Accelerated test system strength models based on Birnbaum–Saunders distribution: a complete Bayesian analysis and comparison

Several models for studies related to tensile strength of materials are proposed in the literature where the size or length component has been taken to be an important factor for studying the specimens’ failure behaviour. An important model, developed on the basis of cumulative damage approach, is the three-parameter extension of the Birnbaum–Saunders fatigue model that incorporates size of the specimen as an additional variable. This model is a strong competitor of the commonly used Weibull model and stands better than the traditional models, which do not incorporate the size effect. The paper considers two such cumulative damage models, checks their compatibility with a real dataset, compares them with some of the recent toolkits, and finally recommends a model, which appears an appropriate one. Throughout the study is Bayesian based on Markov chain Monte Carlo simulation.     

“Who generates this city”? Socialist strategy in contemporary London

This essay, based on a “militant ethnography” of the attempts of the small radical grassroots activist group, Our London (a pseudonym), to mobilize a collective oppositional politics through activities around an election campaign, engages critically with E. Laclau and C. Mouffe's arguments on discourse and collectivity in Hegemony and Socialist Strategy (London: Verso, 1985). I argue, on the basis of my findings, that while their model does provide insights that help describe the process of building collectivity from among disparate perspectives and identities, we need to go beyond a focus on discourse alone and consider the ways politics is shaped by material contexts. This is necessary if we are to understand the continued appeal of class politics as well as the difficulties in mobilizing collectivity in highly unequal and fragmented cities. From an activist perspective, the essay also highlights how developing a conception of collective interests and a critique of overarching systems of exploitation can be important in building political unity.     

Creating value through offshore outsourcing: An integrative framework

This article proposes an analytical framework to explain value creation through offshore outsourcing by addressing a key question: How do firms create value by outsourcing their business functions to foreign external providers? The growing prevalence of offshore outsourcing as a dominant business practice in global business makes this question worthy of further research attention. Situated within the organizational design literature, our proposed value creation framework also draws from strategic resource management, disintegration, location-specific resourcing, and externalization (D–L–E) and contingency perspectives. Our analysis shows that firms embarking on offshore outsourcing create value by effectively managing their internal and external resources in accordance with a changing global environment. The framework has significant implications for theory and practice and suggests avenues for further research.     

An integrative framework for studying sustainable practices and its adoption in the AEC industry: A case study

The diversity of priorities and differing awareness of sustainable practices among stakeholders in the architecture, engineering and construction industry is critically shaping the adoption of green technology, and the rate at which the industry is shifting towards more sustainable practices. In this paper, we develop an integrated framework that allows reorganization and integration of existing sustainability research in the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry, emphasizing the perspective of decision-makers and stakeholders. Further, an agent-based model is introduced that allows study of the decision-maker with the decision context, thus making them an integral part of the decision-making process rather than independent of it. The coupled system is adaptive and dynamically organizes itself to reflect complex bottom-up interactions between individual stakeholders, their contexts and the constraints driving their decisions even as they implement or respond to top-down decisions pertaining to the adoption of sustainable practices. The contention of this research is that an integrative systems approach to top-down decision-making and an understanding of bottom-up influences in stakeholder decisions is critical to the understanding sustainable practices and decisions that lead to their adoption in the AEC industry.     

The Reception Given to Sadhu Sundar Singh,the Itinerant Indian Christian ‘Mystic’, in Interwar Britain

In 1920 and 1922, an Indian Christian called Sadhu Sundar Singh toured Britain. Widely renowned in the global Christian community in the interwar period, Singh was notorious for certain stories of miracles, for his appearance and for the ways in which he epitomised Eastern Christianity. Using Singh’s correspondence and a range of newspapers, this article argues that British audiences were attracted to Singh because of his appearance and ethnicity and because he conformed to stereotypes of essentialised Indian spirituality despite his Christian faith. It argues that the reception to Singh in Britain must be understood in relation to the perpetuation of Orientalist understandings of Indians and Indian religions in the interwar period.     

Ridge estimation of restricted parameters in production techniques

The problem of determining ridge estimates of the regression parameters in a two-input production function model,constrained to be non-negative,has been formulated as an exercise in quadratic programming. Relevant Kuhn-Tucker conditions have been derived and a small simulation studv has been carried out.     

Estimation of the multi-criteria worths of the alternatives in a hierarchical structure of comparisons

The aggregated worths of the alternatives, when compared with respect to several criteria, are estimated in a hierarchical comparisons model introduced by Saaty (1980). A multiplicative model is used for the paired comparisons data which are collected in a ratio scale in this set-up in any level of this hierarchy. An iterative scheme is found for the maximum likelihood estimation of the worth parameters in this multiplicative model. The iterative values are shown to be convergent monotonically to the estimates. We also obtain the asymptotic dispersion matrix of the maximum likelihood estimates of the relative worths of the alternatives according to a single criterion as well as those according to the over-all suitability when compared under several criteria. A numerical example is presented to illustrate the method developed in this paper. Simulation techniques are employed to find the average number of iterations required for the convergence of the above iterative scheme.     

A Data‐Driven Approach to Assessing Supply Inadequacy Risks Due to Climate‐Induced Shifts in Electricity Demand

The U.S. electric power system is increasingly vulnerable to the adverse impacts of extreme climate events. Supply inadequacy risk can result from climate‐induced shifts in electricity demand and/or damaged physical assets due to hydro‐meteorological hazards and climate change. In this article, we focus on the risks associated with the unanticipated climate‐induced demand shifts and propose a data‐driven approach to identify risk factors that render the electricity sector vulnerable in the face of future climate variability and change. More specifically, we have leveraged advanced supervised learning theory to identify the key predictors of climate‐sensitive demand in the residential, commercial, and industrial sectors. Our analysis indicates that variations in mean dew point temperature is the common major risk factor across all the three sectors. We have also conducted a statistical sensitivity analysis to assess the variability in the projected demand as a function of the key climate risk factor. We then propose the use of scenario‐based heat maps as a tool to communicate the inadequacy risks to stakeholders and decisionmakers. While we use the state of Ohio as a case study, our proposed approach is equally applicable to all other states.