Spreadsheet Simulation of Airline Reservation Policy Using Multimedia Software

Abstract-A stand-alone Excel spreadsheet simulation template is used to illustrate the detailed rationale of reservation overbooking to both students and professionals working in reservation-based operations. Because almost everyone has personally encountered the frustrations of being "bumped"-losing an airline seat or hotel room reservation-the selection of this particular subject is driven by the belief that at least half of the problem of effectively teaching a sophisticated analytical method is in getting the user's attention. The personal complications resulting from overbooking presents such a passionate circumstance. Several multimedia tools, Wimba and SnagIt, are used to produce web hosted, mp4 video files of a library of short films illustrating the detailed, step-by-step operation of the spreadsheet template

Spreadsheet Simulation of Airline Reservation Policy Using Multimedia Software

A hypothetical business simulation case study using a stand-alone spreadsheet is used to illuminate the rationale of airline overbooking. Because almost everyone has personally encountered the implications of being “bumped,” the selection of this particular case subject is motivated by the belief that half of the problem (or more) of teaching a so-phisticated analytical method is in getting the stu-dent\u27s attention. Airline overbooking, it seems, pre-sents such a case. In order for a student to “drill down” the spreadsheet skills, several multimedia tools, Wimba and Jing, are used to produce web hosted, mp4 video files of a library of short films illustrating each step of the spreadsheet operatio

Differentiating the Top English Premier League Football Clubs from the Rest of the Pack: Identifying the Keys to Success

This paper develops a robust, statistically significant, six independent variable multiple regression model that accounts for the relative success of English Premier League football clubs based on an array of twenty-four pitch actions collected during the 2007-2008 season (

Comparing Team Performance of the English Premier League, Serie A, and La Liga for the 2008-2009 Season

Three of the most celebrated football leagues in the world include the English Premier League (EPL), Italy’s Serie A, and Spain’s La Liga. To date, little football research has been conducted that attempts to determine why these leagues are so successful. What is it that the EPL, La Liga, and Serie A do that fosters such a high caliber of play, and what pitch factors, if any, either (1) contrast or (2) connect these prestigious leagues? The paucity of rigorous inquiry has not deterred popular speculation—common folklore has not waited for hard data. Experts rush to characterize the perceived performance characteristics of these leagues with little hesitation. And these assumptions have, to some degree, taken on a life of their own: football’s answer to urban legend. This paper searches for key similarities and differences between these leagues that are bolstered by statistically significant findings as well as evidence to identify the key pitch factors that are associated with a team’s ultimate success within its respective league

Comparing English Premier League Goalkeepers: Identifying the Pitch Actions that Differentiate the Best from the Rest

The Opta Index is a prestigious performance measure used to assess English Premier League (EPL) football players. Although the Opta model is proprietary, the general structure uses a multiattribute collection of subjectively weighted pitch measures that either rewards or penalizes a player with a potential range of points based on the quality of his game performance. In addition, the specific set of measures used depends upon player position: forwards, midfielders, defenders, and goalkeepers each have their own unique set of measures even though there might be some overlap. Although the player\u27s Opta Index is calculated for each game, it is the cumulative grade card —the final Opta Index calculated at the end of the thirty-eight game EPL season in May—that is of particular importance. The index, along with the large array of player pitch data, is commercially distributed to the EPL clubs and appears in a wide variety of television and print media outelets. This paper proposes an alternative to using the full set of Opta data by identifying those specific pitch actions that form a statistically significant retrodictive linear regression model for the 2007-2009 EPL season. Additionally, the importance of evaluating pitch actions historically assumed to be clearly pertinent measures—such as goals allowed per game for the goalkeeper—will be not only be appraised from a statistical viewpoint, but also from a practical perspective

Foreign Produced Content and Japanese Price Disinflation: An Empirical Study

This research investigates the role non-macroeconomic factors have played in subduing inflationary pressures in Japan. We investigate the hypothesis that the under-recognized presence of goods with high foreign produced content (FPC) in the consumer market basket has coincided with reduced price-level increases over the time period 1991-2004. An empirical examination and descriptive comparison of CPI market basket items and import data categories suggest the negative relationship between FPC and the CPI inflation rate over this time period is significant. Our conclusions suggest the extent to which measures of inflation are considered to be an accurate gauge of macroeconomic conditions or monetary policy effectiveness is overstated

Uncovering Europe’s Best Goalscorers from the 2009-2010 Season

The search for great goalscorers in football has been traditionally tunnel-visioned. Prestigious individual football awards, such as the Golden Boot and the Ballon d’Or, are almost automatically given to the player with the highest goal count. Simple. Nothing usually complicated about this selection process. Except, this one-dimensional approach may be missing some less-then-obvious gems of goalscoring by not considering the overall contributions a player makes to his team’s offensive performance as indicated by more subtle measures. The contributions made during the 2009-2010 season by the 20 leading goal scorers from each of the six most prestigious football leagues in Europe—the English Premier League, Spanish La Liga, Italian Serie A, German Bundesliga, French Ligue 1, and the Dutch Eredivisie—are examined. Statistical methods are used to (1) adjust for the significant disparity in the goal scoring prevalence between these leagues that promote unbiased comparisons and (2) account for the shorter, 34 game season used by two of the leagues as compared to the more common 38 game season

Differentiating the Top English Premier League Football Clubs from the Rest of the Pack: Identifying the Keys to Success

This paper develops a robust, statistically significant, six independent variable multiple regression model that accounts for the relative success of English Premier League football clubs based on an array of twenty-four pitch actions collected during the 2007-2008 season (p\u3c0.0000). Additionally, one-way ANOVA is used to identify those specific pitch actions that statistically separate the top 4 clubs from (1) the dozen clubs forming the middle of the pack and, (2) by a greater contrast, the bottom 4 clubs. Thirteen pitch actions yield statistically significant differences among these three tiers of clubs using this second method of analysis

Teaching Inventory Management Simulation Using E-Learning Software: Blackboard, Elluminate Live!, and Jing

Introducing the nuances of inventory management systems to undergraduate business students can be a daunting task. Beyond the traditional focus of the selection of order quantity and reorder point lie more murky considerations such as the impact that stockout cost and supplier selection have on these key parameters, including profit. The purpose of this paper is to illustrate how students can cultivate insights of business simulation settings through easy-to-run, downloadable Excel spreadsheet templates from within their Blackboard-driven course website beyond merely grinding out “answers.” This paper shows not only how the simulation templates are employed but also how students can use them to self-correct problems they might encounter during the learning process, how to examine more subtle issues, and how the instructor can use online software to guide students in real time, regardless of the distance that may separate them. Further, while these interactions are taking place, a video software file can be made to memorialize the online learning and can be easily uploaded to the student for their later use should they wish to practice the process. A hypothetical case example of AT&T’s man-agement of the Apple iPhone inventory is used to illustrate the process