Analysing critical success factors to implement sustainable supply chain practices in Indian automobile industry: a case study

The aim of this article is to analyse the critical success factors (CSFs) behind the successful implementation of sustainable supply chain practices in Indian automobile industry. Supply chain sustainability is a critical and timely topic for the developing country like India that captures increasing concerns over sustainability, whether driven by current legislation, public interest or competitive opportunity. Identification of CSFs responsible for sustainable supply chain practices and evaluating their contextual relationships has the potential to affect future government policy, current production operations and identify new business models. In response to this, this paper intends to identify CSFs based on organisational theory and model them to implement sustainable supply chain practices in Indian automobile industry. Twenty-five CSFs to implement sustainable supply chain practices based on organisational theory are recognised by means of the literature review and in discussions with experts in one case study organisation. A solution methodology based on the interpretive structural modelling (ISM) technique is used to propose a structural model, which not only helps in understanding the contextual relationship among these CSFs, but also in determining their interdependence to implement sustainable supply chain practices. Further, the importance of CSFs has been determined based on their driving and dependence power using MICMAC analysis. Our overarching thesis is that the insights gained are useful for Indian automobile industry and would help practitioners, regulators and academicians to focus their efforts towards implementation of sustainable supply chain practices.     

How does cultural capital affect educational performance: Signals or skills?

In this paper, we test two mechanisms through which cultural capital might affect educational performance: (a) teachers misinterpreting cultural capital as signals of academic brilliance and (b) cultural capital fostering skills in children that enhance educational performance. We analyse data from the ECLS-K and ECLS-K:2011 from the United States and focus on three aspects of children’s cultural capital: participation in performing arts, reading interest and participation in athletics and clubs. We find that (1) none of the three aspects of cultural capital that we consider affects teachers’ evaluations of children’s academic skills; (2) reading interest has a direct positive effect on educational performance; and (3) the direct effect of reading interest on educational performance does not depend on schooling context. Our results provide little support for the hypothesis that cultural capital operates via signals about academic brilliance. Instead, they suggest that cultural capital fosters skills in children that enhance educational performance. We discuss the theoretical implications of our findings.     

A new S2 control chart using repetitive sampling

A new S² control chart is presented for monitoring the process variance by utilizing a repetitive sampling scheme. The double control limits called inner and outer control limits are proposed, whose coefficients are determined by considering the average run length (ARL) and the average sample number when the process is in control. The proposed control chart is compared with the existing Shewhart S² control chart in terms of the ARLs. The result shows that the proposed control chart is more efficient than the existing control chart in detecting the process shift.     

The run length distributions of the R,s and s2 control charts when is estimated

R, s and s2 charts with estimated control limits are widely used in practice. Common practice in control-chart theory is to estimate the control limits using data from the process and, once the process is determined to be in control, to treat the resulting control limits as though fixed. While there are empirical rules for setting up the control charts using past or trial data, little is known about the run length distributions of these charts when the fact that control limits are estimated is taken into account. In this paper, we derive and evaluate the run length distributions associated with the R, s and s2 charts when the process standard deviation a is estimated. The results are then used to discuss the appropriateness of the widely followed empirical rules for choosing the number m of samples and the sample size n.     

无为范畴探析

文章通过老子思想体系透视无为范畴,多层面地展示了其内涵。     

高等职业教育要走特色办学之路

走新型工业化道路,必须发挥科学技术作为第一生产力的重要作用,提高劳动者素质,培养数以千万计的高素质的专门人才,这为高等职业教育的发展提供了大好机遇。但目前高等职业教育定位不准,办学没有特色,培养的学生不能很好地适应社会需要,造成高职毕业生就业困难,高职院校不同程度地出现生源紧张。为加快培养高职人才的步伐,教育部将缩短高等职业教育学制,由三年制转为两年制,这就要求高等职业教育必须找准自己的定位,以就业为导向,突出办学特色,在专业设置、课程设置和培养模式等方面加大改革力度,建立起与社会主义市场经济相适应的具有自身特色的高等职业教育体系。     

动态经济系统分析的经济计量模型与方法

综述可有效阐明动态经济系统长期关系和因果关系的因果测度理论. 首先简要介绍多变 量时间序列的协整过程及与此相关的若干概念,并总结了在经济计量学领域评价较高的多变 量自回归模型的统计识别方法. 基于多变量时间序列协整过程的向量自回归模型,较详细讨论 了多变量时间序列间各种因果测度的定义及其沃尔德检验. 所述单方向因果测度及其统计检 验理论作为C1W. J . Granger 非因果性理论的扩张,不仅可以检验两组时间序列间的因果影响 存在与否,还可以定量描述影响的程度. 单方向因果测度理论为分析复杂经济系统提     

Empirical nonparametric control charts for high-quality processes

For attribute data with (very) small failure rates often control charts are used which decide whether to stop or to continue each time r failures have occurred, for some r?1. Because of the small probabilities involved, such charts are very sensitive to estimation effects. This is true in particular if the underlying failure rate varies and hence the distributions involved are not geometric. Such a situation calls for a nonparametric approach, but this may require far more Phase I observations than are typically available in practice. In the present paper it is shown how this obstacle can be effectively overcome by looking not at the sum but rather at the maximum of each group of size r.     

金融发展差异与货币政策区域效应——以华东六省一市为例

选取华东六省一市作为研究对象,运用因子分析方法研究2012年该7个省市金融发展情况及其差异,并对其金融发展相似性进行聚类分析。在此基础上,采用1990—2012年数据,对聚类后的三类地区通过基于VAR模型的协整关系检验、Granger因果关系检验等建立变量间长期均衡模型,实证研究货币政策在华东地区不同省市效应的差异性。研究结果表明:三类地区经济增长和货币政策对于区域金融发展均具有明显的区域效应,经济发展和广义货币供应量与金融发展均呈正相关关系。鉴此,提出如下政策建议:正视区域经济发展差异,实施差别化货币调控政策;优化各区域金融结构差异,改善货币政策传导效应等。