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Longitudinal facial cracks (LFC) are one of the major defects occurring in the continuous-casting stage of thin slab caster using funnel molds. Longitudinal cracks occur mainly owing to non-uniform cooling, varying thermal conductivity along mold length and use of high superheat during casting, improper casting powder characteristics. These defects are difficult to capture and are visible only in the final stages of a process or even at the customer end. Besides, there is a seasonality associated with this defect where defect intensity increases during the winter season. To address the issue, a model-based on data analytics is developed.

Around six-month data of steel manufacturing process is taken and around 60 data collection point is analyzed. The model uses different classification machine learning algorithms such as logistic regression, decision tree, ensemble methods of a decision tree, support vector machine and Naïve Bays (for different cut off level) to investigate data.

Proposed research framework shows that most of models give good results between cut off level 0.6–0.8 and random forest, gradient boosting for decision trees and support vector machine model performs better compared to other model.

Based on predictions of model steel manufacturing companies can identify the optimal operating range where this defect can be reduced.

An analytical approach to identify LFC defects provides objective models for reduction of LFC defects. By reducing LFC defects, quality of steel can be improved.

The purpose of this paper is to measure reliability, validity and accuracy of the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) as a measure of emotional wellbeing in pregnant women; utility and threshold in particular.

The authors measured self-reported emotional wellbeing responses of 164 low-risk pregnant Dutch women with the GHQ-12 and a dichotomous case-finding item (Gold standard). The authors established internal consistency of the 12 GHQ-items (Cronbach’s coefficient α); construct validity: factor analysis using Oblimin rotation; convergent validity (Pearson’s correlation) and discriminatory ability (area under the receiver operating characteristics curve and index of union); and external validity of the dichotomous criterion standard against the GHQ-12 responses (sensitivity, specificity, likelihood ratios and predictive values), applying a cut-off value of ⩾ 12 and ⩾ 17, respectively.

A coefficient of 0.85 showed construct reliability. The GHQ-12 items in the pattern matrix showed a three-dimensional factorial model: factor 1, anxiety and depression; factor 2, coping; and factor 3, significance/effect on life, with a total variance of 59 per cent. The GHQ-12 showed good accuracy (0.84; p=<0.001) and external validity (r=0.57; p=<0.001) when the cut-off value was set at the ⩾ 17 value. Using a cut-off value of ⩾ 17 demonstrated higher sensitivity (72.32 vs 41.07 per cent) but lower specificity (32.69 vs 55.77 per cent) compared to the commonly used cut-off value of ⩾ 12.

Findings generally support the reliability, validity and accuracy of the Dutch version of the GHQ-12. Further evaluation of the measure, at more than one timepoint during pregnancy, is recommended.

The GHQ-12 holds the potential to measure antenatal emotional wellbeing and women’s emotional responses and coping mechanisms with reduced antenatal emotional wellbeing.

Adapting the GHQ-12 cut-off value enables effective identification of reduced emotional wellbeing to provide adequate care and allows potential reduction of anxiety among healthy pregnant women who are incorrectly screened as positive.

A novel aspect is adapting the threshold of the GHQ-12 to ⩾ 17 in antenatal care.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of family ownership on dividend payout from the perspective of agency costs in Malaysia.

Annual financial, board and family ownership data of 160 firms listed on the Bursa Malaysia are collected for the period 2005-2010. Analyses are carried out using descriptive statistics, χ2 tests, Tobit regression and three-stage least square regression analysis.

The empirical results suggest that family share ownership at the dispersed level from between 0 to 5 percent is negatively associated with dividend payout and positively associated from the 5 to 33 percent level with dividend payout. Consistent with the extant literature, the observed relationship between family share ownership and dividend payout is stronger in firms with smaller total assets (size), low debt and low-growth opportunities. Further examination of investment decisions lends support to arguments which attribute higher agency costs as a result of family ownerships.

The observed results at the different family ownership levels are attributed to the possible expropriation in family-owned firms and accordingly, to the proportional pressure by minority and other shareholders for dividend payout.

For policy makers, findings from this study could serve to justify initiatives to further strengthen the institutional and regulatory architectures that would enhance the power of minority and other shareholders of public listed firms in Malaysia.

This study contributes to the growing literature on dividend policy and family firms. Particularly, it provides further understanding of the effect of family ownership on dividend policy.

This paper aims to compare two diagnostic performance measures, i.e. signal‐to‐noise ratio (S/N ratio) and partial area under receiver operating characteristic curves (pAUC). It proposes the use of S/N ratio rather than pAUC for establishing optimal cut‐off point for diagnostic biomarkers.

This paper discusses the properties, uses, advantages and shortcomings of the two performance measures, namely the partial area under receiver operating characteristic curve (pAUC) and Taguchi's signal‐to‐noise (S/N) ratio. The benefits of S/N ratio have been illustrated in a sample of four biomarkers, each having five cut‐off points. The S/N ratio is compared to the pAUC index. The SAS software is employed to calculate pAUC and AUC.

This paper shows that S/N ratio can be used as a measure of diagnostic accuracy. The cut‐off point with the highest S/N ratio is the optimal cut‐off point for the biomarker. The proposed method has the advantages of being easier, more practical and less costly than that of pAUC.

This paper includes implications for the development of a more practical, equally powerful and less costly means of measuring clinical accuracy thereby reducing the costs and risks resulting from wrong selection of cut‐off point can be decreased.

This paper supports suggestions in the recent literature to replace pAUC with a new, more meaningful index.

Scanning both the academic and popular business literature of the last 40 years puzzles the alert reader. The variety of prescriptions of how to be successful (effective, performing, etc.) 1 Organizational performance, organizational success and organizational effectiveness will be used interchangeably throughout this paper.1 in business is hardly comprehensible: “Being close to the customer,” Total Quality Management, corporate social responsibility, shareholder value maximization, efficient consumer response, management reward systems or employee involvement programs are but a few of the slogans introduced as means to increase organizational effectiveness. Management scholars have made little effort to integrate the various performance-enhancing strategies or to assess them in an orderly manner.

This study classifies organizational strategies by the importance each strategy attaches to different constituencies in the firm’s environment. A number of researchers divide an organization’s environment into various constituency groups and argue that these groups constitute – as providers and recipients of resources – the basis for organizational survival and well-being. Some theoretical schools argue for the foremost importance of responsiveness to certain constituencies while stakeholder theory calls for a – situation-contingent – balance in these responsiveness levels. Given that maximum responsiveness levels to different groups may be limited by an organization’s resource endowment or even counterbalanced, the need exists for a concurrent assessment of these competing claims by jointly evaluating the effect of the respective behaviors towards constituencies on performance. Thus, this study investigates the competing merits of implementing alternative business philosophies (e.g. balanced versus focused responsiveness to constituencies). Such a concurrent assessment provides a “critical test” of multiple, opposing theories rather than testing the merits of one theory (Carlsmith, Ellsworth & Aronson, 1976).

In the high tolerance level applied for this study (be among the top 80% of the industry) only a handful of organizations managed to sustain such a balanced strategy over the whole observation period. Continuously monitoring stakeholder demands and crafting suitable responsiveness strategies must therefore be a focus of successful business strategies. While such behavior may not be a sufficient explanation for organizational success, it certainly is a necessary one.

Information and communications technology (ICT) offers enormous opportunities for individuals, businesses and society. The application of ICT is equally important to economic and non-economic activities. Researchers have increasingly focused on the adoption and use of ICT by small and medium enterprises (SMEs) as the economic development of a country is largely dependent on them. Following the success of ICT utilisation in SMEs in developed countries, many developing countries are looking to utilise the potential of the technology to develop SMEs. Past studies have shown that the contribution of ICT to the performance of SMEs is not clear and certain. Thus, it is crucial to determine the effectiveness of ICT in generating firm performance since this has implications for SMEs’ expenditure on the technology. This research examines the diffusion of ICT among SMEs with respect to the typical stages from innovation adoption to post-adoption, by analysing the actual usage of ICT and value creation. The mediating effects of integration and utilisation on SME performance are also studied. Grounded in the innovation diffusion literature, institutional theory and resource-based theory, this study has developed a comprehensive integrated research model focused on the research objectives. Following a positivist research paradigm, this study employs a mixed-method research approach. A preliminary conceptual framework is developed through an extensive literature review and is refined by results from an in-depth field study. During the field study, a total of 11 SME owners or decision-makers were interviewed. The recorded interviews were transcribed and analysed using NVivo 10 to refine the model to develop the research hypotheses. The final research model is composed of 30 first-order and five higher-order constructs which involve both reflective and formative measures. Partial least squares-based structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) is employed to test the theoretical model with a cross-sectional data set of 282 SMEs in Bangladesh. Survey data were collected using a structured questionnaire issued to SMEs selected by applying a stratified random sampling technique. The structural equation modelling utilises a two-step procedure of data analysis. Prior to estimating the structural model, the measurement model is examined for construct validity of the study variables (i.e. convergent and discriminant validity).

The estimates show cognitive evaluation as an important antecedent for expectation which is shaped primarily by the entrepreneurs’ beliefs (perception) and also influenced by the owners’ innovativeness and culture. Culture further influences expectation. The study finds that facilitating condition, environmental pressure and country readiness are important antecedents of expectation and ICT use. The results also reveal that integration and the degree of ICT utilisation significantly affect SMEs’ performance. Surprisingly, the findings do not reveal any significant impact of ICT usage on performance which apparently suggests the possibility of the ICT productivity paradox. However, the analysis finally proves the non-existence of the paradox by demonstrating the mediating role of ICT integration and degree of utilisation explain the influence of information technology (IT) usage on firm performance which is consistent with the resource-based theory. The results suggest that the use of ICT can enhance SMEs’ performance if the technology is integrated and properly utilised. SME owners or managers, interested stakeholders and policy makers may follow the study’s outcomes and focus on ICT integration and degree of utilisation with a view to attaining superior organisational performance.

This study urges concerned business enterprises and government to look at the environmental and cultural factors with a view to achieving ICT usage success in terms of enhanced firm performance. In particular, improving organisational practices and procedures by eliminating the traditional power distance inside organisations and implementing necessary rules and regulations are important actions for managing environmental and cultural uncertainties. The application of a Bengali user interface may help to ensure the productivity of ICT use by SMEs in Bangladesh. Establishing a favourable national technology infrastructure and legal environment may contribute positively to improving the overall situation. This study also suggests some changes and modifications in the country’s existing policies and strategies. The government and policy makers should undertake mass promotional programs to disseminate information about the various uses of computers and their contribution in developing better organisational performance. Organising specialised training programs for SME capacity building may succeed in attaining the motivation for SMEs to use ICT. Ensuring easy access to the technology by providing loans, grants and subsidies is important. Various stakeholders, partners and related organisations should come forward to support government policies and priorities in order to ensure the productive use of ICT among SMEs which finally will help to foster Bangladesh’s economic development.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how consumers from a developing country background such as Indonesia make local fresh food decisions for daily eating.

The use of the means-end chain approach is utilized as a measure of attributes, consequences and values of locally produced products.

For Javanese ethnic group in Indonesia, “save money” and “health benefits” are identified views that motivate consumers purchasing their local foods.

Although investigating the largest ethnic groups in Indonesia, the results of this study cannot be generalized to all Indonesian consumers and a larger sample needs to be studied to generalize the results to the wider population of Indonesia.

It is better for the Government to promote local food policies that is based on identified motivations of consumers. “Save money” and “health benefits” themes can be used as the central messages for the development of advertising strategies.

This study identifies the Javanese motivations for buying local foods and examines the motivation differences between rural and urban locations. This is providing views for the Government and individual businesses use to.

The purpose of this paper is to improve the yield of a particular model of a car windshield, as the organization faces losses due to poor performance and rejection.

The Six Sigma DMAIC (define, measure, analyze, improve and control) methodology is used to reduce variation and defects in the process. It is a methodology based on data-driven and fact-based analysis to find out the root cause of the problem with the help of statistical analysis. A worst performing model is selected as a case study through the scoping tree. The preprocess, printing, bending and layup process defects are reduced by analyzing the potential causes and hypothesis testing.

This paper describes Six Sigma methodology in a glass manufacturing industry in India for automotive applications. The overall yield of a car windshield achieved 93.57 percent against the historical yield of 88.4 percent, resulting in saving 50 lacs per annum. Due to no rework or repairing in the glass, low first-time yield causes major losses. Process improvement through focused cross-functional team reduces variation in the process. Six Sigma improves profitability and reduces defects in the automotive glass manufacturing process.

This case study is applied in automotive glass manufacturing industries. For service and healthcare industries, a similar type of study can be performed. Further research on the common type of processor industry would be valuable.

The case study can be used as a problem-solving methodology in manufacturing and service industries. The tools and techniques can be used in other manufacturing processes also. This paper is useful for industries, researchers and academics for understanding Six Sigma methodology and its practical implementation.

This case study is an attempt to solve automobile glass manufacturing problems through DMAIC approach. The paper is a real case study showing benefits of Six Sigma implementation in the manufacturing industry and saving an annual cost of 50 lacs due to rejections in the process.

Investigates a scientific basis for establishing the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) cut‐off scores. Obtains data on 348 foreign students from 50 US universities. Divides students into three categories according to TOEFL score: below 550; 550‐600; and above 600. Measures academic success by first semester or quarter grade point average (GPA) score. Finds a significant difference in GPA score between international graduate students with TOEFL scores above 550 when compared with those with scores below 550. Results support the national trend towards raising foreign graduate student admission minimum TOEFL scores from 500 to 550.

A decision support model is presented and discussed which aims at identifying realistic export opportunities for a given exporting country. The model consists of a screening process of four consecutive filters, through which relevant information on markets (such as country risk indicators, macroeconomic data, imports per product group, etc.) is fed, and which allows the identification and deletion of less interesting market opportunities. Results are reported of the application of this decision support model to the case of Thailand, adapted for an analysis of foreign trade data at the SITC four‐digit level up to 1997. These results are compared with previous results obtained using the same model. In this way, Thailand's export opportunities in individual countries, and in the Asia‐Pacific region in particular, are listed and categorised according to criteria such as import market characteristics and Thailand's market share in the various markets.