Will the US Economy Recover in 2010? A Minimal Spanning Tree Study

We calculated the cross correlations between the half-hourly times series of the ten Dow Jones US economic sectors over the period February 2000 to August 2008, the two-year intervals 2002--2003, 2004--2005, 2008--2009, and also over 11 segments within the present financial crisis, to construct minimal spanning trees (MSTs) of the US economy at the sector level. In all MSTs, a core-fringe structure is found, with consumer goods, consumer services, and the industrials consistently making up the core, and basic materials, oil and gas, healthcare, telecommunications, and utilities residing predominantly on the fringe. More importantly, we find that the MSTs can be classified into two distinct, statistically robust, topologies: (i) star-like, with the industrials at the center, associated with low-volatility economic growth; and (ii) chain-like, associated with high-volatility economic crisis. Finally, we present statistical evidence, based on the emergence of a star-like MST in Sep 2009, and the MST staying robustly star-like throughout the Greek Debt Crisis, that the US economy is on track to a recovery.Comment: elsarticle class, includes amsmath.sty, graphicx.sty and url.sty. 68 pages, 16 figures, 8 tables. Abridged version of the manuscript presented at the Econophysics Colloquim 2010, incorporating reviewer comment

A review of current issues and challenges for TQM implementations in the Jordanian information and communications technology sector

This paper discusses the application of Total Quality Management (TQM) in Jordanian Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector. Utilising a methodology based upon questionnaires and semi-structure interviews, investigation of Jordanian ICT organisations and their significant stakeholders has revealed that although they have endeavoured to put into practice the strategies, tools and techniques of TQM, there are barriers to achieving successful implementation. The most significant relate to government influences and internal cultural characteristics. This research has further identified that effective information systems play a successful role in TQM implementations, an issue that is not well demonstrated in the literature

An investigation of the role of leadership in the implementation of TQM in Medical Universities of Iran

In the developing countries, management is one of the big challenges in the running of academic organisations. Total Quality Management (TQM) is a management approach that aims for long term success. Since the mid 1980s “quality” has been a major issue in higher educational institutions. Universities are under a lot of pressure from a range of stakeholders. After successful implementation of TQM in higher educational institutes in developed countries it is now the right time for implementation of TQM in developing countries. This paper aims to discuss the role of top management (leadership) in the successful implementation of TQM in Iranian Medical Sciences Universities (MSUs). The Baldrige quality model was chosen as the framework for the research. Two MSUs were identified and a questionnaire was delivered to different groups within the Universities. The relationships between the leadership category and other categories were identified. The findings indicated that top management (leadership) is highly related to the other categories and hence by improving this category there will be a positive impact on other categories. The results also revealed that the employees' opinions on the senior leaders in terms of the commitment, participation, and adoption of the TQM were low and needs to be addressed

The role of national culture in Total Quality Management

This paper discusses the role of national culture in adopting total quality management (TQM) in developing countries, using the ICT organisations in Jordan as the basis of the study. employing a methodology of semistructured interviews, the data was collected from General and TQM managers. The ten largest organisations, based on the number of employees, were used as the basis of the study. The results indicated that the national culture characteristics have a negative impact on adopting and supporting TQM implementation. This paper introduces a key dimension (Wasta) hasn’t been studied in the TQM literature and focuses on its impact on TQM implementation

Tables of Cumulative Distribution Functions for Symmetric Stable Distributions

The paper tabulates the cumulative distribution functions of standardized symmetrical stable laws with exponent α = 0.6 (0.1) 2.0, the standardization being such that the special values α = 1.0, α = 2.0 correspond, without further adjustment, to the standard Cauchy and Normal cases as usually defined. The tables were computed by numerical inversion of the characteristic functions

Incorporating the learning derived from part-time employment into undergraduate programmes: experiences from a business school

Students undertaking employment during term time is a growing phenomenon, and whilst there is an awareness that a large proportion of our undergraduates have part-time jobs, the type and extent of this work and the learning experiences gained is less clear. The purpose of this article is to outline research undertaken to determine the potential for students to gain academic credit for their learning from part-time, term-time work. This had involved an exploration of the incidence and the nature of this part-time work, the skills developed, learning derived and the students' ability to reflect upon this learning. An exploratory approach was used, quantitative research providing the numerical data of the level of participation in term-time employment, with qualitative exploration to gain insight into the students' ability to understand, articulate and reflect upon the learning that is taking place within work and gain an insight into participants' ideas, views and motivations. The research provides substantial evidence of the engagement in part-time work and demonstrates a clear overview of the development of personal and social competencies along with key skills and job-specific knowledge. This has led to the validation and introduction of an intermediate-level Work Based Learning module within the University of Huddersfield Business School, available as an alternative to a current core module, and which was to be evaluated during the course of the academic year 2007/2008