Reduction in the balanced scorecard performance measurement systems in manufacturing organizations by PCA

In this paper, we compare PCA and ordinal logistic regression in ranking the manufacturing systems. In this regard we present an integrated framework for assessment and ranking of manufacturing systems based on management and organizational performance indicators. To achieve the objectives of this study, a comprehensive study was conducted to locate all economic and technical indicators which influence organizational performance. Sixty one indicators were identified and classified in .five categories, namely, (1) financial, (2) customer satisfaction, (3) process innovation, (4) production process and (5) organizational learning and growth. These indicators are related to organizational and managerial productivity and efficiency. One actual test problem and a random sample of 12 indicators were selected to show the applicability of the integrated approach. The results of PCA and OLR showed the weak and strong points of each sector in regard to the selected indicators. Furthermore, it identifies which indicators have the major impacts on the overall performance of industrial sectors. The modeling approach of this paper could be easily utilized for managerial and organizational ranking and analysis of other sectors. The results of such studies would help top managers to have better understanding and improve existing systems with respect to managerial and organizational performance.Keywords: Productivity and competitiveness; Multivariate statistics integrated assessment, BC

Assessment of the tissue distribution of transplanted human endothelial progenitor cells by radioactive labeling

Background— Transplantation of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) improves vascularization and left ventricular function after experimental myocardial ischemia. However, tissue distribution of transplanted EPCs has not yet been monitored in living animals. Therefore, we tested whether radioactive labeling allows us to detect injected EPCs

Audio-Visual Integration in a Redundant Target Paradigm: A Comparison between Rhesus Macaque and Man.

The mechanisms underlying multi-sensory interactions are still poorly understood despite considerable progress made since the first neurophysiological recordings of multi-sensory neurons. While the majority of single-cell neurophysiology has been performed in anesthetized or passive-awake laboratory animals, the vast majority of behavioral data stems from studies with human subjects. Interpretation of neurophysiological data implicitly assumes that laboratory animals exhibit perceptual phenomena comparable or identical to those observed in human subjects. To explicitly test this underlying assumption, we here characterized how two rhesus macaques and four humans detect changes in intensity of auditory, visual, and audio-visual stimuli. These intensity changes consisted of a gradual envelope modulation for the sound, and a luminance step for the LED. Subjects had to detect any perceived intensity change as fast as possible. By comparing the monkeys' results with those obtained from the human subjects we found that (1) unimodal reaction times differed across modality, acoustic modulation frequency, and species, (2) the largest facilitation of reaction times with the audio-visual stimuli was observed when stimulus onset asynchronies were such that the unimodal reactions would occur at the same time (response, rather than physical synchrony), and (3) the largest audio-visual reaction-time facilitation was observed when unimodal auditory stimuli were difficult to detect, i.e., at slow unimodal reaction times. We conclude that despite marked unimodal heterogeneity, similar multisensory rules applied to both species. Single-cell neurophysiology in the rhesus macaque may therefore yield valuable insights into the mechanisms governing audio-visual integration that may be informative of the processes taking place in the human brain

HEAT TRANSFER ANALYSIS OF A SECOND GRADE FLUID OVER A STRETCHING SHEET

ABSTRACT. The heat tranfer and flow of a non-Newtonian fluid past a stretching sheet is analyzed in this paper. Results in a non-dimensional form are presented here for the velocity and temperature profiles assuming different kind of boundary conditions

Heat transfer analysis of a second grade fluid over a stretching sheet

The heat tranfer and flow of a non-Newtonian fluid past a stretching sheet is analyzed in this paper. Results in a non-dimensional form are presented here for the velocity and temperature profiles assuming different kind of boundary conditions

Educating Future Environmental Health Professionals

Future environmental health problems will require a new generation of educated and trained professionals. Efforts to enhance the environmental public health workforce have been promoted by several organizations. While progress has been measured by these organizations, many environmental health academic programs are experiencing budget reductions and lower enrollments. One of the reasons for this trend is the so-called higher education crisis. We argue that training is not equivalent to education in the environmental health sciences, albeit the two terms are often used interchangeably. Organizations involved with the education, training, and credentialing of environmental health professionals must work together to ensure the viability and effectiveness of environmental health academic programs

A Cost Analysis of the 1-2-3 Pap Intervention

Background: Cervical cancer places a substantial economic burden on our healthcare system. The three-dose human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine series is a cost-effective intervention to prevent HPV infection and resultant cervical cancer. Despite its efficacy, completion rates are low in young women aged 18 through 26 years. 1-2-3 Pap is a video intervention tested and proven to increase HPV vaccination completion rates. Purpose: To provide the full scope of available evidence for 1-2-3 Pap, this study adds economic evidence to the intervention’s efficacy. This study tested the economies of scale hypothesis that the cost of 1-2-3 Pap intervention per number of completed HPV vaccine series would decrease when offered to more women in the target population. Methods: Using cost and efficacy data from the Rural Cancer Prevention Center, a cost analysis was done through a hypothetical adaptation scenario in rural Kentucky. Results: Assuming the same success rate as in the efficacy study, the 1-2-3 Pap adaptation scenario would cover 1000 additional women aged 18 through 26 years (344 in efficacy study; 1346 in adaptation scenario), and almost three times as many completed series (130 in efficacy study; 412 in adaptation scenario) as in the original 1-2-3 Pap efficacy study. Implications: Determination of the costs of implementing 1-2-3 Pap is vital for program expansion. This study provides practitioners and decision makers with objective measures for scalability

Flow of granular materials down an inclined plane

The mechanics of flowing granular materials such as coal, sand, fossil-fuel energy recovery, metal ores, etc., and their flow characteristics have received considerable attention in recent years because it has relevance to several technological problems. In a number of instances these materials are also heated prior to processing, or cooled after processing. The governing equations for the flow of granular materials taking into account the heat transfer mechanism are derived using the continuum model proposed by Rajagopal and Massoudi (1990). For a fully developed flow of granular materials down an inclined plane, these equations reduce to a system of coupled ordinary differential equations. The resulting boundary value problem is solved numerically and the results are presented. For a special case, it is possible to obtain an analytic solution; this is given in the Appendix A of this report

Thixotropy in macroscopic suspensions of spheres

An experimental study of the viscosity of a macroscopic suspension, i.e. a suspension for which Brownian motion can be neglected, under steady shear is presented. The suspension is prepared with a high packing fraction and is density-matched in a Newtonian carrier fluid. The viscosity of the suspension depends on the shear rate and the time of shearing. It is shown for the first time that a macroscopic suspension shows thixotropic viscosity, i.e. shear-thinning with a long relaxation time as a unique function of shear. The relaxation times show a systematic decrease with increasing shear rate. These relaxation times are larger when decreasing the shear rates, compared to those observed after increasing the shear. The time scales involved are about 10000 times larger than the viscous time scale and about 1000 times smaller than the thermodynamic time scale. The structure of the suspension at the outer cylinder of a viscometer is monitored with a camera, showing the formation of a hexagonal structure. The temporal decrease of the viscosity under shear coincides with the formation of this hexagonal pattern