Volume 3 Issue 6
Authors: R. A. Aliev; O. H. Huseynov
Abstract: Behavioral decision making is of growing interest of scientists and practitioners, economists and business people. A wide spectrum of successful behavioral theories is presented now, including Prospect theory (PT), multiple priors models, studies on altruism, trust and fairness. However, these theories are developed for perfect information, whereas real information on a decision maker’s (DM) behavior and environment is imperfect and is described in natural language (NL). In this paper we suggest a fuzzy behavioral decision model with imperfect information in which a DM’s behavior is described by a set of states with each state representing one principal behavior. In this model, states of nature and DM’s states constitute a space of combined states and NL-described imperfect relevant information is formalized by the use of the fuzzy sets theory. The utility function in the suggested model is represented as a fuzzy Choquet-like integral. The suggested investigations show that Expected Utility, Choquet Expected Utility and PT are special cases of the suggested model. We apply the model to solve a benchmark and a real-life decision problem. The obtained results show validity of the suggested model.
Keywords: Cognition and Reasoning; Decision Support Systems; Utility Assessment; Imperfect Information; Risk; Fuzzy Set
Authors: Jiang Junmin; Yan Yongcai; Yan Jingdong
Abstract: In spite of huge contribution to more than sixty percent of GDP currently, traditional manufacturing industries in China fall into the trapes of poor tech-innovation performance, which leads to a great threat for the development and upgrading of traditional manufacturing industries. Through delimiting the scope of traditional manufacturing industries in China, this paper dissects its tech-innovation pattern, and selects the cross-section data of "China Statistical Yearbook on Science and Technology (2010)" to assess the tech-innovation performance of traditional manufacturing industries in China with the method of principal component analysis (PCA), and puts forward the ameliorating steps according to the measured outcomes at lost.
Keywords: Traditional Manufacturing Industry; Technological Innovation; Performance Evaluation; PCA
Authors: Alan Atalah
Abstract: In 1997, the Ohio senate passed Senate Bill 102 which established the Ohio School Facilities Commission as a separate agency to oversee the rebuilding projects of the public schools in Ohio. To lower the construction cost, the bill exempted construction contractors from paying prevailing wages on these projects. The purpose of this research was to investigate this hypothesis through the statistical analysis of 8093 bids received for the schools’ construction from the year 2000 to 2007. Union contractors who paid their workers union wages and non-union contractors who did not pay prevailing wages bid these projects. The hypothesis that prevailing wage laws (PWL) increased the construction cost was tested by comparing the bids/SF from both groups (union and non-union) along the different construction trades. The research indicates that there was statistical significant difference between the bids/SF for union contractors and the bids/SF for non-union contractors for only the following trades: electrical, equipment, existing conditions, exterior improvements, wood, plastics and composites, and furnishings. There was no statistical significant difference in trades’ bids.
Keywords: Prevailing Wages; Union; Non-Union; Construction Bids
Authors: Xia Pan; Jeffrey E. Jarrett
Abstract: The authors discuss the methodologies for constructing quality control charts by cumulative square and cumulative variance methodologies. These methodologies correspond to the EWMS and EWMV methods proposed by MacGregor and Harris (1993). Based on the distributions of the quality control chart statistics, we focus on the average (mean) cumulative square and average (mean) cumulative variance schemes to arrive at control limits appearing as parallel lines seen in stand Shewhart control charts. Last, we utilize the Box quadratic form and approximation to deal with the complexities of cumulative variance where means vary over time.
Keywords: SPC; Cumulative Square Cumulative Variance; EWMS EWMV
Authors: Petter Osmundsen
Abstract: The paper analyses whether added value can be obtained from better collaboration between oil companies and contractors. The topic is addressed by analysing organisational patterns, contracts and compensation formats. Specific issues raised in this paper include the following questions. Are innovations needed to contractual terms and tendering processes? Do contractors have sufficiently strong incentives to exploit the opportunities for service provision offered by existing technology? Do they have sufficient incentives within the framework of existing and future contracts to develop new technological solutions? Do the tender criteria pick up technological and organisational improvements? Do requirements for transparency and auditability prompt decision-takers to hesitate to select contractors with superior technology because that can be difficult to verify in a tendering process?
Keywords: Collaboration; Contracts; Incentives; Innovation
Authors: B. K. Goswami; Neetu Singh
Abstract: In response to heavy infestations of soil borne wilt and root rot causing fungi along with root knot nematodes both alone and in combination which result in severe damage to wide range of horticultural crops in Western Uttar Pradesh, India. The farmers of the region out of ignorance and also in a notion to get instant results were found to be indiscriminately using toxic chemical pesticides which, in turn, caused heavy damage to the soil, plant and finally to human health by wrecking their immune system. Instances were also gathered about the farmers being compelled to commit suicides due to falling into debt mainly because of high cost farming. With the mission to combat the above maladies and also for improving the soil, plant and human health, the authors have successfully carried out an evolved IPM package comprising of safe, cost effective components viz. fungal bioagents, neem oil seed cake, botanicals and VA Mycorrhiza.
Keywords: Meloidogyne incognita; Fusarium oxysporum; Fungal Bioagents; VA Mycorrhiza
Authors: Marta Pedraja; Carmen Berné; Hanns de la Fuente
Abstract: The absence of a universal measurement of marketing productivity highlights an inability to measure the influence of marketing assets on company results. It is important, therefore, to develop measurements and quantifiable models of marketing productivity, particularly in the services case, making it possible to understand and evaluate service company performance. Following a review of the literature on the topic, this paper sets forth a Theoretical Model of Marketing Productivity (TMMP), to serve as a base for carrying out measurements of productivity through the identification of possible determinant variables. The TMMP is validated for the case of the retail services companies operating in Spain. The obtained results establish that marketing resources, financial performance, and price all exercise a positive effect on marketing productivity, while market-based assets exercise a negative effect. The implications for service management are that they should control significant factors for the analysis of the behavior of retail companies’ vis-à-vis their marketing productivity, i.e. the effectiveness of staff as a productive resource, the appropriate setting of prices, and investment in assets.
Keywords: Marketing Productivity; Retail Business; Econometric Modeling