Developing the human resource strategies with the approach to Strategic Reference Points (SRP) (Case Study: The Civil Deputy of the Isfahan Municipality)

Codification and implementation of human resource strategy are practiced to make a bridge between policies and human resource methods, on the one hand, and strategic goals of the organization, on the other hand. Therefore, the present research was undertaken to develop human resource strategies with an approach to strategic reference point (SRP) in Deputy of Civil Affairs of Isfahan Municipality via a hybrid (qualitative and quantitative) method. The model adopted in this research was based on the integrated model proposed by Bamberger and Meshoulam. In the qualitative part, purposive sampling was used to achieve data saturation, while census method was utilized in the quantitative part. The quantitative data was collected via a descriptive survey approach through two researcher-constructed questionnaires, while qualitative data was collected via interviews. Following the analysis of the obtained data, strategic coordinates of the jobs were determined and appropriate strategic model for each set of the jobs was identified. Research findings showed that paternal strategies are appropriate for management, technical, and specialized jobs, secondary strategies are suitable for administrative jobs, and contractor strategies well fit to servicing jobs. Finally, as components of a framework for achieving organizational goals, strategic goals, human resource strategies, and human resource subsystems (human resource supply, performance evaluation and rewards, employee relations) were developed

EURL ECVAM Workshop on New Generation of Physiologically-Based Kinetic Models in Risk Assessment

The European Union Reference Laboratory for Alternatives to Animal Testing (EURL ECVAM) Strategy Document on Toxicokinetics (TK) outlines strategies to enable prediction of systemic toxicity by applying new approach methodologies (NAM). The central feature of the strategy focuses on using physiologically-based kinetic (PBK) modelling to integrate data generated by in vitro and in silico methods for absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion (ADME) in humans for predicting whole-body TK behaviour, for environmental chemicals, drugs, nano-materials, and mixtures. In order to facilitate acceptance and use of this new generation of PBK models, which do not rely on animal/human in vivo data in the regulatory domain, experts were invited by EURL ECVAM to (i) identify current challenges in the application of PBK modelling to support regulatory decision making; (ii) discuss challenges in constructing models with no in vivo kinetic data and opportunities for estimating parameter values using in vitro and in silico methods; (iii) present the challenges in assessing model credibility relying on non-animal data and address strengths, uncertainties and limitations in such an approach; (iv) establish a good kinetic modelling practice workflow to serve as the foundation for guidance on the generation and use of in vitro and in silico data to construct PBK models designed to support regulatory decision making. To gauge the current state of PBK applications, experts were asked upfront of the workshop to fill a short survey. In the workshop, using presentations and discussions, the experts elaborated on the importance of being transparent about the model construct, assumptions, and applications to support assessment of model credibility. The experts offered several recommendations to address commonly perceived limitations of parameterization and evaluation of PBK models developed using non-animal data and its use in risk assessment, these include: (i) develop a decision tree for model construction; (ii) set up a task force for independent model peer review; (iii) establish a scoring system for model evaluation; (iv) attract additional funding to develop accessible modelling software.; (v) improve and facilitate communication between scientists (model developers, data provider) and risk assessors/regulators; and (vi) organise specific training for end users. The experts also acknowledged the critical need for developing a guidance document on building, characterising, reporting and documenting PBK models using non-animal data. This document would also need to include guidance on interpreting the model analysis for various risk assessment purposes, such as incorporating PBK models in integrated strategy approaches and integrating them with in vitro toxicity testing and adverse outcome pathways. This proposed guidance document will promote the development of PBK models using in vitro and silico data and facilitate the regulatory acceptance of PBK models for assessing safety of chemicals

Hierarchical modeling of polystyrene melts: From soft blobs to atomistic resolution

We demonstrate that hierarchical backmapping strategies incorporating generic blob-based models can equilibrate melts of high-molecular-weight polymers, described with chemically specific, atomistic, models. The central idea behind these strategies, is first to represent polymers by chains of large soft blobs (spheres) and efficiently equilibrate the melt on mesoscopic scale. Then, the degrees of freedom of more detailed models are reinserted step by step. The procedure terminates when the atomistic description is reached. Reinsertions are feasible computationally because the fine-grained melt must be re-equilibrated only locally. To develop the method, we choose a polymer with sufficient complexity. We consider polystyrene (PS), characterized by stereochemistry and bulky side groups. Our backmapping strategy bridges mesoscopic and atomistic scales by incorporating a blob-based, a moderately CG, and a united-atom model of PS. We demonstrate that the generic blob-based model can be parameterized to reproduce the mesoscale properties of a specific polymer -- here PS. The moderately CG model captures stereochemistry. To perform backmapping we improve and adjust several fine-graining techniques. We prove equilibration of backmapped PS melts by comparing their structural and conformational properties with reference data from smaller systems, equilibrated with less efficient methods.Comment: 18 page

Model Design of Performance Improvement Strategy of Private Higher Education Using Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) Method and Mutivariate Data Analysis (MDA)

The development of the number of Private Universities in Indonesia requires Private Universities to have good Performance and Quality. Private Universities must apply a new angle of thinking that contains elements of flexibility, speed, innovation, and integration. Flexibility, speed, innovation and integration really need human resources full of creativity. Creativity can arise from human resources who have excellence in science. Thus, Private Universities is expected to not only be able to produce the best graduates, but also be able to develop two things contained in the Tri Dharma of higher education, namely researching the results of high-quality research and developing technology for community service. For that Private Universities must always be able to adapt, develop and make improvements through organizational learning. This study aims to determine the strategy model for improving performance using a combination of AHP (Analytical Hierarchy Process) and Multivariate Data Analysis (MDA) methods. The sample of this research is management that manages Private Universities (Private Universities leaders) from several Private Universities in the Province of Lamping. AHP (Analytical Hierarchy Process) method is an analytical tool that can be used to make decisions on conditions with complex factors, especially if the decision is subjective. While the Multivariate Data Analysis (MDA) method refers to the statistical technique used to analyze data that appears from more than one variable. The results of this study indicate that there is a significant effect. Organizational Learning Factors, External Environment, Reputation, Competence, Professionalism, and Performance have a significant effect on Private Private Universities Performance. These criteria and sub-criteria are used as references for Private Universities management as a strategy to improve Private Universities performance in Lampung Province. This is basically a model of reality where each decision involves more than one single variable. This research is important to determine the best model in Private Universities Performance Improvement strategies. The results of this study contributed to the decision maker or management of Private Universities as a reference material in the member policies in improving the Performance of Private Universitie

Corporate entrepreneurship capability model for contractors

This thesis explores the implementation of corporate entrepreneurship (CE) to support contractors’ business success based on the experiences of contractors in Indonesia. Furthermore, an assessment model was developed to determine the capability of contractors to implement CE; thereby providing a foundation for contractors to develop appropriate corporate strategies to move from their existing level to their target level. An exploratory research strategy was used to investigate the implementation of CE by contractors. Semi-structured interviews of top managers of contractors in Indonesia have been conducted to explore the experiences of contractors to implement CE. The data was analysed using inductive thematic analysis. A coding process has been carried out to generate themes that will be considered as key factors of CE for contractors. NVivo 10 software has been used to carry out the coding process. Twenty one key factors of CE for contractors were identified. These key factors are categorised into five dimensions of CE: autonomy, competitive aggressiveness, innovativeness, proactiveness and risk taking that have been adopted to explore the implementation of CE in contractors. Furthermore, a Corporate Entrepreneurship Capability Model (CECM) has been developed based on the concept of the Capability Maturity Model (CMM) to assess the capability level of contractors to implement CE. The expert review approach has been adopted to justify the quality of the CECM. This model was reviewed by ten academics from universities in Indonesia. Then case studies were carried out on three contractors in Indonesia to assess the practical application of the CECM. This study expands the boundaries of construction management and entrepreneurship theories for new areas of research and opens broad opportunities for further study. The study also offers contractors a reference to implement CE as well as a tool to assess their entrepreneurial orientation in order to have a foundation from which to develop a strategy that supports their business success

Development of a Quasi-Dimension GCI Combustion Model Aided by CFD

Advanced combustion strategies have been proposed to improve fuel efficiency while minimizing exhaust emissions. Gasoline compression ignition (GCI) combustion featuring partially premixed compression ignition (PPCI) and diffusion combustion has been recognized as an attractive, viable combustion strategy for its potential and advantages over conventional diesel and gasoline engines. The optimization of the GCI engine system requires the development of a quasi-dimensional GCI combustion model capable of simulating GCI combustion while requesting less computational burden than CFD simulation, which is very critical in engine system simulation. This study developed a quasi-dimension, phenomenological combustion model for PPCI and diffusion combustion to facilitate the early development of GCI combustion strategy. Due to the limited GCI engine test results, additional parametric CFD studies were conducted and served as a reference to develop the GCI combustion model and investigate the effect on GCI combustion of thermal conditions typically considered during early strategy development. A reduced toluene primary reference fuel and ethanol (TPRFE) mechanism with 65 species and 283 reactions was used to simulate GCI combustion in CFD and quasi-dimension models. Additionally, the behavior of high-pressure gasoline spray was investigated using CFD to support the development of the phenomenological spray dynamics model. The traditional phenomenological SI and CI combustion model frameworks were improved to simulate gasoline PPCI-diffusion combustion accurately with the spray dynamics, air entrainment, ignition delay, and heat release sub-models. The traditional spray model was improved and validated using CFD simulation results as a reference. The CFD result identified a high level of fuel concentration at the spray tip due to the drag and pushing momentum by the following fuel packets. This observation was accounted for in the development of the spray model. The ignition delay was calculated by solving the chemistry kinetics and curve fitting using the identical chemistry mechanism employed in CFD analysis. This research demonstrated that the phenomenological combustion model developed in this study could simulate fuel spray, fuel atomization, ignition delay, and heat release process. The GCI model has been integrated into GT-Suite and successfully applied to improve the combustion process with the valvetrain system. Various variable valve actuation (VVA) strategies were investigated at low-load operating conditions, including early exhaust valve open (EEVO), late exhaust valve open (LEVO), negative valve overlap (NVO), positive valve overlap (PVO), and exhaust gas rebreathing (RB). The RB strategies were identified as the most effective in promoting in-cylinder gas temperature by increasing the hot internal residual gas fraction. This research also numerically investigated the potential of a close coupled-selective catalytic reduction (CC-SCR) system in further NOx emissions of a heavy-duty diesel engine using GT-suite. Diesel engine transient test results were utilized to evaluate CC-SCR instead of GCI results due to limited GCI testing data available. The effects of volume and geometry of the CC-SCR on NOx reduction were numerically investigated under the HD FTP transient cycle. The simulation results revealed that CC-SCR was a very effective strategy, showing that nearly 80 % of the total reduction was realized at the CC-SCR under the transient cycle. This study examined the necessity of accounting for the non-uniform distribution of exhaust gas and urea in the SCR model based on the observation of inhomogeneity at the inlet of CC-SCR in CFD simulation

Statistical and Computational Methods for Genome-Wide Association Analysis

Technological and scientific advances in recent years have revolutionized genomics. For example, decreases in whole genome sequencing (WGS) costs have enabled larger WGS studies as well as larger imputation reference panels, which in turn provide more comprehensive genomic coverage from lower-cost genotyping methods. In addition, new technologies and large collaborative efforts such as ENCODE and GTEx have shed new light on regulatory genomics and the function of non-coding variation, and produced expansive publicly available data sets. These advances have introduced data of unprecedented size and dimension, unique statistical and computational challenges, and numerous opportunities for innovation. In this dissertation, we develop methods to leverage functional genomics data in post-GWAS analysis, to expedite routine computations with increasingly large genetic data sets, and to address limitations of current imputation reference panels for understudied populations. In Chapter 2, we propose strategies to improve imputation and increase power in GWAS of understudied populations. Genotype imputation is instrumental in GWAS, providing increased genomic coverage from low-cost genotyping arrays. Imputation quality depends crucially on reference panel size and the genetic distance between reference and target haplotypes. Current reference panels provide excellent imputation quality in many European populations, but lower quality in non-European, admixed, and isolate populations. We consider a GWAS strategy in which a subset of participants is sequenced and the rest are imputed using a reference panel that comprises the sequenced participants together with individuals from an external reference panel. Using empirical data from the HRC and TOPMed WGS Project, simulations, and asymptotic analysis, we identify powerful and cost-effective study designs for GWAS of non-European, admixed, and isolated populations. In Chapter 3, we develop efficient methods to estimate linkage disequilibrium (LD) with large data sets. Motivated by practical and logistical constraints, a variety of statistical methods and tools have been developed for analysis of GWAS summary statistics rather than individual-level data. These methods often rely on LD estimates from an external reference panel, which are ideally calculated on-the-fly rather than precomputed and stored. We develop efficient algorithms to estimate LD exploiting sparsity and haplotype structure and implement our methods in an open-source C++ tool, emeraLD. We benchmark performance using genotype data from the 1KGP, HRC, and UK Biobank, and find that emeraLD is up to two orders of magnitude faster than existing tools while using comparable or less memory. In Chapter 4, we develop methods to identify causative genes and biological mechanisms underlying associations in post-GWAS analysis by leveraging regulatory and functional genomics databases. Many gene-based association tests can be viewed as instrumental variable methods in which intermediate phenotypes, e.g. tissue-specific expression or protein alteration, are hypothesized to mediate the association between genotype and GWAS trait. However, LD and pleiotropy can confound these statistics, which complicates their mechanistic interpretation. We develop a hierarchical Bayesian model that accounts for multiple potential mechanisms underlying associations using functional genomic annotations derived from GTEx, Roadmap/ENCODE, and other sources. We apply our method to analyze twenty-five complex traits using GWAS summary statistics from UK Biobank, and provide an open-source implementation of our methods. In Chapter 5, we review our work, discuss its relevance and prospects as new resources emerge, and suggest directions for future research.PHDBiostatisticsUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/147697/1/corbinq_1.pd

Strategic Planning Model of Islamic Religious Higher Education (PTKI) in Indonesia

Strategic planning for higher education is vital because it becomes a reference in determining the direction of policy and organizational performance. To win the competition in gaining the market, strategic planning activities become the spearhead in determining the strategy to achieve the appropriate institutional goals. However, the implementation of strategic planning at Islamic Religious Higher Education (PTKI) is often constrained because of the lack of understanding of the importance of these theories, so the implementation of strategic planning is often only intended for administrative requirements. Amid this condition, there is a phenomenon where some PTKIs are developing rapidly and transforming to be more market-oriented and to win the competition. These PTKIs are UIN Maulana Malik Ibrahim Malang, UIN Syarif Hidayatullah, IAIN Tulungagung, Muhammadiyah University of Malang, and Malang Islamic University. They have succeeded in creating effective strategies in organizational development until now they can become modern institutions and develop into multi-level organizations. The purpose of this study is to explore the five PTKI strategy models in Indonesia at the corporate and business unit levels based on Fred R. David's corporate-level strategy models, and Porter's generic strategy model theory Data were collected by qualitative methods through observation, interview, and documentation techniques. The results showed that at the corporate level, Fred R. David's strategy models applied by PTKI were vertical integration strategy, intensive strategy, and diversification strategy. In the defensive strategy, what is more, applied is the retrenchment strategy choice. However, at the business unit level, Porter's well-implemented strategy models are the cost leadership strategy, differentiation strategy, and focus strategy. These results have implications for the selection of business strategy models to be used in either profit-oriented or non-profit strategic planning activities in PTKI

Prosper. An evaluation of tourism's contribution to regional economies

Prosper has delivered a three part model for assessing and enhancing the value of tourism in regional areas. The first part of the model uses simple indicators to provide an assessment of the economic, social, and environmental value attached to tourism. An indicators approach was adopted following extensive review of the application of more complex approaches to regional economic analysis. The review found that complex approaches are unlikely to produce results of sufficient validity and applicability to warrant their high resource costs (time, money, and skills). Complex models are also more difficult to maintain. The economic value is represented through quantitative indicators relating to employment and the number of businesses in tourism related sectors. These are all relative indicators (for example, proportion of all businesses which are businesses in the tourism sector or proportion of change in employment that can be attributed to change in tourism related employment). These indicators are drawn from national data sets which provide information for statistical local areas and/or postcode areas. This offers the opportunity to develop and deliver consistent national profiles through a vehicle such as Decipher. National standard data sets are supplemented in the model by more qualitative assessments of tourism’s contribution to the local economy made by business operators through interviews or surveys. Again, tracking the change in these assessments over time is the key to the model. Social and environmental values are substantially more difficult to assess. The Prosper case studies have included qualitative assessments derived from business and community meetings, local government and other administrative documents, media and a simplified network analysis identifying the extent to which community based organisations interact with the delivery of tourism services. Data sets have been identified which would allow a quantitative analysis of the extent to which tourism activity (visitor movements, business activity, business construction) encroaches on environmentally sensitive areas or is responsible for redevelopment or preservation of built environments. The case studies have not been able to implement this quantitative analysis. The second part of the model conducts a ‘diagnostic’ assessment of the capacity in the region to harness the value of tourism through innovation. Innovation is seen as a very important mechanism for both identifying regional issues and developing responses to those issues. Innovation is widely accepted in the literature as a driver of economic growth, and concepts such as ‘systems of innovation’ and ‘regional systems of innovation’ have become common in understanding how that innovation can be encouraged and placed within technical or geographical contexts. The diagnostic element of the Prosper model uses a series of techniques (including historical document analysis, interviews, and network analysis) to investigate the characteristics of region’s human tourism resources in relation to their ‘innovation potential’. Innovation potential is influenced by: • Economic competence – the extent to which those resources include capacity to manage projects and implement new ideas; • Clustering of resources – the spatial relationships between tourism attractions and amenities and nontourism amenities and resources which may be critical in the delivery of tourism product; • Networks – the social and professional relationships between tourism attractions and amenities and nontourism amenities and resources which may be critical in the delivery of tourism product; • Development blocks – the existence of sufficient new resources or new ways of looking at existing resources to provide opportunities for innovation. Development blocks need also to be a source of tension or disequilibrium so that their use is contested and therefore options more likely to be scrutinized as to their viability; • Entrepreneurship – the capacity for human resources to engage in new tasks and drive activity; • Critical mass – the relationship between the capacity to supply tourism product, and the capacity to access sufficient and appropriate markets (including resident markets) to support ongoing supply; • Local government – the extent to which local government considers tourism an important issue and is willing to engage in the innovation process • Production and distribution of knowledge – the extent to which the history and current status of tourism is understood and communicated, and the degree to which stakeholders can access and apply new information for identifying the potential or need for change, assessing the viability of projects, and evaluating activities; • Social, political and cultural capital – the strength of the social, political and cultural environments, and the degree to which those environments can be effectively harnessed to support tourism innovation. The third part of the model uses ‘visioning’ techniques (drawing in part on experiences from Sustainable Tourism CRC projects on ‘Gold Coast Visioning’ led by Professor Bill Faulkner at Griffith University, and research by Walker, Lee, Goddard, Kelly & Pedersen, 2005) to engage stakeholders in developing strategies for identifying tourism value issues (based on the community awareness of the value of tourism, aspirations for enhancing value, and strategies for addressing deficiencies in innovation potential). A number of processes are available for applying visioning techniques. Our case studies typically involved community leaders accepting ownership of the results of the application of the first components of the model and, in a facilitated or nonfacilitated way, delivering these results broadly through the community. In some cases, strategies emerged entirely from within the region, while in others, the research team was further engaged to collate strategy suggestions and summarise the arguments attached to these suggestions. In most cases, the final case study write-up included reference to suggestions which appeared likely to be carried forward. The Prosper model was tested in thirteen case studies, not simply to establish whether the relationships hypothesized between innovation potential and harnessing the value of tourism could be observed, but also to establish to extent to which participating regions viewed the application of the model as important and worthwhile in their attempts to move forward. The case studies were a mix of five new studies conducted using the Prosper model in a direct way and meta-analysis of eight previous case studies. The short time frame for the research (2 and ½ years) and the relatively long term nature of change made it impossible to design the research to evaluate the success of the strategies developed or any specific innovations in new case studies, so the metaanalysis studies were significant in this respect. The case studies strongly supported the second part of the model in particular, and the research served as an influential tool for many of the case study communities who were able to implement programs of value monitoring (through quantitative or qualitative means), identify ways in which their systems of innovation could be strengthened, and develop context specific mechanisms for identifying and assessing the feasibility of tourism development proposals. The research has delivered a number of outputs which may be used in dissemination and commercialisation of the intellectual property. A stand-alone publication reviewing the applicability of various economic value assessment techniques to regional tourism has been produced. A quick guide to the Prosper model and assessing whether application of the model would assist a particular region has been drafted, and is slated for development in collaboration with Sustainable Tourism CRC. A detailed methodology specification has been prepared, and may be used as the basis of consulting services or the conduct of further case studies. The quantitative data sets (Census, Sensis, TTF employment analysis, labour force statistics etc.) may be made available through Decipher and included in a structured Decipher product which facilitates analysis and interpretation. A book containing research results of the thirteen case studies and an overview of the relationship between those case studies and the Prosper model has been edited by Dean Carson and Dr Jim Macbeth and has been submitted to the Sustainable Tourism CRC editorial team led by Professor Chris Cooper at the University of Queensland

Commonwealth Fisheries Harvest Strategy: Policy and Guidelines

The harvest strategy policy and associated implementation guidelines was developed by the Australian Government in 2007. The aim was to ensure that key commercial fish species are managed for long -- term biological sustainability and economic profitability. It also seeks to provide the fishing industry with a more certain operating environment. The harvest strategy policy provides a framework that allows a strategic, science -- based approach to setting total allowable catch levels in all Commonwealth fisheries on a fishery by fishery basis. The implementation guidelines provide practical advice on how to interpret and apply the harvest strategy policy to Australia's fisheries and contain details of the science behind the fisheries management decisions. After the policy was issued in September 2007, the then minister required the Australian Fisheries Management Authority to implement harvest strategies in all relevant Commonwealth fisheries by January 2008