A pilot study of MBA programmes in South Africa

In recent years, Master of Business Administration (MBA) programmes and their curricula have been subjected to substantial scrutiny. However, the majority of studies have been confined to business schools in Western countries. By comparison, much less research is available on MBA programmes in developing countries, particularly those in Africa. In an effort to address this gap, this article examines MBA programmes in South Africa by first situating them within the global MBA curriculum debate. It then notes the need to move away from a generalist MBA programme to a specialized MBA in line with emerging global trends. Finally, it suggests a multidisciplinary approach to the redesign of the MBA curriculum

Joint Economic Selection Of Target Mean And Variance

This paper considers the problem of selecting the most economical target mean and variance for a continuous production process, In earlier studies, many authors considered the problem of finding an optimal target mean assuming that the variance is known. The problem with this assumption is the difficulty or impossibility of setting a target variance. Taguchi suggested a two-step procedure: first, set the target mean; then, find the smallest variance through redesign or experiment (resetting the level of factors). In this study, three new approaches are suggested for the economic selection of a target variance integrated with a target mean. In the first approach, an expected profit maximization criterion is used to obtain the target mean and variance simultaneously. The example used to illustrate this approach is a filling process where the quality characteristic is assumed to be normally distributed. The containers that are underfilled can be sold in a secondary market at a price of $P-L per can, those within specification can be sold at a price of$P-0 per can, and those over the upper specification limit can be sold at a price of $P-U per can. In the second approach, a minimum cost criterion based on the Taguchi loss function is used: first, the processes optimized for the variance; then, an optimal process mean is obtained. In the third approach, an economic model for the selection of the target variance is developed, using both customer and producer costs to minimize societal loss independent of the product quality characteristic distribution

Joint Economic Selection Of Target Mean And Variance

This paper considers the problem of selecting the most economical target mean and variance for a continuous production process, In earlier studies, many authors considered the problem of finding an optimal target mean assuming that the variance is known. The problem with this assumption is the difficulty or impossibility of setting a target variance. Taguchi suggested a two-step procedure: first, set the target mean; then, find the smallest variance through redesign or experiment (resetting the level of factors). In this study, three new approaches are suggested for the economic selection of a target variance integrated with a target mean. In the first approach, an expected profit maximization criterion is used to obtain the target mean and variance simultaneously. The example used to illustrate this approach is a filling process where the quality characteristic is assumed to be normally distributed. The containers that are underfilled can be sold in a secondary market at a price of $P-L per can, those within specification can be sold at a price of$P-0 per can, and those over the upper specification limit can be sold at a price of $P-U per can. In the second approach, a minimum cost criterion based on the Taguchi loss function is used: first, the processes optimized for the variance; then, an optimal process mean is obtained. In the third approach, an economic model for the selection of the target variance is developed, using both customer and producer costs to minimize societal loss independent of the product quality characteristic distribution

Salinity from Space Unlocks Satellite-Based Assessment of Ocean Acidification

Approximately a quarter of the carbon dioxide (CO2) that we emit into the atmosphere is absorbed by the ocean. This oceanic uptake of CO2 leads to a change in marine carbonate chemistry resulting in a decrease of seawater pH and carbonate ion concentration, a process commonly called “Ocean Acidification”. Salinity data are key for assessing the marine carbonate system, and new space-based salinity measurements will enable the development of novel space-based ocean acidification assess- ment. Recent studies have highlighted the need to develop new in situ technology for monitoring ocean acidification, but the potential capabilities of space-based measurements remain largely untapped. Routine measurements from space can provide quasi-synoptic, reproducible data for investigating processes on global scales; they may also be the most efficient way to monitor the ocean surface. As the carbon cycle is dominantly controlled by the balance between the biological and solubility carbon pumps, innovative methods to exploit existing satellite sea surface temperature and ocean color, and new satellite sea surface salinity measurements, are needed and will enable frequent assessment of ocean acidification parameters over large spatial scales

Recycling supercapacitors based on shredding and mild thermal treatment

Supercapacitors are widely used in electric and hybrid vehicles, wind farm and low-power equipment due to their high specific power density and huge number of charge–discharge cycles. Waste supercapacitors should be recycled according to EU directive 2002/96/EC on waste electric and electronic equipment. This paper describes a recycling approach for end-of-life supercapacitors based on shredding and mild thermal treatment. At first, supercapacitors are shredded using a Retsch cutting mill. The shredded mixture is then undergone thermal treatment at 200 °C to recycle the organic solvent contained in the activated carbon electrodes. After the thermal treatment, the mixture is roughly separated using a fluidized bed method to remove the aluminium foil particles and paper particles from the activated carbon particles, which is subsequently put into water for a wet shredding into fine particles that can be re-used. The recycled activated carbon has a BET surface area of up to 1200 m2/g and the recycled acetonitrile has a high purity

ω(→π+π−π0) \omega (\to \pi^+\pi^-\pi^0) meson photoproduction on proton

The cross section is estimated for the $\pi^+\pi^-\pi^0$ invariant mass distribution in the $\gamma p$ reaction in the GeV region. This reaction is assumed to proceed through the formation of the $\omega$ meson in the intermediate state, since the production cross section for this meson in the $\gamma p$ reaction in GeV region is significant and it has large branching ratio (88.8%) in the $\pi^+\pi^-\pi^0$ channel. The cross sections for this reaction have been calculated using the energy dependent reaction amplitude, i.e., $f_{\gamma p \to \omega p}(0)$, extracted from the latest $\omega$ meson photoproduction data. We use established procedure to calculate other factors, like width and propagator of the $\omega$ meson, so that our calculation can provide reliable cross section. The calculated results reproduce the measured $\pi^+\pi^-\pi^0$ invariant mass distribution spectra in the $\gamma p$ reaction.Comment: 13 pages, 5 figure

Supersymmetric Many-particle Quantum Systems with Inverse-square Interactions

The development in the study of supersymmetric many-particle quantum systems with inverse-square interactions is reviewed. The main emphasis is on quantum systems with dynamical OSp(2|2) supersymmetry. Several results related to exactly solved supersymmetric rational Calogero model, including shape invariance, equivalence to a system of free superoscillators and non-uniqueness in the construction of the Hamiltonian, are presented in some detail. This review also includes a formulation of pseudo-hermitian supersymmetric quantum systems with a special emphasis on rational Calogero model. There are quite a few number of many-particle quantum systems with inverse-square interactions which are not exactly solved for a complete set of states in spite of the construction of infinitely many exact eigen functions and eigenvalues. The Calogero-Marchioro model with dynamical SU(1,1|2) supersymmetry and a quantum system related to short-range Dyson model belong to this class and certain aspects of these models are reviewed. Several other related and important developments are briefly summarized.Comment: LateX, 65 pages, Added Acknowledgment, Discussions and References, Version to appear in Jouranl of Physics A: Mathematical and Theoretical (Commissioned Topical Review Article