Value Analysis

To ascertain the quality of life associated with the health state of diabetes mellitus using utility value analysis. Consecutive adult patients with diabetes mellitus for at least 1 year and a mean age of 61.7 years (range 21 ± 85 years) were interviewed in a crosssectional fashion using standardized research methodology. Utility analysis values were obtained employing the time tradeoff method and were correlated with clinical parameters of the sample group, as well as with co-morbidities using the heteroscedastic Student's ttest and multivariate linear regression. The c 2 distribution to test for independence was used to compare sample subgroups. With a sample of 292 patients, the mean, patient-preference-based, time tradeoff utility value associated with the health state of diabetes mellitus was 0.88 (standard deviation (SD) = 0.17; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.86 ± 0.90). Repeat analysis confirmed the reproducibility of the data. Thus, the average diabetic was willing to trade away 12% of his or her remaining life in return for a diabetic-free health state. Factors associated with a significant decrease in diabetic-associated quality of life included: (1) the requirement for insulin ( p = 0.05), (2) the presence of depression ( p = 0.01), (3) the presence of diabetic retinopathy ( p = 0.03) and the presence of co-morbidities in general ( p = 0.01). The health state of diabetes mellitus has a significant effect upon patient, preference-based quality of life. The presence of diabetic co-morbidities and dependence upon insulin appear to decrease quality of life. The utility value associated with the health state of diabetes mellitus is of substantial importance for use in the calculation of costeffective analyses. D

Static program analysis by abstract interpretation is an efficient method to determine properties of embedded software. One example is value analysis, which determines the values stored in the processor registers. Its results are used as input to more advanced analyses, which ultimately yield information about the stack usage and the timing behavior of embedded software.

W referacie pokazano współczesny potencjał koncepcji inżynierii wartości. Skupiono się na najważniejszych elementach inżynierii wartości, takich jak techniki kreatywnego rozwiązywania problemów oraz metody analizy funkcji. Pokazano korzyści o charakterze dobrych praktyk ze stosowania inżynierii wartości w USA i ich innowacyjny potencjał, a także wskazano polskie tradycje w tym zakresie oraz współczesną lukę, którą jak najszybciej należy zacząć zapełniać.

The paper is to show current potential of the Value Engineering. Paper focuses on the most important techniques of the Value Engineering like function analysis and creative problem solving. Good practice benefits in USA are mentioned and its innovative potential. Polish experience with the method is explained together with current void in that matter that needs to be filled.

The supply-chain development programme (SCDP I and II) is an industry-focused programme of research being carried out by researchers at the Cardiff Business School and the University of Bath. The work is sponsored by 18 major UK-based manufacturing, distribution and service organizations which wish to remain or become world-class in their supply chain management activities. The authors wish to express their thanks to Dr M. Naim of the Logistics Systems Dynamics Group at the University of Wales for his comments on an earlier draft of this paper.

Various changes have been taking place in procurement, manufacturing, and physical distribution system globally. The manufacturing firms have been facing challenging tasks in managing complex logistics and supply chain management issues. Due to the intensity of competitive forces, firms attempt to focus on various aspects of logistics to reduce cost, improve quality, and manage responsiveness and thereby develop a competitive advantage. Multiple procurement activities such as material specification, value analysis, supplier relationship management, negotiation, buying, quality assurance, and inbound transportation are essential for firms due to their overall impact on profitability, customer service, and quality management. These factors are given importance by manufacturing firms while setting logistics objectives in a supply chain system. The logistics objectives such as minimization of inventory, consistent and reliable delivery, freight economy, minimization of product damages, quick response system, and quality improvement are closely linked to the management of procurement systems in modern organizations. Hence, the study attempts to analyze the impact of procurement activities on the setting of logistics objectives by the manufacturing firms in the UAE

Before any of the current "agile" development methods, Earned Value Management provided information for planning and controlling complex projects by measuring how much "value" was produced for a given cost in a period of time. One shortcoming of an agile development method is its inability to forecast the future cost and schedule of the project beyond the use of "yesterdays weather" metrics. These agile methods assume the delivered value, "velocity" in the case of XP, is compared with the estimated value-this is a simple comparison between budget and actual cost resulting in a Cost Variance. No Schedule Variance process is directly available in XP. Earned Value Analysis provides a means of predicting future schedule and cost variances through three measurements-budgeted cost for work scheduled, actual cost for work performed, and budgeted cost for work performed (earned value). This paper describes the use of Earned Value in conjunction with Agile Development on a mission-critical, high-security, government project.

In the absence of chemical-specific data, the threshold of toxicological concern (TTC) provides a method to determine a conservative estimate of a chronic oral exposure below which there is a very low probability of risk. The TTC approach was originally developed to support exposures to indirect food additives and was based on linear low-dose risk estimates to assure protection in the event that the chemical was later determined to be a carcinogen. Subsequently, TTC values based on noncancer endpoints were proposed for chemicals without structural alerts for genotoxicity. The original database supporting the TTC values for noncancer endpoints includes >600 structurally diverse chemicals. The objectives of this work were to evaluate the applicability of the TTC database to ingredients used in consumer products based on a comparison of the diversity of chemical structures with those in the original TTC database and to confirm that the range of NOELs for these ingredients is consistent with the range of NOELs in the original database. The results show good coverage of the product ingredient structures and confirm that the NOELs for the ingredient chemicals are similar in range to the original dataset, supporting the use of the TTC for ingredients in consumer products.

This paper presents a life cycle cost analysis of carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) reinforced concrete highway bridges. This study shows that despite the higher initial construction cost of CFRP reinforced bridges, they can be cost effective when compared to traditional steel reinforced bridges. The analysis considers the cost items of initial construction, maintenance, repair, rehabilitation and demolition activities and the associated user costs as determined by traffic volume, speed, operation and crashes. The analysis is performed for a 100-year service life. The cost information has been obtained from the literature, FHWA, and Michigan DOT. The most cost efficient alternative for side-by-side box beam bridges was a medium span CFRP bridge located in a high traffic area. Depending on traffic volume and bridge geometry, a probabilistic analysis revealed that there is greater than a 95% probability that the CFRP reinforced bridge will become the least expensive option between 20 and 40 years of service. The break-even year for the CFRP reinforced bridge is typically at the time of the first major repair activity, a shallow deck overlay, on the steel reinforced bridge.

Purpose -In the discussion on service-dominant logic and its consequences for value creation and marketing the inner meaning of the value-in-use notion and the nature of service marketing have not been considered thoroughly. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the meaning of a service logic as a logic for consumption and provision, respectively, and explore the consequences for value creation and marketing. Design/methodology/approach -Being a research-based paper, the topic is approached by theoretical analysis and conceptual development. Findings -Discussing the differences between value-in-exchange and value-in-use, the paper concludes that value-in-exchange in essence concerns resources used as a value foundation which are aimed at facilitating customers' fulfilment of value-in-use. When accepting value-in-use as a foundational value creation concept customers are the value creators. Adopting a service logic makes it possible for firms to get involved with their customers' value-generating processes, and the market offering is expanded to including firm-customer interactions. In this way, the supplier can become a co-creator of value with its customers. Drawing on the analysis, ten concluding service logic propositions are put forward.

Predictive microbiology Model building Strategic research Enabling technology Value analysis Modelling food and other ecosystems Microbial persistence and recovery This paper considers the future of predictive microbiology by exploring the balance that exists between science, applications and expectations. Attention is drawn to the development of predictive microbiology as a subdiscipline of food microbiology and of technologies that are required for its applications, including a recently developed biological indicator. As we move into the era of systems biology, in which physiological and molecular information will be increasingly available for incorporation into models, predictive microbiologists will be faced with new experimental and data handling challenges. Overcoming these hurdles may be assisted by interacting with microbiologists and mathematicians developing models to describe the microbial role in ecosystems other than food. Coupled with a commitment to maintain strategic research, as well as to develop innovative technologies, the future of predictive microbiology looks set to fulfil "great expectations".

We present a new model that links the well-known RFM (recency, frequency, monetary value) paradigm with customer lifetime value (CLV). While previous researchers have connected the two conceptually, none has presented a formal model that requires nothing more than RFM inputs to make specific lifetime value projections for a set of customers. Key to this analysis is the notion of "iso-value" curves, which enable us to group together individual customers who have different behavioral histories but similar future valuations. Iso-value curves make it easy to visualize and summarize the main interactions and tradeoffs among the RFM measures and CLV. Our stochastic model, featuring a Pareto/NBD framework to capture the flow of transactions over time and a gamma-gamma sub-model for dollars per transaction, reveals a number of subtle but important non-linear associations that would be missed by relying on observed data alone. We conduct a number of holdout tests to demonstrate the validity of the model's underlying components, and then focus on our iso-value analysis to estimate the net present value for a large group of customers of the online music site, CDNOW. We summarize a number of substantive insights and point out a set of broader issues and opportunities in applying such a model in actual practice.

In the absence of chemical-specific data, the threshold of toxicological concern (TTC) provides a method to determine a conservative estimate of a chronic oral exposure below which there is a very low probability of risk. The TTC approach was originally developed to support exposures to indirect food additives and was based on linear low-dose risk estimates to assure protection in the event that the chemical was later determined to be a carcinogen. Subsequently, TTC values based on noncancer endpoints were proposed for chemicals without structural alerts for genotoxicity. The original database supporting the TTC values for noncancer endpoints includes >600 structurally diverse chemicals. The objectives of this work were to evaluate the applicability of the TTC database to ingredients used in consumer products based on a comparison of the diversity of chemical structures with those in the original TTC database and to confirm that the range of NOELs for these ingredients is consistent with the range of NOELs in the original database. The results show good coverage of the product ingredient structures and confirm that the NOELs for the ingredient chemicals are similar in range to the original dataset, supporting the use of the TTC for ingredients in consumer products.

Purpose -Using the theory of planned behavior (TPB) to examine the effects of consumer values and past experiences on consumer purchase intention of organic personal care products, this study aims to consider further the moderating effect of perceived behavioral control on the attitudeintention relationship. Design/methodology/approach -An online survey was conducted with 207 online panel members, and multiple regression analysis was used to test the relationships among the variables. Findings -The results indicate that environmental consciousness and appearance consciousness positively influence attitude toward buying organic personal care products. The addition of past experiences as a predictor of purchase intention and perceived behavioral control as a moderator of the attitude-purchase intention relationship yielded an improvement on the TPB model. Practical implications -This study suggests that retailers can develop effective marketing strategies emphasizing ecological beauty, product safety, and affordable prices to increase consumers' intentions to buy organic personal care products. Originality/value -This study provides valuable insight into US consumer behavior regarding organic personal care products by examining the factors that influence consumers' attitudes toward buying organic personal care products and consumers' purchase intentions for the products. Furthermore, this study extends an application of the TPB by examining the moderating influence of perceived behavioral control on the attitude-intention relationship.

The process of setting objectives, function definition and function evaluation, as introduced in a value analysis workshop, could be the breakthrough in redefining architectural conceptions of function. Moreover, by bringing all key role players into the group, social, economic and design aspects can be evaluated holistically. Likewise, creative techniques commonly used in value analysis such as morphological analysis, brainstorming and random word technique could be valuable in transforming the identified priority functions into a new reality. This approach stands as a considerable challenge to the traditional model of the designer as creative genius,12 but the challenge has already been posed to this way of thinking in key areas of the discipline. Only by introducing radically different techniques can these shortcomings be substantially and satisfactorily addressed.

Royal Ahold (Koninklijke Ahold N.V.: www.ahold.com), publicly listed on the NYSE Euronext exchange (NYSE:AH) and US OTC market (OTC:AHONY), is a global retail supermarket group based in Europe and the United States with company headquarters in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Chief competitors / peer group members include Carrefour, Delhaize, Metro AG, Kroger Co., Safeway Inc., Super de Boer, Wal Mart Stores Inc., Tesco PLC, and Supervalu Inc. The food retail sector is a highly competitive sector, with dependencies on geographic presence and sensitivities to consumer spending cycles, consumer loyalty, and material & supplier pricing pressures. The ability to retain market share via competitive pricing while safeguarding profit margins via passing-on material costs is thus a sensitive balance. This case study takes a broad and deep look at Royal Ahold, offering a valuation perspective on the company during a period of challenge and change to the supermarket retailing sub-sector. The analysis covers the following components: industry dynamics & firm strategy, historical performance analysis, DCF analysis (scenarios: standalone base case, standalone management guidance, and buyouts / LBO), alternative
valuation perspective (trading multiples), and results interpretation.

The problem of high manufacturing costs has led to the shutdown of many
manufacturing companies in Nigeria. This study examines the relationship between
cost reduction strategies and the growth of manufacturing companies in Nigeria using
data from annual reports of 40 manufacturing companies quoted on the Nigeria Stock
Exchange within the period of 2012-2016. 40 manufacturing companies were sampled
purposively for this study. The study took changes in material cost, changes in labour
cost and changes in administrative overhead as variables for cost reduction strategies
while changes in turnover as the variable for Growth. Correlation analysis was
conducted to determine the association cost reduction strategies and growth while,
regression analysis was used to determine the impact of cost reduction strategies on
the growth of manufacturing companies. Results showed a positive significant
relationship between cost reduction strategies and growth of manufacturing
companies in Nigeria. The study recommends that manufacturing companies should
implement value analysis in order to reduce material costs and the implementation of
cost reduction strategies in all manufacturing companies in Nigeria

ÖZET
Küreselleşme ile birlikte ortaya çıkan ekonomik ve teknolojik değişim ve gelişmeler, ekonomik sınırların ortadan kalkması sonucu rekabetin küresel boyut kazanması, tüketici istek ve beklentilerindeki hızlı değişimler, bilgisayar teknolojilerindeki değişim sonucu bilgisayar destekli esnek üretim sistemleri, tam zamanında üretim, bilgisayar destekli tasarım gibi yeni üretim teknolojilerinin ve kontrol faaliyetlerinin gelişimi işletmelerin fiyat belirleme üzerindeki kontrol gücünü yitirmesine ve fiyatın piyasada belirlenmesine neden olmuştur. Ayrıca hissedarların kar beklentileri işletmelerin kar üzerindeki kontrol gücünü de yitirmelerine neden olarak kontrol edebilecekleri tek değişkenin maliyetler olması ile sonuçlanmıştır. Tüm bu gelişim ve değişimler hem işletme yöneticilerini hem de akademisyenleri çağdaş maliyet yöntemleri arayışına itmiştir.
Dünya genelinde yaşanan bu değişim ve gelişmelerden konaklama işletmeleri de etkilenmektedir. Konaklama işletmelerinin doluluk oranlarını artırmak amacıyla tur operatörlerinin fiyat baskısı, hissedarları memnun etmek amacıyla oluşan kar baskısı, konaklama işletmelerinin fiyat ve kar üzerindeki kontrol güçlerini tamamen kaybetmelerine neden olmaktadır. Konaklama işletmelerinin kendi kontrolleri altındaki maliyetleri etkin bir şekilde yönetebilmeleri diğer bir deyişle maliyet etkinliği ve minimizasyonu sağlamaları ve böylece hem müşteri istek ve beklentilerini kaliteden ödün vermeden istenilen fiyat ve özelliklerde sunmaları hem de karlılıklarını artırarak hissedarlarını memnun etmeleri gerekmektedir. Bu amaçları gerçekleştirmeleri çağdaş maliyet yöntemlerinden biri olan hedef maliyetleme yöntemini diğer çağdaş yöntemlerle birlikte kullanmalarına bağlı olmaktadır.
Bu çalışmanın amacı, konaklama işletmelerinin yaşanan değişim ve gelişmelere uyum sağlaması ve hem müşterilerin hem de hissedarların istek ve beklentileri karşılayarak karlılıklarını artırmak için hedef maliyetleme yöntemini diğer çağdaş maliyet yöntemleri ile birlikte uygulayarak hizmet üretiminde yüksek kalite, düşük maliyet ve kısa zaman hedeflerini eşzamanlı olarak gerçekleştirmesini ve maliyet etkinliği sağlamasını ortaya koymaktır. Bu amaçla Antalya’da faaliyet gösteren 5 yıldızlı bir konaklama işletmesinde çalışmanın uygulaması gerçekleştirilmiştir.
Çalışmada, 5 yıldızlı bir konaklama işletmesinin üretim maliyetleri, hedef maliyetleme yöntemi ile birlikte değer analizi ve kaizen maliyetleme entegre edilerek belirlenmiştir. Hizmet fonksiyonlarının görece önemi 382 otel müşterisine değer analizi uygulanarak belirlenmiştir. Üç yöntemin entegrasyonu ile işletmenin 2014 yılında hedef kara ulaşmak için toplam 1.091.877 TL maliyet minimizasyonuna gitmesi gerektiği sonucuna ulaşılmıştır.

Purpose -This paper aims to analyse expectation and reality in enterprise resource planning implementation from the consultants' and software vendors' point of view and process these further as requirements of future IT systems. Design/methodology/approach -A small-scale survey among Finnish enterprise resource planning system (ERP) software vendors and consultants on ERP implementation challenges is analysed (n ¼ 59). The results are connected to existing literature in the field of deploying ERP systems in the form of discussion. Findings -The consultants' opinions show similar results with studies conducted with companies using ERP systems. The implementer's point of view shows clearly the challenge of using standardized ERP packages for various requirements on different levels. Although the sales presentations tend to emphasize the general purpose and flexibility of software packages, the dilemma between customization and vanilla system remains. The implementer's viewpoint emphasises challenges in operations: production planning, materials management, sales and marketing.

This paper examines an interface between accounting system and purchasing/supply chain management. It explains how professional purchasing/supply management and accounting personnel contribute at least as much to the success of their organisation in areas such as supplier sourcing, or substitute materials, price determination, value analysis, outsourcing, make or buy analysis, invoice settlement and payment. At the most fundamental level, supply management concerns quick execution of work expeditiously, without fault in a cost effective manner. The paper details efficacy of goods inspection and reception procedure for the right quality and quantity through the association of purchasing and accounting department. The findings suggest that a cooperative relationship between purchasing and accounting/finance clearly can impact the development of a good supplier relations and cost reduction for the benefit of an organisation.

Purpose -To propose an alternative model specification for better conceptualizing the definition of a customer perceived value construct, and to discuss the theoretical justification of the model. Design/methodology/approach -The proposed model was elaborated based on theoretical contexts. Three models of different conceptualization specifications were estimated and compared with eTail service value survey data. Findings -Based on theory, perceived value should be conceived as a formative construct. The empirical results demonstrated different parameter estimates and thus conclusions are drawn from different conceptualization methods. Research limitations/implications -Future research is suggested to apply the proposed formative value model in other marketing settings, and to explore the role of consumer satisfaction in post-purchase behavior. Practical implications -Marketing resources allocation and communication programs may be influenced due to different conceptualization methods of value construct applied by practitioners. Originality/value -This paper provides a theoretical rationale for conceptualizing perceived value with formative specification. It stresses that the theoretical justification is a major concern for determining conceptualization models.

Purpose-Seeks to provide answers to two questions: is willingness to pay (WTP) for organic products influenced by the same set of factors that affect purchasing of conventional foods? Does WTP for organic products vary according to different food categories? Design/methodology/approach-Purchasers were approached during their food shopping in retail chains in Athens in July 2003. Sample inclusion is based on real awareness of the term "organic". The questionnaire included in its first part a number of criteria that influence consumers when buying food. In the second part respondents were asked to indicate if any food products they buy were organic and to state how much more they were willing to pay. Information from the first part was analysed with factor analysis. With the help of t-value analysis, it was examined whether there is a statistically significant difference per product category between consumers who are willing to pay and consumers who are unwilling to pay in terms of the factors identified. Findings-Consumers' stated WTP and the type and magnitude of factors that affect it differ according to the organic food category. These factors include food quality and security, trust in the certification, and, for some products, brand name. Organoleptic characteristics, prices and consumers' socio-demographic profiles do not constitute determinants of organic WTP. Research limitations/implications-Organic types of some fresh as well as processed food products do not exist in the Greek market. Moreover, the large number of t-tests conducted might result in Type I error. Originality/value-Purchasing of organic food follows "basic-highest frequency", "basic-average frequency", and "non-basic" discrimination. The most frequently consumed organic products are some basic components of the Greek diet. Only the factors "quality and security" and "trust" play an important role in defining WTP for most organic food categories. Consumers' attitudes towards both organic and PDO/PGI certifications converge towards a perception of high quality food. Approximately 26 percent of the sample exhibited a U-shaped WTP trend for 14 out of 16 organic food categories in increments from 45 to 120 percent. All the above elements of originality are particularly valuable for organic food firms and policy/decision makers.

Value engineering is a basic concept which is generally used in automobile sector to increase the overall production of company and eliminate all unnecessary process so that the profit of a plat can be maximized. In 21th century competition in automobile sector is going to increase day by day. Production and demand of the product is limited for all groups because there is lot of choices available in market for a customer that is way not only the production is increases today but the demand of goods is also increases. So the idea of reducing the total manufacturing cost of running part and also reducing the amount of their wastage such as parts scrap, issue of quality of parts and other reason of rejection of parts i.e. value analysis of parts is to be done so that a group produces the same parts is of cheaper cost from their competitors in market. Over the last decade the interest in standardization of products has been increased. This interest stems from the high technology projects and the overseas business market requirement in the mid-century (1950). The International market leads to competition and its requirement for continuous improvement became an issue of major importance in 1980s and even more important in 1990s. This competitive market required organizations that provide the superior values to the customer. Standardization is important for exchange of goods and services at international level in the world. It is also cooperation in the scientific, technology and economic activities.

Purpose: A common thread in the modern marketing theories, such as service-dominant logic and viable systems approach VSA , is the notion value co-creation: the locus of value creation is no longer perceived to reside within firm boundaries but value is considered to be co-created between various actors within the networked market. The evolution of value creation, from value creation by the manufacturing firm to value cocreation in a network, necessitates a corresponding change in the concepts used to depict value creation. The present research investigates business models as a broader conceptualization of value co-creation that captures this change. Design/methodology/approach: The topic is approached by a combination of literature review and interactive research (Gummesson, 2002a), including interactions with managers from 12 international companies. Findings: Business models are defined as configurations of twelve interrelated elements, covering market, offering, operational, and management viewpoints. The effectiveness of a business model in value co-creation is defined by the internal configurational fit between all business model elements and the external configurational fit between provider's and customers' business models. Practical implications: A firm can radically improve the value co-creation by designing business models that have high degree of internal and external configurational fit. Originality/value: For a scholarly audience the article contributes to the discussion on value cocreation by providing a conceptualization of the business model construct depicting the value cocreation in a network. For a practitioner audience it offers ideas for improving business performance through conscious business model development.

Purpose -This work aims to introduce the usefulness of the concept of value for tourism research both conceptually and empirically. Destination and tourism services can be better understood if analysed through the multidimensionality of value, as the tourist can simultaneously experience several factors: affective and cognitive, social and personal, active and reactive.

The provision of safe high-quality care in obstetrics and gynaecology is a key target in the UK National Health Service (NHS), in part because of the high cost of litigation in this area. Good risk management processes should improve safety and reduce the cost of litigation to the NHS. This chapter looks at structures and processes for improving quality and patient safety, using the stepwise approach described by the National Patient Safety Authority (NPSA). This encompasses building a safety culture, leading and supporting staff, integrating risk management activity, promoting reporting, involving and communicating with patients and the public, learning and sharing safety lessons, and implementing solutions to prevent harm. Examples from the Liverpool Women's NHS Foundation Trust are used to illustrate these steps, including how they were developed, what obstacles had to be overcome, ongoing challenges, and whether good risk management has translated into better, safer health care.

Purpose -This research seeks to investigate the relationship between knowledge diversity (KD) in software teams and project performance. Previous research has shown that member diversity affects team performance; most of that work, however, has focused on diversity in personal or social attributes, such as gender or social category. Current research targets at the knowledge level aim to facilitate the implementation of knowledge management in organizations. Design/methodology/approach -A research framework was developed based on conflict theory and empirically tested on software teams in Taiwan. Findings -It was found that KD increases task conflict, which in turn has significant positive effects on team performance and that value diversity (VD) increases relationship conflict, which in turn negatively affects team performance.

Since the 1980s, there has been increasing informalization of industrial labour in India. It has taken two forms: rising share of the unorganized sector in manufacturing employment and informalization of the organized manufacturing sector itself through subcontracting and use of temporary and contract workers. The paper investigates whether and how far labour market rigidities and increasing import competition are responsible for the increasing informalization on industrial labour in India. An econometric model is estimated for this purpose using unit level data of the NSS 61 st round employment-unemployment survey for 2004-05. The estimated model explains the casual worker -regular worker dichotomy in manufacturing. The results show that labour market reforms tend to increase the creation of regular jobs, while import competition tends to raise casual employment among workers with education above primary. The results also show that education enhances the probability of getting a regular job.

Thirteen surface moss samples were collected for pollen analysis from an area of heathland in western Norway. Vegetation composition at different distances around the sampling locations was measured using three different survey methods; rooted frequency within a subdivided 1 m 9 1 m quadrat, visual estimates of cover within a 1 m 9 1 m quadrat and a modified form of the 'circle-walking method'. Extended R-value analysis was used to explore the pollen-vegetation relationships for five main taxa, Calluna vulgaris, Vaccinium-type, Cyperaceae, Poaceae and Potentilla-type. The estimates of relevant source area of pollen obtained were similar regardless of the vegetation survey method. Values obtained were always under 4 m. However, estimates of relative pollen productivity and the background pollen component (proportion of pollen coming from vegetation growing beyond the relevant source area of pollen) differ markedly depending on the method of vegetation survey chosen. This has important implications for the quantitative reconstruction of past vegetation cover.

Many data analysis tasks can be viewed as search or mining in a multidimensional space (MDS). In such MDSs, dimensions capture potentially important factors for given applications, and cells represent combinations of values for the factors. To systematically analyze data in MDS, an interesting notion, called "cubegrade" was recently introduced by Imielinski et al. , which focuses on the notable changes in measures in MDS by comparing a cell (which we refer to as probe cell) with its gradient cells, namely, its ancestors, descendants, and siblings. We call such queries gradient analysis queries (GQs). Since an MDS can contain billions of cells, it is important to answer GQs efficiently. In this study, we focus on developing efficient methods for mining GQs constrained by certain (weakly) antimonotone constraints. Instead of conducting an independent gradient-cell search once per probe cell, which is inefficient due to much repeated work, we propose an efficient algorithm, LiveSet-Driven. This algorithm finds all good gradient-probe cell pairs in one search pass. It utilizes measure-value analysis and dimension-match analysis in a set-oriented manner, to achieve bidirectional pruning between the sets of hopeful probe cells and of hopeful gradient cells. Moreover, it adopts a hypertree structure and an H-cubing method to compress data and to maximize sharing of computation. Our performance study shows that this algorithm is efficient and scalable. In addition to data cubes, we extend our study to another important scenario: mining constrained gradients in transactional databases where each item is associated with some measures such as price. Such transactional databases can be viewed as sparse MDSs where items represent dimensions, although they have significantly different characteristics than data cubes. We outline efficient mining methods for this problem in this paper.

KEYWORDS: Brand positioning, brand science, brand strategy, integrated marketing communications, marketing research, consumer marketing, consumer research, public relations, advertising, sales promotion, media marketing, marketing psychology, brand economics, value analysis, value engineering

An enquiry into 7+ most overlooked reasons responsible for brand failure which can be exploited for success. This paper showcases cutting edge knowledge and deep insights into the successes and failures of corporate and product brands, highlighting the reasons and proffering deductible solutions

A major challenge for the Indian government is the rapid growth of the urban population, leading to housing shortages and poor urban living conditions. The current need-based housing shortage in the country is about 19 million units as per the 2011 census. The government has introduced many affordable housing schemes that focus on meeting the shortage of housing needs. Excess cost management needs to be planned from the initial stages of design during the building's project life. Value engineering is an effective problem-solving approach that minimizes prices while preserving and improving performance and quality requirements. Ve process's success lies in its ability to find ways to reduce redundant expenses while maintaining efficiency, reliability, performance, and other critical elements that reach or surpass the standards of the client. This study aims at understanding the application of value engineering in affordable housing to optimize cost, time and quality thus incr...

This paper presents a hybrid framework that integrates value analysis and decision making for eliciting and evaluating design alternatives. Value analysis approach relies on the integration of the functional analysis through the systematic use of the functional analysis system technique and quality function deployment. This value analysis methodology enables customer requirements to be linked to specific design alternatives during the project design stage. The degree of project complexity will affect the number of design alternatives to be evaluated. As such, the data envelopment analysis ͑DEA͒ is incorporated as a decision support tool to evaluate the degree to which each design alternative satisfies the customer requirements. DEA is used to calculate a customer requirement efficiency index for each alternative. This index is a measure of how well a particular alternative achieves the requirements taking into account its overall cost. The framework was successfully used on a high-tech research facility construction project.

Purpose -Research on the use/disclosure of intellectual capital (IC) information by sell-side analysts, using content analysis of their reports, is growing. The objectives of this paper are to establish the importance of this perspective in understanding the role of IC in communicating firm value, to introduce possible theoretical frameworks to interpret the findings of such studies, and to propose methodological developments. Methodology/approach -The paper argues for the need to look at IC from the perspective of sell-side analysts, and then advocates the use of several theoretical frameworks to enrich current understanding of the role of IC as it is used/disclosed by sell-side analysts. Current methodologies used in this type of research are critiqued with a view to proposing multiple research methods. Findings -Looking at IC from the sell-side analyst perspective helps us to understand how the capital market appreciates this information. However, IC information that analysts disclose cannot be taken at its face value. Issues of signalling, analysts' incentives/influences, political economy view, and globalisation are introduced as providing theoretical frameworks for explaining IC disclosure in sell-side analysts' reports. To obtain a richer picture of the role of IC information in analysts' decision processes, multiple research methods are proposed. Practical implications -The proposals in this paper may inform and guide future research on IC information use/disclosure by sell-side analysts with theoretical underpinnings and methodological rigour. Originality/ value -This paper is the first attempt to propose possible theories for interpreting findings of studies on IC use/discsloure by sell-side analysts and suggest multiple research methodologies in this type of research.

Purpose -This study aims to analyze the construction of the meaning of leadership by two Arab women school principals in Israel who are "pavers of the way". Design/methodology/approach -Interviews in which the women exposed their life stories were subjected to discourse analysis in light of a three-layered functional approach and leadership theories. The study investigated: characteristics of the leadership development of two Arab women principals and expressions of leadership at different life stages.