16,727 research outputs found

    The Real World Software Process

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    The industry-wide demand for rapid development in concert with greater process maturity has seen many software development firms adopt tightly structured iterative processes. While a number of commercial vendors offer suitable process infrastructure and tool support, the cost of licensing, configuration and staff training may be prohibitive for the small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) which dominate the Asia-Pacific software industry. This work addresses these problems through the introduction of the Real World Software Process (RWSP), a freely available, Web-based iterative scheme designed specifically for small teams and organisations. RWSP provides a detailed process description, high quality document templates - including code review and inspection guidelines - and the integrated tutorial support necessary for successful usage by inexperienced developers and teams. In particular it is intended that the process be readily usable by software houses which at present do not follow a formal process, and that the free RWSP process infrastructure should be a vehicle for improving industry standards

    Enhancing the Quality of Data on Income: Recent Developments in Survey Methodology

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    In this paper, we evaluate two survey innovations aimed at improving income measurement. These innovations are (1) integrating the question sequences for income and wealth which may elicit more accurate estimates of income from capital than has been true in the past, and (2) changes in the periodicity over which income flows are measured, which may provide a closer match between what the survey respondent knows best and the periodicity contained in survey measurement. These innovations have been introduced into both the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) and the study of Asset and Health Dynamics Among the Oldest Old (AHEAD). Based on the results reported in this paper, the potential return in quality of income measurement from these innovations is substantial.

    The relationship of strategy, fit, productivity, and business performance in a services setting

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    In their review of the operations strategy literature, Anderson et al. [Anderson, J.C., Cleveland, G., Schroeder, R.G., 1989. Operations strategy: a literature review. J. Operations Manage., 8(2): 133‐158] contend that the hypothesis that a company will perform better if it links its operations strategy to the business strategy is intuitively appealing, but lacks empirical verification. In light of this contention, this research attempts to: (1) define and measure the concept of fit as it applies to operations strategy; (2) show how fit leads to better performance; and (3) investigate the interrelationships between fit, business strategy, productivity, and performance. These objectives are investigated through field‐based research within a wholesale distribution service setting. Utilizing the classificatory framework of Venkatraman [Venkatraman, N., 1989. The concept of fit in strategy research: toward verbal and statistical correspondence. Acad. Manage. Rev., 14(3): 423‐444], fit is defined as the degree to which operational elements match the business strategy. This precise definition closely resembles the concept of ‘external fit’ that began with the work of Skinner [Skinner, W., 1969. Manufacturing–missing link in corporate strategy. Harvard Bus. Rev., 47(3): 136‐145]. A conceptual model of business performance is used with productivity as a mediating variable between the independent variables of business strategy and external fit and the dependent variable of business performance. Path analysis is used to analyze the effect of external fit on performance and to investigate the interrelationships between fit, business strategy, productivity, and performance. The results show that external fit has a significant positive and direct effect on business performance. When coupled with the nonsignificant direct effects of the strategy variables, this suggests that the fit of the operational elements with the strategy is of greater importance than the particular choice of strategy. Although all three business strategies (low cost, a combination of low cost and high customer service, and high customer service) had no significant direct effects on performance, a high customer service strategy did have a significant positive effect on the intervening productivity variable. Finally, the particular design of the research and the findings suggest that much of the conceptual work in operations strategy may be applicable to service operations as well as manufacturing.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/146853/1/joom145.pd

    Improving the Quality of Economic Data: Lessons from the HRS and AHEAD

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    Missing data are an increasingly important problem in economic surveys, especially when trying to measure household wealth. However, some relatively simple new survey methods such as follow-up brackets appear to appreciably improve the quality of household economic data. Brackets represent partial responses to asset questions and apparently significantly reduce item nonresponse. Brackets also provide a remedy to deal with nonignorable nonresponse bias, a critical problem with economic survey data.

    Pharmacies as potential providers of harm reduction services: A preliminary online survey

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    Background Recreational drug use is a major cause of disease, injury, physical and mental impairment and death in developed countries such as the United Kingdom and the United States. Alcohol, tobacco, cannabis, 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) and psilocybe mushrooms are recreational drugs with capacity to cause harm. Cannabis, MDMA and psilocybin have reported therapeutic applications. Objectives The primary purpose of this study was to determine which of the three types of vendor (pharmacy, shop and the black market) are perceived to be the most suitable for selling the substances discussed according to a general population sample. Methods A sample of 105 UK nationals was selected for the survey. Participants were presented information regarding reported relative dangers of alcohol, tobacco, cannabis, MDMA and psilocybin and potential therapeutic applications. Participants were then asked to review harm reduction strategies. Results It was found that participants concluded that pharmacists with available NHS support from GPs and mental health workers are the most suitable vendors of cannabis, MDMA and psilocybin as opposed to regulated shops or the black market (p &lt; 0.001). There was a high level of support for selling cannabis in pharmacies both for therapeutic use and for harm reduction purposes with a mean score of 7.0 out of 10. Participants (60) with a university education were found to be more in favour of the substances being sold primarily in pharmacies (alcohol 5.6, tobacco 6.7, cannabis 7.6, MDMA 6.5 and psilocybin 6.5) than participants (45) with no university qualification (alcohol 5.0, tobacco 4.8, cannabis 6.3, MDMA 5.0 and psilocybin 5.1). Conclusions The data suggest that the university-educated participants are supportive of treating recreational drug use as a health issue with GPs, mental health workers and pharmacists taking on roles. </jats:sec

    Protein associated with SMAD1 (PAWS1/FAM83G) is a substrate for type I bone morphogenetic protein receptors and modulates bone morphogenetic protein signalling

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    Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) control multiple cellular processes in embryos and adult tissues. BMPs signal through the activation of type I BMP receptor kinases, which then phosphorylate SMADs 1/5/8. In the canonical pathway, this triggers the association of these SMADs with SMAD4 and their translocation to the nucleus, where they regulate gene expression. BMPs can also signal independently of SMAD4, but this pathway is poorly understood. Here, we report the discovery and characterization of PAWS1/FAM83G as a novel SMAD1 interactor. PAWS1 forms a complex with SMAD1 in a SMAD4-independent manner, and BMP signalling induces the phosphorylation of PAWS1 through BMPR1A. The phosphorylation of PAWS1 in response to BMP is essential for activation of the SMAD4-independent BMP target genes NEDD9 and ASNS. Our findings identify PAWS1 as the first non-SMAD substrate for type I BMP receptor kinases and as a novel player in the BMP pathway. We also demonstrate that PAWS1 regulates the expression of several non-BMP target genes, suggesting roles for PAWS1 beyond the BMP pathway
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