Validity and reliability of proposed framework of manufacturing excellence in the Indian industry

This article presents the findings of the empirical study of proposed framework of manufacturing excellence (ME) in the Indian industry. The study includes companies from five major sectors, namely automobile, process, machines and equipment, electronics and components and textile. Responses from 90 companies were analysed to explore the validity and reliability of the proposed framework of ME in Indian industry. The developed questionnaire is outlined along with the results obtained from the analysis of the data from the Indian industry. The framework shows high level of reliability and validity.     

Selective Out-Migration from Florida

I test if selective out-migration of unhealthy seniors explains why disability rates are so much lower for Florida, as compared to the national average. This particular area of research is timely given the significant demographic changes relating to aging. Moreover, this study contributes to the body of literature examining migration with respect to disability and widowhood. Using State Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) and Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMA), I create national maps showing disability rates for the following age-groups: 50–59, 60–69, and 70+. After creating maps in ARCGIS and conducting univariate and clustering analysis on mobility disability and personal care limitation, I employ multinomial logit (MNL) analysis to test if individuals with disability are more likely to out-migrate from Florida. The regression analyses lend support to the relaxed Litwak and Longino (The Gerontologist, 27(3): 266–272, 1987) second-move hypothesis, which claims individuals with progressively worse health are more likely to undertake another move to be closer to family and friends. I state “relaxed” because the data does not allow one to determine the reason for migration—only that migration occurred during the past year. This research informs policy-makers to recognize that elderly in better health may migrate to places such as Arizona and Florida due to amenity-seeking behavior, but unhealthy elderly are more likely to leave these states due to assistance-seeking behavior. This out-migration can place excess demand on health services for the incoming regions, which requires state and local government to ensure resources are in place. Also noteworthy, my results are less likely to be flawed by erroneous age and sex data in the public use microdata samples (IPUMS) since I stack the 2006 and 2007 American Community Survey (ACS). A recent working studies by Alexander et al. (Inaccurate age and sex data in the Census PUMS files: Evidence and implications. Munich: CESifo, 2010) shows inaccuracies in the IPUMS for the 1 and 5% 2000 Census, the 2003–2006 ACS, the 2005–2007 3-year ACS, and the 2004–2009 current population survey (CPS) files.     

Making quality a fundamental part of strategy

All that is known about strategy and strategic planning indicates that quality is a major factor in gaining competitive advantage. It is cost effective, profitable, promotes corporate longevity and builds an important company value system. The authors argue that is too important a factor to be left solely to quality control personnel or planners and is a fundamental part of the chief executive's responsibility for the development of strategy.     

Second-Order Response Surface Model with Neighbor Effects

This article considers the second-order response surface model in which the experimental units, i.e., plots experience the neighbor effects from immediate left and right neighboring plots assuming the plots to be placed adjacent linearly with no gaps. Conditions have been derived for the estimation of coefficients of second-order response surface model. A method of constructing designs for fitting second-order response surface in the presence of neighbor effects has been developed. The designs so obtained are found to be rotatable.     

Sufficiency of a sufficient statistic for equivariant estimation

Suppose an estimation problem is invariant under a group of transformations and one is interested in finding an optimal equivariant estimator. The usual proactice is to confine attention to non-randomized equivariant estimators based on a minimal sufficient statistic. A justification of this restriction to a smaller clas of estimators is given in this paper under certain conditions.     

ON RESOLVABLE INCOMPLETE BLOCK DESIGNS1

A method of constructing resolvable incomplete block designs for v(=ks, 2 ≤ k ≤ s - 1) treatments in blocks of size k using mutually orthogonal Latin squares is proposed. It has been seen in particular that when the number of replications is s — 1 (or s), which is feasible if s is a prime or a prime power, the method gives PBIB (3) (or semi-regular GD) designs. The analysis of such designs has also been discussed.     

Measuring the Well-Beings of the Developing Countries: Achievement and Improvement Indices

The paradigm of development in the recent days has been shifted from Per Capita Gross National Product (PCGNP) to Human Well-being. It has also been admitted broadly that PCGNP does not automatically transformed into human well-being. It has thus become common practice to use a range of socio-economic variables for measuring the human Well-being (quality of life) in a country. In order to measure the well-being of about 70 developing countries, this study widens the scope of the Physical Quality of Life Index (PQLI) introduced by Morris, by incorporating a number of social aspects of life. On the basis of these indicators, the achievements in the quality of life of these countries are analyzed in this study. An attempt is also made to compare the decadal improvements in their performances in respect of the quality of life over a period of 1960 to 1990. The study also attempts to analyze the relations between achievements and improvements of quality of life and achievements and improvements in terms of PCRGDP of the countries.     

Gambling in Western and Eastern Europe: The Example of Hungary

The history of gambling in post-socialist countries is noticeably different from that of other countries in Europe. The goal of this study was therefore twofold: Firstly, to systematically review all European epidemiological studies related to excessive gambling in the general adult population, and secondly, to provide an overview of the state of gambling in Hungary based on the first ever nationwide representative survey, setting the results against the backdrop of the earlier European studies. A systematic review was carried out of European gambling studies which focus on a representative adult general population. Hungarian data was obtained from the National Survey on Addiction Problems in Hungary general adult population survey (N = 2,710). Pathological gambling was measured by the South Oaks Gambling Screen. Lifetime prevalence of excessive gambling (problem and pathological gambling) in the general adult population of European countries varies between 1.1% (Italy and Spain) and 6.5% (Estonia). In Hungary, the prevalence of problem gambling is 1.9%, with pathological gambling at 1.4%. The socio-demographic characteristics of the results are similar to those of other European countries. Using epidemiological data from the general adult populations of two post-socialist nations, it was possible to compare the results with data from 12 other European countries. Based on the data available, the extremely rapid liberation of the gambling market in the post-socialist countries has led to a similarly swift escalation in associated gambling problems.