Search results

This paper aims to determine the impact of the economic crisis on the level of social commitment of the Spanish savings banks.

The paper uses the information provided by Spanish savings banks (SSBs) for 2004‐2009. In particular, it analyses the evolution of the welfare fund, the financial results, and the ratio between the welfare fund and the financial results variables for each of the SBs, to go more thoroughly into how the welfare fund is distributed.

The evolution of the allocations to the welfare fund shows a significant decline in absolute numbers, as a logical consequence of the significant decrease in the financial results. However, a substantial WF/P ratio growth can be seen in 2008 – 27.81 per cent – and, above all, of 36.08 per cent in 2009. This has allowed a certain mitigation of the decline of the allocations. In addition, a change has taken place in the distribution of the welfare fund, the amount for health and social care being bigger than the amount spent on culture and leisure.

This paper aims to highlight the impact that the process of mergers and acquisitions can have on the survival and the social commitment of the SBs.

The paper provides a quantitative and qualitative analysis of the effect of the economic crisis on the social commitment of the Spanish savings banks.

How will schools reinvent themselves to respond to the technological and economic demands of the mid-21st century? In response to the demands, a school district in the western region of the United States implemented a model patterned after the franchise business model. Two effective principals were tasked to simultaneously lead multiple high-risk elementary schools and to replicate the success they achieved from their flagship school. This paper aims to introduce the concept of franchise model schools. It also examines the innovative impact of the model as it relates to student achievement and leadership development.

The methodology for this research was a case study approach. This case study sought to examine teacher and school leaders' perceptions of the implementation of the franchise model school framework. The setting of this case study was five franchise model elementary schools in the western region of the United States. Participants of this study included 37 grade-level teacher leaders and 133 teacher respondents to an online questionnaire. Semi-structured focus group interviews were conducted with grade-level teacher leaders at each participating school. State and site-based academic assessments were also collected and analyzed.

Due to the novelty of the franchise model schools, the long-term effects on student outcomes are not yet discernable. Interviews with the teachers and school leaders revealed that staff morale was low after the initial implementation of the model and student assessment scores also decreased after the first year of implementation. The current pattern of student assessment revealed a decrease after the first year of implementation and a small increase after the second year. Findings revealed assistant principals within the model increased their leadership capacity and efficacy. Assistant principals felt confident in their ability to lead a school as principals.

The implementation of franchise model schools is unique to the United States education system. Minimal research exists which examines the novelty and impact of franchise model schools. This case study has the potential to inform school systems, policy-makers and educator preparation programs of new practices and innovative structures that can help meet the demands of obtaining a mid-21st-century education. For educational leadership preparation programs, the use of this model provides new practicum and internship opportunities for aspiring school administrators.

Methods of testing simple hypotheses about lifetime parameters from doubly censored data are given on the basis of the maximum likelihood principle. It is shown that, under the assumptions of standard type, the asymptotic distribution of proposed statistics is chi‐square or linear combination of chi‐square distributions. The choice of statistics optimal from the point of view of power is discussed and illustrated by several examples.

In statistical inference, goodness of fit techniques are frequently used to decide if an observed sample X₁=x₁, … ,X_n=x_n can be considered as independent realizations from a proposed cumulative distribution function F₀(x). When goodness of fit tests are based on categorized data, they usually rely on relative frequencies of intervals or on sample quantiles. In this paper, comparisons between frequency‐based and quantile‐based power divergence test statistics are presented to test the hypothesis of uniformity in the interval (0,1) against different families of alternatives and some recommendations are given.

Divergence test statistics proposed by Cressie and Read are used and Monte Carlo simulation experiments are carried out. Both methods of categorization are applied separately to test the hypothesis of uniformity in the interval (0,1) and power comparisons are done for the families of alternatives proposed by Stephens. Next, a combined analysis is performed with the test statistics which have given the best results in each kind of categorization.

Results obtained by using quantile categorization are better due to the fact that quantile categorization uses selected exact sample observations. On the other hand, frequency categorization is based on relative frequencies of intervals. For the last type of categorization, there are many samples with the same value at the test statistic, so its discrimination power is reduced.

The recommendation is limited to the power divergence test statistics introduced by Cressie and Read with parameter λ=−2,−1,−1/2,0,2/3,1,2 and several values of m and n.

Among the two types of categorizations, quantile categorization is recommended for testing uniformity.

The paper gives useful recommendations to applied statisticians when testing for uniformity.

This paper aims to study the effect of family socioeconomic status (SES) on academic and labor market outcomes.

The authors used a rich data set of administrative records for test scores, individual background and adult earnings of a cohort of agents, covering a period spanning the agents' upper-secondary education and their early years in the labor market.

The authors find that students with the highest SES obtained a 1.5 standard deviations higher score in the college admission test than students who had the same academic outcomes in the eighth grade test but belong to the lowest SES. Similarly, among students that obtained the same scores in the college admission test, those with the highest SES earned monthly wages 0.7 standard deviations higher than those with the lowest SES.

The findings highlight that family socioeconomic background continues to influence outcomes during individuals’ upper secondary education and early years in the labor market.

A method of estimating lifetime parameters from doubly censored data is given on the basis of the maximum likelihood principle. Consistency and asymptotic normality of the proposed estimator is established. When the observation window is defined by the interval of time between the first and the pth events in a homogeneous Poisson process, asymptotic variances and efficiencies are analyzed assuming exponential lifetime distribution.

The purpose of this paper is to explore, study, analyze and implement Kaizen–Kata methodology in a service food organization (first-level restaurant), facing challenges in different operational processes that affect and influence the case company performance and customer satisfaction.

The service organization implemented Kaizen–Kata methodology to improve one operational problem process. A case-study approach was used in this research to understand the effects of the Kaizen–Kata methodology in solving problems in their operational service process. Different Kaizen–Kata techniques and tools (histograms, Pareto chart and Ishikawa diagram) using the Plan, Do, Check, Act improvement cycle framework were used.

Successful implementation of the proposed methodology reduced the main impact of the problem’s effects (customer’s complaints, process reworking, extra-cost, delays, among others). The effects of the problem were reduced on average by 70%. Some Kaizen–Kata routines were identified in a service process environment.

The main limitation of the research is that this work is a just one-case study. A main generalization is not possible, because it involves a company within a company.

Some other service companies can use the Kaizen–Kata methodology to solve any kind of operational problem within their processes. Service managers can learn about the methodology to apply and improve their operational performance and handle customer’s complaints.

A continuous improvement manufacturing methodology was imported to apply in an operational service process. The Kaizen–Kata methodology contributed significantly to reduce delays, handle customer’s complaints, process reworking and deal with extra costs, among other operational problems’ effects. In addition to that, in the literature, most of the Kaizen applications are in manufacturing companies. To the best of authors’ knowledge, this was the first study of applied Kaizen–Kata in a service organization (a fast-food restaurant).

This paper aims to explain how the evolution of knowledge networks and firms’ strategic choices affect innovation. Endogenous factors associated with a path-dependent evolution of the knowledge network are jointly considered with a firm’s development of international relationships and increasing internal absorptive capacity over time.

In a biotech cluster, the authors gathered data on the firms’ characteristics and network relationships by asking about the technological knowledge they received in the cluster in 2007 and 2012 – “roster-recall” method. Estimation results were obtained using moderated regression analysis.

Firms that increase their involvement in knowledge networks over time also tend to increase their innovative capacity. However, efforts devoted to building international links or absorptive capacity negatively moderate the impact of network growth on innovation.

Practitioners have two alternative ways of increasing innovation inside knowledge networks: they can increase their centrality by developing their knowledge network interactions or invest in developing their internal absorptive capacity and new international sources of knowledge. Investing in both of these simultaneously does not seem to improve a firm’s innovative capacity.

Coupling firms’ strategic options with knowledge network dynamics provide a more complete way of explaining how firms can improve their innovative capacity.

This study compares the fatigue performance and biocompatibility of as-built and chemically etched Ti-6Al-4V alloys in TPMS-gyroid and stochastic structures fabricated via Powder Bed Fusion Laser Beam (PBF-LB). This study aims to understand how complex lattice structures and post-manufacturing treatment, particularly chemical etching, affect the mechanical properties, surface morphology, fatigue resistance and biocompatibility of these metamaterials for biomedical applications.

Selective Laser Melting (SLM) technology was used to fabricate TPMS-gyroid and Voronoi stochastic designs with three different relative densities (0.2, 0.3 and 0.4) in Ti-6Al-4V ELI alloy. The as-built samples underwent a chemical etching process to enhance surface quality. Mechanical characterization included static compression and dynamic fatigue testing, complemented by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) for surface and failure analysis. The biocompatibility of the samples was assessed through in-vitro cell viability assays using the Alamar Blue assay and cell proliferation studies.

Chemical etching significantly improves the surface morphology, mechanical properties and fatigue resistance of both TPMS-gyroid and stochastic structures. Gyroid structures demonstrated superior mechanical performance and fatigue resistance compared to stochastic structures, with etching providing more pronounced benefits in these aspects. In-vitro biocompatibility tests showed high cytocompatibility for both as-built and etched samples, with etched samples exhibiting notably improved cell viability. The study also highlights the importance of design and post-processing in optimizing the performance of Ti64 components for biomedical applications.

The comparative analysis between as-built and etched conditions, alongside considering different lattice designs, provides valuable information for developing advanced biomedical implants. The demonstration of enhanced fatigue resistance and biocompatibility through etching adds significant value to the field of additive manufacturing, suggesting new avenues for designing and post-processing implantable devices.

Mexico is an OECD member country that historically has allocated less than half a per cent of its gross domestic product to spend on research and experimental development. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the country’s science and technology policy through its main program, the National System of Researchers (SNI), an attempt made for the first time. The results obtained make it possible to see whether the SNI has succeeded in improving research in Mexico. The authors also look at whether the program provides ways of improving and strengthening the science policy model adopted by Mexico and whether it could be extended and/or introduced into other nearby countries with levels of development or characteristics similar to those of Mexico.

After that, the authors will analyze the scientific productivity of SNI members in comparison to Mexican researchers as a whole so as to assess both whether the SNI selects the best researchers and whether these researchers carry out more research and of a higher quality. Finally, the authors will check whether the selection criteria of the assessment committees are internally consistent. To do this, the authors will carry out a bibliometric analysis of Mexican scientific production (overall and specifically of SNI members) and an analysis of the groups of researchers belonging to the SNI.

The aim of this paper is to discover the impact and importance of the best program in Mexico as regards research policy, known as the SNI. Analyzing it will, in short, enable the authors to detect whether the program has been of use in improving the investigation potential and capacity for science and technology transfer of the research elite in Mexico; check whether the levels assigned to these researchers within the SNI are justified, based on research indicators (inputs and outputs); and assess the pros and cons of the SNI program with an eye to reviewing it in Mexico.

A limitation of using cross-sectional data is that information is not the same in each period analyzed. However, the SNI of Mexico has used the same information in all its evaluations. Therefore, the authors believe that using longitudinal data allows us to compare the evolution of SNI for various periods. This certainly is helpful for making decisions and, above all, provides first-hand information to the authorities who, in turn, should strengthen and make more efficient remedial measures regarding public policies on science and technology in Mexico.

SNI assessment program will know the science and technology of Mexico and whether it is advisable to implement this program of science policy in similar economies or the same level of development as Mexico.

The contributions of this study are relevant to the extent that the evaluation system of researchers from Mexico is the basis for allocating research resources, making proposals to help improve the system for evaluating researchers and contributing to efficiency in the allocation of resources for research.

This paper has also applied different techniques that have made it possible to look more thoroughly into the classification of all the researchers who were assessed positively by the SNI for period 1996-2003. These techniques have enabled us to obtain alternative classifications based on statistical algorithms and to gauge the level of internal consistency of the classifications made by the SNI, based strictly on the quantitative information supplied.