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1 – 10 of 943Marcin Nowak, Marta Pawłowska-Nowak, Małgorzata Kokocińska and Piotr Kułyk
With the use of the grey incidence analysis (GIA), indicators such as the absolute degree of grey incidence (εij), relative degree of grey incidence (rij) or synthetic degree of…
Abstract
Purpose
With the use of the grey incidence analysis (GIA), indicators such as the absolute degree of grey incidence (εij), relative degree of grey incidence (rij) or synthetic degree of grey incidence (ρij) are calculated. However, it seems that some assumptions made to calculate them are arguable, which may also have a material impact on the reliability of test results. In this paper, the authors analyse one of the indicators of the GIA, namely the relative degree of grey incidence. The aim of the article was to verify the hypothesis: in determining the relative degree of grey incidence, the method of standardisation of elements in a series significantly affects the test results.
Design/methodology/approach
To achieve the purpose of the article, the authors used the numerical simulation method and the logical analysis method (in order to draw conclusions from our tests).
Findings
It turned out that the applied method of standardising elements in series when calculating the relative degree of grey incidence significantly affects the test results. Moreover, the manner of standardisation used in the original method (which involves dividing all elements by the first element) is not the best. Much more reliable results are obtained by a standardisation that involves dividing all elements by their arithmetic mean.
Research limitations/implications
Limitations of the conducted evaluation involve in particular the limited scope of inference. This is since the obtained results referred to only one of the indicators classified into the GIA.
Originality/value
In this article, the authors have evaluated the model of GIA in which the relative degree of grey incidence is determined. As a result of the research, the authors have proposed a recommendation regarding a change in the method of standardising variables, which will contribute to obtaining more reliable results in relational tests using the grey system theory.
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Richard Byrne, Declan Patton, Zena Moore, Tom O’Connor, Linda Nugent and Pinar Avsar
This systematic review paper aims to investigate seasonal ambient change’s impact on the incidence of falls among older adults.
Abstract
Purpose
This systematic review paper aims to investigate seasonal ambient change’s impact on the incidence of falls among older adults.
Design/methodology/approach
The population, exposure, outcome (PEO) structured framework was used to frame the research question prior to using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis framework. Three databases were searched, and a total of 12 studies were found for inclusion, and quality appraisal was carried out. Data extraction was performed, and narrative analysis was carried out.
Findings
Of the 12 studies, 2 found no link between seasonality and fall incidence. One study found fall rates increased during warmer months, and 9 of the 12 studies found that winter months and their associated seasonal changes led to an increase in the incidence in falls. The overall result was that cooler temperatures typically seen during winter months carried an increased risk of falling for older adults.
Originality/value
Additional research is needed, most likely examining the climate one lives in. However, the findings are relevant and can be used to inform health-care providers and older adults of the increased risk of falling during the winter.
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Nicholas Addai Boamah, Francis Ofori-Yeboah and Nicholas Asare
This study investigates the ability of crime management expenses, recognised external quality certification and ownership structure to describe the cross-sectional changes in the…
Abstract
Purpose
This study investigates the ability of crime management expenses, recognised external quality certification and ownership structure to describe the cross-sectional changes in the capital and labour efficiencies of manufacturing firms in middle income economies. It controls for the potential effects of graft incidence and firm age on firm-level efficiency.
Design/methodology/approach
The study adopts a state space model approach within the context of cross-sectional regressions. Data for the study are obtained from the World Bank Enterprise Survey for 2006, 2009, 2013, 2016 and 2019.
Findings
The study provides evidence that crime management expenses impact labour efficiency negatively. Also, its effect on capital efficiency is positive in 2019 and negative in 2013 and 2016 eras. Additionally, external auditor services and internationally recognised quality certification increase labour and capital efficiencies. Graft incidence exerts negative and positive effect on capital efficiency in the recent and earlier periods respectively. In addition, older firms tend to have higher labour efficiency, whilst younger firms have higher capital efficiency. There is evidence of firm size and export orientation effects in the drivers of efficiency.
Originality/value
Policies aimed at creating graft and crime-free business environment will enhance the efficiency and growth of firms' particularly for small firms. Also, the market rewards recognised quality assurance and good reputation.
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Jennifer Sheridan, Russell Dimond, Tammera Klumpyan, Heather M. Daniels, Michael Bernard-Donals, Russell Kutz and Amy E. Wendt
In the early 2010s, the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW-Madison) became increasingly concerned about incidents of academic workplace “bullying” on the campus, and in 2014–2016…
Abstract
In the early 2010s, the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW-Madison) became increasingly concerned about incidents of academic workplace “bullying” on the campus, and in 2014–2016 created policies designed to address such behavior at the University. The new policies and accompanying initiatives were implemented in 2017, defining a new term to describe these behaviors as “hostile and intimidating behavior” (HIB). We use data from three sources to explore the outcomes of the new HIB policies and initiatives to date. Evaluation data from training sessions show the importance of educating the campus community about HIB, providing evidence that the training sessions increase HIB knowledge. Data from two campus-wide surveys measure incidence of HIB for different groups on campus (e.g., analysis by gender, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability status, rank, job duty, and/or the intersection of these characteristics), as well as changes in the knowledge about HIB as reported by faculty and staff. These data show that UW-Madison faculty and staff are increasing their knowledge of HIB as a problem and also increasing their knowledge about what to do about it. Underrepresented groups who more commonly experience HIB agree that this culture is improving. At the same time, we are seeing slow and uneven progress in reduction of actual incidence of HIB at UW-Madison. We close with some “lessons learned” about instituting such a sweeping, campus-wide effort to reduce HIB, in the hopes that other campuses can learn from our experience.
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Simona Ibba, Filippo Eros Pani, John Gregory Stockton, Giulio Barabino, Michele Marchesi and Danilo Tigano
One of the main tasks of a researcher is to properly communicate the results he obtained. The choice of the journal in which to publish the work is therefore very important…
Abstract
Purpose
One of the main tasks of a researcher is to properly communicate the results he obtained. The choice of the journal in which to publish the work is therefore very important. However, not all journals have suitable characteristics for a correct dissemination of scientific knowledge. Some publishers turn out to be unreliable and, against a payment, they publish whatever researchers propose. The authors call “predatory journals” these untrustworthy journals. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the incidence of predatory journals in computer science literature and present a tool that was developed for this purpose.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors focused their attention on editors, universities and publishers that are involved in this kind of publishing process. The starting point of their research is the list of scholarly open-access publishers and open-access stand-alone journals created by Jeffrey Beall. Specifically, they analysed the presence of predatory journals in the search results obtained from Google Scholar in the engineering and computer science fields. They also studied the change over time of such incidence in the articles published between 2011 and 2015.
Findings
The analysis shows that the phenomenon of predatory journals somehow decreased in 2015, probably due to a greater awareness of the risks related to the reputation of the authors.
Originality/value
We focused on computer science field, using a specific sample of queries. We developed a software to automatically make queries to the search engine, and to detect predatory journals, using Beall’s list.
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Roberta Troisi and Gaetano Alfano
This paper analyses emergency management in two regions of Italy – Emilia-Romagna and Veneto – in order (1) to understand whether they impact on the spread of local coronavirus…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper analyses emergency management in two regions of Italy – Emilia-Romagna and Veneto – in order (1) to understand whether they impact on the spread of local coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) contagion and (2) evaluate which strategy works best.
Design/methodology/approach
A three-step method was developed consisting of (1) a regional incidence curve analysis; (2) a descriptive statistical analysis of the respective operational measures related to the COVID-19 curve stages; and (3) a dynamic Structural Equation Model.
Findings
The results show the effects of the models during the various stages of the local contagion, focussing both on the two individual regions and a comparison of the way they responded.
Practical implications
Three theoretical implications are highlighted: (1) Better results are not necessarily the outcome of increased expenditure; (2) The overall rigidity they both show does not work; (3) The decision to centralize was, to some extent, effective for both regions.
Originality/value
The article empirically tests the effectiveness of emergency management in tackling a single event. Instead of the widely-used normative approach, the authors adopted a descriptive one, which is not frequently discussed in the emergency management literature.
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Huy Le Quang and Binh Tran-Nam
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the incidence and earning effects of the vertical mismatch between attained and required educational qualifications in a developing…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the incidence and earning effects of the vertical mismatch between attained and required educational qualifications in a developing country’s labor market.
Design/methodology/approach
Following Duncan and Hoffman (1981), this paper uses the augmented Mincerian wage equation to decompose the actual years of education of a person into years of over-education, years of required education and years of under-education. These years of education are then fitted in an ordinary least squares model to measure the earning effects of an employee when his/her attained educational qualifications are higher or lower than the required educational level in his/her job.
Findings
Unlike studies in developed countries, this paper finds that Vietnam has a higher incidence of under-education than over-education due to a large proportion of the population in rural and remote areas not having access to formal education. Further, qualification mismatch has an asymmetric effect on earnings in the sense that the wage rate is flexible downward but rigid upward. In particular, years of schooling that are in excess or in deficit of the required level for the job are not compensated with higher earnings. This paper concludes that although qualification mismatch incidence in Vietnam is different from that in developed countries, mismatched workers also suffer from significant wage penalty.
Originality/value
This paper makes a significant contribution by providing the first evidence from a developing country to the vertical mismatch literature which has already been overwhelmed with studies from advanced economies.
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Recent public health policy emphasizes the achievement of healthy aging as average life expectancy increases worldwide. Evidence for healthy aging from low- and middle-income…
Abstract
Purpose
Recent public health policy emphasizes the achievement of healthy aging as average life expectancy increases worldwide. Evidence for healthy aging from low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) is limited. The purpose of this paper is to assess the prospects of healthy aging and its associated factors in the Indian context.
Design/methodology/approach
The study was based on a national-level panel survey, the Indian Human Development Survey (IHDS) conducted in 2004-05 and 2011-12. The analytical sample consists of 10,218 elderly individuals who were 60 years old and above at the baseline. Change in health status was assessed based on disability and disease incidence at the follow-up. A generalized estimating equation (GEE) model was performed to assess health status change.
Findings
Increasing age was a risk factor for all dimensions of health outcomes. Elderly from the lowest wealth quintiles were more likely to lose health due to short-term morbidity, whereas the highest wealth quintiles were more likely to lose health due to long-term and multi-morbidity, indicating evidence for the presence of the “disease of affluence”. Social capital, such as living in a joint family acted as a protective factor against health risks.
Originality/value
With the results showing the evidence of the “disease of affluence” and “disease of poverty” in different health outcomes, there should be a health policy focus that copes with undergoing epidemiological transition. It is also important to pay attention to health-protecting factors such as social and familial support to achieve healthy aging.
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Wilda Sitorus, Saib Suwilo and Mardiningsih
Hamming distance of a two bit strings u and v of length n is defined to be the number of positions of u and v with different digit. If G is a simple graph on n vertices and m…
Abstract
Hamming distance of a two bit strings u and v of length n is defined to be the number of positions of u and v with different digit. If G is a simple graph on n vertices and m edges and B is an edge–vertex incidence matrix of G, then every edge e of G can be labeled using a binary digit string of length n from the row of B which corresponds to the edge e. We discuss Hamming distance of two different edges of the graph G. Then, we present formulae for the sum of all Hamming distances between two different edges of G, particularly when G is a path, a cycle, and a wheel, and some composite graphs.
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Lam Do and Thai-Ha Le
This research investigates how subsidy programs in Vietnam's residential electricity market affect consumers' well-being.
Abstract
Purpose
This research investigates how subsidy programs in Vietnam's residential electricity market affect consumers' well-being.
Design/methodology/approach
Two perspectives are employed: cash transfer and quantity-based subsidy. The effectiveness of cash transfer is measured in three ways: benefit incidence, beneficiary incidence and materiality. The quantity-based subsidy is established under the increasing block rate pricing, with the first two block rates being lower than the marginal cost. To improve the quantity-based subsidy, the research examines the consumer surplus under four proposals.
Findings
The results show that both types of subsidies are ineffective in supporting the poor.
Research limitations/implications
In order to achieve a more equal distribution among households, the subsidy program should remove all subsidized blocks and reflect the full marginal cost. Changes should be made to the price structure regarding both marginal price and intervals.
Practical implications
To mitigate the impact of the quantity-based subsidy, the government should improve the cash transfer by reducing extortion and improving targeting efficiency, especially for poor households living in rented houses.
Originality/value
This paper is the first to discuss the welfare effect of the electricity subsidy in Vietnam. First, it comprehensively evaluates the cash transfer subsidy in Vietnam. Second, it suggests a modification in the residential electricity tariff.
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