1,696 research outputs found
Repository Evaluation of Software Reuse: An Empirical Study
The traditional unit of analysis and control for
software managers is the software project, and subsequently
the resulting application system. Today, with the emerging capabilities
of computer-aided software engineering (CASE) and
corresponding changes in the development process, productivity
gains can be realized by reusing portions of the organization's
inventory of existing application designs and code. With this
opportunity, however, comes the need to monitor software reuse
at the corporate level, as well as at the level of the individual
software development project. Integrated CASE environments
can support such monitoring. We illustrate the use and benefits of
repository evaluation of software reuse through an analysis of the
evolving repositories of two large firms that recently implemented
integrated CASE development tools. The analysis shows that
these tools have supported high levels of software reuse, but it
also suggests that there remains considerable unexploited reuse
potential. Our findings indicate that organizational changes will
be required before the full potential of the new technology can
be realized.Information Systems Working Papers Serie
Profitability, productivity and price recovery patterns in the U.S. telecommunications industry
We undertake a study where we examine changes in the profitability, productivity and price recovery of firms in the U.S. telecommunications industry over a sixteen-year period. We assess the performance of thirty-three major companies in the local-exchange sector over six time periods 1975, 1978, 1981, 1984, 1987 and 1990, using a performance analysis model which disaggregates the profitability measure into two components: productivity and price recovery. We demonstrate the computation of performance using this technique. Our study indicates that the opening up of markets has had a significant impact on different dimensions of performance in the telecommunications industry, also validating a number of theoretical assumptions about the impact that industry changes are expected to have on firms.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/43575/1/11151_2004_Article_BF00163594.pd
Estimating Effectiveness of the Control of Violence and Socioeconomic Development in Colombia: An Application of Dynamic Data Envelopment Analysis and Data Panel Approach
This paper develops an index to evaluate the level of effectiveness of the control of violence based on the data envelopment analysis approach. The index is used to examine the grade of effectiveness of the control of violence at the level of Colombian departments between 1993 and 2007. Comparing the results across Colombian departments, we find that the majority of departments show improvement in their scores of effectiveness. A second stage of the regression model reveals that departments with a higher gross domestic product and higher education and employment are more effective in the control of violence, whereas departments with higher political violence, unemployment rates, unsatisfied basic needs, a displaced population, and hectares cultivated with coca show lower effectiveness in the control of violence. All these findings are of particular interest in the formulation and development of policies against violence, taking into account that organised forms of violence, such as drug trafficking, impede the adequate effectiveness of its control. Moreover, violence decreases social investments, generating alterations in social services that produce long-run deterioration in faith in the government’s ability to govern, which should become an incentive to further violence
Analysis of efficiency and profitability of franchise services
The present study analyses the relative efficiency of franchise services and
characterises the best companies, confirming the relationship between efficiency and
profit. These companies are from the trade and other services sector , the main
group of service-providing companies in the Spanish economy. The methodology
calls for first comparing the relative efficiency of franchisers and ownership
enterprises. Second, the focus turns to the most efficient franchise services, using a
super-efficiency model to rank them. The paper then goes on to cover the analysis of
the main characteristics of the best franchise enterprises, the number of own
establishments in a franchise business and the profitability of the company. This
paper presents arguments as to why companies from the trade and other services
sector are included. The main conclusion is that, whilst the number of
establishments is irrelevant in achieving greater efficiency, many of the most
efficient enterprises have high returns.García Martin, CJ.; Medal Bartual, A.; Peris-Ortiz, M. (2014). Analysis of efficiency and profitability of franchise services. Service Industries Journal. 34(9):796-810. doi:10.1080/02642069.2014.905921S79681034
A VALUE PLATFORM ANALYSIS PERSPECTIVE ON CUSTOMER ACCESS INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Customer access information technologies (CAITs) provide a link between a
firm and its customers. Firms invest in CAITs to reduce costs, increase revenues
and market share, lock in existing customers and capture new ones. These benefits,
however, are notoriously difficult to measure. This paper proposes an evaluative
method for CAlT deployment called value platform analysis, that is based on a
conceptual model drawn from the theory of retail outlet deployment in marketing
science. The model focuses on the impact of CAIT features and environmental
features on transactions generated by the CAIT. Specific econometric models are
developed for deployment. Hypotheses regarding the likely impact of automated
teller machine (ATM) location design choices and environmental features on ATM
transactions are evaluated. The results indicate that there are a number of key
features influencing ATM performance. Two distinct ATM deployment scenarios
emerge: one for servicing a bank's own customers, and another for providing
transaction services for customers for a fee.Information Systems Working Papers Serie
The Influence of a Firms\u27 Business Strategy on the Downside Risk of Earnings, Accruals and Cash Flow
This study examines whether a firm\u27s business strategy is an underlying determinant of downside risk in accounting earnings and its components. Based on organizational theory we predict that firms following an innovative prospector strategy exhibit lower profitability tendencies than firms following a cost-oriented defender strategy. Further, we anticipate that these strategies are asymmetrically positioned towards environmental uncertainty, with defenders focusing their efforts to efficiency, cost control, and minimizing exposure to downside risk, whereas prospectors direct their resources to flexibility, innovation, and maximizing the growth potential through aggressive expansion to new product markets. We find that prospectors are indeed less profitable than defenders. We also demonstrate that prospectors have greater total and downside earnings risk. Finally, we decompose earnings into accruals and cash flow and show that the higher exposure of prospectors to earnings downside risk is driven by the cash flow component rather than the accrual component. Collectively, our results suggest that considering how strategy interacts with financial reporting attributes is a useful way for evaluating a firms\u27 risk profile
Substrate Micropatterning as a New in Vitro Cell Culture System to Study Myelination
Artículo de publicación ISIMyelination is a highly regulated developmental
process whereby oligodendrocytes in the central nervous system
and Schwann cells in the peripheral nervous system ensheathe axons
with a multilayered concentric membrane. Axonal myelination
increases the velocity of nerve impulse propagation. In this work,
we present a novel in vitro system for coculturing primary dorsal root
ganglia neurons along with myelinating cells on a highly restrictive
and micropatterned substrate. In this new coculture system, neurons
survive for several weeks, extending long axons on defined Matrigel
tracks. On these axons, myelinating cells can achieve robust myelination, as demonstrated by the distribution of compact myelin
and nodal markers. Under these conditions, neurites and associated myelinating cells are easily accessible for studies on the
mechanisms of myelin formation and on the effects of axonal damage on the myelin sheath.Regenerative Medicine and Nanomedicine Initiative of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)
RMF-7028
FONDECYT
1080252
CIHR
Ministry of Industry of Canada
Rio Tinto Alcan
Molson Foundatio
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