An Investigation into Factors Affecting the Chilled Food Industry

With the advent of Industry 4.0, many new approaches towards process monitoring, benchmarking and traceability are becoming available, and these techniques have the potential to radically transform the agri-food sector. In particular, the chilled food supply chain (CFSC) contains a number of unique challenges by virtue of it being thought of as a temperature controlled supply chain. Therefore, once the key issues affecting the CFSC have been identified, algorithms can be proposed, which would allow realistic thresholds to be established for managing these problems on the micro, meso and macro scales. Hence, a study is required into factors affecting the CFSC within the scope of Industry 4.0. The study itself has been broken down into four main topics: identifying the key issues within the CFSC; implementing a philosophy of continuous improvement within the CFSC; identifying uncertainty within the CFSC; improving and measuring the performance of the supply chain. However, as a consequence of this study two further topics were added: a discussion of some of the issues surrounding information sharing between retailers and suppliers; some of the wider issues affecting food losses and wastage (FLW) on the micro, meso and macro scales. A hybrid algorithm is developed, which incorporates the analytic hierarchical process (AHP) for qualitative issues and data envelopment analysis (DEA) for quantitative issues. The hybrid algorithm itself is a development of the internal auditing algorithm proposed by Sueyoshi et al (2009), which in turn was developed following corporate scandals such as Tyco, Enron, and WorldCom, which have led to a decline in public trust. However, the advantage of the proposed solution is that all of the key issues within the CFSC identified can be managed from a single computer terminal, whilst the risk of food contamination such as the 2013 horsemeat scandal can be avoided via improved traceability

An Analysis of the interventions to improve the geographic distribution of physicians in OECD countries

Un déséquilibre dans la répartition géographique des médecins a été observé dans la plupart des pays membres de l'OCDE. Le nombre de médecins praticiens, par rapport à la densité de population générale, est nettement plus faible dans les régions rurales et éloignées que dans les zones urbaines. Plusieurs interventions ont été mises en œuvre pour tenter de corriger le déséquilibre, mais les rapports indiquent que les solutions durables n'ont pas été identifiées. L'objectif de cette étude est de comprendre la persistance d'une pénurie de médecins dans les régions rurales, malgré la mise en œuvre des interventions. Deux approches évaluatives fondées sur la théorie sont utilisées pour évaluer la pertinence et la plausibilité des interventions. Une analyse stratégique permet de hiérarchiser les causes des pénuries de médecins et de classer les interventions en fonction de leur capacité à cibler ces causes. Une analyse logique permet d'évaluer le fondement théorique des interventions afin de déterminer si les interventions peuvent atteindre leurs résultats escomptés. Les résultats de cette recherche démontrent que les interventions mises en œuvre dans les pays de l'OCDE pour réduire la pénurie de médecins sont conçues pour cibler les causes du problème et sont donc pertinentes pour la répartition géographique des médecins. Les résultats démontrent également qu’à l'exception des stratégies réglementaires, selon les théories de la motivation au travail, les interventions peuvent inciter les médecins à choisir une pratique médicale rurale. La persistance d'une pénurie de médecins dans les régions rurales n'est pas due à la faiblesse théorique des interventions. D'autres recherches sont nécessaires pour évaluer le processus de production et la mise en œuvre des interventions.An imbalance in the geographic distribution of physicians has been observed in most member countries of the OECD. The number of practicing physicians, in relation to the general population density, is significantly lower in rural and remote regions, than in urban areas. Several interventions have been implemented to rectify the geographic maldistribution of physicians, however, reports indicate that sustainable solutions have not been identified. The purpose of this study is to understand the persistence of physician shortages in rural regions of OECD countries, despite the implementation of interventions. Two, theory-based evaluative approaches are used to evaluate the relevance and the plausibility of interventions. A strategic analysis allows for the prioritization of the causes of physician shortages, and the ranking of the interventions, based on their ability to target these causes. A logic analysis allows for the evaluation of the theoretical foundation of the interventions, to determine whether the interventions can achieve their intended outcome. The results of this research demonstrate that the interventions implemented in OECD countries to reduce physician shortages, are designed to target the causes of the problem, and are therefore relevant to the geographic maldistribution of physicians. Results also demonstrate that, with the exception of regulatory strategies, according to the theories of work motivation, the interventions can plausibly encourage physicians to choose rural medical practice. The persistence of physician shortages in rural regions is not due to the theoretical weakness of the interventions. Further research is required to evaluate the production process, and the implementation of the interventions

Extending the combined use of scenarios and multi-criteria decision analysis for evaluating the robustness of strategic options

Deep uncertainty exists when there is disagreement on how to model inter-relationships between variables in the external/controllable and internal/controllable environment; how to specify probability distributions to represent threats; and/or how to value various consequences. The evaluation of strategic options under deep uncertainty involves structuring the decision problem, specifying options to address that problem, and assessing which options appear to consistently perform well by achieving desirable levels of performance across a range of futures. The integrated use of scenarios and Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) provides a framework for managing these issues, and is an area of growing interest. This thesis aims to explore such integrated use, suggesting a new method for combining MCDA and scenario planning, and to test such proposal through a multi-method research strategy involving case study, behavioural experiment and simulation. The proposal reflects the three key areas of confluence of scenarios and MCDA in the decision making process. The first is based on systematic generation of a larger scenario set, focused on extreme outcomes, for defining the boundaries of the decision problem. The second proposal is based on providing less scenario detail than the traditional narrative, in favour of explicitly considering how uncertainties affect positive and negative outcomes on key objectives. This backward logic seeks to better address the challenge of estimating the consequences of each option and the trade-offs involved. Finally, it is proposed that option selection be based on a concern for robustness through cost-equivalent regret. The empirical findings reflect that the key benefit of integration appears to be a mechanism to improve the efficiency of elicitation and the robustness of options. However, effective application of scenarios and MCDA requires awareness of the desired degree of accuracy required and risk attitude of decision makers

Food for Thought: An exploration of the relationship of Academic Confidence to Academic Sustenance in Australian undergraduate students.

An under-reported aspect of student confidence is the relationship between past academic experiences and levels of Academic Confidence. It was theorised that levels of Academic Confidence might be influenced by an element conceptualised as Academic Sustenance. Using the Sander and Sander’s Academic Behavioural Confidence (ABC) scale, a sample of Australian undergraduate first year university students were surveyed to determine an Overall Academic Confidence (OAC) score. Students with High OAC rankings reported academically sustaining experiences, which assisted in the development of Academic Sustenance, building their Academic Confidence and allowing them to deal with academic challenges more readily. Students who had limited academically sustaining experiences had lower levels of Overall Academic Confidence, which gave them a less optimistic view of their academic abilities. Academic Sustenance consists of four aspects: Encouragement, Drive, Grounding and Efficacy (EDGE). These appear to be non-hierarchical although the aspect of Encouragement was found to exert more developmental opportunities for building Academic Confidence through the influence of Academic Sustenance. Targeted support structures offered through university programs could offer progressive assistance for building Academic Confidence and cultivating Academic Sustenance, which could help more students to cultivate positivity and a more optimistic perception of their academic abilities

Essays on conditional cash transfers, targeting and educational outcomes: evidence from Chile

This thesis studies key questions located at the intersection of conditional cash transfers (CCTs), targeting mechanisms of CCTs, especially proxy means tests (PMTs) and outcomes in primary and secondary education. The research relies entirely on large and rich administrative datasets from Chile. The thesis is built around three empirical chapters or papers. The first paper contributes to the social policy targeting field. The chapter analyses whether a PMT can identify the poor and future school dropouts effectively. Despite both being key target groups for CCTs, students at risk of dropping out are rarely considered for CCT allocation and in targeting assessments. Using simulations, I compare the PMT with other mechanisms based on a predictive model of school dropout. I build this model using machine learning algorithms, one of their first applications in regard to school dropout outside a developed nation. Using the outputs of the predictive model in conjunction with the PMT increases targeting effectiveness except when the social valuation of the poor and future school dropouts differs to a large extent. The second paper analyses whether it is convenient to reward children for their academic performance. The chapter estimates the impact of a cash for grades programme on future attendance and average grade using a regression discontinuity (RD) design. The main causal estimates for the outcomes are not statistically significantly different from zero. The third paper contributes to the causal inference literature, particularly about RD designs. Despite the rapid development of the RD methodological literature, some threats to internal validity have been overlooked. The chapter elaborates on two threats, administrative sorting and intermediate contamination, in the context of three impact evaluations of CCTs. This thesis contributes to advancing knowledge both methodologically and for policy. Although the study focuses its analysis on one country, its results have implications for multiple contexts

School Accountability Grades: The Influence Of Student And School Characteristics

In the United States of America, several states passed legislation that enacted a grading system by which schools are measured for their performance through a formalized ranking system, which deem schools a success or failure. These accountability systems are developed by legislators and policymakers in order to fulfill federal requirements like the No Child Left Behind Act (No Child Left Behind [NCLB], 2002) and the Every Student Succeeds Act (2015), to encourage systemic improvement across states. In reporting annual school performance for the state of Utah, for example, it is necessary to investigate to what extent student and school characteristics predict school accountability grades within their state’s educational accountability system. This study utilized school-level data to assess the effect of school predictors on low SES, English Language Learners, students with a disability, and racial minorities on school accountability grades. The school characteristics that were evaluated included teachers with a graduate degree and rural locations. Prior research focused primarily on individual predictors of variance on student achievement, while this study combines all of the predictors for observation on predictors of variance

Investigation of robust optimization and evidence theory with stochastic expansions for aerospace applications under mixed uncertainty

One of the primary objectives of this research is to develop a method to model and propagate mixed (aleatory and epistemic) uncertainty in aerospace simulations using DSTE. In order to avoid excessive computational cost associated with large scale applications and the evaluation of Dempster Shafer structures, stochastic expansions are implemented for efficient UQ. The mixed UQ with DSTE approach was demonstrated on an analytical example and high fidelity computational fluid dynamics (CFD) study of transonic flow over a RAE 2822 airfoil. Another objective is to devise a DSTE based performance assessment framework through the use of quantification of margins and uncertainties. Efficient uncertainty propagation in system design performance metrics and performance boundaries is achieved through the use of stochastic expansions. The technique is demonstrated on: (1) a model problem with non-linear analytical functions representing the outputs and performance boundaries of two coupled systems and (2) a multi-disciplinary analysis of a supersonic civil transport. Finally, the stochastic expansions are applied to aerodynamic shape optimization under uncertainty. A robust optimization algorithm is presented for computationally efficient airfoil design under mixed uncertainty using a multi-fidelity approach. This algorithm exploits stochastic expansions to create surrogate models utilized in the optimization process. To reduce the computational cost, output space mapping technique is implemented to replace the high-fidelity CFD model by a suitably corrected low-fidelity one. The proposed algorithm is demonstrated on the robust optimization of NACA 4-digit airfoils under mixed uncertainties in transonic flow. --Abstract, page iii

The perception of mental toughness of student-athletes in their academic and sports domains

The purpose of this study was to investigate university student-athletes’ perceptions of mental toughness in both their sport and academic domains. This study took a general qualitative approach through a constructivist lens, to allow for student-athletes’ perceptions to shape the understanding of mental toughness. There were a total of 10 participants (3 male and 7 female student-athletes) interviewed from a variety of sports and academics programs. Thematic analysis was used to identify four main themes: the dynamic nature of mental toughness, outcomes of mental toughness, resilience, and relationships. Findings highlighted similarities and differences between sports and academics, that allow for a better understanding of mental toughness in general, specifically amongst this demographic. The theme “The dynamic nature of mental toughness” showed that mental toughness fluctuated within different environmental settings or with varying performance outcomes, but in general it improved over time. Outcomes of mental toughness refer to factors such as confidence that resulted when participants experienced high levels of mental toughness, and also included the pursuit and embrace of a challenge to compete at peak performance, staying consistent, and staying focused on the task. Resilience was mutually understood as an essential characteristic of mental toughness within both sports and academics, and was more pronounced amongst student-athletes when their mental toughness state was high. The theme of relationships was a unique finding that showed how personal and professional relationships contribute to mental toughness differently within sports compared to academics. Forming a personal relationship with a teammate/classmate outside of the direct sport/academic setting helped athletes with their mental toughness. Additionally, it helped form a stronger professional relationship within the respective domains as well, aiding their performance. Across all themes, mental toughness was more prominent in sports than academics, where student-athletes generally described mental toughness as playing a crucial role in their academics. In addition, results showed support for the unidimensional nature of mental toughness through its general applicability described by participants in both domains without restriction of different dimensions. Therefore, the findings of this study indicate that mental toughness is a crucial psychological resource for student-athletes within both sports and academics

Efficient Decision Support Systems

This series is directed to diverse managerial professionals who are leading the transformation of individual domains by using expert information and domain knowledge to drive decision support systems (DSSs). The series offers a broad range of subjects addressed in specific areas such as health care, business management, banking, agriculture, environmental improvement, natural resource and spatial management, aviation administration, and hybrid applications of information technology aimed to interdisciplinary issues. This book series is composed of three volumes: Volume 1 consists of general concepts and methodology of DSSs; Volume 2 consists of applications of DSSs in the biomedical domain; Volume 3 consists of hybrid applications of DSSs in multidisciplinary domains. The book is shaped upon decision support strategies in the new infrastructure that assists the readers in full use of the creative technology to manipulate input data and to transform information into useful decisions for decision makers