Nonlinear Programming: A Unified Approach

Fungal spores can account for large proportions of air particulate matter, and they may potentially influence the hydrological cycle and climate as nuclei for water droplets and ice crystals in clouds, fog, and precipitation. Moreover, some fungi are major pathogens and allergens. The diversity of airborne fungi is, however, not well-known. By DNA analysis we found pronounced differences in the relative abundance and seasonal cycles of various groups of fungi in coarse and fine particulate matter, with more plant pathogens in the coarse fraction and more human pathogens and allergens in the respirable fine particle fraction (<3 μm). Moreover, the ratio of Basidiomycota to Ascomycota was found to be much higher than previously assumed, which might also apply to the biosphere.

High Diversity of Fungi in Air Particulate Matter

Despite the numerous observations that dynamic capabilities lie at the source of competitive advantage, we still have limited knowledge as to how access to firm-based resources and changes to these affect the development of dynamic capabilities. In this paper, we examine founder human capital, access to employee human capital, access to technological expertise, access to other specific expertise, and access to two types of tangible resources in a sample of new firms in Sweden. We empirically measure four dynamic capabilities and find that the nature and effect of resources employed in the development of these capabilities vary greatly. For the most part, there are positive effects stemming from access to particular resources. However, for some resources, such as access to employee human capital and access to financial capital, unexpected negative effects also appear. This study therefore provides statistical evidence as to the varying role of resources in capability development. Importantly, we also find that changes in resource bases have more influential roles in the development of dynamic capabilities than the resource stock variables that were measured at an earlier stage of firm development. This provides empirical support for the notion of treating the firm as a dynamic flow of resources as opposed to a static stock. This finding also highlights the importance of longitudinal designs in studies of dynamic capability development. Further recommendations for future empirical studies of dynamic capabilities are presented.

From resource base to dynamic capabilities : an investigation of new firms

Building on the codification and dynamic capabilities literatures, we pursue deeper insight into the underlying mechanisms of deliberate learning in the context of postacquisition integration. We argue that experience codification gives rise to inertial forces that hamper the customization of routines to any given acquisition. We theorize, therefore, that successful acquirers develop higher-order routines-as manifested in two complementary sets of concrete organizational practices-that prevent the generalization of inapplicable ('zero-order') codified routines. After drawing on in-depth qualitative data to help build our theoretical argument, we test it formally with unique survey data on 85 active acquirers.

Manifestations of Higher-Order Routines: The Underlying Mechanisms of Deliberate Learning in the Context of Postacquisition Integration

Manufacturing and service organisations improve their processes on a continuous basis to have better operational performance. They use lean six sigma (LSS) projects for process improvement. Therefo...

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/00207543.2019.1598599

Big data in lean six sigma: a review and further research directions

Purpose




Extant research on comparative advertising has focused only on “market leader” comparisons (a brand targeting the market leader), whereas in the marketplace, “multi-brand” comparisons are more prevalent (Kalro et al., 2010). Moreover, most research focuses on direct comparisons only. Hence, this research aims to investigate the interplay between comparison ad strategy (“market leader”/“multi-brand” comparisons) and comparison ad format (direct/indirect comparisons) on the effectiveness of comparative advertising.




Design/methodology/approach




This paper uses four 2 × 2 fully crossed factorial designs (comparison ad format: direct vs indirect and comparison ad strategy: market leader vs multi brand) with established and new brands in two categories: powdered detergents and smart phones. All studies were conducted in metropolitan cities of India.




Findings




By and large, the experiments indicated that direct (indirect) comparisons lowered (heightened) perceived manipulative intent and enhanced (reduced) attitude-toward-the-ad for multi-brand (market leader) comparisons.




Practical implications




Findings suggest that when advertisers use comparative advertising, they may use direct ads when using multi-brand comparisons and use indirect ones when using market leader comparisons. It could also be argued that when advertisers use multi-brand comparisons because of fragmentation in the marketplace, they may directly compare against these multiple brands. When advertisers need to compare against a market leader, they may do so indirectly.




Originality/value




This research is among the first to investigate multi-brand comparisons that are widely used in the industry and that too in the context of both direct and indirect comparison formats.

The ad format-strategy effect on comparative advertising effectiveness

The capacitated lot-sizing problem with set-up carryover and set-up splitting (CLSP-SCSS) is formulated as a mixed integer linear program. We define set-up carryover as the production of a product that is continued over from one period to another without incurring an extra set-up. Set-up splitting occurs when the set-up for a product is started at the end of a period and completed at the beginning of the next period. We allow product dependent set-ups. Initial experimentation highlights the importance of including set-up splitting in the CLSP model. In 12 out of the 18 problem instances tested, our model yielded better solutions or removed infeasibility when compared with a CLSP model without set-up splitting.

A note on modelling the capacitated lot-sizing problem with set-up carryover and set-up splitting

Purpose




How can efficiency of a welfare scheme be measured? The purpose of this paper is to develop an efficiency evaluation model, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) implementation efficiency model (MIEM), to evaluate the rural employment guarantee scheme in India.




Design/methodology/approach




MIEM employs data envelopment analysis (DEA) to compare relative efficiency of MGNREGA implementing states. It uses policy implementation process as a central “black-box” about which not much can be said, to account for state-wise implementation differences.




Findings




Based on administration, funds, expenditure, employment created, works executed and completed, women beneficiaries and households completing 100 days of employment, the MIEM captures current implementation efficiency and provides suggestions to propel inefficient states toward efficiency.




Practical implications




DEA has operationalized MGNREGA evaluation. As a decision support system, MIEM assists evaluators to develop guidelines from better performing states. It is anticipated that it will facilitate scaling up MGNREGA in inefficient states.




Social implications




The model developed here can be applied to diverse evaluation conditions thus leading to better utilization of scarce resources.




Originality/value




This paper is one of few to use DEA to evaluate MGNREGA, and is one of the first to evaluate all India implementing states on efficiency.

Evaluation of MGNREGA: data envelopment analysis approach

For a first time student, the extent, reach and disbursement of literature on policy implementation can be perplexing. Public policy implementation research has witnessed resurgence in recent years marked by an ever widening interest reflected in copious output in varied fields. This micro diffusion of policy areas has brought in its wake an ever increasing challenge of implementation. Its subsequent research has also created an extremely huge and dense volume of literature. The objectives of this paper are four fold: first to bring together as much as possible, the seminal literature on implementation to provide an intrinsic understanding of the subject matter. Second, we aim to trace the influence of strategic management on policy implementation. Third, by putting the literature in this order we hope to demystify the content of and the boundaries of this space. Last, we hope to outline the direction of future research in this field.

Literature review of public policy implementation

Engineering economic decision problems encountered in practice are embedded in information-rich environments, where large volumes of data are available from multiple sources. However, the information that is most relevant to solving the problem may be unavailable, inaccessible, inaccurate, or uncertain. In contrast, typical engineering economy textbook problems present only the relevant information in a convenient format. To help bridge the gap between textbook and practice, we engage student teams in a series of ill-structured problems. Teams work in an online Problem Solving Learning Portal (PSLP) that provides access to a variety of information resources containing both relevant and irrelevant information. In one problem instance, some information relevant to the solution must be obtained from an external resource that is not available or mentioned in the PSLP. Student work in the PSLP is organized into successive stages of specifying decision criteria, stating assumptions, expressing their solution in a spreadsheet file and written rationale, and conducting a sensitivity analysis on a single variable they judge to be critical. In addition, they cut and paste information from the resources they see as relevant into a “working memory” repository. We explore different methods for assessing students’ ability to select which information is relevant. Direct measures include simple counts of “hits” and “false alarms” in the working memory that are assessed as part of the grading rubric and analyzed using signal detection theory. Their choice of the parameter(s) on which to conduct the sensitivity analysis can be considered as an indirect measure because the most relevant information is that which provides the best prediction of the most critical parameter (i.e., the parameter that will have the greatest impact on the decision criterion). The online environment also tracks the information resources visited by the student teams and the time of visitation. Data collected from a large engineering economy course are used to evaluate the effectiveness of these assessment methods.

Rahul R. Marathe

Papers

The ad format-strategy effect on comparative advertising effectiveness

A note on modelling the capacitated lot-sizing problem with set-up carryover and set-up splitting

Evaluation of MGNREGA: data envelopment analysis approach

Literature review of public policy implementation

Ac 2007-1929: student selection of information relevant to solving ill-structured engineering economic decision problems