University of Salford

About: University of Salford is a education organization based out in Salford, Manchester, United Kingdom. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Thin film. The organization has 13049 authors who have published 22957 publications receiving 537330 citations. The organization is also known as: University of Salford Manchester & The University of Salford Manchester.

Forecasting and operational research : a review

Abstract: From its foundation, operational research (OR) has made many substantial contributions to practical forecasting in organizations. Equally, researchers in other disciplines have influenced forecasting practice. Since the last survey articles in JORS, forecasting has developed as a discipline with its own journals. While the effect of this increased specialization has been a narrowing of the scope of OR's interest in forecasting, research from an OR perspective remains vigorous. OR has been more receptive than other disciplines to the specialist research published in the forecasting journals, capitalizing on some of their key findings. In this paper, we identify the particular topics of OR interest over the past 25 years. After a brief summary of the current research in forecasting methods, we examine those topic areas that have grabbed the attention of OR researchers: computationally intensive methods and applications in operations and marketing. Applications in operations have proved particularly important, including the management of inventories and the effects of sharing forecast information across the supply chain. The second area of application is marketing, including customer relationship management using data mining and computer-intensive methods. The paper concludes by arguing that the unique contribution that OR can continue to make to forecasting is through developing models that link the effectiveness of new forecasting methods to the organizational context in which the models will be applied. The benefits of examining the system rather than its separate components are likely to be substantial.

Quantification of dyspnoea using descriptors: development and initial testing of the Dyspnoea-12

Abstract: Rationale: Dyspnoea is a debilitating and distressing symptom that is reflected in different verbal descriptors. Evidence suggests that dyspnoea, like pain perception, consists of sensory quality and affective components. The objective of this study was to develop an instrument that measures overall dyspnoea severity using descriptors that reflect its different aspects. Methods: 81 dyspnoea descriptors were administered to 123 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), 129 with interstitial lung disease and 106 with chronic heart failure. These were reduced to 34 items using hierarchical methods. Rasch analysis informed decisions regarding further item removal and fit to the unidimensional model. Principal component analysis (PCA) explored the underlying structure of the final item set. Validity and reliability of the new instrument were further assessed in a separate group of 53 patients with COPD. Results: After removal of items with hierarchical methods (n = 47) and items that failed to fit the Rasch model (n = 22), 12 were retained. The ‘‘Dyspnoea-12’’ had good internal reliability (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.9) and fit to the Rasch model (x 2 p = 0.08). Items patterned into two groups called ‘‘physical’’(n = 7) and ‘‘affective’’(n = 5). In the separate validation study, Dyspnoea-12 correlated with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (anxiety r = 0.51; depression r = 0.44, p,0.001, respectively), 6-minute walk distance (r = 20.38, p,0.01) and MRC (Medical Research Council) grade (r = 0.48, p,0.01), and had good stability over time (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.9, p,0.001). Conclusion: Dyspnoea-12 fulfills modern psychometric requirements for measurement. It provides a global score of breathlessness severity that incorporates both ‘‘physical’’ and ‘‘affective’’ aspects, and can measure dyspnoea in a variety of diseases.

Technologies for 5G Networks: Challenges and Opportunities

Abstract: Mobile data traffic has grown substantially owing to the widespread use of data-hungry devices such as smart handsets and laptops. This has encouraged researchers and system designers to develop more efficient network designs. The authors review the technologies that can support speeds of multiple Gbps for future fifth-generation (5G) networks. They examine the many challenges, problems, and questions that arise in the research and design stage, and conclude that the anticipated high-traffic demands and low-latency requirements stemming from the Internet of Things (IoT) and machine-to-machine (M2M) communications can be met only with radical changes to the network paradigm. These include harnessing the millimeter-wave band for the dense deployment of small cells. Future wireless systems will include myriad smart features and applications to make 5G the most intelligent and dominant wireless technology thus far.