Privatization and National Development: A Case Study of Ghana

Proponents of privatization claim that privatization can enhance efficiency, reduce public sector debt and consequently improve overall economic performance. However, in many developing countries, and Africa in particular, the evidence is mixed. An exploratory study is done from the perspective of citizens’ about the impact of privatization on the Ghanaian national economy. The findings of the study suggest that: 1) the privatization program is pro rich; it benefits the economic and political elites more than it benefits the nation as a whole; 2) there is a high level of corruption associated with the privatization process; and 3) Privatization is not considered as one of the most important tools needed for national development, though the survey finds that many respondents believe that there is the need for some reforms in the public sector to promote national development. The results of the study indicate that administrative and political problems cannot be overcome simply by reducing the size of the state bureaucracy, but rather making government more accountable in meeting the needs of its people.     

Optimal on-line algorithms for one batch machine with grouped processing times

In this paper, we study on-line scheduling problems on a batch machine with the assumption that all jobs have their processing times in [p, (1+φ)p], where p>0 and \(\phi=(\sqrt{5}-1)/2\). Jobs arrive over time. First, we deal with the on-line problem on a bounded batch machine with the objective to minimize makespan. A class of algorithms with competitive ratio \((\sqrt{5}+1)/2\) are given. Then we consider the scheduling on an unbounded batch machine to minimize the time by which all jobs have been delivered, and provide a class of on-line algorithms with competitive ratio \((\sqrt{5}+1)/2\). The two class of algorithms are optimal for the problems studied here.     

On the Diaconis-Gangolli Markov chain for sampling contingency tables with cell-bounded entries

The problems of uniformly sampling and approximately counting contingency tables have been widely studied, but efficient solutions are only known in special cases. One appealing approach is the Diaconis and Gangolli Markov chain which updates the entries of a random 2×2 submatrix. This chain is known to be rapidly mixing for cell-bounded tables only when the cell bounds are all 1 and the row and column sums are regular. We demonstrate that the chain can require exponential time to mix in the cell-bounded case, even if we restrict to instances for which the state space is connected. Moreover, we show the chain can be slowly mixing even if we restrict to natural classes of problem instances, including regular instances with cell bounds of either 0 or 1 everywhere, and dense instances where at least a linear number of cells in each row or column have non-zero cell-bounds.     

On domination number of Cartesian product of directed paths

Let γ(G) denote the domination number of a digraph G and let P _m □P _n denote the Cartesian product of P _m and P _n , the directed paths of length m and n. In this paper, we give a lower and upper bound for γ(P _m □P _n ). Furthermore, we obtain a necessary and sufficient condition for P _m □P _n to have efficient dominating set, and determine the exact values: γ(P ₂□P _n )=n, g(P₃\square P_n)=n+é\fracn4ù\gamma(P_{3}\square P_{n})=n+\lceil\frac{n}{4}\rceil, g(P₄\square P_n)=n+é\frac2n3ù\gamma(P_{4}\square P_{n})=n+\lceil\frac{2n}{3}\rceil, γ(P ₅□P _n )=2n+1 and g(P₆\square P_n)=2n+é\fracn+23ù\gamma(P_{6}\square P_{n})=2n+\lceil\frac{n+2}{3}\rceil.     

Stress and Leadership Tendencies of Respondents from Iran: Exploring Similarities and Differences Based on Age and Gender

The leadership tendencies of people are likely to be influenced by their cultural contexts. For example, it is expected that people from high-context cultures are likely to be more focused on relationships. To explore the behavioral tendencies of working adults in the cities of Tehran and Kerman, this pilot study focused on comparing the leadership and stress perceptions of 228 Iranian respondents based on their age and gender. These respondents have a significantly higher score on relationship orientation. On the other side, the younger respondents from Iran had a significantly higher score on the stress overload perception. Practical suggestions for expatriates and implications for future studies are presented.     

A linear programming duality approach to analyzing strictly nonblocking <Emphasis Type="Italic">d</Emphasis>-ary multilog networks under general crosstalk constraints

When a switching network topology is used for constructing optical cross-connects, as in the circuit switching case, no two routes are allowed to share a link. However, if two routes share too many switching elements, then crosstalk introduced at those switching elements degrades signal quality. Vaez and Lea (IEEE Trans. Commun. 48:(2)316–323, 2000) introduced a parameter c which is the maximum number of distinct switching elements a route can share with other routes in the network. This is called the general crosstalk constraint. This paper presents a new method of analyzing strictly nonblocking multi-log networks under this general crosstalk constraint using linear programming duality.     

New perspectives on the governance of executive compensation: an examination of the role and effect of compensation consultants

We develop a multi-theoretic approach, drawing on economic, institutional, managerial power and social comparison literatures to explain the role of the external compensation consultant in the top management pay setting institutional field. Taking advantage of recent disclosure requirements in the UK, we collect data on compensation consultant use in 232 large companies. We show that consultants are a prevalent part of the CEO pay setting scene, and document evidence of all advisor use. Our econometric results show that consultant use is associated with firm size and the equity pay mix. We also show that CEO pay is positively associated with peer firms that share consultants, with higher board and consultant interlocks, and some evidence that where firms supply other business services to the firm, CEO pay is greater.     

A New Multicriteria Risk Mapping Approach Based on a Multiattribute Frontier Concept

Invasive species risk maps provide broad guidance on where to allocate resources for pest monitoring and regulation, but they often present individual risk components (such as climatic suitability, host abundance, or introduction potential) as independent entities. These independent risk components are integrated using various multicriteria analysis techniques that typically require prior knowledge of the risk components’ importance. Such information is often nonexistent for many invasive pests. This study proposes a new approach for building integrated risk maps using the principle of a multiattribute efficient frontier and analyzing the partial order of elements of a risk map as distributed in multidimensional criteria space. The integrated risks are estimated as subsequent multiattribute frontiers in dimensions of individual risk criteria. We demonstrate the approach with the example of Agrilus biguttatus Fabricius, a high‐risk pest that may threaten North American oak forests in the near future. Drawing on U.S. and Canadian data, we compare the performance of the multiattribute ranking against a multicriteria linear weighted averaging technique in the presence of uncertainties, using the concept of robustness from info‐gap decision theory. The results show major geographic hotspots where the consideration of tradeoffs between multiple risk components changes integrated risk rankings. Both methods delineate similar geographical regions of high and low risks. Overall, aggregation based on a delineation of multiattribute efficient frontiers can be a useful tool to prioritize risks for anticipated invasive pests, which usually have an extremely poor prior knowledge base.     

A literature review and emotion-based model of age and leadership: New directions for the trait approach

Despite renewed interest in traditional trait approaches to leadership and despite recent demographic trends towards an aging workforce, research on leaders' age as a specific demographic trait variable has remained surprisingly sparse and fragmented. This article provides a comprehensive review of the empirical literature on this issue. Although a body of research relating leaders' age with their behaviors and outcomes has emerged, the existing findings exhibit little consistency and lack theoretical coherence. Integrating theories of emotional aging with research on emotions and leadership, we therefore develop a novel, emotion-based framework that explicates key mechanisms and boundary conditions underlying age–leadership linkages. Moreover, we outline opportunities for further theoretical extensions and provide recommendations for future empirical work. Overall, this article paves new ground for contemporary research on leadership traits by highlighting the relevance of leaders' age, summarizing current knowledge on this issue, and providing new theoretical and empirical directions.