bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Relative accuracy of judgemental and extrapolative methods in forecasting annual earnings
Authors: Armstrong J. Scott 
Published: July 2007

AbstractThis paper identifies and analyses previously published studies on annual earnings forecasts. Comparisons of forecasts produced by management, analysts, and extrapolative techniques indicated that: (1) management forecasts were superior to professional analyst forecasts (the mean absolute percentage errors were 15.9 and 17.7, respectively, based on five studies using data from 1967–1974) and (2) judgemental forecasts (both management and analysts) were superior to extrapolation forecasts on 14 of 17 comparisons from 13 studies using data from 1964–1979 (the mean absolute percentage errors were 21.0 and 28.4 for judgement and extrapolation, respectively).These conclusions, based on recent research, differ from those reported in previous reviews, which commented on less than half of the studies identified here.
The Bangladesh Meghna–Dhonagoda irrigation project
Authors: Shamsul Huda A. T. M. , Emdadul Huq M. D. , Bhuiyan Aminul Islam 
Published: July 2007

AbstractThe Meghna‐‐Dhonagoda Irrigation Project (MDIP) began in 1977 as an effort to reduce the constant threat of floods in the Chandpur district of Bangladesh, to expand agricultural production and employment opportunities, and to improve power supply, communication, social services, and health conditions. With a US $24 million loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the project was to have been completed in 1983. Unfortunately, it remains incomplete and defective, despite long delays and an expenditure many times more than originally estimated. The project's failures primarily stem from inability or unwillingness of the Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) to supervise the consultants and contractors and then to correct their mistakes. However, the ADB could also have played a more useful role in facilitating technical and managerial improvements.
Managing the implementation of ‘shock therapy’ in a landlocked state: Mongolia's transition from the centrally planned economy
Authors: Collins Paul , Nixson Frederick 
Published: July 2007

AbstractMongolia is the second oldest communist regime after Russia, and its reforms have been under way since 1986. It is a land‐locked state and is characterized by its large physical size relative to a small population, an almost total historical dependence on the former‐USSR and a limited range of agricultural and mineral resources. Despite the profound effects that the collapse of the USSR and Comecon have caused, Mongolia has adopted a ‘shock therapy’ approach to reform, embarking simultaneously on a bold programme of both political and economic change. This article traces the genesis of the reform strategy, highlighting the interplay between external events and internal debate and sometimes outlining the major areas of the reform programme: the introduction of macroeconomic management to replace central planning, the improvement of incentives and an ambitious programme of privatization. The undertaking of such a programme in the Mongolia points to the importance of a social safety net and popular support for the reforms. The article then describes the complementary reforms of public administration that have been more recently introduced in the wake of a new constitution, with their emphasis on professionalization of government administration, transfer of responsibilities to provincial and local government and improved policies and institutions for national training. International technical assistance has and continues to play a significant role in supporting the above. A number of lessons are drawn with regard to strategy, particularly the need at programme level for an integrated or systems approach that can ensure linkages between different elements and at the level of training the need for imaginative approaches to design and delivery. The article draws conclusions on the prospects for success in each area of the reform programme. Critical for public administration restructuring and professionalization is the issue of institutional capacity for implementation. While the legal framework has now been laid down for decentralized government, for example, there is little prior experience in local government of many areas of functional management, finance and budgeting, investment planning and social services administration. On the economic front, the shock therapy stragegy has been adopted despite some earlier advice on the preconditions for successful privatization—with regard for example to market structure, the development of the financial sector and most crucially the continued role of the state in fostering entrepre‐neurship in a society devoid of any recent history of such.
The dilemmas of managing transitions in weak states: The case of Mozambique
Authors: Graham Lawrence S. 
Published: July 2007

AbstractThis article reviews donor initiatives in Mozambique in decentralization policy and intergovernmental relations. Against the background of earlier donor initiatives in the country and the government's transition, it identifies the complexities confronted in working outside the centre and in the periphery, in the midst of economic and political liberalization. The lessons learned from the project experiences described emphasize the extensiveness of the changes necessary in government and the donor community if subnational authorities, governors and local administrators, in this instance, are to be empowered to resolve local development issues at the grass‐roots level rather than await authorization to act from the centre, be it a government ministry or donor organization. The dilemma posed by such initiatives concerns how to enable subnational governments to respond to unmet development needs locally (through the transfer of economic and skilled human resources to the provinces), without undercutting endeavours to strengthen the capacity of the central government to implement economic and social policy (through the concentration of the same resources in the centre).
Kenyanization and African capacity ‘shuffling’
Authors: Wilson L. S. 
Published: July 2007

AbstractCohen (1992) discusses in detail the problem of 'Kenyanization' of positions filled by expatriate advisors in the Kenyan civil service. He outlines six possible solutions to the problem, four of which involve the funding by donors of higher than civil service level salaries to attract Kenyan staff to the donors' particular projects. While Cohen is critical of these options he does not discuss the most serious danger in their use, the danger that resources will be seriously misallocated. In this article the traditional approach of supplying new resources to Kenya is compared with this new alternative of using donor funds to induce the reallocation of existing Kenyan staff. It suggests that donors must be extremely careful in using their funds to entice workers to their own projects without consideration of where these resources are drawn from. An alternative explanation to those discussed by Cohen for the lack of success with ‘Kenyanization’ is also proposed.
Developing sustainable institutions: Lessons from cross‐case analysis of 24 agricultural extension programmes
Authors: Gustafson Daniel J. 
Published: July 2007

AbstractThe building or reform of agricultural extension institutions has received considerable attention over the past 15 years, promoted principally by the World Bank and its training and visit (T&V) approach. Many of these institutional development projects have now been completed, allowing cross‐case analysis of the experiences and outcomes. Given the relatively similar objectives and institutional improvement strategies adopted, and the dissimilarities in the eventual performance and institutional vitality of the target organizations, these experiences provide a useful set of cases in which to examine the dynamics of institutions performance and sustainability. This article examines 24 completed extension development projects in the light of an institutional sustainability framework that defines sustainability as the ability of an institution to produce outputs that are sufficiently in demand for enough inputs to be supplied to continue production at a steady or growing rate. Findings from the application of the framework highlight the importance of internal and external stakeholder support, the importance of early success in generating support, the need for both organizational action and learning in varying degrees depending on the situation, and the need to have a coherent strategy that matches the institution's internal capabilities and external environment.
The consolidation of adjustment: Implications for public administration
Authors: Batley Richard 
Published: July 2007

AbstractThe governments of most developing countries have been subject to pressures, especially through structural adjustment programmes, to reduce the direct role of the state in the supply of services. New forms of service supply are emerging, in which government has only an indirect role as enabler and regulator of other actors; but there has been little practical guidance on how these ‘new’ roles are to be performed in the specific context of developing countries. The danger is then of the adoption of inappropriate practices from more advanced countries. The argument of this article is that governments face several difficulties in managing the ‘post‐adjusted state’: the inheritance of social and political strains, and of reforms made abruptly under pressure; the complexity of identifying the appropriate role of the state for particular services under particular circumstances; the technical difficulty of managing new administrative roles; and the contradiction, particularly in respect of systems of accountability, between the new and the old requirements on public administration.
Theory of First, Second and Zero Sound in One‐Dimensional Crystals
Authors: Niklasson Göran 
Published: July 2007

AbstractThe propagation of thermal and mechanical disturbances in a non‐conducting crystal is studied on the basis of a generalized transport equation for phonons, derived in a previous paper. This equation agrees with the Peierls‐Boltzmann equation for slowly varying inhomogeneities in space and time and is consistent with the perturbation treatment of the phonon self energy for high frequencies and short wave‐lengths. A formal solution of the transport equation is obtained, which allows us to study in detail the transition between the low‐frequency, collision‐dominated regime and the high‐frequency, essentially collision‐less regime. Using a single relaxation time approximation we discuss the propagation of “sound” waves and obtain explicit expressions for the dispersion of the sound velocity and the damping, valid for arbitrary frequencies. In order to elucidate more clearly the technique used we consider in this paper an one‐dimensional crystal, but the essential results can easily be taken over to the threedimensional case. A separate report on this will be published elsewhere.
Short Distance Scale Invariance, High Energy Processes and Elementary Particles
Authors: Efremov A. V. , Ginzburg I. F. 
Published: July 2007

AbstractWithin the framework of quantum field theory (QFT) with the Yukawa type of interactions of baryons and mesons a method is proposed which allows one to take into account the effects of short distance scale invariance in observable processes on the mass shell. In this theory the scale invariance is equivalent to the finite renormalization of coupling constants.The method is based on the investigation of asymptotics of diagrams and on the summation of all logarithmic terms of all diagrams. The general picture of high energy processes is in qualitative agreement with the present experimental situation, however, it manifests some peculiarities:

For the scattering at small angles we obtain the modified Regge picture with fixed branch points of the \documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}$ \sqrt {i - i_0 } $\end{document} type in addition to the Regge poles. One of these branch points could be a good candidate for the Pomeranchuk singularity, the others are useful for some more delicate details of the scattering (e.g. polarization in the π N‐charge exchange).
The large angle scattering cross section decreases as a power of energy.
The Bjorken scaling in the deep inelastic ep‐scattering is not a direct effect of scale invariance and can be broken due to the factor (−q2)lγ.
For the inclusive processes the modified Regge picture is obtained. The large transverse momentum distribution decreases as a power of q ⟂.
A weak power growth of multiplicity and logarithmic growth of average transverse momenta are possible.
In addition to the composite, reggeized particles there are some elementary mesons and nucleons which explain the peculiarities of the reactions with their exchange.
Interaction and Measuring Process in Quantum Theory
Authors: Kaschluhn F. 
Published: July 2007

AbstractA statistical law for interaction processes in quantum theory is presented. It states that the final state of the scattered systems, evaluated on the basis of quantum theory, reduces alternatively to different substates provided correlation states are produced by the interaction. Such processes also underlie the measuring process (interaction system‐apparatus). To test the modified scattering theory experiments are proposed. The consequences for the description of the interaction between a system and a macroscopic body, in particular a measuring apparatus, are discussed. The reduction of the wave function needed here comes out quite naturally.
Über das Wechselverhältnis von Kontinuumsmechanik und Strukturphysik fester Körper
Authors: Michel B. 
Published: July 2007

AbstractThe current situation, trends and possibilities in Continuum Mechanics are reviewed. Special attention is given to its application in solid state physics as well on a phenomenological as on the microscopic scale. Current problems in Micromechanics of solids, such as mechanical interactions of defects near surfaces and interfaces and interfaces are dealt with. Recent investigations on the generalizedJ‐integral concepts in fracture mechanics are discussed too. The paper gives some information on new trends of micromechanics towards micromechanics towards micro‐continuum‐thermodynamics. Some remarks are presented concerning stress‐assisted diffusion phenomena as a special case of the generalized mechanics of diffusion. The possibilities of the powerfull finite element method (FEM) in micromechanics of continuous media are spoken about. The interrelation between continuum mechanics and quantum mechanics is discussed about, the possibility of quantum states of cracks too.
Charged Particle Emission and Detection Sources and the One‐Body and the Many‐Body Coulomb Scattering
Authors: Manoukian Edward B. 
Published: July 2007

AbstractA detailed study is carried out of the fundamental roles of the emission and detection sources in the one‐body and the many‐body Coulomb scattering. It is shown that the emission and detection sources, as amplitudes of emission and detection of charged particles, are to have given time‐dependent structures for a correct formulation of the problem. The method incorporates the long range effect of the Coulomb field which persists even at large distance separations. Most importantly, composite sources are necessarily introduced for the many‐body Coulomb scattering which act as emission and detection sources of “clusters” of charged particles and reflect the physically important fact that charged particles feel the presence of each other even before or after “collisions”. A complete concellation of the so‐called Dalitz phase factor naturally follows leading to infra‐red finite transition amplitudes (as opposed only of transition probabilities) by a systematic use, in the process, of a unitarity sum with respect to the external sources.
A study of BS.5750 aspirations in small companies
Authors: Long A. A. , Dale B. G. , Younger A. 
Published: July 2007

AbstractThis paper outlines the main findings of a research study which examined the experiences of small companies in relation to approaching the BS.5750/ISO 9000 quality system series. In general, small companies are not aware of the fundamental concepts of a quality system, many of the activities outlined in BS.5750 are not practised and, even when they are, they are not documented. The main motivation for introducing a quality system which meets the requirements of BS.5750 is customer pressure. Difficulties encountered by small companies are selecting which part of the standard to apply, understanding and applying the appropriate clauses of BS.5750 to their own specific situations, and writing procedures.
A case study on the benefits of combining reliability stress tests
Authors: Seager Jeffrey D. , Fieselman Charles D. 
Published: July 2007

AbstractThis paper discusses two distinct benefits associated with product reliability qualifications by combining individual reliability stress tests into a single test. First, a combined test will make better use of test equipment, personnel and product samples required for the qualification, implying a cost benefit. Secondly, a combined test allows interaction between the stress sources to occur on all failure causes. These benefits were realized as a result of a power supply application. Each individual test was designed to address specific causes which are assumed to be totally independent of other failures. A combined test can verify or deny independence and therefore provide a stronger practical test. Hence, this paper will demonstrate that a combined reliability test will provide more efficient testing with solid engineering product performance coverage. In addition, an approach is proposed for combining tests which fixes the acceleration rates between stress tests as the same ratio as under the nominal operating product environmental conditions.
Bimodal lifetime distributions of dielectrics for integrated circuits
Authors: v. Sichart K. , Vollertsen R.‐P. 
Published: July 2007

AbstractConstant voltage stressing of large area capacitors with thin thermal oxide and ONO dielectrics reveals that defect related breakdown is the dominant failure mode. Elimination of the complete early failure mode by means of screening will neither be possible nor necessary. Consequently, prediction of failure rates under operating conditions must be deduced from defect‐related distributions. A statistical model is introduced and discussed in order to extrapolate to small failure percentages. Furthermore an additional term is introduced in the effective thickness model of Leeet al.which takes into account the weaker field acceleration behaviour of very thin dielectrics.
Off‐line quality control via yield constrained variability minimization in circuit design
Authors: Ilumoka A. A. 
Published: July 2007

AbstractDuring the lifetime of any system, e.g. an electronic circuit, sources of variation of parameters include fabrication, operational and environmental (FOE) variables. Since these sources of variation are not under designer control, one important objective at the product design stage is to reduce rather than control their influence. The aim of this paper is to present a methodology whereby settings of system parameters which make product performance less sensitive to FOE variations are identified. By so doing, reliability (consistency of acceptable performance), and hence quality, is enhanced. The approach taken is to minimize performance variability subject to a constraint on yield. This objective ensures consistency of performance while the constraint ensures acceptability of performance. Multiple performances are handled via a weighted sum objective. The Monte Carlo approach ensures that any parameter probability density function is handled and that computational cost does not increase with system dimensionality. The effectiveness of the technique is illustrated via a practical system example—an electronic circuit having 11 design parameters.
Practical alternatives for estimating the failure probabilities of censored life data
Authors: Wasserman Gary S. , Reddy Isanaka Sreenivasulu 
Published: July 2007

AbstractFor censored life data, Kapur and Lamberson and O'Connor recommend the use of Johnson's formula for non‐parametric estimation of the failure distribution, F(t). The formula is used to calculate the adjusted ranks of the recorded failures, which are input into the median rank estimation equation of F(t). It is our experience that Johnson's formula is fairly difficult for the reliability practitioner to understand and implement. Fortunately, an alternative formula has been developed which is much easier to use. It is demonstrated that the calculated adjusted ranks may be used in either the mean rank or median rank equations for the estimation of F(t).The question which we pose is the following: How does the performance of Johnson's estimator compare with that of the more commonly known and understood Kaplan‐Meier, or product‐limit, estimator?' To answer this question, the Kaplan‐Meier procedure is evaluated with respect to its equivalent adjusted rank of recorded failures. The two procedures are determined to be equivalent with respect to adjusted rank criteria. Therefore, it is proved that with Johnson's estimator adapted for use with the mean rank estimator, the two procedures will yield identical estimates of the failure probabilities. Based upon this finding, it is our recommendation thatthe reliability practitioner use the alternative formula for generation of the adjusted ranks, followed by use of either the mean or median rank formula.
Low frequency noise analysis to detect the influence of deep levels in AlGaAs/GaAs st
Authors: Labat N. , Bodi D. Ouro , Touboul A. , Danto Y. , Dumas J.‐M. 
Published: July 2007

AbstractLow frequency noise measurements have been performed on conventional AlGaAs/GaAs HEMTs in the temperature range 110‐300K and in the frequency range 10 Hz‐25kHz. The characteristics of deep levels have been determined from the channel noise current spectral intensity evolution versus the temperature. The contribution of the DX centre to the channel noise current has been evaluated for different gate bias. A correlation between the parasitic MESFET operation in the HEMT and the channel noise behaviour has been found.
Optimization strategies in robust engineering design and computer‐aided design
Authors: Buck Robert J. , Wynn Henry P. 
Published: July 2007

AbstractThis paper reviews the fundamental ideas involved in robust engineering design (RED), and how they relate to computer‐aided design. There are several areas of RED that may be successfully resolved by the use of statistical methods or ideas. This paper gives a general overview of several popular statistical strategies in RED and discusses how these strategies approach the statistical problems involved.
Correlation between EMI‐induced failures and large‐signal response of fet‐input opamps
Authors: Golzio D. , Graffi S. , V.‐Kovács Zs. M. , Masetti G. 
Published: July 2007

AbstractCorrelation between EMI susceptibility of opamp circuits and asymmetry in the slew‐rates of the basic opamp is discussed with reference to FET‐input devices. For the LF355 opamp the role played by an internal feedback loop on the common‐mode, slew‐rate and susceptibility performances is analysed. Other FET‐input opamps, such as the OP42, which exhibit an almost symmetric slew‐rate, have a very small EMI susceptibility.