Service Architecture and Modularity*

An understanding of the nature of service architecture and modularity is crucial to service design and innovation. Two sets of approaches are developed that further our understanding and support decision making. First is a systematic decomposition approach to architecture modeling that allows organizations to understand their current architecture, evaluate alternative architectures, and identify key interfaces between different parts of the service. Second, the article develops a service modularity function (SMF), a mathematical model indicating the degree of modularity deriving from unique services and the degree to which the modules can be replicated across a variety of services. Three areas are identified that can contribute to competitiveness: the possession of unique service modules or elements not easily copied in the short term by competitors; the ability to exploit these through replication across multiple services and/or multiple sites; and the presence of a degree of modularity, which in turn supports both customization and rapid new product development. The SMF can support decision making in the design of services and the exploitation of service innovation. In particular, the relationship between architecture and modularity and the roles of service contact personnel in the customization of services is shown to be complementary. It is proposed that service customization can be either combinatorial (the combination of a set of service processes and products to create a unique service) or menu driven (the selection of one or more services from a set of existing services/products to meet customer needs).     

Generalized modulus-ratio tests for analysis of factorial designs with zero degrees of freedom for error

A method of statistical analysis of single replicate and fractional factorial designs requiring no estimate of error variance is given. By comparison of the relative magnitudes of independent effect .estimates, effects corresponding to relatively large effect estimates may be asserted to be nonzero. The procedure maintains a prespecified experimentwise error rate for a general class of modulus-ratio statistics.     

Embracing the “And”: Between Queer and Bisexual Theory at Brighton BiFest

Questions of bi identities can be invisibilized and overlooked by queer theorizing and LGBT studies. This article explores the ways in which complex performances of bisexuality can simultaneously encompass and deconstructively critique bi identity in a manner that embraces the “and” between bi and queer, offering important insights into how bi is lived, contested, and reaffirmed. Drawing on the BiCon and BiFest events in the UK, we argue that both the materialities (and supposed fixities) of bi erasures and exclusions and the fluidities that trouble the heterosexual/homosexual divides offer key insights into the spatial and temporal fixing and unfixing of identities.     

Small-area population forecasting in an urban setting: a spatial regression approach

This study revisits a spatial regression approach for small-area population forecasting that considers not only direct drivers of local area population growth but also neighbour growth and neighbour characteristics. Previous research suggested that the approach does not outperform extrapolation projections, the currently most-often-used small-area population forecasting technique. We argue the reason is that population growth is affected by its influential factors differently in urban, suburban, and rural areas. Therefore, we hypothesize that the spatial regression forecasting approach can perform better in one type of area at a time, where the influential factors’ effects on population growth can be estimated more accurately. This study is focused on census tracts of the city of Milwaukee, USA, to test the performance of the spatial regression approach in an urban setting. The analyses reveal mixed results and do not suggest that the spatial regression approach unambiguously outperforms extrapolation projections.     

The Impact of Migration on Southern Rural Areas of Chronic Depression1

Abstract By examining the 1979 income status of 1975–1980 inmigrants, outmigrants, and nonmigrants, we gauged the income effects of migration for a group of chronic low-income counties in the nonmetropolitan South. The effects are demonstrated to be positive for the migrants themselves and negative for the low-income counties. In both instances, however, the effects are unexpectedly small. By considering both in- and outmigrants, we show that these counties experienced a remarkable degree of income replacement and also present evidence that the results are not primarily due to the particular migration period under study. The findings give additional evidence of the substantial inefficiency at work in American migration patterns.