1,272 research outputs found
Ranking efficient DMUs using cooperative game theory
The problem of ranking Decision Making Units (DMUs) in Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) has been widely studied in the literature. Some of the proposed approaches use cooperative game theory as a tool to perform the ranking. In this paper, we use the Shapley value of two different cooperative games in which the players are the eļ¬cient DMUs and the characteristic function represents the increase in the discriminant power of DEA contributed by each eļ¬cient DMU. The idea is that if the eļ¬cient DMUs are not included in the modiļ¬ed reference sample then the eļ¬ciency score of some ineļ¬cient DMUs would be higher. The characteristic function represents, therefore, the change in the eļ¬ciency scores of the ineļ¬cient DMUs that occurs when a given coalition of eļ¬cient units is dropped from the sample. Alternatively, the characteristic function of the cooperative game can be deļ¬ned as the change in the eļ¬ciency scores of the ineļ¬cient DMUs that occurs when a given coalition of eļ¬cient DMUs are the only eļ¬cient DMUs that are included in the sample. Since the two cooperative games proposed are dual games, their corresponding Shapley value coincide and thus lead to the same ranking. The more an ef- ļ¬cient DMU impacts the shape of the eļ¬cient frontier, the higher the increase in the eļ¬ciency scores of the ineļ¬cient DMUs its removal brings about and, hence, the higher its contribution to the overall discriminant power of the method. The proposed approach is illustrated on a number of datasets from the literature and compared with existing methods
Preparing for an interdisciplinary future: A perspective from early-career researchers
Increasingly, research is moving towards more interdisciplinary endeavours. Effective collaboration between people from different disciplines is necessary to maximise the potential benefits of interdisciplinarity for future research activity. This paper analyses an approach to fostering the skills required for successful cross-disciplinary collaboration from the perspective of an interdisciplinary group of early-career researchers. Our reflection on how specially-designed encounters can help to shape future interdisciplinary research initiatives draws on the discussion of a four-day workshop, a post-event survey, and a review of other experiences. We conclude that interdisciplinary encounters are an effective means to support the development of future interdisciplinary researchers, with a major advantage of this approach being the opportunity for open communication. Depending on the organiser's aim, we distinguish between ācultivationā and ādevelopmentā encounters. Among the multiple factors that produce successful interdisciplinary encounters, we found that selection of a theme, participants and location need to be tailored to the encounter's particular objectives. We recommend that funding bodies and other members of the research community should take note of the effectiveness of encounters to foster interdisciplinarity and generate space to develop more innovative and high-impact research that delivers solutions to the challenges facing humanity in the future
Laredo, Texas: Gateway Community on the Texas Borderlands, Archaeological and Historical Investigations for the Laredo City Toll Plaza
In July 1980, the Center for Archaeological Research, The University of Texas at San Antonio, conducted archaeological and historical investigations at sites designated as 41 WB 36,41 WB 37, and 41 WB 38, which are located in a residential district on the east side of the town of Laredo, Texas. These sites are represented by late historic foundations which were uncovered after a group of houses were razed to make way for a new toll bridge complex to facilitate international travel between the United States and the Republic of Mexico. A short history of Laredo and of the four house foundations excavated by the Center for Archaeological Research is presented in this report. The archaeological investigations of the structures and their associated artifacts are described and interpreted to provide a better understanding of sociocultural activities in Laredo from early historic times to the present
Linking nitrogen cycling transformations to microbial diversity in freshwater ecosystems
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