Results suggest that the dynamic penalty strategy is superior to the more standard static penalty implementation. Results also suggest that tournament selection can be superior to the more standard implementation of proportional selection for smaller problems, but becomes susceptible to premature convergence as problem size increases. It is therefore important to balance selection pressure with appropriate disruption. We conclude that integrating intelligent search strategies into the context of genetic algorithms can yield improvements and should be investigated for future use in spatial planning with ecological goals.

Burnout and job performance: the moderating role of selection, optimization, and compensation strategies.

Science.gov (United States)

Demerouti, Evangelia; Bakker, Arnold B; Leiter, Michael

2014-01-01

The present study aims to explain why research thus far has found only low to moderate associations between burnout and performance. We argue that employees use adaptive strategies that help them to maintain their performance (i.e., task performance, adaptivity to change) at acceptable levels despite experiencing burnout (i.e., exhaustion, disengagement). We focus on the strategies included in the selective optimization with compensation model. Using a sample of 294 employees and their supervisors, we found that compensation is the most successful strategy in buffering the negative associations of disengagement with supervisor-rated task performance and both disengagement and exhaustion with supervisor-rated adaptivity to change. In contrast, selection exacerbates the negative relationship of exhaustion with supervisor-rated adaptivity to change. In total, 42% of the hypothesized interactions proved to be significant. Our study uncovers successful and unsuccessful strategies that people use to deal with their burnout symptoms in order to achieve satisfactory job performance. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.

Contract Source Selection: An Analysis of Lowest Price Technically Acceptable and Tradeoff Strategies

Science.gov (United States)

2016-06-15

using- spss - statistics.php Lamoureux, J., Murrow, M., & Walls, C. (2015). Relationship of source selection methods to contract outcomes: an analysis ...Contract Source Selection: an Analysis of Lowest Price Technically Acceptable and Tradeoff Strategies 15 June 2016 LCDR Jamal M. Osman, USN...ACQUISITION RESEARCH PROGRAM SPONSORED REPORT SERIES Contract Source Selection: an Analysis of Lowest Price Technically Acceptable and Tradeoff

Occupational sitting: practitioner perceptions of health risks, intervention strategies and influences.

Science.gov (United States)

Gilson, Nicholas; Straker, Leon; Parry, Sharon

2012-12-01

Workplace practitioners are well placed to provide practical insights on sedentary behaviour issues in the workplace. This study consulted occupational health and safety (OHS) practitioners, examining their perceptions of sedentary health risks and views on strategies and influences to reduce and break prolonged occupational sitting. Three focus groups were conducted with convenience samples of OHS practitioners (n=34; 6 men; 46.4 ± 9.6 years) attending an Australian national conference in November 2010. Open-ended questions concerning health risks, sitting reduction strategies and influences were posed by lead researchers and practitioners invited to express opinions, viewpoints and experiences. Audio-recordings and summary notes of focus group discussions were reviewed by researchers to identify key response themes. OHS practitioners were well informed about the chronic disease and musculoskeletal risks associated with prolonged occupational sitting, but noted the importance of not replacing one workplace health issue (too much sitting) with another (too much standing). Ideas for strategies were diverse and explored the dichotomy between providing choices for employees to stand and move more (e.g. sit-stand desks), as opposed to obligating change through adapting job and office design (e.g. centralising printers and scanners). Productivity concerns were cited as a major influence for change. OHS practitioners also highlighted the value of using cross-disciplinary expertise to bridge the gap between research and practice. This study identified that OHS practitioners in Australia have a good understanding of the risks of prolonged occupational sitting and potential strategies to manage these risks.

Evaluation of genomic selection for replacement strategies using selection index theory.

Science.gov (United States)

Calus, M P L; Bijma, P; Veerkamp, R F

2015-09-01

Our objective was to investigate the economic effect of prioritizing heifers for replacement at the herd level based on genomic estimated breeding values, and to compute break-even genotyping costs across a wide range of scenarios. Specifically, we aimed to determine the optimal proportion of preselection based on parent average information for all scenarios considered. Considered replacement strategies include a range of different selection intensities by considering different numbers of heifers available for replacement (15-45 in a herd with 100 dairy cows) as well as different replacement rates (15-40%). Use of conventional versus sexed semen was considered, where the latter resulted in having twice as many heifers available for replacement. The baseline scenario relies on prioritization of replacement heifers based on parent average. The first alternative scenario involved genomic selection of heifers, considering that all heifers were genotyped. The benefits of genomic selection in this scenario were computed using a simple formula that only requires the number of lactating animals, the difference in accuracy between parent average and genomic selection (GS), and the selection intensity as input. When all heifers were genotyped, using GS for replacement of heifers was beneficial in most scenarios for current genotyping prices, provided some room exists for selection, in the sense that at least 2 more heifers are available than needed for replacement. In those scenarios, minimum break-even genotyping costs were equal to half the economic value of a standard deviation of the breeding goal. The second alternative scenario involved a preselection based on parent average, followed by GS among all the preselected heifers. It was in almost all cases beneficial to genotype all heifers when conventional semen was used (i.e., to do no preselection). The optimal proportion of preselection based on parent average was at least 0.63 when sexed semen was used. Use of sexed

Microbiome selection could spur next-generation plant breeding strategies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Murali Gopal

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Plants, though sessile, have developed a unique strategy to counter biotic and abiotic stresses by symbiotically co-evolving with microorganisms and tapping into their genome for this purpose. Soil is the bank of microbial diversity from which a plant selectively sources its microbiome to suit its needs. Besides soil, seeds, which carry the genetic blueprint of plants during trans-generational propagation, are home to diverse microbiota that acts as the principal source of microbial inoculum in crop cultivation. Overall, a plant is ensconced both on the outside and inside with a diverse assemblage of microbiota. Together, the plant genome and the genes of the microbiota that the plant harbours in different plant tissues i.e the ‘plant microbiome’, form the holobiome which is now considered as unit of selection: ‘the holobiont’. The ‘plant microbiome’ not only helps plants to remain fit but also offers critical genetic variability, hitherto, not employed in the breeding strategy by plant breeders, who traditionally have exploited the genetic variability of the host for developing high yielding or disease tolerant or drought resistant varieties. This fresh knowledge of the microbiome, particularly of the rhizosphere, offering genetic variability to plants, opens up new horizons for breeding that could usher in cultivation of next-generation crops depending less on inorganic inputs, resistant to insect pest and diseases and resilient to climatic perturbations. We surmise, from ever increasing evidences, that plants and their microbial symbionts need to be co-propagated as life-long partners in future strategies for plant breeding.

Preferential selection based on strategy persistence and memory promotes cooperation in evolutionary prisoner's dilemma games

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Yuanming; Huang, Changwei; Dai, Qionglin

2018-06-01

Strategy imitation plays a crucial role in evolutionary dynamics when we investigate the spontaneous emergence of cooperation under the framework of evolutionary game theory. Generally, when an individual updates his strategy, he needs to choose a role model whom he will learn from. In previous studies, individuals choose role models randomly from their neighbors. In recent works, researchers have considered that individuals choose role models according to neighbors' attractiveness characterized by the present network topology or historical payoffs. Here, we associate an individual's attractiveness with the strategy persistence, which characterizes how frequently he changes his strategy. We introduce a preferential parameter α to describe the nonlinear correlation between the selection probability and the strategy persistence and the memory length of individuals M into the evolutionary games. We investigate the effects of α and M on cooperation. Our results show that cooperation could be promoted when α > 0 and at the same time M > 1, which corresponds to the situation that individuals are inclined to select their neighbors with relatively higher persistence levels during the evolution. Moreover, we find that the cooperation level could reach the maximum at an optimal memory length when α > 0. Our work sheds light on how to promote cooperation through preferential selection based on strategy persistence and a limited memory length.

Identification of landscape features influencing gene flow: How useful are habitat selection models?

Science.gov (United States)

Gretchen H. Roffler; Michael K. Schwartz; Kristine Pilgrim; Sandra L. Talbot; George K. Sage; Layne G. Adams; Gordon Luikart

2016-01-01

Understanding how dispersal patterns are influenced by landscape heterogeneity is critical for modeling species connectivity. Resource selection function (RSF) models are increasingly used in landscape genetics approaches. However, because the ecological factors that drive habitat selection may be different from those influencing dispersal and gene flow, it is...

Attributes of seasonal home range influence choice of migratory strategy in white-tailed deer

Science.gov (United States)

Henderson, Charles R.; Mitchell, Michael S.; Myers, Woodrow L.; Lukacs, Paul M.; Nelson, Gerald P.

2018-01-01

Partial migration is a common life-history strategy among ungulates living in seasonal environments. The decision to migrate or remain on a seasonal range may be influenced strongly by access to high-quality habitat. We evaluated the influence of access to winter habitat of high quality on the probability of a female white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) migrating to a separate summer range and the effects of this decision on survival. We hypothesized that deer with home ranges of low quality in winter would have a high probability of migrating, and that survival of an individual in winter would be influenced by the quality of their home range in winter. We radiocollared 67 female white-tailed deer in 2012 and 2013 in eastern Washington, United States. We estimated home range size in winter using a kernel density estimator; we assumed the size of the home range was inversely proportional to its quality and the proportion of crop land within the home range was proportional to its quality. Odds of migrating from winter ranges increased by 3.1 per unit increase in home range size and decreased by 0.29 per unit increase in the proportion of crop land within a home range. Annual survival rate for migrants was 0.85 (SD = 0.05) and 0.84 (SD = 0.09) for residents. Our finding that an individual with a low-quality home range in winter is likely to migrate to a separate summer range accords with the hypothesis that competition for a limited amount of home ranges of high quality should result in residents having home ranges of higher quality than migrants in populations experiencing density dependence. We hypothesize that density-dependent competition for high-quality home ranges in winter may play a leading role in the selection of migration strategy by female white-tailed deer.

Search strategies in practice: Influence of information and task constraints.

Science.gov (United States)

Pacheco, Matheus M; Newell, Karl M

2018-01-01

The practice of a motor task has been conceptualized as a process of search through a perceptual-motor workspace. The present study investigated the influence of information and task constraints on the search strategy as reflected in the sequential relations of the outcome in a discrete movement virtual projectile task. The results showed that the relation between the changes of trial-to-trial movement outcome to performance level was dependent on the landscape of the task dynamics and the influence of inherent variability. Furthermore, the search was in a constrained parameter region of the perceptual-motor workspace that depended on the task constraints. These findings show that there is not a single function of trial-to-trial change over practice but rather that local search strategies (proportional, discontinuous, constant) adapt to the level of performance and the confluence of constraints to action. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Reboot: Revisiting Factors Influencing Female Selection of the CIS Major

Science.gov (United States)

Hodges, Darin; Corley, Ken

2017-01-01

A concern among many universities, this study reflects and continues research on the changing attitude and intent of selecting a Computer Information Systems major. Focusing on the gender gap for selection of major for women in this field, studies indicate instrumental beliefs and subjective norms can influence behavior and indicate how selection…

A Capture-SELEX Strategy for Multiplexed Selection of RNA Aptamers Against Small Molecules

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lauridsen, Lasse Holm; Doessing, Holger B.; Long, Katherine S.

2018-01-01

-SELEX, a selection strategy that uses an RNA library to yield ligand-responsive RNA aptamers targeting small organic molecules in solution. To demonstrate the power of this method we selected several aptamers with specificity towards either the natural sweetener rebaudioside A or the food-coloring agent carminic...

A strategy for position-selective epoxidation of polyprenols.

Science.gov (United States)

Gnanadesikan, Vijay; Corey, E J

2008-06-25

An effective strategy has been developed for the efficient site-selective epoxidation of poylolefinic isoprenoid alcohols, based on the use of an internal control element for intramolecular reaction. The approach is illustrated by application to a series of polyisoprenoid alcohols (polyprenols) at substrate concentration of 0.5 mM. With polyprenol substrates having the hydroxyl function at one terminus, the internal epoxidation can be directed at the double bond of the polyprenol, which is either four or five away from the terminal hydroxyprenyl subunit.

Factors influencing selection of office furniture by corporations and universities

Science.gov (United States)

R. Bruce Anderson

1976-01-01

Evaluation of the factors that influence the selection of office furniture by large corporations and universities shows that quality, appearance, and purchase price have the most important influence on the purchase decision. The intended use of the furniture and the appearance of the furniture were the key factors in the purchase of wooden furniture.

Impact of selection strategies on representation of underserved populations and intention to practise: international findings.

Science.gov (United States)

Larkins, Sarah; Michielsen, Kristien; Iputo, Jehu; Elsanousi, Salwa; Mammen, Marykutty; Graves, Lisa; Willems, Sara; Cristobal, Fortunato L; Samson, Rex; Ellaway, Rachel; Ross, Simone; Johnston, Karen; Derese, Anselme; Neusy, André-Jacques

2015-01-01

Socially accountable medical schools aim to reduce health inequalities by training workforces responsive to the priority health needs of underserved communities. One key strategy involves recruiting students from underserved and unequally represented communities on the basis that they may be more likely to return and address local health priorities. This study describes the impacts of different selection strategies of medical schools that aspire to social accountability on the presence of students from underserved communities in their medical education programmes and on student practice intentions. A cross-sectional questionnaire was administered to students starting medical education in five institutions with a social accountability mandate in five different countries. The questionnaire assessed students' background characteristics, rurality of background, and practice intentions (location, discipline of practice and population to be served). The results were compared with the characteristics of students entering medical education in schools with standard selection procedures, and with publicly available socio-economic data. The selection processes of all five schools included strategies that extended beyond the assessment of academic achievement. Four distinct strategies were identified: the quota system; selection based on personal attributes; community involvement, and school marketing strategies. Questionnaire data from 944 students showed that students at the five schools were more likely to be of non-urban origin, of lower socio-economic status and to come from underserved groups. A total of 407 of 810 (50.2%) students indicated an intention to practise in a non-urban area after graduation and the likelihood of this increased with increasing rurality of primary schooling (p = 0.000). Those of rural origin were statistically less likely to express an intention to work abroad (p = 0.003). Selection strategies to ensure that members of underserved communities

Genotype-by-environment interactions leads to variable selection on life-history strategy in Common Evening Primrose (Oenothera biennis).

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, M T J

2007-01-01

Monocarpic plant species, where reproduction is fatal, frequently exhibit variation in the length of their prereproductive period prior to flowering. If this life-history variation in flowering strategy has a genetic basis, genotype-by-environment interactions (G x E) may maintain phenotypic diversity in flowering strategy. The native monocarpic plant Common Evening Primrose (Oenothera biennis L., Onagraceae) exhibits phenotypic variation for annual vs. biennial flowering strategies. I tested whether there was a genetic basis to variation in flowering strategy in O. biennis, and whether environmental variation causes G x E that imposes variable selection on flowering strategy. In a field experiment, I randomized more than 900 plants from 14 clonal families (genotypes) into five distinct habitats that represented a natural productivity gradient. G x E strongly affected the lifetime fruit production of O. biennis, with the rank-order in relative fitness of genotypes changing substantially between habitats. I detected genetic variation in annual vs. biennial strategies in most habitats, as well as a G x E effect on flowering strategy. This variation in flowering strategy was correlated with genetic variation in relative fitness, and phenotypic and genotypic selection analyses revealed that environmental variation resulted in variable directional selection on annual vs. biennial strategies. Specifically, a biennial strategy was favoured in moderately productive environments, whereas an annual strategy was favoured in low-productivity environments. These results highlight the importance of variable selection for the maintenance of genetic variation in the life-history strategy of a monocarpic plant.

Threshold-selecting strategy for best possible ground state detection with genetic algorithms

Science.gov (United States)

Lässig, Jörg; Hoffmann, Karl Heinz

2009-04-01

Genetic algorithms are a standard heuristic to find states of low energy in complex state spaces as given by physical systems such as spin glasses but also in combinatorial optimization. The paper considers the problem of selecting individuals in the current population in genetic algorithms for crossover. Many schemes have been considered in literature as possible crossover selection strategies. We show for a large class of quality measures that the best possible probability distribution for selecting individuals in each generation of the algorithm execution is a rectangular distribution over the individuals sorted by their energy values. This means uniform probabilities have to be assigned to a group of the individuals with lowest energy in the population but probabilities equal to zero to individuals which are corresponding to energy values higher than a fixed cutoff, which is equal to a certain rank in the vector sorted by the energy of the states in the current population. The considered strategy is dubbed threshold selecting. The proof applies basic arguments of Markov chains and linear optimization and makes only a few assumptions on the underlying principles and hence applies to a large class of algorithms.

Innovative Strategies for Selective Inhibition of Histone Deacetylases

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Maolanon, Alex Ramalak; Madsen, Andreas Stahl; Olsen, Christian Adam

2016-01-01

Histone deacetylases (HDAC) are a family of closely related enzymes involved in epigenetic and posttranscriptional regulation of numerous genes and proteins. Their deregulation is associated with a number of diseases, and a handful of HDAC inhibitors have been approved for cancer treatment. None......, functionally important, features. Based on this analysis, we suggest alternative strategies to achieve selective HDAC inhibition that does not rely on chelation of the zinc ion in the active site but rather on disruption of protein-protein interactions important for HDAC activity. We believe that, although...

Reproduction in crabs: strategies, invasiveness and environmental influences thereon

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Brink, van den A.M.

2013-01-01

This thesis provides insights into the interconnectedness of crab reproductive biology, the selective forces leading to their development, the possible links to invasiveness and the influences of environmental factors thereon. The empirical data collected and presented in this thesis can be used

Effect of Global Posture Strategy on U.S. Influence in Europe

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

McCormack, Daniel F

2005-01-01

.... interest in NATO and Europe. Will following this new strategy take the U.S. across an invisible threshold where its force presence in Europe no longer guaranties leadership and influence in NATO? How is U.S...

Selection pressure transforms the nature of social dilemmas in adaptive networks

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Van Segbroeck, Sven; Lenaerts, Tom [MLG, Universite Libre de Bruxelles, Boulevard du Triomphe-CP 212, 1050 Brussels (Belgium); Santos, Francisco C [CENTRIA, Departamento de Informatica, Faculdade de Ciencias e Tecnologia, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, 2829-516 Caparica (Portugal); Pacheco, Jorge M, E-mail: svsegbro@ulb.ac.be, E-mail: fcsantos@fct.unl.pt, E-mail: tlenaert@ulb.ac.be, E-mail: jmpacheco@math.uminho.pt [ATP-Group, CMAF, Complexo Interdisciplinar, P-1649-003 Lisboa Codex (Portugal)

2011-01-15

We have studied the evolution of cooperation in structured populations whose topology coevolves with the game strategies of the individuals. Strategy evolution proceeds according to an update rule with a free parameter, which measures the selection pressure. We explore how this parameter affects the interplay between network dynamics and strategy dynamics. A dynamical network topology can influence the strategy dynamics in two ways: (i) by modifying the expected payoff associated with each strategy and (ii) by reshaping the imitation network that underlies the evolutionary process. We show here that the selection pressure tunes the relative contribution of each of these two forces to the final outcome of strategy evolution. The dynamics of the imitation network plays only a minor role under strong selection, but becomes the dominant force under weak selection. We demonstrate how these findings constitute a mechanism supporting cooperative behavior.

Selection pressure transforms the nature of social dilemmas in adaptive networks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Van Segbroeck, Sven; Lenaerts, Tom; Santos, Francisco C; Pacheco, Jorge M

2011-01-01

We have studied the evolution of cooperation in structured populations whose topology coevolves with the game strategies of the individuals. Strategy evolution proceeds according to an update rule with a free parameter, which measures the selection pressure. We explore how this parameter affects the interplay between network dynamics and strategy dynamics. A dynamical network topology can influence the strategy dynamics in two ways: (i) by modifying the expected payoff associated with each strategy and (ii) by reshaping the imitation network that underlies the evolutionary process. We show here that the selection pressure tunes the relative contribution of each of these two forces to the final outcome of strategy evolution. The dynamics of the imitation network plays only a minor role under strong selection, but becomes the dominant force under weak selection. We demonstrate how these findings constitute a mechanism supporting cooperative behavior.

A Fast Algorithm of Cartographic Sounding Selection

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

SUI Haigang; HUA Li; ZHAO Haitao; ZHANG Yongli

2005-01-01

An effective strategy and framework that adequately integrate the automated and manual processes for fast cartographic sounding selection is presented. The important submarine topographic features are extracted for important soundings selection, and an improved "influence circle" algorithm is introduced for sounding selection. For automatic configuration of soundings distribution pattern, a special algorithm considering multi-factors is employed. A semi-automatic method for solving the ambiguous conflicts is described. On the basis of the algorithms and strategies a system named HGIS for fast cartographic sounding selection is developed and applied in Chinese Marine Safety Administration Bureau (CMSAB). The application experiments show that the system is effective and reliable. At last some conclusions and the future work are given.

Selection of decommissioning strategies: Issues and factors. Report by an expert group

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2005-11-01

A comprehensive assessment of possible strategies is the key step in a decommissioning process. It should be initiated at an early stage in a facility's lifecycle and include a number of factors. The IAEA has provided extensive guidance on decommissioning strategy selection, but there are a number of cases - particularly in countries with limited resources, but not limited to them - where the selection is forced and constrained by prevailing factors and conditions. In its role of an international expert committee assisting the IAEA, the Technical Group on Decommissioning (TEGDE) debates and draws conclusions on topics omitted from general guidance. TEGDE members met in Vienna in 2003, 2004 and 2005 to develop the basis for this publication. The views expressed here reflect those of TEGDE and not necessarily those of the IAEA

End-to-End Joint Antenna Selection Strategy and Distributed Compress and Forward Strategy for Relay Channels

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rahul Vaze

2009-01-01

Full Text Available Multihop relay channels use multiple relay stages, each with multiple relay nodes, to facilitate communication between a source and destination. Previously, distributed space-time codes were proposed to maximize the achievable diversity-multiplexing tradeoff; however, they fail to achieve all the points of the optimal diversity-multiplexing tradeoff. In the presence of a low-rate feedback link from the destination to each relay stage and the source, this paper proposes an end-to-end antenna selection (EEAS strategy as an alternative to distributed space-time codes. The EEAS strategy uses a subset of antennas of each relay stage for transmission of the source signal to the destination with amplifying and forwarding at each relay stage. The subsets are chosen such that they maximize the end-to-end mutual information at the destination. The EEAS strategy achieves the corner points of the optimal diversity-multiplexing tradeoff (corresponding to maximum diversity gain and maximum multiplexing gain and achieves better diversity gain at intermediate values of multiplexing gain, versus the best-known distributed space-time coding strategies. A distributed compress and forward (CF strategy is also proposed to achieve all points of the optimal diversity-multiplexing tradeoff for a two-hop relay channel with multiple relay nodes.

Microbiome Selection Could Spur Next-Generation Plant Breeding Strategies.

Science.gov (United States)

Gopal, Murali; Gupta, Alka

2016-01-01

" No plant is an island too …" Plants, though sessile, have developed a unique strategy to counter biotic and abiotic stresses by symbiotically co-evolving with microorganisms and tapping into their genome for this purpose. Soil is the bank of microbial diversity from which a plant selectively sources its microbiome to suit its needs. Besides soil, seeds, which carry the genetic blueprint of plants during trans-generational propagation, are home to diverse microbiota that acts as the principal source of microbial inoculum in crop cultivation. Overall, a plant is ensconced both on the outside and inside with a diverse assemblage of microbiota. Together, the plant genome and the genes of the microbiota that the plant harbors in different plant tissues, i.e., the 'plant microbiome,' form the holobiome which is now considered as unit of selection: 'the holobiont.' The 'plant microbiome' not only helps plants to remain fit but also offers critical genetic variability, hitherto, not employed in the breeding strategy by plant breeders, who traditionally have exploited the genetic variability of the host for developing high yielding or disease tolerant or drought resistant varieties. This fresh knowledge of the microbiome, particularly of the rhizosphere, offering genetic variability to plants, opens up new horizons for breeding that could usher in cultivation of next-generation crops depending less on inorganic inputs, resistant to insect pest and diseases and resilient to climatic perturbations. We surmise, from ever increasing evidences, that plants and their microbial symbionts need to be co-propagated as life-long partners in future strategies for plant breeding. In this perspective, we propose bottom-up approach to co-propagate the co-evolved, the plant along with the target microbiome, through - (i) reciprocal soil transplantation method, or (ii) artificial ecosystem selection method of synthetic microbiome inocula, or (iii) by exploration of microRNA transfer

Influence of Strategies-Based Feedback in Students' Oral Performance

Science.gov (United States)

Sisquiarco, Angie; Rojas, Santiago Sánchez; Abad, José Vicente

2018-01-01

This article reports on an action research study that assessed the influence of cognitive and metacognitive strategies-based feedback in the oral performance of a group of 6th grade students at a public school in Medellin, Colombia. Researchers analyzed students' oral performance through assessment and self-assessment rubrics, applied inventories…

Estradiol does not influence strategy choice but place strategy choice is associated with increased cell proliferation in the hippocampus of female rats.

Science.gov (United States)

Rummel, Julia; Epp, Jonathan R; Galea, Liisa A M

2010-09-01

Adult neurogenesis occurs in the hippocampus of most mammals. While the function of adult hippocampal neurogenesis is not known, there is a relationship between neurogenesis and hippocampus-dependent learning and memory. Ovarian hormones can influence learning and memory and strategy choice. In competitive memory tasks, higher levels of estradiol shift female rats towards the use of the place strategy. Previous studies using a cue-competition paradigm find that 36% of male rats will use a hippocampus-dependent place strategy and place strategy users had lower levels of cell proliferation in the hippocampus. Here, we used the same paradigm to test whether endogenous or exogenous ovarian hormones influence strategy choice in the cue-competition paradigm and whether cell proliferation was related to strategy choice. We tested ovariectomized estradiol-treated (10 microg of estradiol benzoate) or sham-operated female rats on alternating blocks of hippocampus-dependent and hippocampus-independent versions of the Morris water task. Rats were then given a probe session with the platform visible and in a novel location. Preferred strategy was classified as place strategy (hippocampus-dependent) if they swam to the old platform location or cue strategy (hippocampus-independent) if they swam to the visible platform. All groups showed a preference for the cue strategy. However, proestrous rats were more likely to be place strategy users than rats not in proestrus. Female place strategy users had increased cell proliferation in the dentate gyrus compared to cue strategy users. Our study suggests that 78% of female rats chose the cue strategy instead of the place strategy. In summary the present results suggest that estradiol does not shift strategy use in this paradigm and that cell proliferation is related to strategy use with greater cell proliferation seen in place strategy users in female rats. Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Strategy scenario selection in the competition of mobile ecosystems

OpenAIRE

Lee, Hyun Joo; Kim, Jin Ki

2013-01-01

Competition in the mobile market is centered on platforms, or operating systems, for smartphones. The current competition and market structure of the global mobile market has shifted to a competition among ecosystems that utilize the same mobile operating systems of the platform operators. This paper aims to answer those questions. The direction of competition in the smartphone industry is traced. This study tries to list the selectable strategy options for each major ecosystem. Then the stra...

Implications of structural genomics target selection strategies: Pfam5000, whole genome, and random approaches

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chandonia, John-Marc; Brenner, Steven E.

2004-07-14

The structural genomics project is an international effort to determine the three-dimensional shapes of all important biological macromolecules, with a primary focus on proteins. Target proteins should be selected according to a strategy which is medically and biologically relevant, of good value, and tractable. As an option to consider, we present the Pfam5000 strategy, which involves selecting the 5000 most important families from the Pfam database as sources for targets. We compare the Pfam5000 strategy to several other proposed strategies that would require similar numbers of targets. These include including complete solution of several small to moderately sized bacterial proteomes, partial coverage of the human proteome, and random selection of approximately 5000 targets from sequenced genomes. We measure the impact that successful implementation of these strategies would have upon structural interpretation of the proteins in Swiss-Prot, TrEMBL, and 131 complete proteomes (including 10 of eukaryotes) from the Proteome Analysis database at EBI. Solving the structures of proteins from the 5000 largest Pfam families would allow accurate fold assignment for approximately 68 percent of all prokaryotic proteins (covering 59 percent of residues) and 61 percent of eukaryotic proteins (40 percent of residues). More fine-grained coverage which would allow accurate modeling of these proteins would require an order of magnitude more targets. The Pfam5000 strategy may be modified in several ways, for example to focus on larger families, bacterial sequences, or eukaryotic sequences; as long as secondary consideration is given to large families within Pfam, coverage results vary only slightly. In contrast, focusing structural genomics on a single tractable genome would have only a limited impact in structural knowledge of other proteomes: a significant fraction (about 30-40 percent of the proteins, and 40-60 percent of the residues) of each proteome is classified in small

Research on regularized mean-variance portfolio selection strategy with modified Roy safety-first principle.

Science.gov (United States)

Atta Mills, Ebenezer Fiifi Emire; Yan, Dawen; Yu, Bo; Wei, Xinyuan

2016-01-01

We propose a consolidated risk measure based on variance and the safety-first principle in a mean-risk portfolio optimization framework. The safety-first principle to financial portfolio selection strategy is modified and improved. Our proposed models are subjected to norm regularization to seek near-optimal stable and sparse portfolios. We compare the cumulative wealth of our preferred proposed model to a benchmark, S&P 500 index for the same period. Our proposed portfolio strategies have better out-of-sample performance than the selected alternative portfolio rules in literature and control the downside risk of the portfolio returns.

Human Occipital and Parietal GABA Selectively Influence Visual Perception of Orientation and Size.

Science.gov (United States)

Song, Chen; Sandberg, Kristian; Andersen, Lau Møller; Blicher, Jakob Udby; Rees, Geraint

2017-09-13

GABA is the primary inhibitory neurotransmitter in human brain. The level of GABA varies substantially across individuals, and this variability is associated with interindividual differences in visual perception. However, it remains unclear whether the association between GABA level and visual perception reflects a general influence of visual inhibition or whether the GABA levels of different cortical regions selectively influence perception of different visual features. To address this, we studied how the GABA levels of parietal and occipital cortices related to interindividual differences in size, orientation, and brightness perception. We used visual contextual illusion as a perceptual assay since the illusion dissociates perceptual content from stimulus content and the magnitude of the illusion reflects the effect of visual inhibition. Across individuals, we observed selective correlations between the level of GABA and the magnitude of contextual illusion. Specifically, parietal GABA level correlated with size illusion magnitude but not with orientation or brightness illusion magnitude; in contrast, occipital GABA level correlated with orientation illusion magnitude but not with size or brightness illusion magnitude. Our findings reveal a region- and feature-dependent influence of GABA level on human visual perception. Parietal and occipital cortices contain, respectively, topographic maps of size and orientation preference in which neural responses to stimulus sizes and stimulus orientations are modulated by intraregional lateral connections. We propose that these lateral connections may underlie the selective influence of GABA on visual perception. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT GABA, the primary inhibitory neurotransmitter in human visual system, varies substantially across individuals. This interindividual variability in GABA level is linked to interindividual differences in many aspects of visual perception. However, the widespread influence of GABA raises the

Human Occipital and Parietal GABA Selectively Influence Visual Perception of Orientation and Size

Science.gov (United States)

Andersen, Lau Møller; Blicher, Jakob Udby

2017-01-01

GABA is the primary inhibitory neurotransmitter in human brain. The level of GABA varies substantially across individuals, and this variability is associated with interindividual differences in visual perception. However, it remains unclear whether the association between GABA level and visual perception reflects a general influence of visual inhibition or whether the GABA levels of different cortical regions selectively influence perception of different visual features. To address this, we studied how the GABA levels of parietal and occipital cortices related to interindividual differences in size, orientation, and brightness perception. We used visual contextual illusion as a perceptual assay since the illusion dissociates perceptual content from stimulus content and the magnitude of the illusion reflects the effect of visual inhibition. Across individuals, we observed selective correlations between the level of GABA and the magnitude of contextual illusion. Specifically, parietal GABA level correlated with size illusion magnitude but not with orientation or brightness illusion magnitude; in contrast, occipital GABA level correlated with orientation illusion magnitude but not with size or brightness illusion magnitude. Our findings reveal a region- and feature-dependent influence of GABA level on human visual perception. Parietal and occipital cortices contain, respectively, topographic maps of size and orientation preference in which neural responses to stimulus sizes and stimulus orientations are modulated by intraregional lateral connections. We propose that these lateral connections may underlie the selective influence of GABA on visual perception. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT GABA, the primary inhibitory neurotransmitter in human visual system, varies substantially across individuals. This interindividual variability in GABA level is linked to interindividual differences in many aspects of visual perception. However, the widespread influence of GABA raises the

Popularity and Adolescent Friendship Networks : Selection and Influence Dynamics

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dijkstra, Jan Kornelis; Cillessen, Antonius H. N.; Borch, Casey

This study examined the dynamics of popularity in adolescent friendship networks across 3 years in middle school. Longitudinal social network modeling was used to identify selection and influence in the similarity of popularity among friends. It was argued that lower status adolescents strive to

Popularity and Adolescent Friendship Networks: Selection and Influence Dynamics

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dijkstra, J.K.; Cillessen, A.H.N.; Borch, C.

2013-01-01

This study examined the dynamics of popularity in adolescent friendship networks across 3 years in middle school. Longitudinal social network modeling was used to identify selection and influence in the similarity of popularity among friends. It was argued that lower status adolescents strive to

Stress, Time Pressure, Strategy Selection and Math Anxiety in Mathematics: A Review of the Literature

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Sara Caviola

2017-09-01

Full Text Available We review how stress induction, time pressure manipulations and math anxiety can interfere with or modulate selection of problem-solving strategies (henceforth “strategy selection” in arithmetical tasks. Nineteen relevant articles were identified, which contain references to strategy selection and time limit (or time manipulations, with some also discussing emotional aspects in mathematical outcomes. Few of these take cognitive processes such as working memory or executive functions into consideration. We conclude that due to the sparsity of available literature our questions can only be partially answered and currently there is not much evidence of clear associations. We identify major gaps in knowledge and raise a series of open questions to guide further research.

Quality of life outcomes in women with endometriosis are highly influenced by recruitment strategies.

Science.gov (United States)

De Graaff, A A; Dirksen, C D; Simoens, S; De Bie, B; Hummelshoj, L; D'Hooghe, T M; Dunselman, G A J

2015-06-01

To what extent are outcome measures in endometriosis-related quality of life studies influenced by the setting in which patient recruitment is performed? Quality of life outcomes in women with endometriosis are highly influenced by recruitment strategies. Most studies on quality of life in women with endometriosis are conducted in tertiary care centres or patient associations. It is conceivable that the setting in which patient recruitment is performed influences the quality of life results. This has not been investigated before. Retrospective questionnaire based cohort study (part of the World Endometriosis Research Foundation (WERF) EndoCost study). The investigated women were recruited in three settings: a tertiary care centre for endometriosis (n = 135); five secondary care centres (n = 63); an endometriosis patient association (n = 291). The secondary and tertiary care population included women with a laparoscopic and/or histological diagnosis of endometriosis. The patient association population consisted of women with a self-reported diagnosis of surgically confirmed endometriosis. The populations did not differ in terms of age, co-morbidities and education level. Delay of diagnosis was the longest in the patient association (median 7 years) (tertiary care 2 years; secondary care 1.5 years) (P values were analysed as if the symptom was not present. Missing values never exceeded 10%, except for one value. Therefore, it can be expected that the effect of missing data on the outcome is negligible. Twenty-five patients belonged to more than one category. A sensitivity analysis showed that the influence of assigning patients to another category was limited. Outcomes regarding quality of life are highly influenced by recruitment strategy. None of the groups appeared to be a representative selection of the total population of women with endometriosis. An alternative strategy for creating a representative population for cost and quality of life studies is probably to

The Relationship between Preschoolers' Selective Attention and Memory for Location Strategies

Science.gov (United States)

Blumberg, F.C.; Torenberg, M.; Randall, J.D.

2005-01-01

Late and early preschoolers' attention and spatial strategies were examined in response to instructions to recall relevant objects [Blumberg, F. C. & Torenberg, M. (2003). The impact of spatial cues on preschoolers' selective attention. Journal of Genetic Psychology, 164, 42-53] and irrelevant objects [Blumberg, F. C. & Torenberg, M. (in press).…

Situation selection is a particularly effective emotion regulation strategy for people who need help regulating their emotions.

Science.gov (United States)

Webb, Thomas L; Lindquist, Kristen A; Jones, Katelyn; Avishai, Aya; Sheeran, Paschal

2018-03-01

Situation selection involves choosing situations based on their likely emotional impact and may be less cognitively taxing or challenging to implement compared to other strategies for regulating emotion, which require people to regulate their emotions "in the moment"; we thus predicted that individuals who chronically experience intense emotions or who are not particularly competent at employing other emotion regulation strategies would be especially likely to benefit from situation selection. Consistent with this idea, we found that the use of situation selection interacted with individual differences in emotional reactivity and competence at emotion regulation to predict emotional outcomes in both a correlational (Study 1; N = 301) and an experimental field study (Study 2; N = 125). Taken together, the findings suggest that situation selection is an effective strategy for regulating emotions, especially for individuals who otherwise struggle to do so.

Social support influences on eating awareness in children and adolescents: the mediating effect of self-regulatory strategies.

Science.gov (United States)

Gaspar de Matos, Margarida; Palmeira, Antonio L; Gaspar, Tania; De Wit, John B F; Luszczynska, Aleksandra

2016-01-01

The impact of the social environment on healthy eating awareness results from complex interactions among physical, economic, cultural, interpersonal and individual characteristics. This study investigated the impact of social support and social influence on healthy eating awareness, controlling for socio-economic status, gender and age. Additionally, the mediating effect of self-regulation strategies was examined. A total of 2764 children and adolescents aged 10-17 from four European countries completed self-report measures on healthy eating awareness, social influence and the use of self-regulation strategies. Healthy eating awareness and the use of self-regulation strategies were more likely to occur among younger participants. An interaction between gender and age was related to the use of some self-regulation strategies; compared to girls, boys decreased the use of self-regulation strategies more from pre-adolescence to adolescence. Peer social influence was associated with more unhealthy eating in older participants. Results suggest a need to promote self-regulatory competences among young people in order to assist them with regulating their eating behaviours, especially in the presence of peers. Both school-based interventions and family-based interventions, focusing on self-regulation cognitions and social (peer) influence, could help children and adolescents to use self-regulatory strategies which are essential to eat healthier.

Case Report: Evaluation strategies and cognitive intervention: the case of a monovular twin child affected by selective mutism [version 1; referees: 2 approved

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Micaela Capobianco

2018-02-01

Full Text Available The present work describes the assessment process, evaluation strategies, and cognitive intervention on a 9 years old child with selective mutism (SM, a monovular twin of a child also affected by mutism. Currently, the cognitive behavioral multimodal treatment seems the most effective therapeutic approach for children diagnosed with selective mutism (Capobianco & Cerniglia, 2018. The illustrated case confirms the role of biological factors involved in mutacic disorder but also highlights the importance of environmental influences in the maintenance of the disorder with respect to relational and contextual dynamics (e.g. complicity between sisters, family relationships. The article discusses furthermore the importance of an early diagnosis as a predictor of positive treatment outcomes.

The Effect of Exit Strategy on Optimal Portfolio Selection with Birandom Returns

OpenAIRE

Cao, Guohua; Shan, Dan

2013-01-01

The aims of this paper are to use a birandom variable to denote the stock return selected by some recurring technical patterns and to study the effect of exit strategy on optimal portfolio selection with birandom returns. Firstly, we propose a new method to estimate the stock return and use birandom distribution to denote the final stock return which can reflect the features of technical patterns and investors' heterogeneity simultaneously; secondly, we build a birandom safety-first model and...

The design strategy of selective PTP1B inhibitors over TCPTP.

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Li, XiangQian; Wang, LiJun; Shi, DaYong

2016-08-15

Protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B) has already been well studied as a highly validated therapeutic target for diabetes and obesity. However, the lack of selectivity limited further studies and clinical applications of PTP1B inhibitors, especially over T-cell protein tyrosine phosphatase (TCPTP). In this review, we enumerate the published specific inhibitors of PTP1B, discuss the structure-activity relationships by analysis of their X-ray structures or docking results, and summarize the characteristic of selectivity related residues and groups. Furthermore, the design strategy of selective PTP1B inhibitors over TCPTP is also proposed. We hope our work could provide an effective way to gain specific PTP1B inhibitors. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Application of influence diagrams to prostate intensity-modulated radiation therapy plan selection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Meyer, Juergen; Phillips, Mark H; Cho, Paul S; Kalet, Ira; Doctor, Jason N

2004-01-01

The purpose is to incorporate clinically relevant factors such as patient-specific and dosimetric information as well as data from clinical trials in the decision-making process for the selection of prostate intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) plans. The approach is to incorporate the decision theoretic concept of an influence diagram into the solution of the multiobjective optimization inverse planning problem. A set of candidate IMRT plans was obtained by varying the importance factors for the planning target volume (PTV) and the organ-at-risk (OAR) in combination with simulated annealing to explore a large part of the solution space. The Pareto set for the PTV and OAR was analysed to demonstrate how the selection of the weighting factors influenced which part of the solution space was explored. An influence diagram based on a Bayesian network with 18 nodes was designed to model the decision process for plan selection. The model possessed nodes for clinical laboratory results, tumour grading, staging information, patient-specific information, dosimetric information, complications and survival statistics from clinical studies. A utility node was utilized for the decision-making process. The influence diagram successfully ranked the plans based on the available information. Sensitivity analyses were used to judge the reasonableness of the diagram and the results. In conclusion, influence diagrams lend themselves well to modelling the decision processes for IMRT plan selection. They provide an excellent means to incorporate the probabilistic nature of data and beliefs into one model. They also provide a means for introducing evidence-based medicine, in the form of results of clinical trials, into the decision-making process

Personal and Environmental Influences on Students' Beliefs about Effective Study Strategies.

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Nolen, Susan Bobbitt; Haladyna, Thomas M.

1990-01-01

A model of personal and environmental influences on students' valuing of two deep-processing strategies for studying expository texts is described. Questionnaire data from 281 high school science students indicated that students' task orientation and perceptions about teacher expectations were central to students' attitudes. (TJH)

Evaluation of delivered dose for a clinical daily adaptive plan selection strategy for bladder cancer radiotherapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lutkenhaus, Lotte J.; Visser, Jorrit; Jong, Rianne de; Hulshof, Maarten C.C.M.; Bel, Arjan

2015-01-01

Purpose: To account for variable bladder size during bladder cancer radiotherapy, a daily plan selection strategy was implemented. The aim of this study was to calculate the actually delivered dose using an adaptive strategy, compared to a non-adaptive approach. Material and methods: Ten patients were treated to the bladder and lymph nodes with an adaptive full bladder strategy. Interpolated delineations of bladder and tumor on a full and empty bladder CT scan resulted in five PTVs for which VMAT plans were created. Daily cone beam CT (CBCT) scans were used for plan selection. Bowel, rectum and target volumes were delineated on these CBCTs, and delivered dose for these was calculated using both the adaptive plan, and a non-adaptive plan. Results: Target coverage for lymph nodes improved using an adaptive strategy. The full bladder strategy spared the healthy part of the bladder from a high dose. Average bowel cavity V30Gy and V40Gy significantly reduced with 60 and 69 ml, respectively (p < 0.01). Other parameters for bowel and rectum remained unchanged. Conclusions: Daily plan selection compared to a non-adaptive strategy yielded similar bladder coverage and improved coverage for lymph nodes, with a significant reduction in bowel cavity V30Gy and V40Gy only, while other sparing was limited

The influence of selected senses on consumer experience: A brandy case

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Chris Pentz

2013-05-01

Research purpose: To investigate the influence of selected senses – sight, sound and smell – on consumers’ experience, specifically in terms of the tastiness of brandy. Motivation for the study: Even though the use of the senses such as sight, sound and smell is a popular sensory marketing tool in the field of experiential marketing, applying such marketing techniques is a challenging and costly exercise for marketers, and researchers have called for more studies on senses and consumer experience. Research design, approach and method: A full factorial laboratory experiment (2 x 2 x 2 was conducted where 240 spirits consumers indicated the tastiness of a brandy sample under certain conditions. Main findings: Results revealed that, within a laboratory setting, consumers recorded lower levels of tastiness under conditions where more senses were manipulated than in conditions where less senses were manipulated. Practical/managerial implications: The results of the study coincided with previous results, which indicated that, within certain product categories, sensory marketing could actually decrease the consumer’s experience as sensory overload could occur. Contribution/value-add: In the endeavour to reduce possible sensory overload in the alcohol industry, the findings suggest that marketers should not apply sensory marketing indiscriminately to all product categories. For example, on a retail level, where experimental marketing might be too costly or even too complex to apply to some product categories, marketers should rather rethink the use of sensory marketing strategies within certain industries and focus on other marketing strategies, such a brand building.

Factors influencing equipment selection in electron beam processing

Science.gov (United States)

Barnard, J. W.

2003-08-01

During the eighties and nineties accelerator manufacturers dramatically increased the beam power available for high-energy equipment. This effort was directed primarily at meeting the demands of the sterilization industry. During this era, the perception that bigger (higher power, higher energy) was always better prevailed since the operating and capital costs of accelerators did not increase with power and energy as fast as the throughput. High power was needed to maintain per unit costs low for treatment. This philosophy runs counter to certain present-day realities of the sterilization business as well as conditions influencing accelerator selection in other electron beam applications. Recent experience in machine selection is described and factors affecting choice are presented.

Efficient Multi-Label Feature Selection Using Entropy-Based Label Selection

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Jaesung Lee

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Multi-label feature selection is designed to select a subset of features according to their importance to multiple labels. This task can be achieved by ranking the dependencies of features and selecting the features with the highest rankings. In a multi-label feature selection problem, the algorithm may be faced with a dataset containing a large number of labels. Because the computational cost of multi-label feature selection increases according to the number of labels, the algorithm may suffer from a degradation in performance when processing very large datasets. In this study, we propose an efficient multi-label feature selection method based on an information-theoretic label selection strategy. By identifying a subset of labels that significantly influence the importance of features, the proposed method efficiently outputs a feature subset. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method can identify a feature subset much faster than conventional multi-label feature selection methods for large multi-label datasets.

Popularity and Adolescent Friendship Networks: Selection and Influence Dynamics

Science.gov (United States)

Dijkstra, Jan Kornelis; Cillessen, Antonius H. N.; Borch, Casey

2013-01-01

This study examined the dynamics of popularity in adolescent friendship networks across 3 years in middle school. Longitudinal social network modeling was used to identify selection and influence in the similarity of popularity among friends. It was argued that lower status adolescents strive to enhance their status through befriending higher…

Interaction Between Strategy and Organizational Performance: The Influence of Family Management

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Ieda Margarete Oro

2017-01-01

Full Text Available This article aims to analyze how occurs the interaction between business strategy and organizational performance in family firms. The research is classified as descriptive, with a qualitative approach, operationalized by the case study procedure. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, documents and notices. Interviews were conducted with key informants and core family run. Evidence collected in the company searched, show that the business strategy with entrepreneurial attitude is characterized by the differentiation strategy (brand management and product innovation (creation and development of new products driven by family values disseminated within the organization. The results indicate that entrepreneurial orientation and family influence plays an important role for the realization of structural and strategic fit and, in turn, to the achievement of organizational performance.

Interactive Control System, Intended Strategy, Implemented Strategy dan Emergent Strategy

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Tubagus Ismail

2012-09-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between management control system (MCS and strategy formation processes, namely: intended strategy, emergent strategy and impelemented strategy. The focus of MCS in this study was interactive control system. The study was based on Structural Equation Modeling (SEM as its multivariate analyses instrument. The samples were upper middle managers of manufacturing company in Banten Province, DKI Jakarta Province and West Java Province. AMOS Software 16 program is used as an additional instrument to resolve the problem in SEM modeling. The study found that interactive control system brought a positive and significant influence on Intended strategy; interactive control system brought a positive and significant influence on implemented strategy; interactive control system brought a positive and significant influence on emergent strategy. The limitation of this study is that our empirical model only used one way relationship between the process of strategy formation and interactive control system.

A Feedback Control Strategy for Enhancing Item Selection Efficiency in Computerized Adaptive Testing

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Weissman, Alexander

2006-01-01

A computerized adaptive test (CAT) may be modeled as a closed-loop system, where item selection is influenced by trait level ([theta]) estimation and vice versa. When discrepancies exist between an examinee's estimated and true [theta] levels, nonoptimal item selection is a likely result. Nevertheless, examinee response behavior consistent with…

Specialist meeting on selected containment severe accident management strategies. Summary and conclusions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1994-01-01

The CSNI Specialist Meeting on Selected Containment Severe Accident Management Strategies held in Stockholm, Sweden in June 1994 was organised by the Task Group on Containment Aspects of Severe Accident Management (CAM) of CSNI's Principal Working Group on the Confinement of Accidental Radioactive Releases (PWG4) in collaboration with the Swedish Nuclear Power Inspectorate (SKI). Conclusions and recommendations are given for each of the sessions of the workshops: Containment accident management strategies (general aspects); hydrogen management techniques and other containment accident management techniques; surveillance and protection of containment function

Influence of Introduced Substituents on the Anion-selectivity of [14]Tetraazaannulene Complexes.

Science.gov (United States)

Moriuchi-Kawakami, Takayo; Obita, Minako; Tsujinaka, Toshiki; Shibutani, Yasuhiko

2015-01-01

Nickel(II) complexes of [14]tetraazaannulene derivatives incorporating aromatic rings into their azaannulene framework were synthesized, and the anion-selectivity of the [14]tetraazaannulene nickel complexes 1 - 4 was evaluated by potentiometric measurements with solvent polymeric membrane electrodes. All of the [14]Tetraazaannulene nickel complexes, except 3, were found to exhibit high selectivity for the I(-) ion over the SCN(-) ion, although considerable interference of the ClO4(-) ion was observed in all 1 - 4 complexes. Concerning the anion-selectivities of 1 and 4, the incorporation of naphthalene rings into the azaannulene framework decreased not only the interference of the ClO4(-) ion but also the I(-) ion-selectivity over the SCN(-) ion. Comparison studies between the dibenzotetraaza[14]annulene nickel complexes 1 - 3 indicated that differences in the attached substituents of the [14]tetraazaannulene nickel complexes greatly influenced the ion-selectivity as ionophores. According to our computational results, the ionophoric properties of [14]tetraazaannulene nickel complexes 1 - 4 were influenced by their electrostatic properties rather than their topological properties.

The Influence of Context on Occupational Selection in Sport-for-Development

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Janet Njelesani

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Sport-for-development (SFD is a growing phenomenon involving engagement in sport activities to achieve international development goals. Kicking AIDS Out is one sport for development initiative that raises HIV/AIDS awareness through sport. Despite sport-for-development’s global prevalence, there is a paucity of literature exploring how activities are selected for use in differing contexts. An occupational perspective can illuminate the selection of activities, sport or otherwise, in sport-for-development programming and the context in which they are implemented. The purpose of the study was to understand how context influences the selection of sport activities in Kicking AIDS Out programs. Thematic analysis was used to guide the secondary analysis of qualitative data gathered with Kicking AIDS Out leaders in Lusaka, Zambia and Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. Findings include that leaders strive to balance their activity preferences with those activities seen as feasible and preferential within their physical, socio-historical, and cultural contexts, and that leader’s differing understandings of sport as a development tool influences their selection of activities. To enable a better fit of activities chosen for the particular context and accomplishment of international development goals, sport-for-development programmes might consider how leaders are trained to select such activities.

INFLUENCE OF MARKETING COMMUNICATIVE STRATEGIES ON CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR: A CASE OF THE HIGH-TECHNOLOGY MARKET OF UKRAINE

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Victoria Zhurylo

2017-11-01

Full Text Available The purpose of the study is to research consumer behaviour types and to develop marketing strategies of communicative influence on the consumer in the high-technology goods market. Methodology. Marketing research in Ukrainian market of high-tech goods is conducted to define motivations of the consumers and the peculiarities of their market behaviour. The profiles of target customers are developed and the typology of consumer behaviour is formed, based on the reasons of purchasing of high-tech goods and on the level of consumer involvement in the purchasing process. Results showed that Highly Rational, Cautious, and Demonstrative behaviours can be observed in case of high consumer involvement in the buying process. Rationally-Confident, Comfortable, Adaptive behaviour can be observed in the case of low involvement. The peculiarities of communicative influence for each type of consumer behaviour in the market of high-tech goods are determined and the appropriate strategies of marketing communication are offered. Practical implementation. Strategies of communicative influence and communication sources depend on consumer behavioural types and the stage of the process of adopting innovations. In case of highly rational consumer behaviour, generic strategy, benefit strategy, and unique technical advantage strategies are recommended to be used as the main communicative strategies. Benefit strategy, unique technical advantage strategy, positioning strategy should be used in the case of rationally confident behaviour. The technology of intrusion, intimidation, positioning strategy, affective strategy, and resonance strategy should be used in the case of cautious consumer behaviour. Brand strategy should be used in the case of demonstrative consumer behaviour. The communicative strategies of product positioning and the strategy of resonance can be used in the case of comfortable consumer behaviour. Brand strategy is the main communicative strategy in the

Business strategy versus human resources strategy: the influence of the founder in small business

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Juliana Popp Barbosa Lima

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Small and medium-sized businesses with familiar characteristics have been object of study in recent years, especially about the succession process, considering it is extremely critical to the longevity and sustainability of the organization. However, the figure of the founder and its impact in these organizations is less explored in academia. Thus, this article seeks to fill this gap, addressing the influences of the founder in the dissemination of business and HR strategies in these companies. Through a qualitative and quantitative research, there was a case of a single organization study seeking further analysis of the subject. The collection of qualitative data was given through an interview with semi-structured interview with the founder of the organization and the qualitative by applying a questionnaire with closed questions with officials of various hierarchical levels. It was observed that the personal values and the founding principles are permeated the organization, reflected in the mission and values of the company, as well as how the founder treats topics such as business strategy and the role of people management are decisive for inclusion and driving these topics within family-based organizations. The purpose of analyzing the spread of business strategies and human resources of the Founder has been reached. It was found that, in general, strategies portray the way of the Founder, however, the spread of these to the various hierarchical levels, demonstrates a more complex, as in the HRM.

Genetic gain and economic values of selection strategies including semen traits in three- and four-way crossbreeding systems for swine production.

Science.gov (United States)

González-Peña, D; Knox, R V; MacNeil, M D; Rodriguez-Zas, S L

2015-03-01

Four semen traits: volume (VOL), concentration (CON), progressive motility of spermatozoa (MOT), and abnormal spermatozoa (ABN) provide complementary information on boar fertility. Assessment of the impact of selection for semen traits is hindered by limited information on economic parameters. Objectives of this study were to estimate economic values for semen traits and to evaluate the genetic gain when these traits are incorporated into traditional selection strategies in a 3-tier system of swine production. Three-way (maternal nucleus lines A and B and paternal nucleus line C) and 4-way (additional paternal nucleus line D) crossbreeding schemes were compared. A novel population structure that accommodated selection for semen traits was developed. Three selection strategies were simulated. Selection Strategy I (baseline) encompassed selection for maternal traits: number of pigs born alive (NBA), litter birth weight (LBW), adjusted 21-d litter weight (A21), and number of pigs at 21 d (N21); and paternal traits: number of days to 113.5 kg (D113), backfat (BF), ADG, feed efficiency (FE), and carcass lean % (LEAN). Selection Strategy II included Strategy I and the number of usable semen doses per collection (DOSES), a function of the 4 semen traits. Selection Strategy III included Strategy I and the 4 semen traits individually. The estimated economic values of VOL, CON, MOT, ABN, and DOSES for 7 to 1 collections/wk ranged from $0.21 to $1.44/mL, $0.12 to $0.83/10 spermatozoa/mm, $0.61 to $12.66/%, -$0.53 to -$10.88/%, and $2.01 to $41.43/%, respectively. The decrease in the relative economic values of semen traits and DOSES with higher number of collections per wk was sharper between 1 and 2.33 collections/wk than between 2.33 and 7 collections/wk. The higher economic value of MOT and ABN relative to VOL and CON could be linked to the genetic variances and covariances of these traits. Average genetic gains for the maternal traits were comparable across strategies

Influence of the selected alloy additions on limiting the phase formation in Cu-Zn alloys

OpenAIRE

J. Kozana; St. Rzadkosz; M. Piękoś

2010-01-01

Influence of the selected alloy additions into copper and zinc alloys was investigated in order to find out the possibility of limiting the precipitation of unfavourable phase . The observation of microstructures and strength tests were performed. The results of metallographic and strength investigations indicate positive influence of small amounts of nickel, cobalt or tellurium. The precise determination of the influence of the selected alloy additions on limiting the gamma phase formation ...

An Integrated Approach with Group Decision-Making for Strategy Selection in SWOT Analysis

OpenAIRE

İhsan Yüksel

2012-01-01

The main aim of this study was to improve the analytical dimension of SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis with group decision-making, which underlines the analysis of internal and external environments that in turn, will improve the definition of corporate strategy within the strategic planning process. The main issue of the study was how to select the most appropriate strategy by taking into consideration different effects of each factor of SWOT analysis on strat...

Decisional strategy determines whether frame influences treatment preferences for medical decisions.

Science.gov (United States)

Woodhead, Erin L; Lynch, Elizabeth B; Edelstein, Barry A

2011-06-01

Decision makers are influenced by the frame of information such that preferences vary depending on whether survival or mortality data are presented. Research is inconsistent as to whether and how age impacts framing effects. This paper presents two studies that used qualitative analyses of think-aloud protocols to understand how the type of information used in the decision making process varies by frame and age. In Study 1, 40 older adults, age 65 to 89, and 40 younger adults, age 18 to 24, responded to a hypothetical lung cancer scenario in a within-subject design. Participants received both a survival and mortality frame. Qualitative analyses revealed that two main decisional strategies were used by all participants: one strategy reflected a data-driven decisional process, whereas the other reflected an experience-driven process. Age predicted decisional strategy, with older adults less likely to use a data-driven strategy. Frame interacted with strategy to predict treatment choice; only those using a data-driven strategy demonstrated framing effects. In Study 2, 61 older adults, age 65 to 98, and 63 younger adults, age 18 to 30, responded to the same scenarios as in Study 1 in a between-subject design. The results of Study 1 were replicated, with age significantly predicting decisional strategy and frame interacting with strategy to predict treatment choice. Findings suggest that framing effects may be more related to decisional strategy than to age. (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved.

The coordination of problem solving strategies: when low competence sources exert more influence on task processing than high competence sources.

Science.gov (United States)

Quiamzade, Alain; Mugny, Gabriel; Darnon, Céline

2009-03-01

Previous research has shown that low competence sources, compared to highly competent sources, can exert influence in aptitudes tasks in as much as they induce people to focus on the task and to solve it more deeply. Two experiments aimed at testing the coordination between self and source's problem solving strategies as a main explanation of such a difference in influence. The influence of a low versus high competence source has been examined in an anagram task that allows for distinguishing between three response strategies, including one that corresponds to the coordination between the source's strategy and participants' own strategy. In Study 1 the strategy suggested by the source was either relevant and useful or irrelevant and useless for solving the task. Results indicated that participants used the coordination strategy in a larger extend when they had been confronted to a low competence rather than a highly competent source but only when the source displayed a strategy that was useful to solve the task. In Study 2 the source's strategy was always relevant and useful, but a decentring procedure was introduced for half of the participants. This procedure induced participants to consider other points of view than their own. Results replicated the difference observed in Study 1 when no decentring was introduced. The difference however disappeared when decentring was induced, because of an increase of the high competence source's influence. These results highlight coordination of strategies as one mechanism underlying influence from low competence sources.

The Influence of Market Context on Business Strategy, Competitor Imitation and Operational Effectiveness

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Madalina Balau

2015-08-01

Full Text Available The importance of strategic positioning, along with operational effectiveness, has long been presented as key for the success of the company. There are few studies that highlighted the way in which the market context affects these efforts of the company. The aim of this paper is to explore the influence of the market context on competitor imitation and its further implications on strategy. For this purpose, a literature review was conducted and major concepts were drawn from works of M. Porter, while the influence of market context was found in research papers. Putting together these different perspectives on the company and the strategic choices it must make, the results of our analysis suggest that choosing a differentiation strategy and not imitating the reference competitors is a daring initiative, that involves the risk of standing out from the crowd. The implication of this finding is that imitation of the competitor is an easier solution for the company and it has an important attraction, due to the short term influence on increasing sales, while deterring innovation. The value of this paper consists in exploring the contextual influence of well-established concepts for company’s management.

Influence of the management strategy model on estimating water system performance under climate change

Science.gov (United States)

Francois, Baptiste; Hingray, Benoit; Creutin, Jean-Dominique; Hendrickx, Frederic

2015-04-01

The performance of water systems used worldwide for the management of water resources is expected to be influenced by future changes in regional climates and water uses. Anticipating possible performance changes of a given system requires a modeling chain simulating its management. Operational management is usually not trivial especially when several conflicting objectives have to be accounted for. Management models are therefore often a crude representation of the real system and they only approximate its performance. Estimated performance changes are expected to depend on the management model used, but this is often not assessed. This communication analyzes the influence of the management strategy representation on the performance of an Alpine reservoir (Serre-Ponçon, South-East of France) for which irrigation supply, hydropower generation and recreational activities are the main objectives. We consider three ways to construct the strategy named as clear-, short- and far-sighted management. They are based on different forecastability degrees of seasonal inflows into the reservoir. The strategies are optimized using a Dynamic Programming algorithm (deterministic for clear-sighted and implicit stochastic for short- and far-sighted). System performance is estimated for an ensemble of future hydro-meteorological projections obtained in the RIWER2030 research project (http://www.lthe.fr/RIWER2030/) from a suite of climate experiments from the EU - ENSEMBLES research project. Our results show that changes in system performance is much more influenced by changes in hydro-meteorological variables than by the choice of strategy modeling. They also show that a simple strategy representation (i.e. clear-sighted management) leads to similar estimates of performance modifications than those obtained with a representation supposedly closer to real world (i.e. the far-sighted management). The Short-Sighted management approach lead to significantly different results, especially

A Semidefinite Programming Based Search Strategy for Feature Selection with Mutual Information Measure.

Science.gov (United States)

Naghibi, Tofigh; Hoffmann, Sarah; Pfister, Beat

2015-08-01

Feature subset selection, as a special case of the general subset selection problem, has been the topic of a considerable number of studies due to the growing importance of data-mining applications. In the feature subset selection problem there are two main issues that need to be addressed: (i) Finding an appropriate measure function than can be fairly fast and robustly computed for high-dimensional data. (ii) A search strategy to optimize the measure over the subset space in a reasonable amount of time. In this article mutual information between features and class labels is considered to be the measure function. Two series expansions for mutual information are proposed, and it is shown that most heuristic criteria suggested in the literature are truncated approximations of these expansions. It is well-known that searching the whole subset space is an NP-hard problem. Here, instead of the conventional sequential search algorithms, we suggest a parallel search strategy based on semidefinite programming (SDP) that can search through the subset space in polynomial time. By exploiting the similarities between the proposed algorithm and an instance of the maximum-cut problem in graph theory, the approximation ratio of this algorithm is derived and is compared with the approximation ratio of the backward elimination method. The experiments show that it can be misleading to judge the quality of a measure solely based on the classification accuracy, without taking the effect of the non-optimum search strategy into account.

Cow genotyping strategies for genomic selection in a small dairy cattle population.

Science.gov (United States)

Jenko, J; Wiggans, G R; Cooper, T A; Eaglen, S A E; Luff, W G de L; Bichard, M; Pong-Wong, R; Woolliams, J A

2017-01-01

This study compares how different cow genotyping strategies increase the accuracy of genomic estimated breeding values (EBV) in dairy cattle breeds with low numbers. In these breeds, few sires have progeny records, and genotyping cows can improve the accuracy of genomic EBV. The Guernsey breed is a small dairy cattle breed with approximately 14,000 recorded individuals worldwide. Predictions of phenotypes of milk yield, fat yield, protein yield, and calving interval were made for Guernsey cows from England and Guernsey Island using genomic EBV, with training sets including 197 de-regressed proofs of genotyped bulls, with cows selected from among 1,440 genotyped cows using different genotyping strategies. Accuracies of predictions were tested using 10-fold cross-validation among the cows. Genomic EBV were predicted using 4 different methods: (1) pedigree BLUP, (2) genomic BLUP using only bulls, (3) univariate genomic BLUP using bulls and cows, and (4) bivariate genomic BLUP. Genotyping cows with phenotypes and using their data for the prediction of single nucleotide polymorphism effects increased the correlation between genomic EBV and phenotypes compared with using only bulls by 0.163±0.022 for milk yield, 0.111±0.021 for fat yield, and 0.113±0.018 for protein yield; a decrease of 0.014±0.010 for calving interval from a low base was the only exception. Genetic correlation between phenotypes from bulls and cows were approximately 0.6 for all yield traits and significantly different from 1. Only a very small change occurred in correlation between genomic EBV and phenotypes when using the bivariate model. It was always better to genotype all the cows, but when only half of the cows were genotyped, a divergent selection strategy was better compared with the random or directional selection approach. Divergent selection of 30% of the cows remained superior for the yield traits in 8 of 10 folds. Copyright © 2017 American Dairy Science Association. Published by

Selecting the most appropriate maintenance strategies using fuzzy Analytic Network Process: A case study of Saipa vehicle industry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mina Rahimi

2014-04-01

Full Text Available It is necessary for companies and industries to select the most appropriate maintenance strategy to increase the reliability and safety level with reasonable cost. The primary objective of this paper is to assess different maintenance strategies and to select the best and the most appropriate alternatives for Saipa vehicle industry in Tehran, Iran. For this purpose, we simultaneously consider numerous conflicting objectives and constraints. In this study to counter with this conflicting and to consider the dependency among the qualitative and quantitative criteria and sub-criteria, an integration of Analytic Network Process (ANP and fuzzy set theory are considered. Therefore, factors playing important role in selecting the best maintenance strategy are determined by reviewing the research literature and interviewing with the experts by Delphi technique. Considering the relations among different factors, a network with 4 criteria and 28 sub-criteria are proposed. In the next step, ANP technique is applied for ranking effective factors in evolution of appropriate maintenance strategy. Results reveal that the best maintenance strategy for fixture body of pride (setter is corrective maintenance.

XCT analysis of the influence of melt strategies on defect population in Ti–6Al–4V components manufactured by Selective Electron Beam Melting

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tammas-Williams, S.; Zhao, H.; Léonard, F.; Derguti, F.; Todd, I.; Prangnell, P.B.

2015-01-01

Selective Electron Beam Melting (SEBM) is a promising powder bed Additive Manufacturing technique for near-net-shape manufacture of high-value titanium components. However without post-manufacture HIPing the fatigue life of SEBM parts is currently dominated by the presence of porosity. In this study, the size, volume fraction, and spatial distribution of the pores in model samples have been characterised in 3D, using X-ray Computed Tomography, and correlated to the process variables. The average volume fraction of the pores (< 0.2%) was measured to be lower than that usually observed in competing processes, such as selective laser melting, but a strong relationship was found with the different beam strategies used to contour, and infill by hatching, a part section. The majority of pores were found to be small spherical gas pores, concentrated in the infill hatched region; this was attributed to the lower energy density and less focused beam used in the infill strategy allowing less opportunity for gas bubbles to escape the melt pool. Overall, increasing the energy density or focus of the beam was found to correlate strongly to a reduction in the level of gas porosity. Rarer irregular shaped pores were mostly located in the contour region and have been attributed to a lack of fusion between powder particles. - Graphical abstract: Display Omitted - Highlights: • Vast majority of defects detected were small spherical gas pores. • Gas bubbles trapped in the powder granules expand and coalesce in the melt pool. • Pores have been shown not to be randomly distributed. • Larger and deeper melt pools give more opportunity for gas to escape. • Minor changes to melt strategy result in significant reductions in pore population

XCT analysis of the influence of melt strategies on defect population in Ti–6Al–4V components manufactured by Selective Electron Beam Melting

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tammas-Williams, S., E-mail: Samuel.tammas-wiliams@manchester.ac.uk [School of Materials, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL (United Kingdom); Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S1 3JD (United Kingdom); Zhao, H. [School of Materials, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL (United Kingdom); Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S1 3JD (United Kingdom); Léonard, F. [School of Materials, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL (United Kingdom); Derguti, F.; Todd, I. [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S1 3JD (United Kingdom); Prangnell, P.B. [School of Materials, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL (United Kingdom)

2015-04-15

Selective Electron Beam Melting (SEBM) is a promising powder bed Additive Manufacturing technique for near-net-shape manufacture of high-value titanium components. However without post-manufacture HIPing the fatigue life of SEBM parts is currently dominated by the presence of porosity. In this study, the size, volume fraction, and spatial distribution of the pores in model samples have been characterised in 3D, using X-ray Computed Tomography, and correlated to the process variables. The average volume fraction of the pores (< 0.2%) was measured to be lower than that usually observed in competing processes, such as selective laser melting, but a strong relationship was found with the different beam strategies used to contour, and infill by hatching, a part section. The majority of pores were found to be small spherical gas pores, concentrated in the infill hatched region; this was attributed to the lower energy density and less focused beam used in the infill strategy allowing less opportunity for gas bubbles to escape the melt pool. Overall, increasing the energy density or focus of the beam was found to correlate strongly to a reduction in the level of gas porosity. Rarer irregular shaped pores were mostly located in the contour region and have been attributed to a lack of fusion between powder particles. - Graphical abstract: Display Omitted - Highlights: • Vast majority of defects detected were small spherical gas pores. • Gas bubbles trapped in the powder granules expand and coalesce in the melt pool. • Pores have been shown not to be randomly distributed. • Larger and deeper melt pools give more opportunity for gas to escape. • Minor changes to melt strategy result in significant reductions in pore population.

Influence of Maximum Inbreeding Avoidance under BLUP EBV Selection on Pinzgau Population Diversity

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Radovan Kasarda

2011-05-01

Full Text Available Evaluated was effect of mating (random vs. maximum avoidance of inbreeding under BLUP EBV selection strategy. Existing population structure was under Monte Carlo stochastic simulation analyzed from the point to minimize increase of inbreeding. Maximum avoidance of inbreeding under BLUP selection resulted into comparable increase of inbreeding then random mating in average of 10 generation development. After 10 generations of simulation of mating strategy was observed ΔF= 6,51 % (2 sires, 5,20 % (3 sires, 3,22 % (4 sires resp. 2,94 % (5 sires. With increased number of sires selected, decrease of inbreeding was observed. With use of 4, resp. 5 sires increase of inbreeding was comparable to random mating with phenotypic selection. For saving of genetic diversity and prevention of population loss is important to minimize increase of inbreeding in small populations. Classical approach was based on balancing ratio of sires and dams in mating program. Contrariwise in the most of commercial populations small number of sires was used with high mating ratio.

Early Invasive Versus Selective Strategy for Non-ST-Segment Elevation Acute Coronary Syndrome: The ICTUS Trial

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hoedemaker, N.P.G.; Damman, P.; Woudstra, P.; Hirsch, A.; Windhausen, F.; Tijssen, J.G.; Winter, R.J. de; Verheugt, F.W.A.; et al.,

2017-01-01

BACKGROUND: The ICTUS (Invasive Versus Conservative Treatment in Unstable Coronary Syndromes) trial compared early invasive strategy with a selective invasive strategy in patients with non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndrome (NSTE-ACS) and an elevated cardiac troponin T. No long-term

Task Demands in OSCEs Influence Learning Strategies.

Science.gov (United States)

Lafleur, Alexandre; Laflamme, Jonathan; Leppink, Jimmie; Côté, Luc

2017-01-01

Models on pre-assessment learning effects confirmed that task demands stand out among the factors assessors can modify in an assessment to influence learning. However, little is known about which tasks in objective structured clinical examinations (OSCEs) improve students' cognitive and metacognitive processes. Research is needed to support OSCE designs that benefit students' metacognitive strategies when they are studying, reinforcing a hypothesis-driven approach. With that intent, hypothesis-driven physical examination (HDPE) assessments ask students to elicit and interpret findings of the physical exam to reach a diagnosis ("Examine this patient with a painful shoulder to reach a diagnosis"). When studying for HDPE, students will dedicate more time to hypothesis-driven discussions and practice than when studying for a part-task OSCE ("Perform the shoulder exam"). It is expected that the whole-task nature of HDPE will lead to a hypothesis-oriented use of the learning resources, a frequent use of adjustment strategies, and persistence with learning. In a mixed-methods study, 40 medical students were randomly paired and filmed while studying together for two hypothetical OSCE stations. Each 25-min study period began with video cues asking to study for either a part-task OSCE or an HDPE. In a crossover design, sequences were randomized for OSCEs and contents (shoulder or spine). Time-on-task for discussions or practice were categorized as "hypothesis-driven" or "sequence of signs and maneuvers." Content analysis of focus group interviews summarized students' perception of learning resources, adjustment strategies, and persistence with learning. When studying for HDPE, students allocate significantly more time for hypothesis-driven discussions and practice. Students use resources contrasting diagnoses and report persistence with learning. When studying for part-task OSCEs, time-on-task is reversed, spent on rehearsing a sequence of signs and maneuvers. OSCEs with

The influence of operational constraints in the production strategy definition; Influencia de restricoes operacionais na definicao da estrategia de producao

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Magalhaes, Tasso C.B. de; Schiozer, Denis J. [Universidade Estadual de Campinas, SP (Brazil)

2004-07-01

Production strategies definition, applied to petroleum fields, must consider physical, operational and economic constraints. It is common to consider only the reservoir conditions on the optimization processes, simplifying, many times, the process by not taking into account the operational constraints due to production facilities. There are two main reasons: considering the operational constraints makes the process much complex and it is assumed that this simplification can affect the economic indicators but dos not affect significantly the optimization process (number e location of wells, for example). The capacity of a production unit can be limited by many constrains such as: maximum liquid rate, capacity of water and gas treatment, gas compression, water or gas injection, number of wells, etc. In this work, we show that these limitations have a direct influence in the oil production and consequently in the economic indicators and they can cause significant impact at production strategy definition, influencing the number of production and injection wells, their locations and their operational conditions. We presented an example of an offshore field with a limitation on the liquid rate. Production strategies were selected with and without constraints in order to observe the differences in the technical and economic indicators, such as NPV (Net Present Value), production and injection of fluids and the number and location of the production and injection wells. It was possible to observe yet that the amount and location of the wells were significantly affected by the restriction. (author)

Machiavellian Beliefs and Social Influence.

Science.gov (United States)

O'Hair, Dan; Cody, Michael J.

1987-01-01

Replicates previous findings of separate Machiavellian belief constructs (Deceit, Flatter, Immorality, and Cynicism). Indicates that different constructs predict selection of compliance-gaining strategies; for example, actors who scored high on Immorality used more referent influence on superiors. Discusses implications of this study concerning a…

Priority Selection Within National Innovation Strategy in Global Context

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Prokopenko Olha

2017-08-01

Full Text Available The article deals with global experience in analysing the priorities based on their importance for country development and on national and international criteria using algorithm for the selection process. The main aspects of the process of development and implementation of international technology strategies were considered. The authors prove that through the analysis of innovation systems at macro level decision about the priorities in optimization with the aim to improve regulations in science, technology and innovation is provided. The main techniques and decisions were considered based on foresight-studies. Authors propose to create informative and analytical system for the foresight aims.

Influence of seasoning on vegetable selection, liking and intent to purchase.

Science.gov (United States)

Manero, Joanna; Phillips, Carter; Ellison, Brenna; Lee, Soo-Yeun; Nickols-Richardson, Sharon M; Chapman-Novakofski, Karen M

2017-09-01

Low vegetable intake continues to be a health concern, and strategies to increase vegetable intake have resulted in only small increases. One strategy that has received less attention is the use of seasonings. This study's objective was to determine the impact of seasoning on vegetable selection, liking, and intent to purchase. We conducted a 3-week study in a public café on a university campus. Customers buying a main dish could select a vegetable side (seasoned [SS] or steamed [ST]) at no cost. Based on café data and power analysis (alpha 0.05, 80% power), 2 days per vegetable pair were conducted with carrot, broccoli, and green bean pairs randomized 3 days/week 1 and 3, with normal service week 2. Selection was greater for SS vs ST, n = 335 vs. 143 for all 3 vegetables combined; n = 97 vs 47 for carrots; n = 114 vs. 55 for broccoli; n = 124 vs. 41 for green beans (p purchase the vegetable that they selected. More customers chose the 'somewhat likely' and 'very likely' (n = 353) than the 'not likely' and 'definitely would not' (n = 121) purchase responses. Regression showed that people who did not often consume a vegetable with lunch while dining out were 1.59 times more likely to select the SS vegetables over the ST (p = 0.007). Given a choice, consumers were more likely to select a seasoned vegetable. With low vegetable consumption as a predictor of seasoned vegetable choice, offering seasoned vegetables may increase intake in those with poor vegetable intake in a café setting. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Early Invasive Versus Selective Strategy for Non-ST-Segment Elevation Acute Coronary Syndrome: The ICTUS Trial

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hoedemaker, Niels P. G.; Damman, Peter; Woudstra, Pier; Hirsch, Alexander; Windhausen, Fons; Tijssen, Jan G. P.; de Winter, Robbert J.; Peters, R. J. G.; Dunselman, P. H. J. M.; Verheugt, F. W. A.; Janus, C. L.; Umans, V.; Bendermacher, P. E. F.; Michels, H. R.; Sadé e, A.; Hertzberger, D.; de Miliano, P. A. R. M.; Liem, A. H.; Tjon Joe Gin, R.; van der Linde, M.; Lok, D.; Hoedemaker, G.; Pieterse, M.; van den Merkhof, L.; Danië ls, M.; van Hessen, M.; Hermans, W.; Schotborgh, C. E.; de Zwaan, C.; Bredero, A.; de Jaegere, P.; Janssen, M.; Louwerenburg, J.; Veerhoek, M.; Schalij, M.; de Porto, A.; Zijlstra, F.; Winter, J.; de Feyter, P.; Robles de Medina, R.; Withagen, P.; Sedney, M.; Thijssen, H.; van Rees, C.; van den Bergh, P.; de Cock, C.; van 't Hof, A.; Suttorp, M. J.; Windhausen, F.; Cornel, J. H.

2017-01-01

The ICTUS (Invasive Versus Conservative Treatment in Unstable Coronary Syndromes) trial compared early invasive strategy with a selective invasive strategy in patients with non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndrome (NSTE-ACS) and an elevated cardiac troponin T. No long-term benefit of an

Influence Business Strategy On The Quality Of Accounting Information System

OpenAIRE

Meiryani

2015-01-01

Abstract Todaythe survival ofthe companyis largely determinedbythe ability ofcompaniesto competeinthe market so improvement on the quality of accounting information system is needed. Companies use accounting information system as a tool to generate information that managers can make decisions. To be able to take the right decisions necessary quality of accounting information systems. In view of the above this paper considers the Influence Of Business Strategy On The Quality Of Accounting Info...

Influence of the selected alloy additions on limiting the phase formation in Cu-Zn alloys

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J. Kozana

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Influence of the selected alloy additions into copper and zinc alloys was investigated in order to find out the possibility of limiting the precipitation of unfavourable phase . The observation of microstructures and strength tests were performed. The results of metallographic and strength investigations indicate positive influence of small amounts of nickel, cobalt or tellurium. The precise determination of the influence of the selected alloy additions on limiting the gamma phase formation will be the subject of further examinations.

Radiological protection and the selection of management strategies for intermediate level wastes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hill, M.D.; Webb, G.A.M.

1982-01-01

This paper describes the steps involved in selecting management systems and an overall management strategy for intermediate level solid radioactive wastes. The radiological protection inputs to intermediate level waste management decisions are discussed, together with the results of preliminary radiological assessments of disposal options. Areas where further work is required are identified. (author)

Price elasticity and pharmaceutical selection: the influence of managed care.

Science.gov (United States)

Domino, Marisa Elena; Salkever, David S

2003-07-01

State Medicaid programs are turning increasingly to managed care to control expenditures, although the types of managed care programs in use have changed dramatically. Little is known about the influence of the shifting Medicaid managed care arena on treatment decisions. This paper investigates factors affecting the selection of treatments for depression by providers participating in either of two Medicaid managed care programs. Of particular interest is the influence of medication price on the choice of treatment, since one vehicle through which managed care organizations can reduce total expenditures is by increasing the price sensitivity of participating providers. We take a new approach by phrasing the problem as a discrete choice, using a nested multinomial logit model for the analyses. Contrary to earlier literature, we find some evidence that physicians in both programs do take price into consideration when selecting among treatment options. HMO providers in particular demonstrate increased price sensitivity in the two most commonly prescribed categories of antidepressants. Copyright 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Factors influencing the control strategy of hybrid drive of urban public transport buses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barta, Dalibor; Mruzek, Martin

2015-01-01

The efficiency of each drives is dependent on many factors. Hybrid drives and specially the drives of urban public transport may be affected by other factors given by transport infrastructure or operational conditions. These factors condition the suitable configuration of the individual elements of hybrid drive and the establishment of good control strategy of such drive. The study of influencing factors of the control strategy is the aim of this paper. (full text)

Model building strategy for logistic regression: purposeful selection.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Zhongheng

2016-03-01

Logistic regression is one of the most commonly used models to account for confounders in medical literature. The article introduces how to perform purposeful selection model building strategy with R. I stress on the use of likelihood ratio test to see whether deleting a variable will have significant impact on model fit. A deleted variable should also be checked for whether it is an important adjustment of remaining covariates. Interaction should be checked to disentangle complex relationship between covariates and their synergistic effect on response variable. Model should be checked for the goodness-of-fit (GOF). In other words, how the fitted model reflects the real data. Hosmer-Lemeshow GOF test is the most widely used for logistic regression model.

Physicians under the influence: social psychology and industry marketing strategies.

Science.gov (United States)

Sah, Sunita; Fugh-Berman, Adriane

2013-01-01

Pharmaceutical and medical device companies apply social psychology to influence physicians' prescribing behavior and decision making. Physicians fail to recognize their vulnerability to commercial influences due to self-serving bias, rationalization, and cognitive dissonance. Professionalism offers little protection; even the most conscious and genuine commitment to ethical behavior cannot eliminate unintentional, subconscious bias. Six principles of influence - reciprocation, commitment, social proof, liking, authority, and scarcity - are key to the industry's routine marketing strategies, which rely on the illusion that the industry is a generous avuncular partner to physicians. In order to resist industry influence, physicians must accept that they are vulnerable to subconscious bias and have both the motivation and means to resist industry influence. A culture in which accepting industry gifts engenders shame rather than gratitude will reduce conflicts of interest. If greater academic prestige accrues to distant rather than close relationships with industry, then a new social norm may emerge that promotes patient care and scientific integrity. In addition to educating faculty and students about the social psychology underlying sophisticated but potentially manipulative marketing and about how to resist it, academic medical institutions should develop strong organizational policies to counteract the medical profession's improper dependence on industry. © 2013 American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics, Inc.

Marketing of Information Resources in Selected Public Libraries in ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Marketing of Information Resources in Selected Public Libraries in Lagos State: ... and the e xtent to which competitive strategies could be employed in marketing ... negative influence were all indicated as factors militating against marketing of ...

Influence of olfactory and visual cover on nest site selection and nest success for grassland-nesting birds.

Science.gov (United States)

Fogarty, Dillon T; Elmore, R Dwayne; Fuhlendorf, Samuel D; Loss, Scott R

2017-08-01

Habitat selection by animals is influenced by and mitigates the effects of predation and environmental extremes. For birds, nest site selection is crucial to offspring production because nests are exposed to extreme weather and predation pressure. Predators that forage using olfaction often dominate nest predator communities; therefore, factors that influence olfactory detection (e.g., airflow and weather variables, including turbulence and moisture) should influence nest site selection and survival. However, few studies have assessed the importance of olfactory cover for habitat selection and survival. We assessed whether ground-nesting birds select nest sites based on visual and/or olfactory cover. Additionally, we assessed the importance of visual cover and airflow and weather variables associated with olfactory cover in influencing nest survival. In managed grasslands in Oklahoma, USA, we monitored nests of Northern Bobwhite ( Colinus virginianus ), Eastern Meadowlark ( Sturnella magna ), and Grasshopper Sparrow ( Ammodramus savannarum ) during 2015 and 2016. To assess nest site selection, we compared cover variables between nests and random points. To assess factors influencing nest survival, we used visual cover and olfactory-related measurements (i.e., airflow and weather variables) to model daily nest survival. For nest site selection, nest sites had greater overhead visual cover than random points, but no other significant differences were found. Weather variables hypothesized to influence olfactory detection, specifically precipitation and relative humidity, were the best predictors of and were positively related to daily nest survival. Selection for overhead cover likely contributed to mitigation of thermal extremes and possibly reduced detectability of nests. For daily nest survival, we hypothesize that major nest predators focused on prey other than the monitored species' nests during high moisture conditions, thus increasing nest survival on these

Reducing residual stresses and deformations in selective laser melting through multi-level multi-scale optimization of cellular scanning strategy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mohanty, Sankhya; Hattel, Jesper Henri

2016-01-01

. A multilevel optimization strategy is adopted using a customized genetic algorithm developed for optimizing cellular scanning strategy for selective laser melting, with an objective of reducing residual stresses and deformations. The resulting thermo-mechanically optimized cellular scanning strategies......, a calibrated, fast, multiscale thermal model coupled with a 3D finite element mechanical model is used to simulate residual stress formation and deformations during selective laser melting. The resulting reduction in thermal model computation time allows evolutionary algorithm-based optimization of the process...

Factors influencing nurses’ job satisfaction in selected private hospitals in England

OpenAIRE

RP Lephalala

2008-01-01

The quantitative descriptive survey used self-completion questionnaires to study factors influencing nurses’ job satisfaction in selected private hospitals in England. Herzberg’s Theory of Motivation was used to contextualise the results obtained from 85 completed questionnaires.

Outsourcing strategy selection for transportation services based on the Make or Buy decision

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maria CIEŚLA

2015-06-01

Full Text Available This paper is related to the practical approach to logistics strategies in enterprises and advanced practical applications. This article presents an analysis and solution to a specific problem, which is the subject of transport in the enterprise. It presents an analysis based on Make-or-Buy decision involving the selection of best internal or external transport service. It will be used for an exemplary production company. This case study presents the basis for the construction of logistics strategy of the company as a competitive advantage in the market.

Marketing strategy of the selected company

OpenAIRE

Vodstrčilová, Kateřina

2010-01-01

This bachelor thesis deals with the marketing strategy of the company Náš grunt, s.r.o., the operator of the farm food concept Náš grunt. The aim of the thesis is to analyse the marketing strategy of the company and to suggest possible improvements. The theoretical part of the thesis is focused on the marketing, the marketing process, the marketing strategy, the marketing mix and SWOT analysis. The practical part is based on the situation analysis and the marketing strategy of the company Náš...

Selective harmonic elimination strategy in eleven level inverter for PV system with unbalanced DC sources

Science.gov (United States)

Ghoudelbourk, Sihem.; Dib, D.; Meghni, B.; Zouli, M.

2017-02-01

The paper deals with the multilevel converters control strategy for photovoltaic system integrated in distribution grids. The objective of the proposed work is to design multilevel inverters for solar energy applications so as to reduce the Total Harmonic Distortion (THD) and to improve the power quality. The multilevel inverter power structure plays a vital role in every aspect of the power system. It is easier to produce a high-power, high-voltage inverter with the multilevel structure. The topologies of multilevel inverter have several advantages such as high output voltage, lower total harmonic distortion (THD) and reduction of voltage ratings of the power semiconductor switching devices. The proposed control strategy ensures an implementation of selective harmonic elimination (SHE) modulation for eleven levels. SHE is a very important and efficient strategy of eliminating selected harmonics by judicious selection of the firing angles of the inverter. Harmonics elimination technique eliminates the need of the expensive low pass filters in the system. Previous research considered that constant and equal DC sources with invariant behavior; however, this research extends earlier work to include variant DC sources, which are typical of lead-acid batteries when used in system PV. This Study also investigates methods to minimize the total harmonic distortion of the synthesized multilevel waveform and to help balance the battery voltage. The harmonic elimination method was used to eliminate selected lower dominant harmonics resulting from the inverter switching action.

Developing green supply chain management strategies: A taxonomic approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael Mutingi

2013-06-01

Full Text Available Purpose: The objective of this research is to explore the empirical green supply chain activities found in literature, and to develop a taxonomic framework that can be used for formulating appropriate strategies for green supply chains, based on characteristic dimensions for the green supply chain. Design/methodology/approach: The taxonomic framework is developed through (i analysis of green supply chain activities found in existing empirical work or case studies recorded in literature, (ii identification of key dimensions that influence green supply chain management strategies, and (iii development of a taxonomic scheme for selecting or developing green strategies. Findings: The paper finds that this study yielded: a set of three characteristic dimensions that influence strategic green supply chain management, and a guided structured approach selecting appropriate green strategies, providing managerial insights. Research limitations/implications: This paper shows that future work includes development of specific performance management indices according to the taxonomy of green strategies developed in this study. Practical implications: This research provided a practical guided approach that enhances appropriate formulation of green strategies for green supply chain management, while providing sound managerial insights for the supply chain decision maker. The choice of supply chain strategy directly impacts the overall environmental, economic and operations performance of the supply chain. Originality/value: This study presents to supply chain decision makers a new taxonomic framework that simplifies and enhances the formulation of green strategies, and to researchers a comparative understanding of various strategies applicable to green supply chains.

Immediate movement history influences reach-to-grasp action selection in children and adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Kent, Samuel W; Wilson, Andrew D; Plumb, Mandy S; Williams, Justin H G; Mon-Williams, Mark

2009-01-01

Action selection is subject to many biases. Immediate movement history is one such bias seen in young infants. Is this bias strong enough to affect adult behavior? Adult participants reached and grasped a cylinder positioned to require either pronation or supination of the hand. Successive cylinder positions changed either randomly or systematically between trials. Random positioning led to optimized economy of movement. In contrast, systematic changes in position biased action selection toward previously selected actions at the expense of movement economy. Thus, one switches to a new movement only when the savings outweigh the costs of the switch. Immediate movement history had an even larger influence on children aged 7-15 years. This suggests that switching costs are greater in children, which is consistent with their reduced grasping experience. The presence of this effect in adults suggests that immediate movement history exerts a more widespread and pervasive influence on patterns of action selection than researchers had previously recognized.

[Influence of organizational commitment and professional nurses in conflict resolution strategies].

Science.gov (United States)

Pinho, Paula; Albuquerque, Carlos

2013-01-01

INTRODUCE: The changes in the health area and the set of structural changes in the nursing profession and career interfere in the dynamics and stability of the future of the nurses. To study the influence of organizational and professional commitment of the nurses in the strategies of conflict resolution. This is a quantitative, transversal and non-experimental research, following a descriptive-correlational way. Non-probabilistic sample of 102 nurses to perform duties in Health Units, mostly female (82.4%) with a mean age of 39.33 years and standard deviation 9.226. The measuring instrument consists of three scales calibrated and validated for the portuguese population: Organizational Commitment Questionnaire, Professional Commitment Scale and Inventory Strategies for Conflict Resolution, which assesses how individuals deal with conflict situations before higher (Form A), subordinate (Form B) and colleagues (Form C). Nurses demonstrate a moderate organizational commitment and higher affective commitment and normative commitment to the instrumental. Nurses demonstrate a moderate professional commitment and the results show that nurses have higher values on the dimensions of that interest and challenge the relevance dimension of nursing as a profession. The organizational commitment influences the adoption of strategies of conflict resolution as a conflict situation arises with the boss, subordinates or colleagues. The higher the level of organizational commitment higher the level of professional commitment. Nurses more engaged professionally demonstrate strategies that use more integrative and compromise in conflict resolution whether against the boss, subordinates or colleagues. The results ensure the need to promote and stimulate the affective commitment by the positive consequences it entails the organization and the profession. The organizational performance benefits from the stimulation of the conflict under certain conditions and that the constructive

Evaluation of the Influence of Selected Factors on a Successful ERP Software Implementation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Grażyna Hołodnik-Janczura

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Based on a pilot study, a list of critical success factors for an IT project was developed. These factors were subjected to statistical analysis on the basis of the results of a questionnaire. Two samples of projects, called "success" and "failure" respectively, were analysed. The groups were distinguished in order to evaluate the influence of selected factors on the success of an implementation project. Furthermore, a non-parametric test was applied, in order to conduct statistical data analysis, which confirmed the influence of the majority of the selected factors on the success of an implementation project. (original abstract

Ecological dynamics of age selective harvesting of fish population: Maximum sustainable yield and its control strategy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jana, Debaldev; Agrawal, Rashmi; Upadhyay, Ranjit Kumar; Samanta, G.P.

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Age-selective harvesting of prey and predator are considered by multi-delayed prey-predator system. • System experiences stable coexistence to oscillatory mode and vice versa via Hopf-bifurcation depending upon the parametric restrictions. • MSY, bionomic equilibrium and optimal harvesting policy are also depending upon the age-selection of prey and predator. • All the analytic results are delay dependent. • Numerical examples support the analytical findings. - Abstract: Life history of ecological resource management and empirical studies are increasingly documenting the impact of selective harvesting process on the evolutionary stable strategy of both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. In the present study, the interaction between population and their independent and combined selective harvesting are framed by a multi-delayed prey-predator system. Depending upon the age selection strategy, system experiences stable coexistence to oscillatory mode and vice versa via Hopf-bifurcation. Economic evolution of the system which is mainly featured by maximum sustainable yield (MSY), bionomic equilibrium and optimal harvesting vary largely with the commensurate age selections of both population because equilibrium population abundance becomes age-selection dependent. Our study indicates that balance between harvesting delays and harvesting intensities should be maintained for better ecosystem management. Numerical examples support the analytical findings.

Catch the Best: Novel Screening Strategy to Select Stress Protecting Agents for Crop Plants

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Christin Zachow

2013-11-01

Full Text Available Climate change increases stress levels for crops and affects the economic and environmental aspects of agricultural management systems. The application of stress tolerance-mediating microorganisms is an auspicious strategy for improving crop protection, and as such, we developed a direct selection strategy to obtain cultivable microorganisms from promising bioresources using the bait plants, maize, oilseed rape, sorghum and sugar beet. Alpine mosses, lichens and primrose were selected as bioresources, as each is adapted to adverse environmental conditions. A 10% crop-specific selection was found for bait plant rhizosphere communities using cultivation-independent fingerprints, and their potential role as stress protecting agents (SPA was evaluated following the cultivation of captured bacteria. In addition to assays identifying phytopathogen antagonism and plant growth promotion capacities, our evaluation included those that test the ability to allocate nutrients. Moreover, we developed new assays to measure tolerance in diverse stress conditions. A score scheme was applied to select SPAs with desired properties, and three Pseudomonas species with pronounced antagonistic activity that showed elevated tolerance to desiccation and an improved seed germination rate were subsequently chosen. Screening for environmentally-conditioned and host-adapted microorganisms provides a novel tool for target-oriented exploitation of microbial bioresources for the management of ecofriendly crops facing biotic and abiotic stresses.

The influence of government targeted procurement strategies on the growth performance of construction small and medium-sized contractors (SMCs in South Africa

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Abdurauf Adediran

2017-12-01

Full Text Available This paper examines government targeted procurement (TP strategies in South Africa and whether these strategies have an influence on the growth performance of Small and medium-sized contractors (SMCs in the construction industry. The rationale for this study stems from reports that while TP has been widely used as an instrument to improve the position of SMCs in the South African construction industry, three out of five SMCs do not become established firms. In addition, the nature of the influence of TP strategies on the growth performance of SMCs is not known. Following a review of existing literature, the study mainly adopted a quantitative research approach. Questionnaire surveys were administered to Construction Industry Development Board (cidb Grades 3 to 6 contractors that have executed TP projects within the last 5 years. The collected data was subjected to descriptive and inferential statistical analyses – Spearman’s rank order correlation was used as an index of association between the study variables. The study found that tendering equity is the most frequently used TP strategy, closely followed by preferencing and mandatory subcontracting. The study also found that positive significant associations exists among preferencing and turnover; third-party management and company assets; tendering equity, turnover and number of employees; as well as accelerated rotations, turnover and number of employees. The study concluded that government intervention through targeted procurement has the potential to achieve its intended results of improving the position of historically disadvantaged SMCs in the construction industry in South Africa if selected and implemented appropriately.

Construction and applications of exon-trapping gene-targeting vectors with a novel strategy for negative selection.

Science.gov (United States)

Saito, Shinta; Ura, Kiyoe; Kodama, Miho; Adachi, Noritaka

2015-06-30

Targeted gene modification by homologous recombination provides a powerful tool for studying gene function in cells and animals. In higher eukaryotes, non-homologous integration of targeting vectors occurs several orders of magnitude more frequently than does targeted integration, making the gene-targeting technology highly inefficient. For this reason, negative-selection strategies have been employed to reduce the number of drug-resistant clones associated with non-homologous vector integration, particularly when artificial nucleases to introduce a DNA break at the target site are unavailable or undesirable. As such, an exon-trap strategy using a promoterless drug-resistance marker gene provides an effective way to counterselect non-homologous integrants. However, constructing exon-trapping targeting vectors has been a time-consuming and complicated process. By virtue of highly efficient att-mediated recombination, we successfully developed a simple and rapid method to construct plasmid-based vectors that allow for exon-trapping gene targeting. These exon-trap vectors were useful in obtaining correctly targeted clones in mouse embryonic stem cells and human HT1080 cells. Most importantly, with the use of a conditionally cytotoxic gene, we further developed a novel strategy for negative selection, thereby enhancing the efficiency of counterselection for non-homologous integration of exon-trap vectors. Our methods will greatly facilitate exon-trapping gene-targeting technologies in mammalian cells, particularly when combined with the novel negative selection strategy.

Factors influencing nurses’ job satisfaction in selected private hospitals in England

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RP Lephalala

2008-09-01

Full Text Available The quantitative descriptive survey used self-completion questionnaires to study factors influencing nurses’ job satisfaction in selected private hospitals in England. Herzberg’s Theory of Motivation was used to contextualise the results obtained from 85 completed questionnaires.

Influence network linkages across implementation strategy conditions in a randomized controlled trial of two strategies for scaling up evidence-based practices in public youth-serving systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Palinkas, Lawrence A; Holloway, Ian W; Rice, Eric; Brown, C Hendricks; Valente, Thomas W; Chamberlain, Patricia

2013-11-14

Given the importance of influence networks in the implementation of evidence-based practices and interventions, it is unclear whether such networks continue to operate as sources of information and advice when they are segmented and disrupted by randomization to different implementation strategy conditions. The present study examines the linkages across implementation strategy conditions of social influence networks of leaders of youth-serving systems in 12 California counties participating in a randomized controlled trial of community development teams (CDTs) to scale up use of an evidence-based practice. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 38 directors, assistant directors, and program managers of county probation, mental health, and child welfare departments. A web-based survey collected additional quantitative data on information and advice networks of study participants. A mixed-methods approach to data analysis was used to create a sociometric data set (n = 176) to examine linkages between treatment and standard conditions. Of those network members who were affiliated with a county (n = 137), only 6 (4.4%) were directly connected to a member of the opposite implementation strategy condition; 19 (13.9%) were connected by two steps or fewer to a member of the opposite implementation strategy condition; 64 (46.7%) were connected by three or fewer steps to a member of the opposite implementation strategy condition. Most of the indirect steps between individuals who were in different implementation strategy conditions were connections involving a third non-county organizational entity that had an important role in the trial in keeping the implementation strategy conditions separate. When these entities were excluded, the CDT network exhibited fewer components and significantly higher betweenness centralization than did the standard condition network. Although the integrity of the RCT in this instance was not compromised by study participant influence

MARKETING STRATEGY IN SPORTS SPONSORSHIP

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Srećko Novaković

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Sponsorship, as a very successful form of marketing, is quite common in sports. Thanks to the financial means which come from sponsorship, sports teams and individuals achieve top results. In return for that, sponsors take advantage by enhancing their brand and image for longer period. An extensive influence of sponsorship over sports development has been achieved through properly selected elements of sports strateg.y

MARKETING STRATEGY IN SPORTS SPONSORSHIP

OpenAIRE

Srećko Novaković

2012-01-01

Sponsorship, as a very successful form of marketing, is quite common in sports. Thanks to the financial means which come from sponsorship, sports teams and individuals achieve top results. In return for that, sponsors take advantage by enhancing their brand and image for longer period. An extensive influence of sponsorship over sports development has been achieved through properly selected elements of sports strateg.y

Conceptual framework in creating and selecting the performance measurement system for marketing strategy control

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Krstić Bojan

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Performance measurement in modern conditions is one of the most important business requirements since enterprises face the need to exhibit returns for stockholders and investors, but also contribution of management to those returns, as well as contribution of certain business units, functional departments and activities within them. Hence, it is particularly important to assess marketing successfulness as a business function according to return on investment in marketing activities, but also according to the set of indicators from following performance groups - marketing effectiveness and marketing efficiency. Core issue is which measures to select and use in the marketing performance measurement system of certain enterprise so that it could be able to assess how effective and efficient its marketing is. In other words, adequate performance measurement system ought to contain performance measures that will be used to monitor effects and marketing strategy implementation process (controlling while implementing, and performance measures that can be applied to overall effect monitoring after the strategy implementation period. Otherwise, creating the marketing performance measurement system is a complex task for marketing managers. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to explore key principles and develop conceptual framework for creating and selecting performance measurement system for marketing strategy control which is based on characteristics and key success factors of marketing strategy, that is activities and actions for its operationalizing and effective implementing.

Does an Environmental Marketing Strategy Influence Marketing and Financial Performance? A Study of Indonesian Exporting Firms

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Kardison Lumban Batu

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Purpose – Broadly speaking, the implementation of green practice leads to higher performance in exporting firms. To test this concept empirically, this study proposes environmental marketing strategy as an antecedent of product differentiation and cost leadership as a means to promote marketing and financial performance. Design/Methodology/Approach – This study was conducted on 388 respondents serving as operational, production, and marketing managers of Indonesian exporting firms and used structural equation modelling (SEM with AMOS 18 as an analysis technique. Findings and implications – The findings revealed that environmental marketing strategy significantly influences product differentiation and cost leadership. More specifically, product differentiation simultaneously influences marketing and financial performance. However, cost leadership influences financial performance but not marketing performance. This study implies the importance of environmental orientation in setting a firm strategy and promoting the performance of international firms. Limitations – The measurement items proposed in this study were adopted from studies conducted in developed countries; they have not been proven appropriate for direct application in developing countries such as Indonesia. Originality – This study is original in that it explores the importance of environmental studies in setting a firm strategy and promoting the performance of international business.

Application of the Systematic Sensor Selection Strategy for Turbofan Engine Diagnostics

Science.gov (United States)

Sowers, T. Shane; Kopasakis, George; Simon, Donald L.

2008-01-01

The data acquired from available system sensors forms the foundation upon which any health management system is based, and the available sensor suite directly impacts the overall diagnostic performance that can be achieved. While additional sensors may provide improved fault diagnostic performance, there are other factors that also need to be considered such as instrumentation cost, weight, and reliability. A systematic sensor selection approach is desired to perform sensor selection from a holistic system-level perspective as opposed to performing decisions in an ad hoc or heuristic fashion. The Systematic Sensor Selection Strategy is a methodology that optimally selects a sensor suite from a pool of sensors based on the system fault diagnostic approach, with the ability of taking cost, weight, and reliability into consideration. This procedure was applied to a large commercial turbofan engine simulation. In this initial study, sensor suites tailored for improved diagnostic performance are constructed from a prescribed collection of candidate sensors. The diagnostic performance of the best performing sensor suites in terms of fault detection and identification are demonstrated, with a discussion of the results and implications for future research.

Influence of change in sales networks on a firm’s sales strategy

OpenAIRE

Sandau, A. (Alexander)

2014-01-01

Abstract This research revolves around two major theoretical topics: international network and international sales. The study aims to combine both distinct research areas in order to understand how changes in the sales network influence the sales strategy of the firm. The focus is hereby on born global companies respectively international new ventures. ...

Strategy-aligned fuzzy approach for market segment evaluation and selection: a modular decision support system by dynamic network process (DNP)

Science.gov (United States)

Mohammadi Nasrabadi, Ali; Hosseinpour, Mohammad Hossein; Ebrahimnejad, Sadoullah

2013-05-01

In competitive markets, market segmentation is a critical point of business, and it can be used as a generic strategy. In each segment, strategies lead companies to their targets; thus, segment selection and the application of the appropriate strategies over time are very important to achieve successful business. This paper aims to model a strategy-aligned fuzzy approach to market segment evaluation and selection. A modular decision support system (DSS) is developed to select an optimum segment with its appropriate strategies. The suggested DSS has two main modules. The first one is SPACE matrix which indicates the risk of each segment. Also, it determines the long-term strategies. The second module finds the most preferred segment-strategies over time. Dynamic network process is applied to prioritize segment-strategies according to five competitive force factors. There is vagueness in pairwise comparisons, and this vagueness has been modeled using fuzzy concepts. To clarify, an example is illustrated by a case study in Iran's coffee market. The results show that success possibility of segments could be different, and choosing the best ones could help companies to be sure in developing their business. Moreover, changing the priority of strategies over time indicates the importance of long-term planning. This fact has been supported by a case study on strategic priority difference in short- and long-term consideration.

Motivation's Influence on English Learning and Strategies for Improving

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

陈玢; 张亚铃

2009-01-01

The article mainly focuses on the relationship between motivation and English learning,the influence of motivation on English learning(That is,English learning motive may be simply viewed as the reason of learning English;different motives will lead to different learning methods;generally speaking,surface motive does not endure longer than deep motive.;strong motivation can lead to final Success.)and six strategies of improving English learning(That is,developing proper attitudes towards English learning and letting students know the pressure of it;goal and feedback;praise and criticism;contest and cooperation;expectation and appraisement;achievement motive.).

Reported Influences on Restaurant-Type Food Selection Decision Making in a Grocery Store Chain.

Science.gov (United States)

Bachman, Jessica Lynne; Arigo, Danielle

2018-06-01

To examine food decision-making priorities for restaurant-type foods at grocery stores and determine whether adding calorie information, as required by federal menu labeling laws, affected decision-making priorities. Natural experiment: intervention and control groups with baseline and follow-up. Regional grocery store chain with 9 locations. Participants (n = 393; mean age, 54.8 ± 15.1 years) were primarily women (71%) and Caucasian (95%). Data were collected before and after calorie information was added to restaurant-type foods at 4 intervention locations. Primary influencers of food selection decision making for restaurant-type foods and frequency of use of nutrition information. Quantitative analysis examined the top 3 influencers of food selections and chi-square goodness of fit test determined whether the calorie labeling intervention changed food decision-making priorities. Qualitative data were used to describe responses. Taste, cost, and convenience were the most frequently reported influencers of restaurant-type food selections; 20% of participants rated calories as influential. Calorie labeling did not affect food selection decision making; 16% of participants in intervention stores noticed calorie labels. Qualitative explanations confirmed these findings. Menu labeling laws increase access to calorie information; however, use of this information is limited. Additional interventions are needed to encourage healthier restaurant-type food selections in grocery stores. Copyright © 2018 Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Modelling the consequences of targeted selective treatment strategies on performance and emergence of anthelmintic resistance amongst grazing calves

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Zoe Berk

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The development of anthelmintic resistance by helminths can be slowed by maintaining refugia on pasture or in untreated hosts. Targeted selective treatments (TST may achieve this through the treatment only of individuals that would benefit most from anthelmintic, according to certain criteria. However TST consequences on cattle are uncertain, mainly due to difficulties of comparison between alternative strategies. We developed a mathematical model to compare: 1 the most ‘beneficial’ indicator for treatment selection and 2 the method of selection of calves exposed to Ostertagia ostertagi, i.e. treating a fixed percentage of the population with the lowest (or highest indicator values versus treating individuals who exceed (or are below a given indicator threshold. The indicators evaluated were average daily gain (ADG, faecal egg counts (FEC, plasma pepsinogen, combined FEC and plasma pepsinogen, versus random selection of individuals. Treatment success was assessed in terms of benefit per R (BPR, the ratio of average benefit in weight gain to change in frequency of resistance alleles R (relative to an untreated population. The optimal indicator in terms of BPR for fixed percentages of calves treated was plasma pepsinogen and the worst ADG; in the latter case treatment was applied to some individuals who were not in need of treatment. The reverse was found when calves were treated according to threshold criteria, with ADG being the best target indicator for treatment. This was also the most beneficial strategy overall, with a significantly higher BPR value than any other strategy, but its degree of success depended on the chosen threshold of the indicator. The study shows strong support for TST, with all strategies showing improvements on calves treated selectively, compared with whole-herd treatment at 3, 8, 13 weeks post-turnout. The developed model appeared capable of assessing the consequences of other TST strategies on calf populations.

The influence of acculturation strategies in quality of life by immigrants in Northern Chile.

Science.gov (United States)

Urzúa, Alfonso; Ferrer, Rodrigo; Canales Gaete, Valentina; Núñez Aragón, Dominique; Ravanal Labraña, Ivanna; Tabilo Poblete, Bárbara

2017-03-01

To establish the influence of acculturation strategies on quality of life, henceforth QoL. Using a cross-sectional design, two questionnaires were applied, the WHOQoL-BREF from the World Health Organization and Basabe's acculturation strategies. The questionnaires were applied to 853 Colombian and Peruvian immigrants living in Northern Chilean cities of Arica, Antofagasta and Santiago de Chile. In the psychological and social domains, as well as in the overall assessment of QoL, the most beneficial strategies are those where customs are maintained from the homeland, where "integration" then "separation" are the most beneficial. On the contrary, when the strategy for maintaining homeland customs is low, the QoL tends to be lower. The strategy of "marginalized" is associated with a lower QoL. Acculturation strategies mildly or moderately affect the psychological and social domains of quality of life as well as the overall assessment of QoL.

Factors that influence utilisation of HIV/AIDS prevention methods among university students residing at a selected university campus.

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Ndabarora, Eléazar; Mchunu, Gugu

2014-01-01

Various studies have reported that university students, who are mostly young people, rarely use existing HIV/AIDS preventive methods. Although studies have shown that young university students have a high degree of knowledge about HIV/AIDS and HIV modes of transmission, they are still not utilising the existing HIV prevention methods and still engage in risky sexual practices favourable to HIV. Some variables, such as awareness of existing HIV/AIDS prevention methods, have been associated with utilisation of such methods. The study aimed to explore factors that influence use of existing HIV/AIDS prevention methods among university students residing in a selected campus, using the Health Belief Model (HBM) as a theoretical framework. A quantitative research approach and an exploratory-descriptive design were used to describe perceived factors that influence utilisation by university students of HIV/AIDS prevention methods. A total of 335 students completed online and manual questionnaires. Study findings showed that the factors which influenced utilisation of HIV/AIDS prevention methods were mainly determined by awareness of the existing university-based HIV/AIDS prevention strategies. Most utilised prevention methods were voluntary counselling and testing services and free condoms. Perceived susceptibility and perceived threat of HIV/AIDS score was also found to correlate with HIV risk index score. Perceived susceptibility and perceived threat of HIV/AIDS showed correlation with self-efficacy on condoms and their utilisation. Most HBM variables were not predictors of utilisation of HIV/AIDS prevention methods among students. Intervention aiming to improve the utilisation of HIV/AIDS prevention methods among students at the selected university should focus on removing identified barriers, promoting HIV/AIDS prevention services and providing appropriate resources to implement such programmes.

Application of a collaborative modelling and strategic fuzzy decision support system for selecting appropriate resilience strategies for seaport operations

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Andrew John

2014-06-01

Full Text Available The selection of an appropriate resilience investment strategy to optimize the operational efficiency of a seaport is a challenging task given that many criteria need to be considered and modelled under an uncertain environment. The design of such a complex decision system consists of many subjective and imprecise parameters contained in different quantitative and qualitative forms. This paper proposes a fuzzy multi-attribute decision making methodology for the selection of an appropriate resilience investment strategy in a succinct and straightforward manner. The decision support model allows for a collaborative modelling of the system by multiple analysts in a group decision making process. Fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (FAHP was utilized to analyse the complex structure of the system to obtain the weights of all the criteria while fuzzy technique for order of preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS was employed to facilitate the ranking process of the resilience strategies. Given that it is often financially difficult to invest in all the resilience strategies, it is envisaged that the proposed approach could provide decision makers with a flexible and transparent tool for selecting appropriate resilience strategies aimed at increasing the resilience of seaport operations.

Influence of post-treatment strategies on the properties of activated chars from broiler manure.

Science.gov (United States)

Lima, Isabel M; Boykin, Debbie L; Thomas Klasson, K; Uchimiya, Minori

2014-01-01

There are a myriad of carbonaceous precursors that can be used advantageously to produce activated carbons or chars, due to their low cost, availability and intrinsic properties. Because of the nature of the raw material, production of granular activated chars from broiler manure results in a significant ash fraction. This study was conducted to determine the influence of several pre- and post-treatment strategies in various physicochemical and adsorptive properties of the resulting activated chars. Pelletized samples of broiler litter and cake were pyrolyzed at 700 °C for 1h followed by a 45 min steam activation at 800 °C at different water flow rates from 1 to 5 mL min(-1). For each activation strategy, samples were either water-rinsed or acid-washed and rinsed or used as is (no acid wash/rinse). Activated char's physicochemical and adsorptive properties towards copper ions were selectively affected by both pre- and post-treatments. Percent ash reduction after either rinsing or acid washing ranged from 1.1 to 15.1% but washed activated chars were still alkaline with pH ranging from 8.4 to 9.1. Acid washing or water rinsing had no significant effect in the ability of the activated char to adsorb copper ions, however it significantly affected surface area, pH, ash content and carbon content. Instead, manure type (litter versus cake) and the activation water flow rate were determining factors in copper ion adsorption which ranged from 38 mg g(-1) to 104 mg g(-1) of activated char. Moreover, strong positive correlations were found between copper uptake and concentration of certain elements in the activated char such as phosphorous, sulfur, calcium and sodium. Rinsing could suffice as a post treatment strategy for ash reduction since no significant differences in the carbon properties were observed between rinsed and acid wash treatments. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

The influence of caffeine on spatial-selective attention: an event-related potential study.

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Ruijter, J; de Ruiter, M B; Snel, J; Lorist, M M

2000-12-01

Following the indications of previous studies that caffeine might have a specific effect on the processing of spatial information compared with other types of information, the present study investigated the influence of caffeine on an often used spatial-selective attention task. Event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded from 11 participants under conditions of caffeine (250 mg) and placebo. Spatial-selective attention effects were reflected in the ERPs as more positive going occipital P1 and broadly distributed P2 components, and more negative going occipital-temporal N1 and broadly distributed N2 components. A treatment effect was found as a more positive going frontal P2 component in the caffeine condition, whereas interactions between treatment and attention were observed for P2 and N2 components, but not for P1 and N1 components. This pattern of results suggests that caffeine has no specific influence on spatial-selective attention, but rather, has a more general facilitating effect on perceptual processing, as well as a possible effect on the frontal control mechanisms, i.e. focusing attention and increasing selectivity.

Direct and Indirect Factors Influencing Selection of Birthing Attendants in Gunungsari, West Lombok (NTB

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Ni Nyoman Aryaniti

2015-04-01

Full Text Available Background and purpose: This study aims to determine the direct and indirect factors influencing the selection of birth attendants in Gunungsari subdistrict, West Lombok.Methods: This study was cross-sectional with a purposively selected sample of 27 mothers giving birth assisted by non-health professionals. Samples of those assisted by health professionals were taken by means of proportional systematic random sampling in Gunungsari and Penimbung health centers, respectively 29 of 916 and 14 of 437. Exogenous factors were maternal education levels, attendance to ANC classes, knowledge levels regarding to birthing attendants, maternal attitude, family support, and access to facilities. Birth attendant selection was the endogenousfactor. Data were collected by means of interviews. Data analysis includes descriptive and inferential analysis with path analysis by linear regression.Results: The majority of respondents were 21-25 years old (87.4% , housewives (47.14% had educat ion under high school (65.72% and were married (88.57%. Family support had a direct influence in decision making with a coefficient of 0.534 and 35.54% influence overall. Attendance to ANC classes in addition to family support had anindirect influence with a coefficient of 0.520 and 34.78% influence overall. Family support had a direct influence and the factor of attendance to ANC classes and family support has an indirect effect with the overall effect of 70.32%.Conclusion: The presence of the husband/family was needed in ANC class, through an implementation of schedule agreement.Keywords: family support, ANC class, birth attendants, path analysis, West Lombok

The impact of societal cultural values and individual social beliefs on the perceived effectiveness of managerial influence strategies: a meso approach

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Fu, P.P.; Kennedy, J.C.; Tata, J.; Yukl, G.; Bond, M.H.; Peng, T.K.; Srinivas, E.S.; Howell, J.P.; Prieto, L.; Koopman, P.L.; Boonstra, J.J.; Pasa, S.; Lacassagne, M.F.; Higashide, H.; Cheosakul, A.

2004-01-01

This paper reports the findings of a 12-nation study designed to test empirically the relationships between societal cultural values, individual social beliefs, and the perceived effectiveness of different influence strategies. The relationships between three types of broad influence strategy

Learning to listen: Listening Strategies and Listening Comprehension of Islamic Senior High School Students

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DESMA YULISA

2018-05-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this research was to identify the correlation and the influence between listening strategies and listening comprehension. The eleventh grade students were selected as participants of this study. The instruments used in this research were listening strategies questionaire adapted from Lee (1997 and modified by Ho (2006 (as cited Golchi, 2012, and listening comprehension test conducted to measure students’ listening comprehension. Pearson product moment, regression analysis, R-square were used to find out the correlation and the influence between variables. The result revealed that there was a significant correlation between listening strategies and listening comprehension with r = .516. Besides, there was also a significant influence of listening strategies on listening comprehension with 26.6 %. This study could have implications for English language teachers, course designers, learners, and text book writers.

Postcopulatory sexual selection influences baculum evolution in primates and carnivores.

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Brindle, Matilda; Opie, Christopher

2016-12-14

The extreme morphological variability of the baculum across mammals is thought to be the result of sexual selection (particularly, high levels of postcopulatory selection). However, the evolutionary trajectory of the mammalian baculum is little studied and evidence for the adaptive function of the baculum has so far been elusive. Here, we use Markov chain Monte Carlo methods implemented in a Bayesian phylogenetic framework to reconstruct baculum evolution across the mammalian class and investigate the rate of baculum length evolution within the primate order. We then test the effects of testes mass (postcopulatory sexual selection), polygamy, seasonal breeding and intromission duration on the baculum in primates and carnivores. The ancestral mammal did not have a baculum, but both ancestral primates and carnivores did. No relationship was found between testes mass and baculum length in either primates or carnivores. Intromission duration correlated with baculum presence over the course of primate evolution, and prolonged intromission predicts significantly longer bacula in extant primates and carnivores. Both polygamous and seasonal breeding systems predict significantly longer bacula in primates. These results suggest the baculum plays an important role in facilitating reproductive strategies in populations with high levels of postcopulatory sexual selection. © 2016 The Authors.

ADMINISTRATIVE INSTRUMENTS IN IMPLEMENTING FUNCTIONAL STRATEGIES COMPETITIVENESS MANAGEMENT

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Iryna Stankovska

2017-03-01

Full Text Available The article explores the use of  аdministrative instruments in implementing functional strategies competitiveness management. Due to providing strategic financial management competitiveness the use of administrative levers of control in the formulation and implementation of financial strategies were investigated. System of financial policies forming by individual policies of  general financial strategy, which is an administrative levers of influence on implementation strategies, was proposed. Structure strategic alternatives of financial and investment strategy implementation based on the decomposition and decision tree was formed. To select strategic alternatives, to identify strategic gaps and evaluate deviations from specified target markers in the implementation of financial policies using GAP-analysis that is a tool of management analysis was proposed. Key words: functional strategy, financial strategy, competitiveness management, financial policy, administrative instruments, GAP-analysis.

Organizational strategy and diversity management: diversity-sensitive orientation as a moderating influence.

Science.gov (United States)

Dansky, Kathryn H; Weech-Maldonado, Robert; De Souza, Gita; Dreachslin, Janice L

2003-01-01

Empirical studies on diversity suggest that health care organizations have been slow to embrace diversity management. We propose that sensitivity to diversity, at the corporate level, moderates strategic decision making, which influences human resource management practices such as diversity initiatives. This study of 203 hospitals explored the relationships among organizational strategy, organizational sensitivity to diversity, and diversity management practices.

Temperature influences selective mortality during the early life stages of a coral reef fish.

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Tauna L Rankin

2011-05-01

Full Text Available For organisms with complex life cycles, processes occurring at the interface between life stages can disproportionately impact survival and population dynamics. Temperature is an important factor influencing growth in poikilotherms, and growth-related processes are frequently correlated with survival. We examined the influence of water temperature on growth-related early life history traits (ELHTs and differential mortality during the transition from larval to early juvenile stage in sixteen monthly cohorts of bicolor damselfish Stegastes partitus, sampled on reefs of the upper Florida Keys, USA over 6 years. Otolith analysis of settlers and juveniles coupled with environmental data revealed that mean near-reef water temperature explained a significant proportion of variation in pelagic larval duration (PLD, early larval growth, size-at-settlement, and growth during early juvenile life. Among all cohorts, surviving juveniles were consistently larger at settlement, but grew more slowly during the first 6 d post-settlement. For the other ELHTs, selective mortality varied seasonally: during winter and spring months, survivors exhibited faster larval growth and shorter PLDs, whereas during warmer summer months, selection on PLD reversed and selection on larval growth became non-linear. Our results demonstrate that temperature not only shapes growth-related traits, but can also influence the direction and intensity of selective mortality.

The SPIRIT Action Framework: A structured approach to selecting and testing strategies to increase the use of research in policy.

Science.gov (United States)

Redman, Sally; Turner, Tari; Davies, Huw; Williamson, Anna; Haynes, Abby; Brennan, Sue; Milat, Andrew; O'Connor, Denise; Blyth, Fiona; Jorm, Louisa; Green, Sally

2015-07-01

The recent proliferation of strategies designed to increase the use of research in health policy (knowledge exchange) demands better application of contemporary conceptual understandings of how research shapes policy. Predictive models, or action frameworks, are needed to organise existing knowledge and enable a more systematic approach to the selection and testing of intervention strategies. Useful action frameworks need to meet four criteria: have a clearly articulated purpose; be informed by existing knowledge; provide an organising structure to build new knowledge; and be capable of guiding the development and testing of interventions. This paper describes the development of the SPIRIT Action Framework. A literature search and interviews with policy makers identified modifiable factors likely to influence the use of research in policy. An iterative process was used to combine these factors into a pragmatic tool which meets the four criteria. The SPIRIT Action Framework can guide conceptually-informed practical decisions in the selection and testing of interventions to increase the use of research in policy. The SPIRIT Action Framework hypothesises that a catalyst is required for the use of research, the response to which is determined by the capacity of the organisation to engage with research. Where there is sufficient capacity, a series of research engagement actions might occur that facilitate research use. These hypotheses are being tested in ongoing empirical work. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Friendship selection and influence in bullying and defending: effects of moral disengagement.

Science.gov (United States)

Sijtsema, Jelle J; Rambaran, J Ashwin; Caravita, Simona C S; Gini, Gianluca

2014-08-01

The current study examined the development of bullying and defending over a 1-year period as related to friends' influence and individual and friends' moral disengagement (i.e., self-justification mechanisms that allow one to avoid moral self-censure of transgressive actions) in children and young adolescents. Via longitudinal social network analysis (RSiena), it was tested whether similarity between friends in bullying and defending developed over time due to friends' influence, while controlling for friendship selection processes, and whether there were differences in these processes between children (age 9-10 years; n = 133; 42.9% girls) and young adolescents (age 11-14 years; n = 236; 40.6% girls). Results showed that individuals selected peers as friends who were similar in bullying and became more similar to friends in bullying over time, but only in early adolescence. Moreover, there was marginal support that friends' influence was stronger in young adolescents with higher moral disengagement. In early adolescence, bullying was also indirectly influenced through friends' moral disengagement, with different effects for boys and girls. With regard to defending, young adolescents maintained friendships with peers who were similar in defending, and became more similar to friends in terms of defending over time. These findings suggest important differences between late childhood and early adolescence in socialization processes and indicate that in early adolescence, friends' influence on the development of bullying is partially affected by moral disengagement. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.

Environmental factors and health information technology management strategy.

Science.gov (United States)

Menachemi, Nir; Shin, Dong Yeong; Ford, Eric W; Yu, Feliciano

2011-01-01

: Previous studies have provided theoretical and empirical evidence that environmental forces influence hospital strategy. : Rooted in resource dependence theory and the information uncertainty perspective, this study examined the relationship between environmental market characteristics and hospitals' selection of a health information technology (HIT) management strategy. : A cross-sectional design is used to analyze secondary data from the American Hospital Association Annual Survey, the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society Analytics Database, and the Area Resource File. Univariate and multinomial logistic regression analyses are used. : Overall, 3,221 hospitals were studied, of which 60.9% pursed a single-vendor HIT management strategy, 28.9% pursued a best-of-suite strategy, and 10.2% used a best-of-breed strategy. Multivariate analyses controlling for hospital characteristics found that measures of environmental factors representing munificence, dynamism, and/or complexity were systematically associated with various hospital HIT management strategy use. Specifically, the number of generalist physicians per capita was positively associated with the single-vendor strategy (B = -5.64, p = .10). Hospitals in urban markets were more likely to pursue the best-of-suite strategy (B = 0.622, p < .001). Dynamism, measured as the number of managed care contracts for a given hospital, was negatively associated with the single-vendor strategy (B = 0.004, p = .049). Lastly, complexity, measured as market competition, was positively associated with the best-of-breed strategy (B = 0.623, p = .042). : By and large, environmental factors are associated with hospital HIT management strategies in mostly theoretically supported ways. Hospital leaders and policy makers interested in influencing the adoption of hospital HIT should consider how market conditions influence HIT management decisions as part of programs to promote meaningful use.

Hybrid collaborative optimization based on selection strategy of initial point and adaptive relaxation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ji, Aimin; Yin, Xu; Yuan, Minghai [Hohai University, Changzhou (China)

2015-09-15

There are two problems in Collaborative optimization (CO): (1) the local optima arising from the selection of an inappropriate initial point; (2) the low efficiency and accuracy root in inappropriate relaxation factors. To solve these problems, we first develop the Latin hypercube design (LHD) to determine an initial point of optimization, and then use the non-linear programming by quadratic Lagrangian (NLPQL) to search for the global solution. The effectiveness of the initial point selection strategy is verified by three benchmark functions with some dimensions and different complexities. Then we propose the Adaptive relaxation collaborative optimization (ARCO) algorithm to solve the inconsistency between the system level and the disciplines level, and in this method, the relaxation factors are determined according to the three separated stages of CO respectively. The performance of the ARCO algorithm is compared with the standard collaborative algorithm and the constant relaxation collaborative algorithm with a typical numerical example, which indicates that the ARCO algorithm is more efficient and accurate. Finally, we propose a Hybrid collaborative optimization (HCO) approach, which integrates the selection strategy of initial point with the ARCO algorithm. The results show that HCO can achieve the global optimal solution without the initial value and it also has advantages in convergence, accuracy and robustness. Therefore, the proposed HCO approach can solve the CO problems with applications in the spindle and the speed reducer.

Hybrid collaborative optimization based on selection strategy of initial point and adaptive relaxation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ji, Aimin; Yin, Xu; Yuan, Minghai

2015-01-01

There are two problems in Collaborative optimization (CO): (1) the local optima arising from the selection of an inappropriate initial point; (2) the low efficiency and accuracy root in inappropriate relaxation factors. To solve these problems, we first develop the Latin hypercube design (LHD) to determine an initial point of optimization, and then use the non-linear programming by quadratic Lagrangian (NLPQL) to search for the global solution. The effectiveness of the initial point selection strategy is verified by three benchmark functions with some dimensions and different complexities. Then we propose the Adaptive relaxation collaborative optimization (ARCO) algorithm to solve the inconsistency between the system level and the disciplines level, and in this method, the relaxation factors are determined according to the three separated stages of CO respectively. The performance of the ARCO algorithm is compared with the standard collaborative algorithm and the constant relaxation collaborative algorithm with a typical numerical example, which indicates that the ARCO algorithm is more efficient and accurate. Finally, we propose a Hybrid collaborative optimization (HCO) approach, which integrates the selection strategy of initial point with the ARCO algorithm. The results show that HCO can achieve the global optimal solution without the initial value and it also has advantages in convergence, accuracy and robustness. Therefore, the proposed HCO approach can solve the CO problems with applications in the spindle and the speed reducer

The Influence of Selected Companion Crops on Diamond Black Moth (Plutella Xylostella): Development and Investation on Cabbage

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Raini, R.K

2002-01-01

Diamond black moth (DBM) Plutella xylostella L. (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae) is the most serious pest of brassica in Kenya. Resistance to chemicals has been reported from various parts of the country. This research investigated brassica and non-brassica crops potential in 'push-pull' strategy toward developing an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program for DBM in Kenya. The study focused on evaluating the potential influence of selected crops on DBM oviposition, development and infestation on cabbage. Results indicate that DBM preferred to oviposition on brassica crops. No significant differences were observed on DBM development on host plants that supported full development. Minimum development was recorded on non-brassica crop Cleome gynandra, L. In field trials, the mustard, cloeme and coriander intercrops recorded significantly low infestation compared to other intercrops and demonstrated qulities which could be utilized in the development of IPM-option for the DBM

Glucose Injections into the Dorsal Hippocampus or Dorsolateral Striatum of Rats Prior to T-Maze Training: Modulation of Learning Rates and Strategy Selection

Science.gov (United States)

Canal, Clinton E.; Stutz, Sonja J.; Gold, Paul E.

2005-01-01

The present experiments examined the effects of injecting glucose into the dorsal hippocampus or dorsolateral striatum on learning rates and on strategy selection in rats trained on a T-maze that can be solved by using either a hippocampus-sensitive place or striatum-sensitive response strategy. Percentage strategy selection on a probe trial…

The selection and adaptation of staff as the basis of the successful implementation of HR strategy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vanicheva A.G.

2016-11-01

Full Text Available the article deals with questions of effective strategies of HR policy in the field of selection and adaptation of staff in the company. The text gives an information about effective methods of selection and adaptation, also it draws our attention to development of communication between employees. This paper can help to pay managers’ attention to effective selection and adaptation taking into consideration that introduction of a new employee to a position is responsible enough. Probably, first days in a new company are crucial for the system of motivation of HR policy in the development of HR strategy. Much attention is given to stages of adaptation for employee or chief executive.

Comparison between Exclusive and Selective Drug-Eluting Stent Strategies in Treating Patients with Multivessel Coronary Artery Disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Tung, Ying-Chang; Hsiao, Ping-Gune; Hsu, Lung-An; Kuo, Chi-Tai; Chang, Chi-Jen

2014-05-01

The expanded usage of drug-eluting stents (DES) in treating patients with multivessel coronary artery disease (CAD) may sometimes be limited in real-world practice due to cost concerns. We compared the clinical outcomes of exclusive and selective DES use in treating patients with multivessel CAD. From November 2004 to December 2011, 110 patients with multivessel CAD who received four or more stents were enrolled into this study, and divided into two groups according to the DES strategy employed: exclusive DES (n = 52), or selective DES (n = 58). In the selective DES group, DES was reserved for complex lesions only, such that the incidence and predictors of clinical events were assessed. At a mean follow-up of 41.4 ± 26.5 months, there were no significant differences between the two strategies in terms of baseline characteristics, all-cause mortality (exclusive vs. selective: 1.9% vs. 6.9%, p = 0.21), cardiac death (1.9% vs. 1.7%, p = 0.94) and nonfatal myocardial infarction (3.8% vs. 5.2%, p = 0.74). Despite the presence of more ostial lesions in the exclusive DES group, there was a trend such that major adverse cardiac events (MACE) and target lesion revascularization (TLR) rates were higher in the selective DES group (MACE: 17.3% vs. 31%, p = 0.16; TLR: 11.5% vs. 24.1%, p = 0.08). The higher MACE rate in the selective DES group was mainly driven by a higher target vessel revascularization (TVR) rate (15.4% vs. 29.3%, p = 0.08). In the exclusive DES group, SYNTAX score was an independent predictor of MACE [Haxard ratio (HR): 1.09, 95% confidence internal (CI): 1.02-1.16, p = 0.01] and TVR (HR 1.08, 95% CI 1.01-1.15, p = 0.04). Compared to the exclusive DES strategy, the selective DES strategy with reservation of DES for complex lesions is associated with numerically higher, but not statistically significant, rates of MACE and all-cause mortality in this small group of patients with multivessel CAD receiving four or more stents. Bare metal stent; Drug

Strategy of Cooling Parameters Selection in the Continuous Casting of Steel

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Falkus J.

2016-03-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a strategy of the cooling parameters selection in the process of continuous steel casting. Industrial tests were performed at a slab casting machine at the Arcelor Mittal Poland Unit in Krakow. The tests covered 55 heats for 7 various steel grades. Based on the existing casting technology a numerical model of the continuous steel casting process was formulated. The numerical calculations were performed for three casting speeds - 0.6, 0.8 and 1 m min-1. An algorithm was presented that allows us to compute the values of the heat transfer coefficients for the secondary cooling zone. The correctness of the cooling parameter strategy was evaluated by inspecting the shell thickness, the length of the liquid core and the strand surface temperature. The ProCAST software package was used to construct the numerical model of continuous casting of steel.

Nutritional strategies to influence adaptations to training.

Science.gov (United States)

Spriet, Lawrence L; Gibala, Martin J

2004-01-01

This article highlights new nutritional concerns or practices that may influence the adaptation to training. The discussion is based on the assumption that the adaptation to repeated bouts of training occurs during recovery periods and that if one can train harder, the adaptation will be greater. The goal is to maximize with nutrition the recovery/adaptation that occurs in all rest periods, such that recovery before the next training session is complete. Four issues have been identified where recent scientific information will force sports nutritionists to embrace new issues and reassess old issues and, ultimately, alter the nutritional recommendations they give to athletes. These are: (1) caffeine ingestion; (2) creatine ingestion; (3) the use of intramuscular triacylglycerol (IMTG) as a fuel during exercise and the nutritional effects on IMTG repletion following exercise; and (4) the role nutrition may play in regulating the expression of genes during and after exercise training sessions. Recent findings suggest that low doses of caffeine exert significant ergogenic effects by directly affecting the central nervous system during exercise. Caffeine can cross the blood-brain barrier and antagonize the effects of adenosine, resulting in higher concentrations of stimulatory neurotransmitters. These new data strengthen the case for using low doses of caffeine during training. On the other hand, the data on the role that supplemental creatine ingestion plays in augmenting the increase in skeletal muscle mass and strength during resistance training remain equivocal. Some studies are able to demonstrate increases in muscle fibre size with creatine ingestion and some are not. The final two nutritional topics are new and have not progressed to the point that we can specifically identify strategies to enhance the adaptation to training. However, it is likely that nutritional strategies will be needed to replenish the IMTG that is used during endurance exercise. It is not

Influence of population selection on the 99th percentile reference value for cardiac troponin assays.

Science.gov (United States)

Collinson, Paul O; Heung, Yen Ming; Gaze, David; Boa, Frances; Senior, Roxy; Christenson, Robert; Apple, Fred S

2012-01-01

We sought to determine the effect of patient selection on the 99th reference percentile of 2 sensitive and 1 high-sensitivity (hs) cardiac troponin assays in a well-defined reference population. Individuals>45 years old were randomly selected from 7 representative local community practices. Detailed information regarding the participants was collected via questionnaires. The healthy reference population was defined as individuals who had no history of vascular disease, hypertension, or heavy alcohol intake; were not receiving cardiac medication; and had blood pressure60 mL·min(-1)·(1.73 m2)(-1), and normal cardiac function according to results of echocardiography. Samples were stored at -70 °C until analysis for cardiac troponin I (cTnI) and cardiac troponin T (cTnT) and N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide. Application of progressively more stringent population selection strategies to the initial baseline population of 545 participants until the only individuals who remained were completely healthy according to the study criteria reduced the number of outliers seen and led to a progressive decrease in the 99th-percentile value obtained for the Roche hs-cTnT assay and the sensitive Beckman cTnI assay but not for the sensitive Siemens Ultra cTnI assay. Furthermore, a sex difference found in the baseline population for the hs-cTnT (P=0.0018) and Beckman cTnI assays (Pstrategy significantly influenced the 99th percentile reference values determined for troponin assays and the observed sex differences in troponin concentrations.

How Overall Logistics Strategy Mediates The Influence Of Market Attractiveness And Dynamic Capability On Strategic Competitive Response

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Febriyanto

2015-08-01

Full Text Available This research is conducted to examine the influence of market attractiveness and dynamic capability on strategic competitive response through overall logistics strategies of logistics service providers LSPs. Involving 266 LSPs SEM-LISREL is applied to test the hypotheses. The findings reveal that the market attractiveness and the dynamic capability positively affect the overall logistics strategy. Additionally the market attractiveness and the dynamic capability positively affect the strategic competitive response. Indirectly the market attractiveness and the dynamic capability positively affect the performance through strategic competitive response of LSPs. Obviously overall logistics strategy strengthen the influence of both market attractiveness and dynamic capability on strategic competitive response. There are five alternatives to optimize the overall logistics strategy of LSPs market intensification integration focus collaboration and strengthening value proposition. The involvement of overall logistics strategy as mediating variable is new paradigm in the strategic management discourses especially in logistics industry. Further research needs to be performed by involving the size of business as control variable and LSPs perception on Governments policies.

Review on the Pavement-repairing Measures as a Condition for the Choice of Road-Maintenance Strategy

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Nedevska Ivana

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The road-maintenance strategies vary from one country to another, and even between the road management authorities within a one single country. It is not surprising, as there is not best maintenance method, nor a universal set of strategies that can be applied equally everywhere. Generally, there are strategies acceptable in certain conditions, but the factors influencing the selection process are diverse and very complex. This paper will present a review of the various measures that can be applied on the roads, which is certainly the basic condition of selection of an appropriate maintenance strategy.

Factors influencing selection of a HTR for a developing country

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Karim, C.S.

1989-01-01

Consumption of commercial energy and electricity in Bangladesh has to grow rapidly in order to attain socio-economic development of the country. Nuclear power is considered to be an appropriate proposition due to the inadequacy of indigenous primary energy resources. A technical, economic and financial feasibility study of a 300-500 MWe nuclear power plant is underway now. Responses from different suppliers in SMPR range were enumerated jointly by the Consultants and BAEC under the feasibility study. Criteria for selection of technology and the factor influencing the selection of Modular HTR for Bangladesh are described in the paper. Some indicative results of cost economic calculations are included to help form an idea about various limiting conditions, under which a SMPR with the selected technology could become competitive with the other conventional alternatives. Problems in decision making associated with the uncertainties in estimating plant and fuel cycle costs are enumerated. The implications of not having a reference plant vis-a-vis the advantageous safety features are described to show how these aspects can influence the selection of a new technology like HTR for a developing country. Financing is identifiable as the major problem in implementing a nuclear power project in a developing country like Bangladesh. The entire scope of supplies and services may be broken down into components, so that the burden of financing could be shared by more than one exporting country. Some indicative ideas about the packaging of supplies and services are presented in the paper in order to identify different types of financing sources that could be explored for implementation of the project. Some salient features of the effect of joint-venture on the project financing and implementation are described in the paper. (author). 3 refs, 1 fig

CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENT STRATEGY

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CHIOSA ANA RALUCA

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Brands ofen use celebrities to get impact, because they are seen by the public as credible source of informationabout product or company. People aspire to the values and lifestyles of celebrities. Consumers selectively integrateperceived values and behavior of celebrities they admire, to build and communicate their own identity.Celebrity endorser is a person who enjoys high reputation and prestige, beeing known to most people. Celebrityendorsement is a relevant strategy for the product categories which improve the image (such as fashion, perfumes orcosmetics.This paper presents types, techniques and models of analysing celebrities’ efficiency in endorsingbrands/products. Celebrity endorsement has become one of the communication strategies used in marketing to buildcongruence between brand image and consumers. Famous persons exert their influence on consumer throughperceived attributes such as expertise, trustworthiness, attractiveness, familiarty and likeability.

Site selection for nuclear power plants and geologic seismologia influence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Castro Feitosa, G. de.

1985-01-01

The site selection for nuclear power plants is analised concerning to the process, methodology and the phases in an overall project efforts. The factors affecting are analised on a general viewpoint, showing the considerations given to every one. The geologic and seismologic factors influence on the foundation design are more detailed analised, with required investigation and procedures accordingly sub-soil conditions in the site [pt

When Love Meets Money: Priming the Possession of Money Influences Mating Strategies.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Yi Ming; Li, Jian; Chan, Darius K-S; Zhang, Bo

2016-01-01

Money is an important factor that influences the development of romantic relationships. The current paper examines how the feeling of having relatively more or less money influences human mating strategies in long-term and short-term mating contexts under the framework of evolutionary psychology. We recruited mainland Chinese college students involved in steady, heterosexual romantic relationships to participate in two experiments. In each study, we experimentally triggered participants' feelings of having relatively more or less money and then examined their thoughts and behaviors related to mating. Results of Study 1 showed that men who were primed to feel that they had relatively more money were less satisfied with their partners' physical attractiveness than those primed to feel that they had less money, suggesting that the subjective feeling of having more or less money may affect men's preferences regarding the physical appearance of a mate in a long-term relationship. Interestingly, this difference was not significant for women. Results of Study 2 indicated that both men and women who were primed to feel that they had relatively more money exhibited a greater "behavioral approach tendency" toward an attractive member of the opposite sex than those primed to feel that they had less money. This finding suggests that people who feel they have relatively more money may have more interest in an attractive alternative than those who feel they have relatively less money. The differences in mating strategies between and within the genders brought about by money support the evolutionary hypothesis that individuals adopt conditional mating strategies in response to environmental conditions. Additionally, the results of experimental studies provide evidence for the causal effects of money on mating strategies. These findings have both conceptual and practical implications for the psychology of evolution and romantic relationships.

When Love Meets Money: Priming the Possession of Money Influences Mating Strategies

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Yi Ming; Li, Jian; Chan, Darius K.-S.; Zhang, Bo

2016-01-01

Money is an important factor that influences the development of romantic relationships. The current paper examines how the feeling of having relatively more or less money influences human mating strategies in long-term and short-term mating contexts under the framework of evolutionary psychology. We recruited mainland Chinese college students involved in steady, heterosexual romantic relationships to participate in two experiments. In each study, we experimentally triggered participants' feelings of having relatively more or less money and then examined their thoughts and behaviors related to mating. Results of Study 1 showed that men who were primed to feel that they had relatively more money were less satisfied with their partners' physical attractiveness than those primed to feel that they had less money, suggesting that the subjective feeling of having more or less money may affect men's preferences regarding the physical appearance of a mate in a long-term relationship. Interestingly, this difference was not significant for women. Results of Study 2 indicated that both men and women who were primed to feel that they had relatively more money exhibited a greater “behavioral approach tendency” toward an attractive member of the opposite sex than those primed to feel that they had less money. This finding suggests that people who feel they have relatively more money may have more interest in an attractive alternative than those who feel they have relatively less money. The differences in mating strategies between and within the genders brought about by money support the evolutionary hypothesis that individuals adopt conditional mating strategies in response to environmental conditions. Additionally, the results of experimental studies provide evidence for the causal effects of money on mating strategies. These findings have both conceptual and practical implications for the psychology of evolution and romantic relationships. PMID:27047415

ERP system implementation costs and selection factors of an implementation approach

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Johansson, Björn; Sudzina, Frantisek; Newman, Mike

2011-01-01

, which influence the implementation approach in an ERP project, cause also an increase of the project cost in a European context? Our survey was conducted in Denmark, Slovakia and Slovenia and focused on this issue. Our main findings are that: 1) the number of implemented modules influences selection......Different approaches on implementation of enterprise resource planning (ERPs) systems exist. In this article, we investigate relationship between factors influencing selection of implementation approach and companies' ability to stay within budget when implementing ERPs. The question is: do factors...... of an implementation approach; 2) companies with information strategies are more likely to stay within budget regarding ERP systems implementation. However, we also found that: 3) implementation approach does not significantly influence ability to stay within budget; 4) a clear relationship between factors influencing...

Strategies for efficiently selecting PHA producing mixed microbial cultures using complex feedstocks: Feast and famine regime and uncoupled carbon and nitrogen availabilities.

Science.gov (United States)

Oliveira, Catarina S S; Silva, Carlos E; Carvalho, Gilda; Reis, Maria A

2017-07-25

Production of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) by open mixed microbial cultures (MMCs) has been attracting increasing interest as an alternative technology to PHA production by pure cultures, due to the potential for lower costs associated with the use of open systems (eliminating the requirement for sterile conditions) and the utilisation of cheap feedstock (industrial and agricultural wastes). Such technology relies on the efficient selection of an MMC enriched in PHA-accumulating organisms. Fermented cheese whey, a protein-rich complex feedstock, has been used previously to produce PHA using the feast and famine regime for selection of PHA accumulating cultures. While this selection strategy was found efficient when operated at relatively low organic loading rate (OLR, 2g-CODL -1 d -1 ), great instability and low selection efficiency of PHA accumulating organisms were observed when higher OLR (ca. 6g-CODL -1 d -1 ) was applied. High organic loading is desirable as a means to enhance PHA productivity. In the present study, a new selection strategy was tested with the aim of improving selection for high OLR. It was based on uncoupling carbon and nitrogen supply and was implemented and compared with the conventional feast and famine strategy. For this, two selection reactors were fed with fermented cheese whey applying an OLR of ca. 8.5g-CODL -1 (with 3.8g-CODL -1 resulting from organic acids and ethanol), and operated in parallel under similar conditions, except for the timing of nitrogen supplementation. Whereas in the conventional strategy nitrogen and carbon substrates were added simultaneously at the beginning of the cycle, in the uncoupled substrates strategy, nitrogen addition was delayed to the end of the feast phase (i.e. after exogenous carbon was exhausted). The two different strategies selected different PHA-storing microbial communities, dominated by Corynebacterium and a Xantomonadaceae, respectively with the conventional and the new approaches. The new

A strategy for clone selection under different production conditions.

Science.gov (United States)

Legmann, Rachel; Benoit, Brian; Fedechko, Ronald W; Deppeler, Cynthia L; Srinivasan, Sriram; Robins, Russell H; McCormick, Ellen L; Ferrick, David A; Rodgers, Seth T; Russo, A Peter

2011-01-01

Top performing clones have failed at the manufacturing scale while the true best performer may have been rejected early in the screening process. Therefore, the ability to screen multiple clones in complex fed-batch processes using multiple process variations can be used to assess robustness and to identify critical factors. This dynamic ranking of clones' strategy requires the execution of many parallel experiments than traditional approaches. Therefore, this approach is best suited for micro-bioreactor models which can perform hundreds of experiments quickly and efficiently. In this study, a fully monitored and controlled small scale platform was used to screen eight CHO clones producing a recombinant monoclonal antibody across several process variations, including different feeding strategies, temperature shifts and pH control profiles. The first screen utilized 240 micro-bioreactors were run for two weeks for this assessment of the scale-down model as a high-throughput tool for clone evaluation. The richness of the outcome data enable to clearly identify the best and worst clone as well as process in term of maximum monoclonal antibody titer. The follow-up comparison study utilized 180 micro-bioreactors in a full factorial design and a subset of 12 clone/process combinations was selected to be run parallel in duplicate shake flasks. Good correlation between the micro-bioreactor predictions and those made in shake flasks with a Pearson correlation value of 0.94. The results also demonstrate that this micro-scale system can perform clone screening and process optimization for gaining significant titer improvements simultaneously. This dynamic ranking strategy can support better choices of production clones. Copyright © 2011 American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE).

Self-Regulatory Strategies in Daily Life: Selection, Optimization, and Compensation and Everyday Memory Problems

Science.gov (United States)

Robinson, Stephanie A.; Rickenbach, Elizabeth H.; Lachman, Margie E.

2016-01-01

The effective use of self-regulatory strategies, such as selection, optimization, and compensation (SOC) requires resources. However, it is theorized that SOC use is most advantageous for those experiencing losses and diminishing resources. The present study explored this seeming paradox within the context of limitations or constraints due to…

The influence of the market as a determinant for a national electricity strategy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Deventer, J.R. van; Kimpton, A.D.

1996-01-01

The market characteristics of a mature developed economy and an immature developing economy are compared. It is discussed how these characteristics provide a major influence on the governance, regulation, structure and policy of an Electricity Supply Industry (ESI). This market dualism provides opportunities for many different strategies. A mature market, with most of the social demands satisfied, can adopt a strategy of weak regulation and the accompanying privatisation and competition. With an immature market, where the social demands, such as electrification, have not been met, a typical vertically integrated utility structure, operating under the guidance of the government, is the classic solution. (author)

Analysis of Criteria Influencing Contractor Selection Using TOPSIS Method

Science.gov (United States)

Alptekin, Orkun; Alptekin, Nesrin

2017-10-01

Selection of the most suitable contractor is an important process in public construction projects. This process is a major decision which may influence the progress and success of a construction project. Improper selection of contractors may lead to problems such as bad quality of work and delay in project duration. Especially in the construction projects of public buildings, the proper choice of contractor is beneficial to the public institution. Public procurement processes have different characteristics in respect to dissimilarities in political, social and economic features of every country. In Turkey, Turkish Public Procurement Law PPL 4734 is the main regulatory law for the procurement of the public buildings. According to the PPL 4734, public construction administrators have to contract with the lowest bidder who has the minimum requirements according to the criteria in prequalification process. Public administrators are not sufficient for selection of the proper contractor because of the restrictive provisions of the PPL 4734. The lowest bid method does not enable public construction administrators to select the most qualified contractor and they have realised the fact that the selection of a contractor based on lowest bid alone is inadequate and may lead to the failure of the project in terms of time delay Eand poor quality standards. In order to evaluate the overall efficiency of a project, it is necessary to identify selection criteria. This study aims to focus on identify importance of other criteria besides lowest bid criterion in contractor selection process of PPL 4734. In this study, a survey was conducted to staff of Department of Construction Works of Eskisehir Osmangazi University. According to TOPSIS (Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to the Ideal Solution) for analysis results, termination of construction work in previous tenders is the most important criterion of 12 determined criteria. The lowest bid criterion is ranked in rank 5.

KAJIAN STRATEGI KOPING DAN PERILAKU INVESTASI ANAK PADA KELUARGA BURUH PEMETIK MELATI GAMBIR

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Umu Rosidah

2012-01-01

Full Text Available  The objectives of this research were to investigate family coping strategy and the investment behavior on children of Jasmine officinale labor families. Research location was selected purposively based on size of Jasmine officinale area in study site. This research involved sixty six families were selected randomly. Data were collected by interview and were analyzed using regression analysis.The result of research showed that wife as Jasmine officinale labor gave important contribution to family income. Family welfare was influenced by father’s side job, father’s job, father’s education, and family income. Coping strategies that were done by labor family was classified as low category. Family size, family type, father’s side job, and family welfare has significant influence toward coping strategy. Mother’s education and family income correlated significant with investment behavior; family size, number of school-age child, father’s education, and family income had correlated significant with allocation of expenditure for children.

Pengaruh Strategi Bisnis Terhadap Sistem Pengendalian Manajemen – Studi pada BUMN Kategori Industri Strategis di Indonesia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Karsam Karsam

2017-03-01

Full Text Available The objective of this study is to investigate the influence of business strategy for management control system. The study was carried out on twelve state-owned enterprises strategic industries (BUMNIS in Indonesia between 2015 and 2016. The studied BUMNIS were selected based on criteria. The data was collected from questionaires that filled by top managements, the board of directors and internal control unit staff. In total, there were sixty respondents and 100% respondent rate. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM with PLS approach was used to analysis the survey results. This study demonstrates that business strategy has an impact on management control systems of studied BUMNIS.

Burglar Target Selection

Science.gov (United States)

Townsley, Michael; Bernasco, Wim; Ruiter, Stijn; Johnson, Shane D.; White, Gentry; Baum, Scott

2015-01-01

Objectives: This study builds on research undertaken by Bernasco and Nieuwbeerta and explores the generalizability of a theoretically derived offender target selection model in three cross-national study regions. Methods: Taking a discrete spatial choice approach, we estimate the impact of both environment- and offender-level factors on residential burglary placement in the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Combining cleared burglary data from all study regions in a single statistical model, we make statistical comparisons between environments. Results: In all three study regions, the likelihood an offender selects an area for burglary is positively influenced by proximity to their home, the proportion of easily accessible targets, and the total number of targets available. Furthermore, in two of the three study regions, juvenile offenders under the legal driving age are significantly more influenced by target proximity than adult offenders. Post hoc tests indicate the magnitudes of these impacts vary significantly between study regions. Conclusions: While burglary target selection strategies are consistent with opportunity-based explanations of offending, the impact of environmental context is significant. As such, the approach undertaken in combining observations from multiple study regions may aid criminology scholars in assessing the generalizability of observed findings across multiple environments. PMID:25866418

How to select the correct education strategy: when not to go online.

Science.gov (United States)

Klingbeil, Carol G; Johnson, Norah L; Totka, Joan P; Doyle, Lynn

2009-01-01

Screening for intimate partner violence is an important injury prevention strategy. Nurses who develop staff education, to promote screening, need to select a method that is sensitive to learners. Online learning, although convenient, is not well suited to sensitive topics such as screening for intimate partner violence. The purpose of this article is to describe a curriculum for intimate partner violence screening based on self-efficacy theory, which includes a hospital-produced video, a role play, and a discussion.

The influence of life-history strategy on genetic differentiation and lineage divergence in darters (Percidae: Etheostomatinae).

Science.gov (United States)

Fluker, Brook L; Kuhajda, Bernard R; Harris, Phillip M

2014-11-01

Recent studies determined that darters with specialized breeding strategies can exhibit deep lineage divergence over fine geographic scales without apparent physical barriers to gene flow. However, the extent to which intrinsic characteristics interact with extrinsic factors to influence population divergence and lineage diversification in darters is not well understood. This study employed comparative phylogeographic and population genetic methods to investigate the influence of life history on gene flow, dispersal ability, and lineage divergence in two sympatric sister darters with differing breeding strategies. Our results revealed highly disparate phylogeographic histories, patterns of genetic structure, and dispersal abilities between the two species suggesting that life history may contribute to lineage diversification in darters, especially by limiting dispersal among large river courses. Both species also showed striking differences in demographic history, indicating that extrinsic factors differentially affected each species during the Pleistocene. Collectively, our results indicate that intrinsic and extrinsic factors have influenced levels of gene flow among populations within both species examined. However, we suggest that life-history strategy may play a more important role in lineage diversification in darters than previously appreciated, a finding that has potentially important implications for understanding diversification of the rich North American freshwater fish fauna. © 2014 The Author(s). Evolution © 2014 The Society for the Study of Evolution.

THE VOCABULARY TEACHING AND VOCABULARY LEARNING: PERCEPTION, STRATEGIES, AND INFLUENCES ON STUDENTS' VOCABULARY MASTERY

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Dewi Nur Asyiah

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Vocabulary plays pivotal role in foreign language learning. However, vocabulary teaching and vocabulary learning in TEFL seems to be neglected. The study was aimed to investigate how vocabulary teaching and learning are perceived by teacher and students, strategies to teach and learn the vocabulary, and also influences of students’ vocabulary learning strategy on their vocabulary mastery. Accordingly, a mix method design was employed to one English teacher and 30 junior high school students to reveal the issues being investigated. The findings showed that both teacher and students have positive response on vocabulary teaching and learning. Concerning strategies, it was found that teacher mostly employed Fully-contextual strategy, meanwhile Determination and Metacognitive strategy were found as the most favored VLS chosen by students. The study also confirmed that there is a significant relationship between students’ vocabulary learning strategy and their vocabulary mastery (r-value Discovery = .023 and r-value Consolidating = .000, p<.05. It is recommended for EFL teachers to give a bigger portion to vocabulary in the EFL teaching and to teach vocabulary using the combination of fully-contextual and de-contextual strategy. It is also suggested to introduce students to various kinds of vocabulary learning strategies.  

Risky business for a juvenile marine predator? Testing the influence of foraging strategies on size and growth rate under natural conditions.

Science.gov (United States)

Hussey, Nigel E; DiBattista, Joseph D; Moore, Jonathan W; Ward, Eric J; Fisk, Aaron T; Kessel, Steven; Guttridge, Tristan L; Feldheim, Kevin A; Franks, Bryan R; Gruber, Samuel H; Weideli, Ornella C; Chapman, Demian D

2017-04-12

Mechanisms driving selection of body size and growth rate in wild marine vertebrates are poorly understood, thus limiting knowledge of their fitness costs at ecological, physiological and genetic scales. Here, we indirectly tested whether selection for size-related traits of juvenile sharks that inhabit a nursery hosting two dichotomous habitats, protected mangroves (low predation risk) and exposed seagrass beds (high predation risk), is influenced by their foraging behaviour. Juvenile sharks displayed a continuum of foraging strategies between mangrove and seagrass areas, with some individuals preferentially feeding in one habitat over another. Foraging habitat was correlated with growth rate, whereby slower growing, smaller individuals fed predominantly in sheltered mangroves, whereas larger, faster growing animals fed over exposed seagrass. Concomitantly, tracked juveniles undertook variable movement behaviours across both the low and high predation risk habitat. These data provide supporting evidence for the hypothesis that directional selection favouring smaller size and slower growth rate, both heritable traits in this shark population, may be driven by variability in foraging behaviour and predation risk. Such evolutionary pathways may be critical to adaptation within predator-driven marine ecosystems. © 2017 The Author(s).

More than friendship is required : an empirical test of cooperative firm strategies

OpenAIRE

Pesämaa, Ossi; Hair Jr, Joseph F

2006-01-01

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to examine a proposed six-construct theoretical model of factors influencing successful cooperative relationships and strategy development. Design/methodology/approach - A theoretical model of strategy development and cooperative relationships was tested. Qualitative research among key experts identified 15 successful regional tourism networks. Two successful cooperative networks were selected based on annual revenues. A sample of 254 small and mediu...

Selection of nursing teaching strategies in mainland China: A questionnaire survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, HouXiu; Liu, MengJie; Zeng, Jing; Zhu, JingCi

2016-04-01

In nursing education, the traditional lecture and direct demonstration teaching method cannot cultivate the various skills that nursing students need. How to choose a more scientific and rational teaching method is a common concern for nursing educators worldwide. To investigate the basis for selecting teaching methods among nursing teachers in mainland China, the factors affecting the selection of different teaching methods, and the application of different teaching methods in theoretical and skill-based nursing courses. Questionnaire survey. Seventy one nursing colleges from 28 provincial-level administrative regions in mainland China. Following the principle of voluntary informed consent, 262 nursing teachers were randomly selected through a nursing education network platform and a conference platform. The questionnaire contents included the basis for and the factors influencing the selection of nursing teaching methods, the participants' common teaching methods, and the teaching experience of the surveyed nursing teachers. The questionnaires were distributed through the network or conference platform, and the data were analyzed by SPSS 17.0 software. The surveyed nursing teachers selected teaching methods mainly based on the characteristics of the teaching content, the characteristics of the students, and their previous teaching experiences. The factors affecting the selection of teaching methods mainly included large class sizes, limited class time, and limited examination formats. The surveyed nursing teachers primarily used lectures to teach theory courses and the direct demonstration method to teach skills courses, and the application frequencies of these two teaching methods were significantly higher than those of other teaching methods (P=0.000). More attention should be paid to the selection of nursing teaching methods. Every teacher should strategically choose teaching methods before each lesson, and nursing education training focused on selecting

A TOTAL MANUFACTURING SOLUTIONS TECHNIQUE TO SELECT APPROPRIATE IMPROVEMENT STRATEGY: CASE STUDY OF A FOOTWEAR FACTORY

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Gezahegn Tesfaye

2014-09-01

Full Text Available The Government of Ethiopia is promoting the manufacturing sector to join the global market in a large scale. Due to its comparative advantages, the Ethiopian leather and leather products industry have been given due attention. To fully utilize such advantages, the country shifted its export items from hides/skins to footwear products. Nevertheless, the performance of the leather sector in general and footwear sub-sector in particular is far below the desired standards. The improvement strategies applied hitherto were mainly to tackle a small portion of their total problems. If the Ethiopian footwear companies have to become globally competitive, their entire business spectrum has to be assessed and appropriate improvement strategies must be selected. In this research, we used a Total manufacturing solutions (TMS technique to identify areas of improvement and improvement strategy of one of Ethiopian footwear companies. For this purpose, we conducted two surveys using structured questionnaire. The first survey was to test the TMS technique against the context of footwear industry. The result proved that the original TMS model can be used to measure the performance of footwear companies. The second survey was done to identify company's total problems, map its current position and select appropriate improvement strategy. The result revealed that the company has company-wide problems and its current position is a plodder. For plodders which have company-wide problems, the improvement strategy must include aggressive application of BPR; and the implementation of best practices to develop workers skills that encourages networking and promotion, a market-led manufacturing strategy, employee involvement and team work cultures. According to the findings of this research, we suggested that a BPR technique followed by a continuous improvement programme could be an appropriate improvement strategy for this company. The company requires long-term improvement

Toward a new institutional strategy framework for political marketing

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Sigge Winther

2013-01-01

The present literature on political marketing strategy has provided important knowledge about how the material context of technologies, polls or competitors influences strategy formulation. However, less attention has been directed to the constraints facing a political organization from the social...... context related to habits, norms or social conventions. This article thus aims at bringing organizational new institutional theory into the field of political marketing strategy. Accordingly, it is investigated how political organizations when initiating marketing strategies act or react toward...... that decision makers will (1) scan information from their environment, (2) interpret this incoming information in available cognitive categories and (3), finally, select a strategy premised on their cognitive interpretations. On this ground, we build a novel typology that specifies which political marketing...

The influence of the market as a determinant for a national electricity strategy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Deventer, J.R. van; Kimpton, A.D. [ESCOM (South Africa)

1996-12-31

The market characteristics of a mature developed economy and an immature developing economy are compared. It is discussed how these characteristics provide a major influence on the governance, regulation, structure and policy of an Electricity Supply Industry (ESI). This market dualism provides opportunities for many different strategies. A mature market, with most of the social demands satisfied, can adopt a strategy of weak regulation and the accompanying privatisation and competition. With an immature market, where the social demands, such as electrification, have not been met, a typical vertically integrated utility structure, operating under the guidance of the government, is the classic solution. (author). 2 refs.

The influence of the market as a determinant for a national electricity strategy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Van Deventer, J.R.; Kimpton, A.D. [Electricity Supply Commission, Johannesburg (South Africa)

1995-12-31

This paper compares and contrasts the market characteristics of a mature developed economy and an immature developing economy and how these characteristics provide a major influence on the governance, regulation, structure and policy of an Electricity Supply Industry. This market dualism provides opportunities for many different strategies. A mature market, with most of the social demands satisfied, can adopt a strategy of weak regulation and the accompanying privatisation and competition. With an immature market (South Africa), where the social demands, such as electrification, have not been met, a typically integrated utility structure, operating under the guidance of the government is the classic solution. 2 refs.

Reading strategies used by Grade 9 English Second Language learners in a selected school

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Madoda Cekiso

2014-09-01

Full Text Available Knowledge of the reading strategies used by English Second Language learners can help teachers to plan appropriate lessons and apply relevant methods of teaching reading in order to enhance learners’ reading comprehension. The main objective of this study was to investigate the reading strategies used by Grade 9 English Second Language (ESL learners and also to establish if there was any significant difference between perceived strategy use and gender. The respondents (192 were all ESL learners in Grade 9 in 2011 in a selected school. The study employed a quantitative research method. The study used convenience sampling on a group of 192 Grade 9 learners. The data collected through questionnaires was analysed by means of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS software. The findings revealed that the learners did not employ a wide range of reading strategies. The results further indicated that there was no significant difference between boys and girls in terms of strategy use. Based on the above findings several suggestions were made to help teachers improve their teaching and help learners improve their reading comprehension and also about possible areas for future research.

Specific factors influencing information system/information and communication technology sourcing strategies in healthcare facilities.

Science.gov (United States)

Potančok, Martin; Voříšek, Jiří

2016-09-01

Healthcare facilities use a number of information system/information and communication technologies. Each healthcare facility faces a need to choose sourcing strategies most suitable to ensure provision of information system/information and communication technology services, processes and resources. Currently, it is possible to observe an expansion of sourcing possibilities in healthcare informatics, which creates new requirements for sourcing strategies. Thus, the aim of this article is to identify factors influencing information system/information and communication technology sourcing strategies in healthcare facilities. The identification was based on qualitative research, namely, a case study. This study provides a set of internal and external factors with their impact levels. The findings also show that not enough attention is paid to these factors during decision-making. © The Author(s) 2015.

Pareto Optimal Solutions for Network Defense Strategy Selection Simulator in Multi-Objective Reinforcement Learning

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Yang Sun

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Using Pareto optimization in Multi-Objective Reinforcement Learning (MORL leads to better learning results for network defense games. This is particularly useful for network security agents, who must often balance several goals when choosing what action to take in defense of a network. If the defender knows his preferred reward distribution, the advantages of Pareto optimization can be retained by using a scalarization algorithm prior to the implementation of the MORL. In this paper, we simulate a network defense scenario by creating a multi-objective zero-sum game and using Pareto optimization and MORL to determine optimal solutions and compare those solutions to different scalarization approaches. We build a Pareto Defense Strategy Selection Simulator (PDSSS system for assisting network administrators on decision-making, specifically, on defense strategy selection, and the experiment results show that the Satisficing Trade-Off Method (STOM scalarization approach performs better than linear scalarization or GUESS method. The results of this paper can aid network security agents attempting to find an optimal defense policy for network security games.

Understanding the Influence of Learners' Forethought on Their Use of Science Study Strategies in Postsecondary Science Learning

Science.gov (United States)

Dunn, Karee E.; Lo, Wen-Juo

2015-11-01

Understanding self-regulation in science learning is important for theorists and practitioners alike. However, very little has been done to explore and understand students' self-regulatory processes in postsecondary science courses. In this study, the influence of science efficacy, learning value, and goal orientation on the perceived use of science study strategies was explored using structural equation modeling. In addition, the study served to validate the first two stages of Zimmerman's cyclical model of self-regulation and to address the common methodological weakness in self-regulation research in which data are all collected at one point after the learning cycle is complete. Thus, data were collected across the learning cycle rather than asking students to reflect upon each construct after the learning cycle was complete. The findings supported the hypothesized model in which it was predicted that self-efficacy would significantly and positively influence students' perceived science strategy use, and the influence of students' valuation of science learning on science study strategies would be mediated by their learning goal orientation. The findings of the study are discussed and implications for undergraduate science instructors are proposed.

Does point-of-purchase nutrition labeling influence meal selections? A test in an Army cafeteria.

Science.gov (United States)

Sproul, Allen D; Canter, Deborah D; Schmidt, Jeffrey B

2003-07-01

This study assessed the effectiveness of nutrition labeling on sales of targeted entrees and measured the perceived influence that factors such as taste, quality, appearance, fat content, calorie content, and price had on meal selection behavior within an Army cafeteria. A quasi-experimental design was used to compare targeted entrée sales between a 1-year baseline period and two 30-day postintervention periods, after the placement of entrée nutrition labels. A brief questionnaire, distributed to 149 patrons, measured the perceived influence of the aforementioned factors on selections. Analysis of variance detected no significant differences in sales between baseline and the two intervention periods; the factors of taste and quality were rated most influential to meal selection (p < 0.000). A marketing campaign focusing on the health attributes of targeted entrée items was not successful in boosting sales. Sensory attributes (i.e., taste, quality, and appearance) appear to be more influential to meal selection.

Integrating Agricultural Risks Management Strategies in selected EU Partner Countries: Syria, Tunisia, Turkey

OpenAIRE

Santeramo, Fabio Gaetano; Capitanio, Fabian; Adinolfi, Felice

2014-01-01

Dynamics and transitions in the agricultural sector of emerging countries are not well understood yet. A decade of major political and economic changes is challenging the Mediterranean Economies, affecting the primary sectors of transition economies which are largely influenced by recent trends. The resulting exposure of agriculture to risks has called great attention on risk management strategies and public intervention. We explore their role in three different economies with a view to a uni...

Age differences in everyday problem-solving effectiveness: older adults select more effective strategies for interpersonal problems.

Science.gov (United States)

Blanchard-Fields, Fredda; Mienaltowski, Andrew; Seay, Renee Baldi

2007-01-01

Using the Everyday Problem Solving Inventory of Cornelius and Caspi, we examined differences in problem-solving strategy endorsement and effectiveness in two domains of everyday functioning (instrumental or interpersonal, and a mixture of the two domains) and for four strategies (avoidance-denial, passive dependence, planful problem solving, and cognitive analysis). Consistent with past research, our research showed that older adults were more problem focused than young adults in their approach to solving instrumental problems, whereas older adults selected more avoidant-denial strategies than young adults when solving interpersonal problems. Overall, older adults were also more effective than young adults when solving everyday problems, in particular for interpersonal problems.

Factors influencing creep model equation selection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Holdsworth, S.R.; Askins, M.; Baker, A.; Gariboldi, E.; Holmstroem, S.; Klenk, A.; Ringel, M.; Merckling, G.; Sandstrom, R.; Schwienheer, M.; Spigarelli, S.

2008-01-01

During the course of the EU-funded Advanced-Creep Thematic Network, ECCC-WG1 reviewed the applicability and effectiveness of a range of model equations to represent the accumulation of creep strain in various engineering alloys. In addition to considering the experience of network members, the ability of several models to describe the deformation characteristics of large single and multi-cast collations of ε(t,T,σ) creep curves have been evaluated in an intensive assessment inter-comparison activity involving three steels, 21/4 CrMo (P22), 9CrMoVNb (Steel-91) and 18Cr13NiMo (Type-316). The choice of the most appropriate creep model equation for a given application depends not only on the high-temperature deformation characteristics of the material under consideration, but also on the characteristics of the dataset, the number of casts for which creep curves are available and on the strain regime for which an analytical representation is required. The paper focuses on the factors which can influence creep model selection and model-fitting approach for multi-source, multi-cast datasets

Equilibrium Strategy Based Recycling Facility Site Selection towards Mitigating Coal Gangue Contamination

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Jiuping Xu

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Environmental pollution caused by coal gangue has been a significant challenge for sustainable development; thus, many coal gangue reduction approaches have been proposed in recent years. In particular, coal gangue facility (CGF construction has been considered as an efficient method for the control and recycling of coal gangue. Meanwhile, the identification and selection of suitable CGF sites is a fundamental task for the government. Therefore, based on the equilibrium strategy, a site selection approach under a fuzzy environment is developed to mitigate coal gangue contamination, which integrates a geographical information system (GIS technique and a bi-level model to identify candidate CGF sites and to select the most suitable one. In this situation, the GIS technique used to identify potential feasible sites is able to integrate a great deal of geographical data tofitwithpracticalcircumstances;thebi-levelmodelusedtoscreentheappropriatesitecanreasonably dealwiththeconflictsbetweenthelocalauthorityandthecolliery. Moreover,aKarush–Kuhn–Tucker (KKT condition-based approach is used to find an optimal solution, and a case study is given to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method. The results across different scenarios show that appropriate site selection can achieve coal gangue reduction targets and that a suitable excess stack level can realize an environmental-economic equilibrium. Finally, some propositions and management recommendations are given.

Impact of selective genotyping in the training population on accuracy and bias of genomic selection.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Yusheng; Gowda, Manje; Longin, Friedrich H; Würschum, Tobias; Ranc, Nicolas; Reif, Jochen C

2012-08-01

Estimating marker effects based on routinely generated phenotypic data of breeding programs is a cost-effective strategy to implement genomic selection. Truncation selection in breeding populations, however, could have a strong impact on the accuracy to predict genomic breeding values. The main objective of our study was to investigate the influence of phenotypic selection on the accuracy and bias of genomic selection. We used experimental data of 788 testcross progenies from an elite maize breeding program. The testcross progenies were evaluated in unreplicated field trials in ten environments and fingerprinted with 857 SNP markers. Random regression best linear unbiased prediction method was used in combination with fivefold cross-validation based on genotypic sampling. We observed a substantial loss in the accuracy to predict genomic breeding values in unidirectional selected populations. In contrast, estimating marker effects based on bidirectional selected populations led to only a marginal decrease in the prediction accuracy of genomic breeding values. We concluded that bidirectional selection is a valuable approach to efficiently implement genomic selection in applied plant breeding programs.

The Influence Of Business Partnership And Competitive Strategy On Business Performance Of Recreation Park Services Industry In West Java Indonesia

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Kurniawan

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Recreational parks services industry in West Java have problems due to low business performance caused by the difficulty of companies to compete whereas tourism services right now are yet offered unique characteristics products due to the product is relatively similar with competitors. Based on that background the research aims to obtain a study on the influence of business partnerships and competitive strategy on business performance in recreation park service industries in West Java. Research conducted using an explanatory survey. In this study the target population is a company incorporated in the tourism service industry in West Java. Time horizon is a cross-sectional which research is done in one time simultaneously. The data analyzed through verification. Hypothesis is tested using partial least square PLS. The research findings reveal that there is a simultaneous and partial influence of business partnerships and competitive strategy on business performance. The influence of competitive strategy is more dominant than business partnership in improving business performance the rest influenced by other factors not examined in this study. Based on that it would need to the management of recreation park services companies in West Java to increase the competitive strategy as the first priority in efforts to improve business performance.

Evaluation of a selective management strategy of patients with primary cystic neoplasms of the pancreas

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Castro, S. M. M.; Houwert, J. T.; van der Gaag, N. A.; Busch, O. R. C.; van Gulik, T. M.; Gouma, D. J.

2011-01-01

Recent studies have shown that a selective group of patients with primary cystic neoplasms of the pancreas can be managed conservatively by radiological follow-up. The aim of this study was to analyze if such a strategy is efficient and safe. A retrospective analyses was performed of patients who

International Pricing Strategies for Born-Global Firms

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Michael Neubert

2017-10-01

Full Text Available This paper aims to understand how born global firms develop their international pricing strategies, practices, and models. It aims to expand the study of international entrepreneurship and born global firms by including a broader and deeper range of pricing aspects than is normally found in the international entrepreneurship and pricing literature. The paper opted for a multiple case-study research design using different sources of evidence, including four in-depth interviews with CEOs of born global firms. The case-study firms were selected using a purposive selection method. The theoretical framework of Ingenbleek, Frambach & Verhallen is used. The results suggest that successful leaders act as ‘integrating forces’ on two levels: by applying a structured and disciplined price-setting process with regular reviews and by mediating between corporate financial goals and the local market reality. The results support the claim that policy makers should offer insights, training and financial support to give promising born global firms the possibility to select the most efficient international pricing models and strategies. The results are relevant for entrepreneurs to understand the importance of efficient price-modelling processes and the influence of the different price strategies and price models on financial results and sales revenues.

Selective influence of prior allocentric knowledge on the kinesthetic learning of a path.

Science.gov (United States)

Lafon, Matthieu; Vidal, Manuel; Berthoz, Alain

2009-04-01

Spatial cognition studies have described two main cognitive strategies involved in the memorization of traveled paths in human navigation. One of these strategies uses the action-based memory (egocentric) of the traveled route or paths, which involves kinesthetic memory, optic flow, and episodic memory, whereas the other strategy privileges a survey memory of cartographic type (allocentric). Most studies have dealt with these two strategies separately, but none has tried to show the interaction between them in spite of the fact that we commonly use a map to imagine our journey and then proceed using egocentric navigation. An interesting question is therefore: how does prior allocentric knowledge of the environment affect the egocentric, purely kinesthetic navigation processes involved in human navigation? We designed an experiment in which blindfolded subjects had first to walk and memorize a path with kinesthetic cues only. They had previously been shown a map of the path, which was either correct or distorted (consistent shrinking or growing). The latter transformations were studied in order to observe what influence a distorted prior knowledge could have on spatial mechanisms. After having completed the first learning travel along the path, they had to perform several spatial tasks during the testing phase: (1) pointing towards the origin and (2) to specific points encountered along the path, (3) a free locomotor reproduction, and (4) a drawing of the memorized path. The results showed that prior cartographic knowledge influences the paths drawn and the spatial inference capacity, whereas neither locomotor reproduction nor spatial updating was disturbed. Our results strongly support the notion that (1) there are two independent neural bases underlying these mechanisms: a map-like representation allowing allocentric spatial inferences, and a kinesthetic memory of self-motion in space; and (2) a common use of, or a switching between, these two strategies is

The demographic transition influences variance in fitness and selection on height and BMI in rural Gambia.

Science.gov (United States)

Courtiol, Alexandre; Rickard, Ian J; Lummaa, Virpi; Prentice, Andrew M; Fulford, Anthony J C; Stearns, Stephen C

2013-05-20

Recent human history is marked by demographic transitions characterized by declines in mortality and fertility. By influencing the variance in those fitness components, demographic transitions can affect selection on other traits. Parallel to changes in selection triggered by demography per se, relationships between fitness and anthropometric traits are also expected to change due to modification of the environment. Here we explore for the first time these two main evolutionary consequences of demographic transitions using a unique data set containing survival, fertility, and anthropometric data for thousands of women in rural Gambia from 1956-2010. We show how the demographic transition influenced directional selection on height and body mass index (BMI). We observed a change in selection for both traits mediated by variation in fertility: selection initially favored short females with high BMI values but shifted across the demographic transition to favor tall females with low BMI values. We demonstrate that these differences resulted both from changes in fitness variance that shape the strength of selection and from shifts in selective pressures triggered by environmental changes. These results suggest that demographic and environmental trends encountered by current human populations worldwide are likely to modify, but not stop, natural selection in humans. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Energy Saving Potential of Occupancy-Based Lighting Control Strategies in Open-Plan Offices: The Influence of Occupancy Patterns

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Christel de Bakker

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Occupancy-based lighting control strategies have been proven to be effective in diminishing offices’ energy consumption. These strategies have typically worked by controlling lighting at the room level but, recently, lighting systems have begun to be equipped with sensors on a more fine-grained level, enabling lighting control at the desk level. For some office cases, however, the savings gained using this strategy may not outweigh the costs and design efforts compared to room control. This is because, in some offices, individual occupancy patterns are similar, hence the difference in savings between desk and room control would be minimal. This study examined the influence of occupancy pattern variance within an office space on the relative energy savings of control strategies with different control zone sizes. We applied stochastic modeling to estimate the occupancy patterns, as this method can account for uncertainty. To validate our model, simulation results were compared to earlier studies and real measurements, which demonstrated that our simulations provided realistic occupancy patterns. Next, office cases varying in both job-function type distribution and office policy were investigated on energy savings potential to determine the influence of occupancy pattern variance. The relative energy savings potential of the different control strategies differed minimally for the test cases, suggesting that variations in individual occupancy patterns negligibly influence energy savings. In all cases, lighting control at the desk level showed a significantly higher energy savings potential than strategies with lower control zone granularity, suggesting that it is useful to implement occupancy-based lighting at the desk level in all office cases. This strategy should, thus, receive more attention from both researchers and lighting designers.

A Knowledge Management Strategy To Achieve Organisation Competitiveness

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Dr. St. Sukmawati.

2015-08-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this research is to study the influence of organizational environment on the selection of knowledge management strategies. The research focuses particularly on the relationship between business and knowledge management strategy and the success of the knowledge management initiatives. This research is a case study researching 2 South Sulawesi banking companies. The knowledge management initiatives were categorized by six criteria objectives processes problems content strategy knowledge type and their fit with the respective business strategy of the organizational unit was evaluated. The findings in this research suggest a relationship between the success of knowledge management and the alignment of knowledge management and business strategy. The research also shows that an organization whose business strategy requires process efficiency should rely primarily on a codification strategy. An organization whose business strategy requires productprocess innovation should rely primarily on a personalization strategy. The most successful knowledge management projects were driven by a strong business need and with the goal to add value to the organizational unit operations. The research shows there are limitations due to the qualitative nature of the research logical rather than statistical conclusions small sample size and subjectivity of interpretations. The research sees that a manager should be aware of the objectives and business processes of the organizational unit and chooses the knowledge management strategy and objective in accordance to the business strategy and objective. Originalityvalue. The research enhances understanding about the influence of organizational environment factors on the success of knowledge management initiatives.

Efficient generation of long-distance conditional alleles using recombineering and a dual selection strategy in replicate plates

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Liang Hong-Erh

2009-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Conditional knockout mice are a useful tool to study the function of gene products in a tissue-specific or inducible manner. Classical approaches to generate targeting vectors for conditional alleles are often limited by the availability of suitable restriction sites. Furthermore, plasmid-based targeting vectors can only cover a few kB of DNA which precludes the generation of targeting vectors where the two loxP sites are placed far apart. These limitations have been overcome in the recent past by using homologous recombination of bacterial artificial chromosomes (BACs in Escherichia coli to produce large targeting vector containing two different loxP-flanked selection cassettes so that a single targeting event is sufficient to introduce loxP-sites a great distances into the mouse genome. However, the final targeted allele should be free of selection cassettes and screening for correct removal of selection cassettes can be a laborious task. Therefore, we developed a new strategy to rapidly identify ES cells containing the desired allele. Results Using BAC recombineering we generated a single targeting vector which contained two different selection cassettes that were flanked by loxP-loxP sites or by FRT-FRT/loxP sites so that they could be deleted sequentially by Cre- and FLPe-recombinases, respectively. Transfected ES cells were first selected in the presence of both antibiotics in vitro before correctly targeted clones were identified by Southern blot. After transfection of a Cre recombinase expression plasmid ES cell clones were selected on replicate plates to identify those clones which maintained the FRT-FRT/loxP flanked cassette and lost the loxP-loxP flanked cassette. Using this strategy facilitated the identification of ES cell clones containing the desired allele before blastocyst injection. Conclusion The strategy of ES cell cultures in replicate plates proved to be very efficient in identifying ES cells that had

A novel safety assessment strategy applied to non-selective extracts.

Science.gov (United States)

Koster, Sander; Leeman, Winfried; Verheij, Elwin; Dutman, Ellen; van Stee, Leo; Nielsen, Lene Munch; Ronsmans, Stefan; Noteborn, Hub; Krul, Lisette

2015-06-01

A main challenge in food safety research is to demonstrate that processing of foodstuffs does not lead to the formation of substances for which the safety upon consumption might be questioned. This is especially so since food is a complex matrix in which the analytical detection of substances, and consequent risk assessment thereof, is difficult to determine. Here, a pragmatic novel safety assessment strategy is applied to the production of non-selective extracts (NSEs), used for different purposes in food such as for colouring purposes, which are complex food mixtures prepared from reference juices. The Complex Mixture Safety Assessment Strategy (CoMSAS) is an exposure driven approach enabling to efficiently assess the safety of the NSE by focussing on newly formed substances or substances that may increase in exposure during the processing of the NSE. CoMSAS enables to distinguish toxicologically relevant from toxicologically less relevant substances, when related to their respective levels of exposure. This will reduce the amount of work needed for identification, characterisation and safety assessment of unknown substances detected at low concentration, without the need for toxicity testing using animal studies. In this paper, the CoMSAS approach has been applied for elderberry and pumpkin NSEs used for food colouring purposes. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The influence of interactions between market segmentation strategy and competition on organizational performance. A simulation study.

OpenAIRE

Dolnicar, Sara; Freitag, Roman

2003-01-01

A computer simulation study is conducted to explore the interaction of alternative segmentation strategies and the competitiveness of the market environment, a goal that can neither be tackled by purely analytic approaches nor is sufficient and undistorted real market data available to deduct findings in an empirical manner. The fundamental idea of the simulation is to increase competition in the artificial marketplace and to study the influence of segmentation strategy and varying market con...

Peer influence strategies in collectively consumed products: (Events and Festivals): An exploratory study among university students.

OpenAIRE

Scully, K.; Moital, Miguel

2016-01-01

PURPOSE: The paper examines peer influence in the context of purchasing collectively consumed products. The particular focus of the paper is on strategies used by university students for persuasion and resistance when attending events & festivals. METHODOLOGY: Five females and three males studying for a degree in the UK were interviewed. Independent analysis of the interview transcripts was undertaken in order to identify persuasion and resistance strategies, as well as the factors influencin...

Bourdieu's Distinction between Rules and Strategies and Secondary Principal Practice: A Review of Selected Literature

Science.gov (United States)

Anderson, Karen

2016-01-01

This paper reviews a selection of literature on secondary principal practice from which to propose an approach for further research. The review demonstrates that applications of Bourdieu's theory of practice have contributed to understandings about secondary principal practice, and that the distinction he made between rules and strategies has the…

Selection of Housekeeping Genes for Transgene Expression Analysis in Eucommia ulmoides Oliver Using Real-Time RT-PCR

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ren Chen

2010-01-01

Full Text Available In order to select appropriate housekeeping genes for accurate calibration of experimental variations in real-time (RT- PCR results in transgene expression analysis, particularly with respect to the influence of transgene on stability of endogenous housekeeping gene expression in transgenic plants, we outline a reliable strategy to identify the optimal housekeeping genes from a set of candidates by combining statistical analyses of their (RT- PCR amplification efficiency, gene expression stability, and transgene influences. We used the strategy to select two genes, ACTα and EF1α, from 10 candidate housekeeping genes, as the optimal housekeeping genes to evaluate transgenic Eucommia ulmoides Oliver root lines overexpressing IPPI or FPPS1 genes, which are involved in isoprenoid biosynthesis.

SEA and strategy formation theories: From three Ps to five Ps

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cherp, Aleh; Watt, Alan; Vinichenko, Vadim

2007-01-01

A transition to environmentally sustainable societies should involve a significant and comprehensive - strategic - change. Much of the promise of SEA is associated precisely with its perceived capacity to facilitate such a strategic transformation by influencing selected 'strategic decisions'. This paper examines the potential effectiveness and limitations of such an approach in light of contemporary organizational strategy theories. Most of these theories separate 'strategies' from 'decisions' and also transcend the notion of strategies as formal plans, policies and programs (PPPs). Instead, they consider strategies as 'five Ps', adding 'Position', 'Perspective', 'Pattern' and 'Ploy' to the 'Plan'. Lessons from organizational strategy formation give rise to the following challenges for SEA theory and practice: 1.How to assess and influence informal as well as formal aspects of strategic initiatives? 2.How to extend SEA 'beyond decisions' to address 'emergent strategies' where strategic action is not necessarily preceded by a decision? 3.How to ensure that knowledge provided as a result of SEA is strategically relevant and communicated to key players in strategy formation? 4.How to deal with an uncontrollable and unpredictable environment in which strategic initiatives unfold? 5.How to recognize those situations when SEA can have most strategic influence? This paper takes a step towards examining these challenges by exploring the intellectual history of SEA in light of the main strategy formation theories and by identifying directions in which the SEA discourse may be further enhanced to meet these five challenges

Study on the combined influence of battery models and sizing strategy for hybrid and battery-based electric vehicles

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pinto, Cláudio; Barreras, Jorge V.; de Castro, Ricardo

2017-01-01

This paper presents a study of the combined influence of battery models and sizing strategy for hybrid and battery-based electric vehicles. In particular, the aim is to find the number of battery (and supercapacitor) cells to propel a light vehicle to run two different standard driving cycles....... Despite the same tendency, when a hybrid vehicle is taken into account, the influence of the battery models is dependent on the sizing strategy. In this work, two sizing strategies are evaluated: dynamic programming and filter-based. For the latter, the complexity of the battery model has a clear....... Three equivalent circuit models are considered to simulate the battery electrical performance: linear static, non-linear static and non-linear with first-order dynamics. When dimensioning a battery-based vehicle, less complex models may lead to a solution with more battery cells and higher costs...

The influence of caffeine on spatial-selective attention : an event-related potential study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Ruiter, MB; Snel, J; Lorist, MM; Ruijter, J

2000-01-01

Objectives: Following the indications of previous studies that caffeine might have a specific effect on the processing of spatial information compared with other types of information, the present study investigated the influence of caffeine on an often used spatial-selective attention task. Methods:

Confirming preferences or collecting data? Information search strategies and romantic partner selection.

Science.gov (United States)

Hennessy, Michael H; Fishbein, Marty; Curtis, Brenda; Barrett, Daniel

2008-03-01

This article investigates two kinds of information search strategies in the context of selecting romantic partners. Confirmatory searching occurs when people ask for more information about a romantic partner in order to validate or confirm their assessment. Balanced searches are characterized by a search for risk information for partners rated as attractive and for attractiveness information about partners rated as risky in order to attain a more complete evaluation. A factorial survey computer program randomly constructed five types of partner descriptions and college-age respondents evaluated nine descriptions in terms of both health risk and romantic attractiveness outcomes. The results show little evidence of balanced search strategies: for all vignette types the respondents searched for attractiveness information. Regression analysis of the search outcomes showed no difference between males and females in the desire for attractiveness or risk information, the amount of additional information desired, or the proportion of descriptions for which more information was desired. However, an attractive physical appearance did increase the amount of additional information desired and the proportion of vignettes for which more information was desired. The results were generally inconsistent with a balanced search hypothesis; a better characterization of the respondents' strategy might be "confirmatory bias."

When Love Meets Money: Priming the Possession of Money Influences Mating Strategies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yi Ming eLi

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Money is an important factor that influences the development of romantic relationships. The current paper examines how the feeling of having relatively more or less money influences human mating strategies in long-term and short-term mating contexts under the framework of evolutionary psychology. We recruited mainland Chinese college students involved in steady, heterosexual romantic relationships to participate in two experiments. In each study, we experimentally triggered participants’ feelings of having relatively more or less money and then examined their thoughts and behaviors related to mating. Results of Study 1 showed that men who were primed to feel that they had relatively more money were less satisfied with their partners’ physical attractiveness than those primed to feel that they had less money, suggesting that the subjective feeling of having more or less money may affect men’s preferences regarding the physical appearance of a mate in a long-term relationship. Interestingly, this difference was not significant for women. Results of Study 2 indicated that both men and women who were primed to feel that they had relatively more money exhibited a greater behavioral approach tendency toward an attractive member of the opposite sex than those primed to feel that they had less money. This finding suggests that people who feel they have relatively more money may have more interest in an attractive alternative than those who feel they have relatively less money. The differences in mating strategies between and within the genders brought about by money support the evolutionary hypothesis that individuals adopt conditional mating strategies in response to environmental conditions. These findings have both conceptual and practical implications for the psychology of evolution and romantic relationships.

Implication of Formulation Strategies on the Bioavailability of Selected Plant-Derived Hepatoprotectants.

Science.gov (United States)

Dash, Ranjeet Prasad; Kala, Manika; Nivsarkar, Manish; Babu, R Jayachandra

2017-01-01

Plant-derived active ingredients with hepatoprotective activity have been used extensively in the treatment of various liver diseases. These compounds are used either in their natural form or the chemical constituents present therein serve as templates for the development of synthetic-based therapeutic entities. Current research interests are focused on formulation development and pharmacokinetic studies of herbal medicines. This article provides a comprehensive review on formulation influences on the preclinical/clinical pharmacokinetics of selected hepatoprotectants such as silymarin, curcumin, glycyrrhizin, andrographolide, phyllanthin, hypophyllanthin, and picroside I and II. Both the formulation and pharmacokinetic factors could affect the target-site concentrations of the active herbal components and, thus, the therapeutic responses. This review contributes to the establishment of a comprehensive understanding of the influence of formulation/dosage form on the pharmacokinetic profile of the hepatoprotective compounds.

The Influence of Motivational Regulation Strategies on Online Students' Behavioral, Emotional, and Cognitive Engagement

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Sanghoon; Yun, Heoncheol

2018-01-01

Providing effective motivational support is a critical determinant of a successful online distance learning experience for students in higher education. In this study, we examined how students' academic level and use of 8 motivational regulation strategies influence 3 types of student engagement: behavioral engagement, emotional engagement, and…

Manufacturing strategy in the auto parts industry: a multicases study in companies at sorocaba’s region

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Márcia Regina Neves Guimarães

2014-05-01

Full Text Available The alignment of manufacturing strategy with the business strategy is fundamental for achieving sustainable competitive advantage. In the particular case of the automotive industry, it is verified that the production strategy of suppliers is strongly influenced by the strategy of automakers. In this context, this paper aims at presenting characteristics of the content of the production strategy of four auto parts companies besides analyzing the influence of automakers in the definition of the strategy contents.This is a descriptive and exploratory research that uses  a qualitative approach and the multi-case study method. Among the main results, it was found that the prevalent competitive priority in the companies is quality followed by delivery. In the decision areas, it was noted that customers have great influence on the quality management of these companies and in the R&D activities, besides demanding frequent deliveries. Finally, it was found that auto parts companies seek to strengthen their competitive priorities by adopting criteria from suppliers  for selecting and evaluating.

The influence of different framing strategies in the social construction of a niche: ambidexterity in developing a bio resource market

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Loohuis, Raymond Petrus Antonius; von Raesfeld Meijer, Ariane M.; Groen, Arend J.

2014-01-01

Which framing strategy helps developing a regional bio resource market? Building on literature interested in the social construction of niches in the renewable energy technology, we examine how the enactment of different framing strategies (diagnostic, prognostic, and motivational) influence how a

Breeding site selection by coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) in relation to large wood additions and factors that influence reproductive success

Science.gov (United States)

Clark, Steven M.; Dunham, Jason B.; McEnroe, Jeffery R.; Lightcap, Scott W.

2014-01-01

The fitness of female Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) with respect to breeding behavior can be partitioned into at least four fitness components: survival to reproduction, competition for breeding sites, success of egg incubation, and suitability of the local environment near breeding sites for early rearing of juveniles. We evaluated the relative influences of habitat features linked to these fitness components with respect to selection of breeding sites by coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch). We also evaluated associations between breeding site selection and additions of large wood, as the latter were introduced into the study system as a means of restoring habitat conditions to benefit coho salmon. We used a model selection approach to organize specific habitat features into groupings reflecting fitness components and influences of large wood. Results of this work suggest that female coho salmon likely select breeding sites based on a wide range of habitat features linked to all four hypothesized fitness components. More specifically, model parameter estimates indicated that breeding site selection was most strongly influenced by proximity to pool-tail crests and deeper water (mean and maximum depths). Linkages between large wood and breeding site selection were less clear. Overall, our findings suggest that breeding site selection by coho salmon is influenced by a suite of fitness components in addition to the egg incubation environment, which has been the emphasis of much work in the past.

The influence of selected senses on consumer experience: A brandy case

OpenAIRE

Chris Pentz; Charlene Gerber

2013-01-01

Orientation: Sensory marketing has become a popular marketing technique to enhance consumer experience. Researchers have suggested that marketers should incorporate as many senses as possible in order for sensory marketing to be effective. Research purpose: To investigate the influence of selected senses – sight, sound and smell – on consumers’ experience, specifically in terms of the tastiness of brandy. Motivation for the study: Even though the use of the senses such as sight, sound ...

Strategy selection in the minority game

Science.gov (United States)

D'hulst, R.; Rodgers, G. J.

2000-04-01

We investigate the dynamics of the choice of an active strategy in the minority game. A history distribution is introduced as an analytical tool to study the asymmetry between the two choices offered to the agents. Its properties are studied numerically. It allows us to show that the departure from uniformity in the initial attribution of strategies to the agents is important even in the efficient market. Also, an approximate expression for the variance of the number of agents at one side in the efficient phase is proposed. All the analytical propositions are supported by numerical simulations of the system.

The Effect of Using a Proposed Teaching Strategy Based on the Selective Thinking on Students' Acquisition Concepts in Mathematics

Science.gov (United States)

Qudah, Ahmad Hassan

2016-01-01

This study aimed at identify the effect of using a proposed teaching strategy based on the selective thinking in acquire mathematical concepts by Classroom Teacher Students at Al- al- Bayt University, The sample of the study consisted of (74) students, equally distributed into a control group and an experimental group. The selective thinking…

Influences of Metacognitive and Self-Regulated Learning Strategies for Reading on Mathematical Literacy of Adolescents in Australia and Singapore

Science.gov (United States)

Kaur, Berinderjeet; Areepattamannil, Shaljan

2012-01-01

This study, drawing on data from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2009, explored the influences of metacognitive and self-regulated learning strategies for reading on mathematical literacy of adolescents in Australia and Singapore. Ordinary least squares (OLS) regression analyses revealed the positive influences of…

A Holistic Quality Evaluation, Selection and Improvement Approach driven by Multilevel Goals and Strategies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Belen Rivera

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Organizations should establish business goals and check for their achievement in a systematic and disciplined way. In order to know if a business goal is achieved, it should be necessary to consider information need goals that also can require satisfying measurement and evaluation goals at operational level. Furthermore, if measurement and evaluation goals are not aligned with top-level business goals such as tactical or strategic level goals, the organization could waste its effort and resources. Usually, the different goals established in an organization are operationalized through projects. For a given project, strategies should be used in order to help in the goal achievement. A strategy defines a set of activities and methods to be followed for a specific goal purpose. Ultimately, to engineering all these issues in a systematic way, organizations should adopt a holistic evaluation approach supported by a set of integrated strategies. By means of a systematic literature review as research method, we have observed that very few approaches support integrated strategies and multilevel goals. To bridge this gap, we have developed a holistic quality multilevel and multipurpose evaluation approach that ties together multilevel goals, projects and integrated strategies. As contributions, this paper discusses an enhanced conceptual base (specified by ontologies for linking business and information need goal concepts with project, strategy and nonfunctional requirements concepts. Then, it defines the step by step of our holistic quality evaluation approach, by listing the necessary activities to establish goals and projects at different organizational levels. Lastly, it specifies and illustrates evaluation scenarios for business/information need goal purposes such as understanding, improving, monitoring and controlling, comparing and selecting entities, which are supported by strategies and strategy patterns.

A computational approach to compare regression modelling strategies in prediction research.

Science.gov (United States)

Pajouheshnia, Romin; Pestman, Wiebe R; Teerenstra, Steven; Groenwold, Rolf H H

2016-08-25

It is often unclear which approach to fit, assess and adjust a model will yield the most accurate prediction model. We present an extension of an approach for comparing modelling strategies in linear regression to the setting of logistic regression and demonstrate its application in clinical prediction research. A framework for comparing logistic regression modelling strategies by their likelihoods was formulated using a wrapper approach. Five different strategies for modelling, including simple shrinkage methods, were compared in four empirical data sets to illustrate the concept of a priori strategy comparison. Simulations were performed in both randomly generated data and empirical data to investigate the influence of data characteristics on strategy performance. We applied the comparison framework in a case study setting. Optimal strategies were selected based on the results of a priori comparisons in a clinical data set and the performance of models built according to each strategy was assessed using the Brier score and calibration plots. The performance of modelling strategies was highly dependent on the characteristics of the development data in both linear and logistic regression settings. A priori comparisons in four empirical data sets found that no strategy consistently outperformed the others. The percentage of times that a model adjustment strategy outperformed a logistic model ranged from 3.9 to 94.9 %, depending on the strategy and data set. However, in our case study setting the a priori selection of optimal methods did not result in detectable improvement in model performance when assessed in an external data set. The performance of prediction modelling strategies is a data-dependent process and can be highly variable between data sets within the same clinical domain. A priori strategy comparison can be used to determine an optimal logistic regression modelling strategy for a given data set before selecting a final modelling approach.

Rhetorical, Metacognitive, and Cognitive Strategies in Teacher Candidates’ Essay Writing

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Claudio Díaz Larenas

2017-07-01

Full Text Available This paper reports on a study about the rhetoric, metacognitive, and cognitive strategies pre-service teachers use before and after a process-based writing intervention when completing an argumentative essay. The data were collected through two think-aloud protocols while 21 Chilean English as a foreign language pre-service teachers completed an essay task. The findings show that strategies such as summarizing, reaffirming, and selecting ideas were only evidenced during the post intervention essay, without the use of communication and socio-affective strategies in either of the two essays. All in all, a process-based writing intervention does not only influence the number of times a strategy is used, but also the number of students who employs strategies when writing an essay—two key considerations for the devising of any writing program.

Selective catalyst reduction light-off strategy

Science.gov (United States)

Gonze, Eugene V [Pinckney, MI

2011-10-18

An emissions control system includes a temperature determination module and an emissions control module. The temperature determination module determines a first temperature of a heater element of a diesel particulate filter (DPF) assembly in an exhaust system and determines a second temperature of a catalyst of the DPF assembly. The emissions control module selectively activates the heater element, selectively initiates a predefined combustion process in an engine based upon the first temperature, and selectively starts a reductant injection process based upon the second temperature.

The influence of elements of synchronized swimming on technique of the selected swimming strokes

OpenAIRE

Široký, Michal

2015-01-01

Title: The influence of elements of synchronized swimming on technique of the selected swimming strokes Objectives: The objective of the thesis is to assess the effect of the elements of synchronized swimming at improving the techniques of swimming. Methods: The results were detected by overt observation with active participation and subsequent scaling on the ordinal scale 1 to 5. Results: The results show that the influence of the elements of synchronized swimming on improving the technique ...

Influence of plug-in hybrid electric vehicle charging strategies on charging and battery degradation costs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lunz, Benedikt; Yan, Zexiong; Gerschler, Jochen Bernhard; Sauer, Dirk Uwe

2012-01-01

The profitability of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) is significantly influenced by battery aging and electricity costs. Therefore a simulation model for PHEVs in the distribution grid is presented which allows to compare the influence of different charging strategies on these costs. The simulation is based on real-world driving behavior and European Energy Exchange (EEX) intraday prices for obtaining representative results. The analysis of comprehensive lithium-ion battery aging tests performed within this study shows that especially high battery states of charge (SOCs) decrease battery lifetime, whereas the cycling of batteries at medium SOCs only has a minor contribution to aging. Charging strategies that take into account the previously mentioned effects are introduced, and the SOC distributions and cycle loads of the vehicle battery are investigated. It can be shown that appropriate charging strategies significantly increase battery lifetime and reduce charging costs at the same time. Possible savings due to lifetime extension of the vehicle battery are approximately two times higher than revenues due to energy trading. The findings of this work indicate that car manufacturers and energy/mobility providers have to make efforts for developing intelligent charging strategies to reduce mobility costs and thus foster the introduction of electric mobility. - Highlights: ► Modeling of PHEVs based on real-world driving behavior and electricity prices. ► Consideration of battery degradation for the calculation of mobility costs. ► Smart charging decreases battery degradation and electricity costs simultaneously. ► Reduction of battery degradation costs is around two times higher than reduction of electricity costs.

Politicking information technology strategy in organisations: A case study of a selected organisation in South Africa

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael Twum-Darko

2015-06-01

Full Text Available The paper discusses the impact of organisational polities on IT strategy formulation and implementation in an organisation. The objective is to determine the extent of organisational polities on strategy implementation in an organisation. The paper considered the interplay between stakeholders in influencing IT strategy formulation and implementation in an organisation as a socially constructed phenomenon. Thus, the phenomenon can be interpreted and understood by using social theories such Structuration Theory. Hence the paper adopted ANT as a lens through which to understand and interpret the sociotechnical processes associated with IT strategy formulation and implementation in an organisation. Through IT strategy, many organisations attempt to set out key directions and objectives for the use and management of information, communication and technologies. A shared view among these organisations is that IT strategy allows all parts of the organisation to gain a shared understanding of priorities, goals and objectives for both current and future states as defined in the organisational strategy. It is therefore arguable that IT strategy, for the foreseeable future will remain a key aspect of development within organisations. As a result, there has been more focus on how IT strategy is formulated and articulated. What is missing though, is less attention to the implementation of it. Using interpretive research philosophy and employing semi-structured interviews as data collection instrument, this paper attempts to suggest a matrix that will assist organisation to comprehend and deal with organisational politics to reduce its negative impact on IT strategy formulation and implementation in an organisation

The perceived influence of diversity factors on effective strategy implementation in a higher education institution

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

K. Strydom

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Managing diversity is one of the major challenges in higher education institutions in South Africa. Additionally, effective strategy implementation is vital for an institution to be successful and sustainable. Questionnaires were distributed to the management of Walter Sisulu University, South Africa, to investigate the relationship between diversity factors and effective strategy implementation. The questionnaires interrogated the effect of the acculturation process, the degree of structural integration, the degree of informal integration, institutional bias and intergroup conflict, and how these factors influence strategy implementation. Structural equation modelling (SEM was employed as the statistical tool to confirm the hypothetical model. Results of this study revealed that there is no statistically significant relationship between diversity and strategy implementation at the institution, and imply that diversity among staff do not impact on the successful achievement of strategic objectives in the institution. The findings of the study are contrary to empirical evidence by other studies. Keywords: Education, Sociology, Political science, Psychology

A Leaders’s Influence on the Definition and Implementation of Strategy in Organizations

OpenAIRE

Sladana Vujicic; Mirjana Radovic Markovic; Dragan Ivkovic; Zorana Nikitovic

2014-01-01

In modern business conditions, the success of an organization is connected to the leader skills and abilities. Leadership becomes more important every day due to the requests of a turbulent and variable environment which can be satisfied only by organizations led by leaders able to harmonize the leading of the organization with the real situation within it. Thus leaders, through their behavior and skills influence, define and implement organization strategy to a large extent.

The influence of encoding strategy on episodic memory and cortical activity in schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Bonner-Jackson, Aaron; Haut, Kristen; Csernansky, John G; Barch, Deanna M

2005-07-01

Recent work suggests that episodic memory deficits in schizophrenia may be related to disturbances of encoding or retrieval. Schizophrenia patients appear to benefit from instruction in episodic memory strategies. We tested the hypothesis that providing effective encoding strategies to schizophrenia patients enhances encoding-related brain activity and recognition performance. Seventeen schizophrenia patients and 26 healthy comparison subjects underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging scans while performing incidental encoding tasks of words and faces. Subjects were required to make either deep (abstract/concrete) or shallow (alphabetization) judgments for words and deep (gender) judgments for faces, followed by subsequent recognition tests. Schizophrenia and comparison subjects recognized significantly more words encoded deeply than shallowly, activated regions in inferior frontal cortex (Brodmann area 45/47) typically associated with deep and successful encoding of words, and showed greater left frontal activation for the processing of words compared with faces. However, during deep encoding and material-specific processing (words vs. faces), participants with schizophrenia activated regions not activated by control subjects, including several in prefrontal cortex. Our findings suggest that a deficit in use of effective strategies influences episodic memory performance in schizophrenia and that abnormalities in functional brain activation persist even when such strategies are applied.

Fidelity of HIS4 start codon selection influences 3-Amino-1,2,4 ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Pankaj Alone

Fidelity of HIS4 start codon selection influences 3-Amino-1,2,4-Triazole (3AT) .... media in presence or absence of 3AT and harvested at 6000xg at room ..... The overnight cultures were serially diluted (with O.D600 of 0.5, 0.05, 0.005, 0.0005,.

Travelling green : Variables influencing students’ intention to select a green hotel

OpenAIRE

Lindqvist, Julia; Andersson, Mikaela

2015-01-01

Problematization: Tourism has a major impact on the environment. However, there is a conflict of interest making it difficult for the hotel business to decrease this impact. On the one hand, there is a pressure for environmentally friendly behaviour from society. On the other hand, the customers want to be pampered during their hotel stay. This makes it necessary to further investigate what influences customers’ intention to select a green hotel. Therefore this thesis examines students’ inten...

The Influence of Individual and Situational Factors on Children's Choice of a Conflict Management Strategy

Science.gov (United States)

Tamm, Anni; Tõugu, Pirko; Tulviste, Tiia

2014-01-01

Research Findings: The aim of the present study was to investigate the influence of individual and situational factors on nursery school children's conflict management strategies. This observational study of triadic interaction was carried out among 69 children whose mean age was 48 months. The video-recorded data were coded for the type of…

Influences of selective adaptation on perception of audiovisual speech

Science.gov (United States)

Dias, James W.; Cook, Theresa C.; Rosenblum, Lawrence D.

2016-01-01

Research suggests that selective adaptation in speech is a low-level process dependent on sensory-specific information shared between the adaptor and test-stimuli. However, previous research has only examined how adaptors shift perception of unimodal test stimuli, either auditory or visual. In the current series of experiments, we investigated whether adaptation to cross-sensory phonetic information can influence perception of integrated audio-visual phonetic information. We examined how selective adaptation to audio and visual adaptors shift perception of speech along an audiovisual test continuum. This test-continuum consisted of nine audio-/ba/-visual-/va/ stimuli, ranging in visual clarity of the mouth. When the mouth was clearly visible, perceivers “heard” the audio-visual stimulus as an integrated “va” percept 93.7% of the time (e.g., McGurk & MacDonald, 1976). As visibility of the mouth became less clear across the nine-item continuum, the audio-visual “va” percept weakened, resulting in a continuum ranging in audio-visual percepts from /va/ to /ba/. Perception of the test-stimuli was tested before and after adaptation. Changes in audiovisual speech perception were observed following adaptation to visual-/va/ and audiovisual-/va/, but not following adaptation to auditory-/va/, auditory-/ba/, or visual-/ba/. Adaptation modulates perception of integrated audio-visual speech by modulating the processing of sensory-specific information. The results suggest that auditory and visual speech information are not completely integrated at the level of selective adaptation. PMID:27041781

Smoking-based selection and influence in gender-segregated friendship networks: a social network analysis of adolescent smoking.

Science.gov (United States)

Mercken, Liesbeth; Snijders, Tom A B; Steglich, Christian; Vertiainen, Erkki; de Vries, Hein

2010-07-01

The main goal of this study was to examine differences between adolescent male and female friendship networks regarding smoking-based selection and influence processes using newly developed social network analysis methods that allow the current state of continuously changing friendship networks to act as a dynamic constraint for changes in smoking behaviour, while allowing current smoking behaviour to be simultaneously a dynamic constraint for changes in friendship networks. Longitudinal design with four measurements. Nine junior high schools in Finland. A total of 1163 adolescents (mean age = 13.6 years) who participated in the control group of the ESFA (European Smoking prevention Framework Approach) study, including 605 males and 558 females. Smoking behaviour of adolescents, parents, siblings and friendship ties. Smoking-based selection of friends was found in male as well as female networks. However, support for influence among friends was found only in female networks. Furthermore, females and males were both influenced by parental smoking behaviour. In Finnish adolescents, both male and female smokers tend to select other smokers as friends but it appears that only females are influenced to smoke by their peer group. This suggests that prevention campaigns targeting resisting peer pressure may be more effective in adolescent girls than boys.

Optimization of pocket machining strategy in HSM

OpenAIRE

Msaddek, El Bechir; Bouaziz, Zoubeir; Dessein, Gilles; Baili, Maher

2012-01-01

International audience; Our two major concerns, which should be taken into consideration as soon as we start the selecting the machining parameters, are the minimization of the machining time and the maintaining of the high-speed machining machine in good state. The manufacturing strategy is one of the parameters which practically influences the time of the different geometrical forms manufacturing, as well as the machine itself. In this article, we propose an optimization methodology of the ...

Chronic Periprosthetic Hip Joint Infection. A Retrospective, Observational Study on the Treatment Strategy and Prognosis in 130 Non-Selected Patients

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lange, Jeppe; Troelsen, Anders; Søballe, Kjeld

2016-01-01

INTRODUCTION: Limited information is available regarding the treatment strategy and prognosis of non-selected patients treated for chronic periprosthetic hip joint infection. Such information is important as no head-to-head studies on treatment strategies are available. The purpose of this study...... is to report on the treatment strategy and prognosis of a non-selected, consecutive patient population. METHODS: We identified 130 patients in the National Patient Registry, consecutively treated for a chronic periprosthetic hip joint infection between 2003-2008 at 11 departments of orthopaedic surgery. We...... extracted information regarding patient demographics, treatment and outcome. 82 patients were re-implanted in a two-stage revision (national standard), the remaining 48 were not re-implanted in a two-stage revision. We were able to collect up-to-date information on all patients to date of death or medical...

PERFORMANCE OF SELECTED PRE-HARVEST AND POST-HARVEST CORN AND SOYBEAN MARKETING STRATEGIES VS. ALTERNATIVE MARKET BENCHMARKS

OpenAIRE

Blue, E. Neal; Wisner, Robert N.; Baldwin, E. Dean

2004-01-01

This study was undertaken to update earlier work by the authors that analyzed selected preharvest pricing strategies utilizing options markets to establish a price floor for part of the crop in the spring, with additional pricing done by use of short hedges in early summer. The timing of implementing these strategies was moved back to late February if the previous year's U.S. crop was a weather-induced short crop. A weather-induced short crop as opposed to a government program induced short c...

Different hunting strategies select for different weights in red deer

Science.gov (United States)

Martínez, María; Rodríguez-Vigal, Carlos; Jones, Owen R; Coulson, Tim; Miguel, Alfonso San

2005-01-01

Much insight can be derived from records of shot animals. Most researchers using such data assume that their data represents a random sample of a particular demographic class. However, hunters typically select a non-random subset of the population and hunting is, therefore, not a random process. Here, with red deer (Cervus elaphus) hunting data from a ranch in Toledo, Spain, we demonstrate that data collection methods have a significant influence upon the apparent relationship between age and weight. We argue that a failure to correct for such methodological bias may have significant consequences for the interpretation of analyses involving weight or correlated traits such as breeding success, and urge researchers to explore methods to identify and correct for such bias in their data. PMID:17148205

Efficacy of MBA: On the Role of Network Effects in Influencing the Selection of Elective Courses

Science.gov (United States)

Roy, Vivek; Parsad, Chandan

2018-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to outline the importance of social network effects in influencing the elective (courses) selection among masters of business administration (MBA) students and its role in influencing the efficacy of MBA. As such, given the enormous time and investment required for students to pursue an MBA and the role of…

Goals and hurdles for a successful implementation of genomic selection in breeding programme for selected annual and perennial crops.

Science.gov (United States)

Jonas, Elisabeth; de Koning, Dirk Jan

Genomic Selection is an important topic in quantitative genetics and breeding. Not only does it allow the full use of current molecular genetic technologies, it stimulates also the development of new methods and models. Genomic selection, if fully implemented in commercial farming, should have a major impact on the productivity of various agricultural systems. But suggested approaches need to be applicable in commercial breeding populations. Many of the published research studies focus on methodologies. We conclude from the reviewed publications, that a stronger focus on strategies for the implementation of genomic selection in advanced breeding lines, introduction of new varieties, hybrids or multi-line crosses is needed. Efforts to find solutions for a better prediction and integration of environmental influences need to continue within applied breeding schemes. Goals of the implementation of genomic selection into crop breeding should be carefully defined and crop breeders in the private sector will play a substantial part in the decision-making process. However, the lack of published results from studies within, or in collaboration with, private companies diminishes the knowledge on the status of genomic selection within applied breeding programmes. Studies on the implementation of genomic selection in plant breeding need to evaluate models and methods with an enhanced emphasis on population-specific requirements and production environments. Adaptation of methods to breeding schemes or changes to breeding programmes for a better integration of genomic selection strategies are needed across species. More openness with a continuous exchange will contribute to successes.

Social capital and employee well-being : Disentangling intrapersonal and interpersonal selection and influence mechanisms

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Agneessens, F.; Wittek, R.P.M.

2008-01-01

We argue that sociological explanations proposed within the social capital framework to explain individual well-being are incomplete because they do not differentiate between interpersonal influence and selection mechanisms, on the one hand, and cognitive intra-personal processes. on the other. To

The Influence of Market Context on Business Strategy, Competitor Imitation and Operational Effectiveness

OpenAIRE

Madalina Balau

2015-01-01

The importance of strategic positioning, along with operational effectiveness, has long been presented as key for the success of the company. There are few studies that highlighted the way in which the market context affects these efforts of the company. The aim of this paper is to explore the influence of the market context on competitor imitation and its further implications on strategy. For this purpose, a literature review was conducted and major concepts were drawn from works...

A novel strategy for selection of allosteric ribozymes yields RiboReporter™ sensors for caffeine and aspartame

Science.gov (United States)

Ferguson, Alicia; Boomer, Ryan M.; Kurz, Markus; Keene, Sara C.; Diener, John L.; Keefe, Anthony D.; Wilson, Charles; Cload, Sharon T.

2004-01-01

We have utilized in vitro selection technology to develop allosteric ribozyme sensors that are specific for the small molecule analytes caffeine or aspartame. Caffeine- or aspartame-responsive ribozymes were converted into fluorescence-based RiboReporter™ sensor systems that were able to detect caffeine or aspartame in solution over a concentration range from 0.5 to 5 mM. With read-times as short as 5 min, these caffeine- or aspartame-dependent ribozymes function as highly specific and facile molecular sensors. Interestingly, successful isolation of allosteric ribozymes for the analytes described here was enabled by a novel selection strategy that incorporated elements of both modular design and activity-based selection methods typically used for generation of catalytic nucleic acids. PMID:15026535

Rich: Region-based Intelligent Cluster-Head Selection and Node Deployment Strategy in Concentric-based WSNs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

FAN, C.-S.

2013-11-01

Full Text Available In a random deployment, sensor nodes are scattered randomly in the sensing field. Hence, the coverage can not be guaranteed. In contrast, the coverage of uniformly deployment is in general larger than the random deployment. However, uniformly deployment strategy may cause unbalanced traffic pattern in wireless sensor networks (WSNs. In this situation, larger load may be imposed to CHs (cluster heads around the sink. Therefore, CHs close to the sink use up their energy earlier than those farther away from the sink. To overcome this problem, we propose a novel node deployment strategy in the concentric model, namely, Region-based Intelligent Cluster-Head selection and node deployment strategy (called Rich. The coverage, energy consumption and data routing issues are well investigated and taken into consideration in the proposed Rich scheme. The simulation results show that the proposed Rich alleviates the unbalanced traffic pattern significantly, prolongs network lifetime and achieves satisfactory coverage ratio.

Generics, Supergenerics and Patent Strategies--SMi's 13th Annual Meeting.

Science.gov (United States)

Edwards, Catherine

2010-07-01

SMi's 13th Annual Meeting on Generics, Supergenerics and Patent Strategies, held in London, included topics covering new trends in the generics field, the difficulties faced by companies in entering the generics market and recent developments in IP. This conference report highlights selected presentations on generics in India, protecting pharmaceutical products in China, changes in generics law and litigation in the US and Europe, challenges for market selection and entry for generics companies, the influence of changes in the healthcare market on the generics industry, supergenerics, and biosimilars.

Influences on selection of assistive technology for young children in South Africa: perspectives from rehabilitation professionals.

Science.gov (United States)

van Niekerk, Karin; Dada, Shakila; Tönsing, Kerstin

2017-12-20

Selection of assistive technology for young children is a complex process. Within a context with limited resources, such as South Africa, research is needed to determine the factors influencing the assistive technology selection process, as these could ultimately either facilitate or hinder the availability and accessibility of affordable, adaptable, acceptable, and high quality assistive technology for this age group. Two asynchronous online focus groups were conducted with 16 rehabilitation professionals to identify the factors they perceived to influence the selection and provision of assistive technology to young children within the South African context. A process of deductive thematic analysis was followed by inductive analysis of the data. Components of the Assistive Technology Device Selection Framework were used as themes to guide the deductive analysis, followed by inductive analysis to create subthemes. The important role of the professional was highlighted in negotiating all the factors to consider in the assistive technology selection and provision process. Adaptation of the Assistive Technology Device Selection Framework is suggested in order to facilitate application to low resourced contexts, such as South Africa. Implications for rehabilitation Assistive technology selection is a complex process with factors pertaining to the users (child and family) of the assistive technology, as well as the rehabilitation professional recommending the assistive technology influencing the process. Although it may be an important factor, the availability of financial resources to purchase assistive technology is not the only determining factor in providing appropriate assistive technology to young children in contexts with limited resources. Formalized support, such as reflective supervision or mentorship programs should be facilitated and utilized by recommending professionals. Home and school visits during assessment ensure a good match between assistive

Infrastructure Analysis of Sazeh Gostar Saipa Outsourcing Company to Select Knowledge Management Strategy: Qualitative Approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

hossein Khanifar

2017-09-01

Full Text Available In today's turbulent business environment, organizations have to make changes in their structure such as outsourcing. This change that is a requirement to provide for the needs of that organization and for competitive advantage can be considered as a new trouble for that organization as well. Because of such changes, an organization may lose the workers' (employee knowledge that is the most important element of the competitive advantage. Thus, the organizations are required to use the most effective knowledge management strategy that is proposed according to the analysis of the key aspects of those organizations. This study examines Sazeh Gostar, the most important suppliers of spare parts for Saipa Automobile Company. At first, the two coding and personalization strategies were applied provided that they were reviewed in the literature. The influential factors were then classified according to McKenzie 7S model. Then, the data were obtained using snowball and targeted sampling from interviews with 9 experts, and through reviewing the company documents. Current status of the company was identified using Theme Analysis. Finally, comparing the influential factors on the company's knowledge management strategy, the appropriate coding strategy was selected.

Comparison of Different Strategies for Selection/Adaptation of Mixed Microbial Cultures Able to Ferment Crude Glycerol Derived from Second-Generation Biodiesel

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Varrone, Cristiano; Heggeset, T. M. B.; Le, S. B.

2015-01-01

Objective of this study was the selection and adaptation of mixed microbial cultures (MMCs), able to ferment crude glycerol generated from animal fat-based biodiesel and produce building-blocks and green chemicals. Various adaptation strategies have been investigated for the enrichment of suitable...... Control. The adaptation of activated sludge inoculum was performed successfully and continued unhindered for several months. The best results showed a substrate degradation efficiency of almost 100% (about 10 g/L glycerol in 21 h) and different dominant metabolic products were obtained, depending...... on the selection strategy (mainly 1,3-propanediol, ethanol, or butyrate). On the other hand, anaerobic sludge exhibited inactivation after a few transfers. To circumvent this problem, fed-batch mode was used as an alternative adaptation strategy, which led to effective substrate degradation and high 1...

The Diffusion of Academic Achievements: Social Selection and Influence in Student Networks

OpenAIRE

Sofia Dokuka; Diliara Valeeva; Maria Yudkevich

2015-01-01

Peer group effects show the influence of student social environments on their individual achievements. Traditionally, a social environment is considered by researchers of peer effects as exogenously given. However, significant peers that affect performance are often those that are deliberately chosen. Students might choose their friends among peers with similar academic achievements. A dynamic analysis of student social networks and academic achievements is needed to disentangle social select...

The Influence of Selected Personality and Workplace Features on Burnout among Nurse Academics

Science.gov (United States)

Kizilci, Sevgi; Erdogan, Vesile; Sozen, Emine

2012-01-01

This study aimed to determine the influence of selected individual and situational features on burnout among nurse academics. The Maslach Burnout Inventory was used to assess the burnout levels of academics. The sample population comprised 94 female participant. The emotion exhaustion (EE) score of the nurse academics was 16.43[plus or minus]5.97,…

Innovation Marketing Strategy of Selected Sporting Events

OpenAIRE

Zezula, Vojtěch

2015-01-01

Cílem bakalářské práce je návrh modernizace marketingové strategie, která je tvořena za pomocí dat získaných z předešlého ročníku Moravské ligy Taekwon-Do ITF. Úvodní část práce obsahuje teoretická východiska, která jsou nezbytná ke zpracování praktické části. Objasňuje terminologii marketingu, marketingové strategie. Praktická část je následně tvořena analýzou předchozího ročníku, přičemž výsledky slouží jako podklady pro samotnou inovaci marketingové strategie. The aim of this thesis is ...

Treatment decision-making strategies and influences in patients with localized prostate carcinoma.

Science.gov (United States)

Gwede, Clement K; Pow-Sang, Julio; Seigne, John; Heysek, Randy; Helal, Mohamed; Shade, Kristin; Cantor, Alan; Jacobsen, Paul B

2005-10-01

Patients diagnosed with localized prostate carcinoma need to interpret complicated medical information to make an informed treatment selection from among treatments that have comparable efficacy but differing side effects. The authors reported initial results for treatment decision-making strategies among men receiving definitive treatment for localized prostate carcinoma. One hundred nineteen men treated with radical prostatectomy (44%) or brachytherapy (56%) consented to participate. Guided by a cognitive-affective theoretic framework, the authors assessed differences in decision-making strategies, and treatment and disease-relevant beliefs and affects, in addition to demographic and clinical variables. Approximately half of patients reported difficulty (49%) and distress (45%) while making treatment decisions, but no regrets (74%) regarding the treatment choice they made. Patients who underwent prostatectomy were younger, were more likely to be employed, had worse tumor grade, and had a shorter time since diagnosis (P Decision-making aids or other interventions to reduce decisional difficulty and emotional distress during decision making were indicated.

Sexual selection is influenced by both developmental and adult environments.

Science.gov (United States)

Gillespie, Stephanie R; Scarlett Tudor, M; Moore, Allen J; Miller, Christine W

2014-12-01

Sexual selection is often assumed to be strong and consistent, yet increasing research shows it can fluctuate over space and time. Few experimental studies have examined changes in sexual selection in response to natural environmental variation. Here, we use a difference in resource quality to test for the influence of past environmental conditions and current environmental conditions on male and female mate choice and resulting selection gradients for leaf-footed cactus bugs, Narnia femorata. We raised juveniles on natural high- and low-quality diets, cactus pads with and without ripe cactus fruits. New adults were again assigned a cactus pad with or without fruit, paired with a potential mate, and observed for mating behaviors. We found developmental and adult encounter environments affected mating decisions and the resulting patterns of sexual selection for both males and females. Males were not choosy in the low-quality encounter environment, cactus without fruit, but they avoided mating with small females in the high-quality encounter environment. Females were choosy in both encounter environments, avoiding mating with small males. However, they were the choosiest when they were in the low-quality encounter environment. Female mate choice was also context dependent by male developmental environment. Females were more likely to mate with males that had developed on cactus with fruit when they were currently in the cactus with fruit environment. This pattern disappeared when females were in the cactus without fruit environment. Altogether, these results experimentally demonstrate context-dependent mate choice by both males and females. Furthermore, we demonstrate that simple, seasonal changes in resources can lead to fluctuations in sexual selection. © 2014 The Author(s). Evolution © 2014 The Society for the Study of Evolution.

Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation in early adolescents' friendship development: friendship selection, influence, and prospective friendship quality.

Science.gov (United States)

Ojanen, Tiina; Sijtsema, Jelle J; Hawley, Patricia H; Little, Todd D

2010-12-01

Friendships are essential for adolescent social development. However, they may be pursued for varying motives, which, in turn, may predict similarity in friendships via social selection or social influence processes, and likely help to explain friendship quality. We examined the effect of early adolescents' (N = 374, 12-14 years) intrinsic and extrinsic friendship motivation on friendship selection and social influence by utilizing social network modeling. In addition, longitudinal relations among motivation and friendship quality were estimated with structural equation modeling. Extrinsic motivation predicted activity in making friendship nominations during the sixth grade and lower friendship quality across time. Intrinsic motivation predicted inactivity in making friendship nominations during the sixth, popularity as a friend across the transition to middle school, and higher friendship quality across time. Social influence effects were observed for both motives, but were more pronounced for intrinsic motivation. Copyright © 2010 The Association for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Agent Based Simulation of Group Emotions Evolution and Strategy Intervention in Extreme Events

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bo Li

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Agent based simulation method has become a prominent approach in computational modeling and analysis of public emergency management in social science research. The group emotions evolution, information diffusion, and collective behavior selection make extreme incidents studies a complex system problem, which requires new methods for incidents management and strategy evaluation. This paper studies the group emotion evolution and intervention strategy effectiveness using agent based simulation method. By employing a computational experimentation methodology, we construct the group emotion evolution as a complex system and test the effects of three strategies. In addition, the events-chain model is proposed to model the accumulation influence of the temporal successive events. Each strategy is examined through three simulation experiments, including two make-up scenarios and a real case study. We show how various strategies could impact the group emotion evolution in terms of the complex emergence and emotion accumulation influence in extreme events. This paper also provides an effective method of how to use agent-based simulation for the study of complex collective behavior evolution problem in extreme incidents, emergency, and security study domains.

Assessing the Influence of Stakeholders on Sustainability Marketing Strategy of Indian Companies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vinod Kumar

2016-09-01

Full Text Available The present research is aimed at analyzing and evaluating the influence of key stakeholders on sustainability marketing strategies (SMSs of multi-industry Indian companies. The study objective is achieved in several phases, including development of typology of SMS of Indian companies, identification and classification of stakeholders, and evaluation of influence of various stakeholders on SMS of Indian companies. To achieve these objectives, data were collected from Business Standard 1,000 companies through email survey, and 153 complete responses were received. Empirical evidence shows that most of the Indian companies are either undecided about or uninterested in adopting sustainability marketing (SM practices, or are not showing their interest in adopting sustainability. Findings further reveal that stakeholders exert environmental, social, and economic pressures on Indian companies; managers of Indian companies feel considerable pressure from environmental stakeholders for adopting SMS, while the pressure from social and economic stakeholders is comparatively less. The study will help managers manage stakeholders effectively while formulating SMSs.

Selection - factors and influences on training

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bruno, R.J.; Mascitti, A.P.

1987-01-01

Personnel performance is certainly the goal of training programs and the impact of personnel performance on plant performance indicators is well known. This presentation discusses the selection of personnel prior to training and emphasizes the need for selection criteria to include aptitude intelligence, mechanical ability, work ethic, and emotional stability. Selected data is presented from Point Beach that support a rigorous selection and screening program to ensure training successfully prepared these personnel for job assignments

Same task, different strategies: how brain networks can be influenced by memory strategy.

Science.gov (United States)

Sanfratello, Lori; Caprihan, Arvind; Stephen, Julia M; Knoefel, Janice E; Adair, John C; Qualls, Clifford; Lundy, S Laura; Aine, Cheryl J

2014-10-01

Previous functional neuroimaging studies demonstrated that different neural networks underlie different types of cognitive processing by engaging participants in particular tasks, such as verbal or spatial working memory (WM) tasks. However, we report here that even when a WM task is defined as verbal or spatial, different types of memory strategies may be used to complete it, with concomitant variations in brain activity. We developed a questionnaire to characterize the type of strategy used by individual members in a group of 28 young healthy participants (18-25 years) during a spatial WM task. A cluster analysis was performed to differentiate groups. We acquired functional magnetoencephalography and structural diffusion tensor imaging measures to characterize the brain networks associated with the use of different strategies. We found two types of strategies were used during the spatial WM task, a visuospatial and a verbal strategy, and brain regions and time courses of activation differed between participants who used each. Task performance also varied by type of strategy used with verbal strategies showing an advantage. In addition, performance on neuropsychological tests (indices from Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-IV, Rey Complex Figure Test) correlated significantly with fractional anisotropy measures for the visuospatial strategy group in white matter tracts implicated in other WM and attention studies. We conclude that differences in memory strategy can have a pronounced effect on the locations and timing of brain activation and that these differences need further investigation as a possible confounding factor for studies using group averaging as a means for summarizing results. Copyright © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Organizational strategy influence on visual memory performance after stroke: cortical/subcortical and left/right hemisphere contrasts.

Science.gov (United States)

Lange, G; Waked, W; Kirshblum, S; DeLuca, J

2000-01-01

To examine how organizational strategy at encoding influences visual memory performance in stroke patients. Case control study. Postacute rehabilitation hospital. Stroke patients with right hemisphere damage (n = 20) versus left hemisphere damage (n = 15), and stroke patients with cortical damage (n = 11) versus subcortical damage (n = 19). Organizational strategy scores, recall performance on the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure (ROCF). Results demonstrated significantly greater organizational impairment and less accurate copy performance (i.e., encoding of visuospatial information on the ROCF) in the right compared to the left hemisphere group, and in the cortical relative to the subcortical group. Organizational strategy and copy accuracy scores were significantly related to each other. The absolute amount of immediate and delayed recall was significantly associated with poor organizational strategy scores. However, relative to the amount of visual information originally encoded, memory performances did not differ between groups. These findings suggest that visual memory impairments after stroke may be caused by a lack of organizational strategy affecting information encoding, rather than an impairment in memory storage or retrieval.

Influence of selection versus lifestyle on risk of fatal cancer and cardiovascular disease among Seventh-day Adventists.

Science.gov (United States)

Phillips, R L; Kuzma, J W; Beeson, W L; Lotz, T

1980-08-01

The authors examine the influence of selection versus life-style on mortality from various causes for a population of 23,000 California Seventh-Day Adventists. The data are compared with data from a control group of 112,726 other Californians. The selective factors considered include education, occupation, and marital status

Site selection for controversial projects: reflections on the MRS experience

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sigmon, E.B.; Marland, G.

1987-01-01

Projects for waste management, power production, and a host of other socially useful functions frequently falter because of local opposition. Students of the siting dilemma have prescribed accommodation of local interests through negotiation and compensation, but they offer little advice on the site selection itself. The negotiated compensation approach to siting frequently fails because localities refuse to negotiate. The authors argue that methods of site selection and developers' initial stance toward local communities affect communities' propensity to negotiate. Site selection strategies and their influence on project acceptability are examined, using the Department of Energy's Monitored Retrievable Storage proposal as a point of departure. 14 refs

Parent, Peer, and Media Influences on Body Image and Strategies to Both Increase and Decrease Body Size among Adolescent Boys and Girls.

Science.gov (United States)

McCabe, Marita P.; Ricciardelli, Lina A.

2001-01-01

Investigated the nature of body image and body change strategies, as well as sociocultural influences on these variables, among a group of 1,266 adolescents. Findings indicated females were less satisfied with their bodies and were more likely to adopt strategies to lose weight, whereas males were likely to adopt strategies to increase weight and…

Investigating product development strategy in beverage industry using factor analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Naser Azad

2013-03-01

Full Text Available Selecting a product development strategy that is associated with the company's current service or product innovation, based on customers’ needs and changing environment, plays an important role in increasing demand, increasing market share, increasing sales and profits. Therefore, it is important to extract effective variables associated with product development to improve performance measurement of firms. This paper investigates important factors influencing product development strategies using factor analysis. The proposed model of this paper investigates 36 factors and, using factor analysis, we extract six most influential factors including information sharing, intelligence information, exposure strategy, differentiation, research and development strategy and market survey. The first strategy, partnership, includes five sub-factor including product development partnership, partnership with foreign firms, customers’ perception from competitors’ products, Customer involvement in product development, inter-agency coordination, customer-oriented approach to innovation and transmission of product development change where inter-agency coordination has been considered the most important factor. Internal strengths are the most influential factors impacting the second strategy, intelligence information. The third factor, introducing strategy, introducing strategy, includes four sub criteria and consumer buying behavior is the most influencing factor. Differentiation is the next important factor with five components where knowledge and expertise in product innovation is the most important one. Research and development strategy with four sub-criteria where reducing product development cycle plays the most influential factor and finally, market survey strategy is the last important factor with three factors and finding new market plays the most important role.

10-Year Mortality Outcome of a Routine Invasive Strategy Versus a Selective Invasive Strategy in Non-ST-Segment Elevation Acute Coronary Syndrome: The British Heart Foundation RITA-3 Randomized Trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Henderson, Robert A; Jarvis, Christopher; Clayton, Tim; Pocock, Stuart J; Fox, Keith A A

2015-08-04

The RITA-3 (Third Randomised Intervention Treatment of Angina) trial compared outcomes of a routine early invasive strategy (coronary arteriography and myocardial revascularization, as clinically indicated) to those of a selective invasive strategy (coronary arteriography for recurrent ischemia only) in patients with non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndrome (NSTEACS). At a median of 5 years' follow-up, the routine invasive strategy was associated with a 24% reduction in the odds of all-cause mortality. This study reports 10-year follow-up outcomes of the randomized cohort to determine the impact of a routine invasive strategy on longer-term mortality. We randomized 1,810 patients with NSTEACS to receive routine invasive or selective invasive strategies. All randomized patients had annual follow-up visits up to 5 years, and mortality was documented thereafter using data from the Office of National Statistics. Over 10 years, there were no differences in mortality between the 2 groups (all-cause deaths in 225 [25.1%] vs. 232 patients [25.4%]: p = 0.94; and cardiovascular deaths in 135 [15.1%] vs. 147 patients [16.1%]: p = 0.65 in the routine invasive and selective invasive groups, respectively). Multivariate analysis identified several independent predictors of 10-year mortality: age, previous myocardial infarction, heart failure, smoking status, diabetes, heart rate, and ST-segment depression. A modified post-discharge Global Registry of Acute Coronary Events (GRACE) score was used to calculate an individual risk score for each patient and to form low-risk, medium-risk, and high-risk groups. Risk of death within 10 years varied markedly from 14.4 % in the low-risk group to 56.2% in the high-risk group. This mortality trend did not depend on the assigned treatment strategy. The advantage of reduced mortality of routine early invasive strategy seen at 5 years was attenuated during later follow-up, with no evidence of a difference in outcome at 10 years

Bottom-up influences of voice continuity in focusing selective auditory attention.

Science.gov (United States)

Bressler, Scott; Masud, Salwa; Bharadwaj, Hari; Shinn-Cunningham, Barbara

2014-01-01

Selective auditory attention causes a relative enhancement of the neural representation of important information and suppression of the neural representation of distracting sound, which enables a listener to analyze and interpret information of interest. Some studies suggest that in both vision and in audition, the "unit" on which attention operates is an object: an estimate of the information coming from a particular external source out in the world. In this view, which object ends up in the attentional foreground depends on the interplay of top-down, volitional attention and stimulus-driven, involuntary attention. Here, we test the idea that auditory attention is object based by exploring whether continuity of a non-spatial feature (talker identity, a feature that helps acoustic elements bind into one perceptual object) also influences selective attention performance. In Experiment 1, we show that perceptual continuity of target talker voice helps listeners report a sequence of spoken target digits embedded in competing reversed digits spoken by different talkers. In Experiment 2, we provide evidence that this benefit of voice continuity is obligatory and automatic, as if voice continuity biases listeners by making it easier to focus on a subsequent target digit when it is perceptually linked to what was already in the attentional foreground. Our results support the idea that feature continuity enhances streaming automatically, thereby influencing the dynamic processes that allow listeners to successfully attend to objects through time in the cacophony that assails our ears in many everyday settings.

The influence of gender on performance in mathematics in in the ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The influence of gender on performance in mathematics in in the foundation phase: the perceptions of selected teachers in a specific school. ... Again, the study has suggested strategies to encourage girls to do mathematics so as to improve their chances of following career options in engineering, accounting, medicine, ...

The effect of peer influence and selection processes on adolescent alcohol use: a systematic review of longitudinal studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Leung, Rachel K; Toumbourou, John W; Hemphill, Sheryl A

2014-01-01

Adolescent alcohol use remains an important public health concern. One of the most salient and consistent predictors for drinking behaviour among young people is peer influence. A systematic review of longitudinal studies that examined the effect of peer influence on adolescent alcohol use between January 1997 and February 2011 is presented. Twenty-two studies fulfilled inclusion criteria and were reviewed. All but one study confirmed affiliation with alcohol-using or deviant peers as prospective predictors for the development of adolescent alcohol use. Findings revealed that existing longitudinal studies that have used multivariate analytic techniques to segregate peer influence (whereby adolescents start drinking after exposure to alcohol-using friends) and peer selection (whereby adolescents that start drinking without alcohol-using friends subsequently seek out drinking peers) effects consistently report significant peer influence effects. However, studies are unable to elucidate the relative contribution and developmental sequence of peer influence and selection. Existing research is synthesised to model the developmental influence of peer processes on adolescent alcohol use. Future research directions are recommended to inform better designed investigations that can lead to more effective endeavours to address peer processes in prevention efforts.

Analysis of the portfolio of sites to characterize for selecting a nuclear repository

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Keeney, R.L.

1987-01-01

The US Department of Energy has selected three sites, from five nominated, to characterize for a nuclear repository to permanently dispose of nuclear waste. This decision was made without the benefit of an analysis of this portfolio problem. This paper analyzes different portfolios of three sites for simultaneous characterization and strategies for sequential characterization. Characterization of each site, which involves significant subsurface excavation, is now estimated to cost $1 billion. Mainly because of the high characterization costs, sequential characterization strategies are identified which are the equivalent of $1.7-2.0 billion less expensive than the selected DOE simultaneous characterization of the three sites. If three sites are simultaneously characterized, one portfolio is estimated to be the equivalent of $100-400 million better than the selected DOE portfolio. Because of these potential savings and several other complicating factors that may influence the relative desirability of characterization strategies, a thorough analysis of characterization strategies that addresses the likelihood of finding disqualifying conditions during site characterization, uncertainties, and dependencies in forecast site repository costs, preclosure and postclosure health and safety impacts, potential delays of both sequential and simultaneous characterization strategies, and the environmental, socioeconomic, and health and safety impacts of characterization activities is recommended

The Perception of the stakeholders influences strategies and its relation with the generic strategy: case study in small business enterprises of the north coast of Santa Catarina State

OpenAIRE

Carlos Alberto Freitas; Valmir Emil Hoffmann

2012-01-01

The purpose of the present study is to analyze the relationship between the stakeholders’ influence strategy perception and the generic strategy in the small business enterprises in the cities of the North Coast of Santa Catarina, according to the typologies proposed. The work, which has a predominantly quantitative nature, was realized in 148 (one hundred and forty-eight) business enterprises and services, by means of the application of three questionnaires in each company. The results fou...

Global Strategy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Li, Peter Ping

2013-01-01

Global strategy differs from domestic strategy in terms of content and process as well as context and structure. The content of global strategy can contain five key elements, while the process of global strategy can have six major stages. These are expounded below. Global strategy is influenced...... by rich and complementary local contexts with diverse resource pools and game rules at the national level to form a broad ecosystem at the global level. Further, global strategy dictates the interaction or balance between different entry strategies at the levels of internal and external networks....

Life cycle assessment-driven selection of industrial ecology strategies.

Science.gov (United States)

Ardente, Fulvio; Cellura, Maurizio; Lo Brano, Valerio; Mistretta, Marina

2010-01-01

The paper presents an application of the Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA) to the planning and environmental management of an “eco-industrial cluster.” A feasibility study of industrial symbiosis in southern Italy is carried out, where interlinked companies share subproducts and scraps, services, structures, and plants to reduce the related environmental impact. In particular, the research focuses on new recycling solutions to create open recycling loops in which plastic subproducts and scraps are transferred to external production systems. The main environmental benefits are the reduction of resource depletion, air emissions, and landfilled wastes. The proposed strategies are also economically viable and they suggest cost abatement for the involved companies. This research shows the need for a multidisciplinary approach to data processing and to complexity managing of the investigated systems. In this context, life-cycle thinking is required to be promoted throughout the economy, as well to be as a part of all decisions on products and other criteria such as functionality, health, and safety. The Life-Cycle Assessment approach can be assumed as a methodology for influencing decision makers to make sustainable choices.

Stakeholder influence in public sector information systems strategy implementation-The case of public hospitals in South Africa.

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Hwabamungu, Boroto; Brown, Irwin; Williams, Quentin

2018-01-01

Recent literature on organisational strategy has called for greater emphasis on individuals (stakeholders) and what they do in the process of strategizing. Public sector organisations have to engage with an array of heterogeneous stakeholders in fulfilling their mandate. The public health sector in particular needs to engage with a diversity of stakeholders at local, regional and national levels when strategising. The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of stakeholder relations on the implementation of Information Systems (IS) strategy in public hospitals in South Africa. An interpretive approach using two provinces was employed. The Activity Analysis and Development (ActAD) framework, an enhanced form of activity theory, was used as the theoretical framework. Data was collected using semi-structured interviews, meetings, documents analysis, physical artefacts and observation. The collected data was analysed using thematic analysis. Findings reveal that IS strategy implementation in public hospitals involves a large and complex network of stakeholder groups at different levels, and over different time periods. These stakeholder groups act in accordance with formal and informal roles, rules and modalities. Various contextual conditions together with the actions of, and interactions between stakeholder groups give rise to the situationality of stakeholder relations dynamics and strategy implementation. The multiple actions and interactions over time lead to the realisation of some aspects of the IS strategy in public hospitals. Given the complexity and dynamism of the context there are also certain unplanned implementations as well. These relationships are captured in a Stakeholder Relations Influence (SRI) framework. The SRI framework can be assistive in the assessment and mapping of stakeholders and stakeholder relations, and the assessment of the implications of these relations for effective IS strategy implementation in public hospitals. The

The Influence of Gender on the Likelihood of Using Soft Social Power Strategies in School Consultation

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Getty, Kimberly C.; Erchul, William P.

2009-01-01

The social power typology developed originally by French and Raven in 1959 and revised by Raven in 1965 and 1992 was applied to study school consultation. Specifically, we investigated how the gender of school psychologist consultants and teacher consultees influence how likely consultants are to use soft power strategies, identified as those…

The moderating effects of job control and selection, optimization, and compensation strategies on the age-work ability relationship

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Weigl, Matthias; Mueller, Andreas; Hornung, Severin; Zacher, Hannes; Angerer, Peter

Work ability describes employees' capability to carry out their work with respect to physical and psychological job demands. This study investigated direct and interactive effects of age, job control, and the use of successful aging strategies called selection, optimization, and compensation (SOC)

Investigation of nutrient feeding strategies in a countercurrent mixed-acid multi-staged fermentation: experimental data.

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Smith, Aaron Douglas; Lockman, Nur Ain; Holtzapple, Mark T

2011-06-01

Nutrients are essential for microbial growth and metabolism in mixed-culture acid fermentations. Understanding the influence of nutrient feeding strategies on fermentation performance is necessary for optimization. For a four-bottle fermentation train, five nutrient contacting patterns (single-point nutrient addition to fermentors F1, F2, F3, and F4 and multi-point parallel addition) were investigated. Compared to the traditional nutrient contacting method (all nutrients fed to F1), the near-optimal feeding strategies improved exit yield, culture yield, process yield, exit acetate-equivalent yield, conversion, and total acid productivity by approximately 31%, 39%, 46%, 31%, 100%, and 19%, respectively. There was no statistical improvement in total acid concentration. The traditional nutrient feeding strategy had the highest selectivity and acetate-equivalent selectivity. Total acid productivity depends on carbon-nitrogen ratio.

A Study of Korean EFL Learners' Apology Speech Acts: Strategy and Pragmatic Transfer Influenced by Sociolinguistic Variations.

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Yang, Tae-Kyoung

2002-01-01

Examines how apology speech act strategies frequently used in daily life are transferred in the framework of interlanguage pragmatics and sociolinguistics and how they are influenced by sociolinguistic variations such as social status, social distance, severity of offense, and formal or private relationships. (Author/VWL)

Stochastic noncooperative and cooperative evolutionary game strategies of a population of biological networks under natural selection.

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Chen, Bor-Sen; Yeh, Chin-Hsun

2017-12-01

We review current static and dynamic evolutionary game strategies of biological networks and discuss the lack of random genetic variations and stochastic environmental disturbances in these models. To include these factors, a population of evolving biological networks is modeled as a nonlinear stochastic biological system with Poisson-driven genetic variations and random environmental fluctuations (stimuli). To gain insight into the evolutionary game theory of stochastic biological networks under natural selection, the phenotypic robustness and network evolvability of noncooperative and cooperative evolutionary game strategies are discussed from a stochastic Nash game perspective. The noncooperative strategy can be transformed into an equivalent multi-objective optimization problem and is shown to display significantly improved network robustness to tolerate genetic variations and buffer environmental disturbances, maintaining phenotypic traits for longer than the cooperative strategy. However, the noncooperative case requires greater effort and more compromises between partly conflicting players. Global linearization is used to simplify the problem of solving nonlinear stochastic evolutionary games. Finally, a simple stochastic evolutionary model of a metabolic pathway is simulated to illustrate the procedure of solving for two evolutionary game strategies and to confirm and compare their respective characteristics in the evolutionary process. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Extrapolating Weak Selection in Evolutionary Games

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Wu, Bin; García, Julián; Hauert, Christoph; Traulsen, Arne

2013-01-01

In evolutionary games, reproductive success is determined by payoffs. Weak selection means that even large differences in game outcomes translate into small fitness differences. Many results have been derived using weak selection approximations, in which perturbation analysis facilitates the derivation of analytical results. Here, we ask whether results derived under weak selection are also qualitatively valid for intermediate and strong selection. By “qualitatively valid” we mean that the ranking of strategies induced by an evolutionary process does not change when the intensity of selection increases. For two-strategy games, we show that the ranking obtained under weak selection cannot be carried over to higher selection intensity if the number of players exceeds two. For games with three (or more) strategies, previous examples for multiplayer games have shown that the ranking of strategies can change with the intensity of selection. In particular, rank changes imply that the most abundant strategy at one intensity of selection can become the least abundant for another. We show that this applies already to pairwise interactions for a broad class of evolutionary processes. Even when both weak and strong selection limits lead to consistent predictions, rank changes can occur for intermediate intensities of selection. To analyze how common such games are, we show numerically that for randomly drawn two-player games with three or more strategies, rank changes frequently occur and their likelihood increases rapidly with the number of strategies . In particular, rank changes are almost certain for , which jeopardizes the predictive power of results derived for weak selection. PMID:24339769

Cooperation and charity in spatial public goods game under different strategy update rules

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Yixiao; Jin, Xiaogang; Su, Xianchuang; Kong, Fansheng; Peng, Chengbin

2010-03-01

Human cooperation can be influenced by other human behaviors and recent years have witnessed the flourishing of studying the coevolution of cooperation and punishment, yet the common behavior of charity is seldom considered in game-theoretical models. In this article, we investigate the coevolution of altruistic cooperation and egalitarian charity in spatial public goods game, by considering charity as the behavior of reducing inter-individual payoff differences. Our model is that, in each generation of the evolution, individuals play games first and accumulate payoff benefits, and then each egalitarian makes a charity donation by payoff transfer in its neighborhood. To study the individual-level evolutionary dynamics, we adopt different strategy update rules and investigate their effects on charity and cooperation. These rules can be classified into two global rules: random selection rule in which individuals randomly update strategies, and threshold selection rule where only those with payoffs below a threshold update strategies. Simulation results show that random selection enhances the cooperation level, while threshold selection lowers the threshold of the multiplication factor to maintain cooperation. When charity is considered, it is incapable in promoting cooperation under random selection, whereas it promotes cooperation under threshold selection. Interestingly, the evolution of charity strongly depends on the dispersion of payoff acquisitions of the population, which agrees with previous results. Our work may shed light on understanding human egalitarianism.

Friendship Selection and Influence Processes for Physical Aggression and Prosociality: Differences between Single-Sex and Mixed-Sex Contexts.

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Dijkstra, Jan Kornelis; Berger, Christian

2018-01-01

The present study examined to what extent selection and influence processes for physical aggression and prosociality in friendship networks differed between sex-specific contexts (i.e., all-male, all-female, and mixed-sex classrooms), while controlling for perceived popularity. Whereas selection processes reflect how behaviors shape friendships, influence processes reveal the reversed pattern by indicating how friends affect individual behaviors. Data were derived from a longitudinal sample of early adolescents from Chile. Four all-male classrooms ( n  = 150 male adolescents), four all-female classrooms ( n  = 190 female adolescents), and eight mixed-sex classrooms ( n  = 272 students) were followed one year from grades 5 to 6 ( M age  = 13). Analyses were conducted by means of stochastic-actor-based modeling as implemented in RSIENA. Although it was expected that selection and influence effects for physical aggression and prosociality would vary by context, these effects showed remarkably similar trends across all-male, all-female, and mixed-sex classrooms, with physical aggression reducing and with prosociality increasing the number of nominations received as best friend in all-male and particularly all-female classrooms. Further, perceived popularity increased the number of friendship nominations received in all contexts. Influence processes were only found for perceived popularity, but not for physical aggression and prosociality in any of the three contexts. Together, these findings highlight the importance of both behaviors for friendship selection independent of sex-specific contexts, attenuating the implications of these gendered behaviors for peer relations.

The influence of extrinsic motivation on competition-based selection.

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Sänger, Jessica; Wascher, Edmund

2011-10-10

The biased competition approach to visuo-spatial attention proposes that the selection of competing information is effected by the saliency of the stimulus as well as by an intention-based bias of attention towards behavioural goals. Wascher and Beste (2010) [32] showed that the detection of relevant information depends on its relative saliency compared to irrelevant conflicting stimuli. Furthermore the N1pc, N2pc and N2 of the EEG varied with the strength of the conflict. However, this system could also be modulated by rather global mechanisms like attentional effort. The present study investigates such modulations by testing the influence of extrinsic motivation on the selection of competing stimuli. Participants had to detect a luminance change in various conditions among others against an irrelevant orientation change. Half of the participants were motivated to maximize their performance by the announcement of a monetary reward for correct responses. Participants who were motivated had lower error rates than participants who were not motivated. The event-related lateralizations of the EEG showed no motivation-related effect on the N1pc, which reflects the initial saliency driven orientation of attention towards the more salient stimulus. The subsequent N2pc was enhanced in the motivation condition. Extrinsic motivation was also accompanied by enhanced fronto-central negativities. Thus, the data provide evidence that the improvement of selection performance when participants were extrinsically motivated by announcing a reward was not due to changes in the initial saliency based processing of information but was foremost mediated by improved higher-level mechanisms. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Sociocultural and Individual Influences on Muscle Gain and Weight Loss Strategies among Adolescent Boys and Girls

Science.gov (United States)

Ricciardelli, Lina A.; McCabe, Marita P.