Ordered samples control charts for ordinal variables

The paper presents a new method for statistical process control when ordinal variables are involved. This is the case of a quality characteristic evaluated by an ordinal scale. The method allows a statistical analysis without exploiting an arbitrary numerical conversion of scale levels and without using the traditional sample synthesis operators (sample mean and variance). It consists of a different approach based on the use of a new sample scale obtained by ordering the original variable sample space according to some specific ‘dominance criteria' fixed on the basis of the monitored process haracteristics. Samples are directly reported on the chart and no distributional shape is assumed for the population (universe) of evaluations. Finally, a practical application of the method in the health sector is provided

Supersymmetric LHC phenomenology without a light Higgs boson

After a brief discussion of the mass of the Higgs in supersymmetry, I introduce \lambdaSUSY, a model with an extra chiral singlet superfield in addition to the MSSM field content. The key features of the model are: the superpotential W=\lambda S H_d H_u with a large coupling \lambda and the resulting lightest Higgs with mass above 200GeV. The main part of my contribution will be about how \lambdaSUSY manifests itself at the LHC. Discoveries of gluino, squarks and in particular of the three lightest neutral Higgs bosons are discussed.Comment: Submitted for the SUSY07 proceedings, 4 pages, LaTeX, 4 eps figure

Energy peaks: a high energy physics outlook

Energy distributions of decay products carry information on the kinematics of the decay in ways that are at the same time straightforward and quite hidden. I will review these properties and discuss their early historical applications as well as more recent ones in the context of i) methods for the measurement of masses of new physics particle with semi-invisible decays, ii) the characterization of Dark Matter particles produced at colliders, iii) precision mass measurements of Standard Model particles, in particular of the top quark. Finally I will give an outlook of further developments and applications of energy peaks method for high energy physics at colliders and beyond.Comment: Review written for MPLA; typos corrected, references adde

A new approach for evaluation of risk priorities of failure modes in FMEA

This paper presents a method for carrying out the calculus of the risk priority of failures in Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA). The novelty of the method consists of new management of data provided by the design team, normally given on qualitative scales, without necessitating an arbitrary and artificial numerical conversion. The practical effects of these issues are shown in an application example

Quality evaluation in logistic services

The paper highlights some problems relevant to the quality measurements in logistic services. "Traditional" logistic indicators are compared with the service dimensions defined in the Parasuraman-Zeithaml-Berry model. Furthermore, the problem of service indicators aging is analyzed and discussed. In order to enhance readers' ability to contribute to the development in the field, the authors pose open-ended questions in the articl

Cartilaginous metaplasia of varicose veins: a case report

Cartilaginous metaplasia of superficial veins was found in a 64-year-old woman who underwent surgery for varicose veins. At operation, some varicose veins of the medial thigh were semi-rigid and fibroelastic to the touch. Histology revealed that half the lumen was occupied by chondroid tissue. The other half was obliterated by fibrous tissue, typical of post-thrombotic involution. Possible causes of cartilaginous metaplasia are briefly discussed

QFD: an interactive algorithm for the prioritization of product's technical characteristics

The paper is concerned with the problem of the ``prioritization' ' of technical design characteristic s of a product. An interactive algorithm has been developed with the aim to better support the engineering design process by means of quality function deployment (QFD). The algorithm tries to soften customer approach to QFD in those situations in which customers are not able to give a ``significant' ' evaluation of the relative importance of their requirements . The method allows determining a ranking order of design characteristic s without the artificia l conversion of symbols contained in the relationshi p matrix, and without the use of explici t information concerning the relative degree of importance of customer requirements. A simple numerical applicatio n is also provide

A Survey of Quality Engineering-ManagementJournals by Bibliometric Indicators

This paper analyses some of the most popular scientific journals in the Quality field from the point of view of three bibliometric indicators: the Hirsch (h) index for journals, the total number of citations and the h-spectrum. In particular, h-spectrum is a novel tool based on h, making it possible to (i) identify a reference profile of the typical authors of a journal; (ii) compare different journals; and (iii) provide a rough indication of their ‘bibliometric positioning' in the scientific community. Results of this analysis can be helpful for guiding potential authors and members of the scientific community in the Quality Engineering/Management area. A large amount of empirical data are presented and discusse