...information–metric or ordinal– contained in the original data matrix. Emphasis is placed on the variables rather than on the subjects (rows) of the data matrix. In contrast, cluster analysis is concerned with the similarity of the subjects–that is, the resemblance of their profiles over the whole set of variables. These variables may be the original set or may consist of a representation of them in reduced space (i.e., factor scores). In either case the objective of cluster analysis is to find similar groups of subjects, where “similarity” between each pair of subjects is usually construed to mean some global measure over the whole set of characteristics–either original variables or derived coordinates, if preceded by a reduced space analysis. In this section we discuss various methods of clustering and the key role that distance functions play as measures of the proximity of pairs of points. We first discuss the fundamentals of cluster analysis in terms of major questions concerning choice of proximity measure, choice of clustering technique, and descriptive measures by which the resultant clusters can be defined. We show that clustering results can be sensitive to the type of distance function used to summarize proximity between pairs of profiles. We next discuss the characteristics of various computational algorithms that are used for grouping profiles, i.e., for partitioning the rows (subjects) of the data matrix. This is followed by brief discussions of statistics for...
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...retention. The arguement will be to explore the most valid line of reasoning in how knowledge of the representing world is conceptualised into abstract cognitive ideas. References made to key research with in-depth analysis will create understanding into how the cognitive paradigm views knowledge representation. Analogical and propositional representations of knowledge have been derived from many theoretical viewpoints. Analogical representations of knowledge are physical and geometric interpretations of objects. Internally stored information is analogous to the representing world. Each element of the analogous object is represented as one. These analogies are generic generalisations and are flexible enough to attach relationships between objects i.e. loose combination...
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...Professional Development Matrix Introduction The purpose of this matrix is to find out the personal and professional qualities and capabilities. Different competencies have been selected to reflect my personal and professional needs. Furthermore it tells about the perception of my current ability and potential application of each competency. Competency | Current Ability | Potential Applications | Core Concepts | Self-Management Competency Selected:Learning Styles | My learning style pragmatist. Class activity showed that I am good listener but when it comes to talking then I have got very influential personality as I have got very strong convincing power with solid logics and reasoning. I always participate actively in the group discussions but when I am having very little knowledge about the situation then I feel myself miss fit in the situation. I always make sure that I am very much clear in my thoughts as this makes a big difference while convincing others and putting them to one common point. | This particular style has got its limitations. As I personally feel that sometimes I am self-absorbed when going through complex situations and this can make me unapproachable. This self-awareness will help me to put the colleagues jointly on one common point in the time of tough and critical situations. While working as a part of a team will improve my communication style and this will also give me a balanced approach towards learning styles. Moreover I learn from personal...
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...Running head: STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT ANALYSIS TOOLS Strategic Management Analysis Tools XXXXXXXXX XXXXXXX xxxxxxxx Abstract The number of strategic management analysis tools have increased dramatically in the last twenty years. This increase could be a result of a growing demand to meet the new demands this new global market. This literature review aims to outline these articles and findings by concentrating on the strategic management research tools and describing the tools that are the most useful for managers to use. Keywords: tools, strategic analysis, strategic management, strategic planning. Strategic Management Analysis Tools Brief History In recent decades, strategic management research has become so complex and expensive that managers have found it difficult to utilize it effectively. Increasing competition across all industries combined with the ever changing variables such as the economic realities of an expanding global community, have created this market for strategic market analysis tools. Hence, as a method to support managers needs to meet stockholders expectations, a number of tools and methods have been created. Essentially, the problem is there are so many strategic management analysis tools choosing the right one is challenging. Research on strategic analysis is not abundant, despite the numerous reviews on the subject matter. It should be noted that all of the authors of existing reviews state that strategic analysis is the premise...
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...Case Study #2: Pacific Oil Company PROC 5840: Pacific Oil Case Study 30 Sep 2013 Abstract This paper assesses a negotiation between Pacific Oil Company, a seller of vinyl chloride monomer (VCM), and Reliant Chemical Company, a buyer of VCM. Each negotiation team’s strengths and weaknesses will be assessed. The Pacific Oil strengths included their negotiation team and the strength of the VCM market. Their weaknesses included poor organizational control, managerial decision making, and their failure to recognize the changing interests of Reliant Chemical and selection of a negotiation strategy. Reliant Chemical strengths were assessed as a strong organizational relationship and management decision making. It recognized, resolved and or reconciled the changing interests of Pacific Oil, derived the best approach for the negotiation, determined the relationship with the other negotiator(s), and selected the appropriate strategy and tactics. Reliant Chemical had one assessed weakness, which was its possible vulnerability to effective counter tactics. The paper concluded by providing a recommendation to close the negotiation with Reliant Chemical on more favorable terms to Pacific Oil. Introduction The Pacific Oil Company negotiation filled with examples of how people (Corporations, Management and Negotiator(s)) should prepare, interact and react during a negotiation...
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...DISSERTATION Titel der Dissertation „Brand Positioning Through the Consumers’ Lens“ Verfasserin / Verfasser Mag. rer. soc. oec. Christoph Fuchs Angestrebter akademischer Grad Ph. D. (Doctor of Philosophy) Wien, im April 2008 Studienkennzahl lt. Studienblatt: Dissertationsgebiet lt. Studienblatt: Betreuer / Betreuerin: A 094 146 Management Univ.-Prof. Dr. Adamantios Diamantopoulos ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank Univ. Prof. Adamantios Diamantopoulos, Ph. D., for the supervision of this dissertation and for being my mentor over the last four years. I would also like to thank o. Univ. Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Udo Wagner, Associate Professor Kevin E. Voss, Ph. D., Professor William E. Baker, Ph. D., and o. Univ. Prof. Bodo B. Schlegelmilch, Ph. D., D. Litt, for their excellent comments on the issue of positioning effectiveness measurement. Furthermore, I am indebted to Dr. Daniel Hoppe, ao. Univ. Prof. Dr. Elfriede Penz, and Professor Rajan Varadarajan, Ph. D., for valuable comments on the qualitative study conducted in Chapter 3. Moreover, I would like to thank Florian Mailänder and Mag. Fritz Alexander from Research International Ltd. for their agreement to collaborate on the scale development project (Chapter 5) and for their valuable input from the practitioners’ side. iii iv ABSTRACT Brand positioning is a core concept in marketing. Despite the importance of the concept, however, there is limited research in the field of positioning...
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...was brought up by the public that they should accept social responsibility and do business ethically (Leadership Values and Ethics: Secrets of Leadership Success - By Susan M. Heath field). Over the years business owners have learned how to recognize the value of enforcing ethics in the work environment because they know that a professional setting without ethics is in danger of decreased productivity and survival. There is always different types of people with different personalities, and different values working at a company, in order for people to get along with each other and be productive, there is a need to set up rules and make sure everyone follow those rules otherwise there will be a lot of miss understanding and disagreement between coworkers causing productivity level to decrease (Newman, 2010). Ethics and values can vary from one business setting to another such as the ethics and values of a law firm and the ethics of a manufacturing company. From my own experience working at a law firm so of the ethics are confidentiality, respect toward each other, validity of documents, honesty, and reliability. The law firm valued the clients therefore; we had to provide excellent customer...
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...This article appeared in a journal published by Elsevier. The attached copy is furnished to the author for internal non-commercial research and education use, including for instruction at the authors institution and sharing with colleagues. Other uses, including reproduction and distribution, or selling or licensing copies, or posting to personal, institutional or third party websites are prohibited. In most cases authors are permitted to post their version of the article (e.g. in Word or Tex form) to their personal website or institutional repository. Authors requiring further information regarding Elsevier’s archiving and manuscript policies are encouraged to visit: http://www.elsevier.com/copyright Author's personal copy Pattern Recognition 45 (2012) 3414–3426 Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect Pattern Recognition journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/pr Silhouette-based gait recognition using Procrustes shape analysis and elliptic Fourier descriptors Sruti Das Choudhury, Tardi Tjahjadi n School of Engineering, University of Warwick, Gibbet Hill Road, Coventry CV4 7AL, United Kingdom a r t i c l e i n f o Article history: Received 6 September 2011 Received in revised form 15 December 2011 Accepted 21 February 2012 Available online 5 March 2012 Keywords: Gait recognition Human identification Procrustes shape analysis Elliptic Fourier descriptor Silhouette Nearest neighbour classifier Classifier combination Hu moments a b s t r a c t ...
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...African Journal of Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure Vol. 4 (1) - (2015) ISSN: 2223-814X Copyright: © 2014 AJHTL - Open Access- Online @ http//: www.ajhtl.com The perceived contribution of South African arts festivals to the performing arts: standardisation of the measurement scale *Dr SC Pretorius Faculty of Human and Social Sciences, Department of History, Politics and Tourism, NorthWest University, Mafikeng Campus, South Africa. E-mail: corne.pretorius@nwu.ac.za, Tel: 018 389 2303, Fax: 018 389 2504, Private Bag X2046, Mmabatho, South Africa, 2735. Dr P Viviers North-West University, South Africa. Dr K Botha North-West University, South Africa. * Corresponding Author Abstract The standardisation of a measurement scale to measure an arts festival‟s contribution to the performing arts is described. The measurement scale, namely the questionnaire, is based on literature, where the contributing factors, namely economic, emotional, educational, marketing, quality and growth and development contribution of an arts festival to the performing arts are determined based on the perception of the festival visitor. The scale proved to be a valid measure, as the exploratory factor analysis on the combined data of Innibos and Vryfees (n = 982) supported construct validity and criterion validity. Further validity was proven by a confirmatory factor analysis on the data of KKNK (n = 602). CFA fit indices also indicate that the model has a satisfactory fit with the data...
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...A Statistical Perspective on Data Mining Ranjan Maitra∗ Abstract Technological advances have led to new and automated data collection methods. Datasets once at a premium are often plentiful nowadays and sometimes indeed massive. A new breed of challenges are thus presented – primary among them is the need for methodology to analyze such masses of data with a view to understanding complex phenomena and relationships. Such capability is provided by data mining which combines core statistical techniques with those from machine intelligence. This article reviews the current state of the discipline from a statistician’s perspective, illustrates issues with real-life examples, discusses the connections with statistics, the differences, the failings and the challenges ahead. 1 Introduction The information age has been matched by an explosion of data. This surfeit has been a result of modern, improved and, in many cases, automated methods for both data collection and storage. For instance, many stores tag their items with a product-specific bar code, which is scanned in when the corresponding item is bought. This automatically creates a gigantic repository of information on products and product combinations sold. Similar databases are also created by automated book-keeping, digital communication tools or by remote sensing satellites, and aided by the availability of affordable and effective storage mechanisms – magnetic tapes, data warehouses and so on. This has created a situation...
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...Starbuck’s Job Design Job Purpose is being a leader and role model by showing by example customer service and community involvement. Essential Functions: Set goals for team, recruit and hire team members and shift supervisors, generate reports, train team members safety standards and health standards, implement policies, lead your team by example, communicate and recognize any problems, act quickly for solution, get involved in the community, recruit patrons feedback, delegate task, hold group meetings, create employees work schedules, setting goals for the work group, developing organizational capability, and modeling how we work together, monitors and manages store staffing levels to ensure partner development and talent acquisition to achieve and maintain store operational requirements, utilizes existing tools to identify and prioritize communications and regularly uses discretion to filter communications to the store team, ensures adherence to applicable wage and hour laws for nonexempt partners and minors, solicits customer feedback to understand customer needs and the needs of the local community, uses all operational tools to plan for and achieve operational excellence in the store, tools include Automated Labor Scheduling, monthly status report, Quarterly Business Review, cash management, and inventory management, utilizes management information tools and analyzes financial reports to identify and address trends and issues in store performance, provide partners...
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...1 A User’s Guide to Learning Styles and Math Tools T he journey of developing this book began almost five years ago. After over sixty combined years of service in schools, two of us—John R. Brunsting and Terry Walsh—were coming to the end of our careers as mathematics instructors and administrators. For most of those sixty years, we had the pleasure of working together in Hinsdale Central High School in Hinsdale, Illinois, where we met Harvey Silver and were introduced to the Thoughtful Classroom professional development model he designed with Richard Strong. What we quickly came to learn is that the Thoughtful Classroom really works. Whenever we implemented Thoughtful Classroom strategies in our classrooms or worked with other teachers to help them implement Thoughtful Classroom strategies in their own classrooms, the effect on student learning was palpable—students became more engaged, discussions got richer, student thinking went deeper, and test scores went up. There was, however, one particular Thoughtful Classroom text that always seemed to make the biggest difference in classrooms in the shortest amount of time. That text was Tools for Promoting Active, In-Depth Learning (Silver, Strong, & Perini, 2001; Silver, Strong, & Commander, 1998). The idea behind Tools for Promoting Active, InDepth Learning is simple. It is a collection of classroom-tested tools, or simple teaching “moves,” that teachers can use to foster active, in-depth learning. These tools are based on the...
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...Springer Series in Advanced Manufacturing Series Editor Professor D. T. Pham Intelligent Systems Laboratory WDA Centre of Enterprise in Manufacturing Engineering University of Wales Cardiff PO Box 688 Newport Road Cardiff CF2 3ET UK Other titles in this series Assembly Line Design B. Rekiek and A. Delchambre Advances in Design H.A. ElMaraghy and W.H. ElMaraghy (Eds.) Effective Resource Management in Manufacturing Systems: Optimization Algorithms in Production Planning M. Caramia and P. Dell’Olmo Condition Monitoring and Control for Intelligent Manufacturing L. Wang and R.X. Gao (Eds.) Optimal Production Planning for PCB Assembly W. Ho and P. Ji Trends in Supply Chain Design and Management H. Jung, F.F. Chen and B. Jeong (Eds.) Process Planning and Scheduling for Distributed Manufacturing L. Wang and W. Shen (Eds.) Collaborative Product Design and Manufacturing Methodologies and Applications W.D. Li, S.K. Ong, A.Y.C. Nee and C. McMahon (Eds.) R. Venkata Rao Decision Making in the Manufacturing Environment Using Graph Theory and Fuzzy Multiple Attribute Decision Making Methods 123 R. Venkata Rao, PhD Department of Mechanical Engineering Sardar Vallabhbhai National Institute of Technology, Surat Ichchanath Surat 395 007 Gujarat State India British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Rao, R. Venkata Decision making in the manufacturing environment : using graph theory and fuzzy multiple attribute decision making methods. - (Springer series in advanced...
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...Antecedents of commitment 2. Importer’ s commitment 3. Importer supplier relationship 4. Mediating role of trust 5. Cultural similarity 6. Communication 7. Knowledge and experience 8. Supplier’ s opportunism 9. Environmental volatility 10. Transaction-specific investment 11. Supplier’s competencies ii Abstract The concept of commitment has emerged recently in international business literature especially in explaining importer behaviour as a counterpart of the process of internationalisation. Importer commitment often plays a dominant role as one of the major factors influencing relationships in the exporter-importer dyad and facilitates the process of internationalisation by imparting access to the international market. This critical importer and supplier relationship and its animating factors are, however, overlooked and largely neglected in the literature. Accordingly, it is inconclusive as to which factors influence importer commitment and how they influence it. Drawing on the literature, this study strived to investigate the spectrum of importer commitment and has explicitly examined eight factors influencing importer commitment to a foreign supplier by integrating the factors in a comprehensive model. Cultural similarity between importer and overseas supplier, knowledge and experience of the importer, the supplier’s competencies, communication between importer and supplier, the supplier’ s opportunism, the...
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...Weschlers test of intelligence for children The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC), developed by David Wechsler, is an individually administered intelligence testfor children between the ages of 6 and 16 inclusive that can be completed without reading or writing. The WISC takes 65–80 minutes to administer and generates an IQ score which represents a child's general cognitive ability. ------------------------------------------------- History The original WISC (Wechsler, 1949) was an adaption of several of the subtests which made up the Wechsler–Bellevue Intelligence Scale (Wechsler, 1939) but also featured several subtests designed specifically for it. The subtests were organized into Verbal and Performance scales, and provided scores for Verbal IQ (VIQ), Performance IQ (PIQ), and Full Scale IQ (FSIQ). A revised edition was published in 1974 as the WISC-R (Wechsler, 1974), featuring the same subtests however the age range was changed from 5-15 to 6-16. The third edition was published in 1991 (WISC-III; Wechsler, 1991) and brought with it a new subtest as a measure of processing speed. In addition to the traditional VIQ, PIQ, and FSIQ scores, four new index scores were introduced to represent more narrow domains of cognitive function: the Verbal Comprehension Index (VCI), the Perceptual Organization Index (POI), the Freedom from Distractibility Index (FDI), and the Processing Speed Index (PSI). The current version, the WISC-IV, was produced in 2003 followed by the...
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