bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Causal implications: The linkage between time series and econometric modelling
Authors: Koreisha Sergio G. 
Published: July 2007

AbstractConstruction of causally and structurally adequate simultaneous equations models can be accomplished by determining causal relations between potential variables and balancing these statistically derived inferences with economic theory to relate behavioural or technological forces among the variables. An appropriate lag structure for each of the equations can be determined by a two step multiple transfer function approach involving reduced form equations. Testing the specification of already existing simultaneous equations models is done by constructing multiple transfer function models of the reduced form equations of the simultaneous equations models which permit incorporation of lead cross correlations.
The failure of success and the success of failure: The Youth Polytechnic Programme in Kenya
Authors: Dey Ian 
Published: July 2007

AbstractDespite its successful expansion over the past two decades, Kenya's Youth Polytechnic Programme1 is widely regarded as having failed to achieve its original objectives. The programme was supposed to provide a non‐formal training to unemployed school‐leavers in skills directly related to local income‐generating opportunities. Critics, especially amongst the influential Aid Community, have complained of excessive formalization and an orientation in the polytechnics to certification and paid employment. A recent national tracer study seems to confirm the programme's marginal impact. This paper reassesses the development of the programme, using a framework derived from Sabatier's work on implementation. Taking account of the inadequate premises upon which the programme was launched, the deficiencies in legal structure, the resource overload, and the socio‐economic and cultural environment, the programme's ‘failures’ can be seen as a successful adaption to prevailing pressures and constraints. The real failure has been in the lack of learning from practice, which has prevented a realistic assessment of the programme's impact and potential. Wedded to the programme's initial ideals, the impact of policy prescriptions upon polytechnic practice has been limited, and in some respects even counter‐productive.
End user computing in development administration: The vital role of administrators
Authors: Sanwal Mukul 
Published: July 2007

AbstractTo make microcomputers serve development requires clear vision and leadership on the part of administrators. The assimilation of this technology for government tasks is no longer dependent on cost reductions or computer programmers. Rather, it requires administrators to make an explicit choice of software to integrate hardware, information and decisions. At the operational level this process is not a mere technology adoption exercise and is based on three factors—adapting standard packages that are within the reach of even the least developed countries; information specialists and end‐users jointly determining data structures; and integration of microcomputers into existing administrative functions. A decision support system for district administrators developed in India is discussed. The paper concludes with lessons for first time users so that development administrators, aid agencies and governments avoid costly mistakes.
Foreign assistance and development in a small‐island economy: The case of Fiji
Authors: Baker Randall 
Published: July 2007

AbstractIn many works on comparative public administration and development management the arguments put forward are often presented within the framework of comparing developed and less‐developed countries. However, within the latter category there are fairly substantial differences, usually categorized within the context of system of government, or degrees of per capita income. Rarely is the question of scale addressed head on. One dimension of this, for instance, is the nature and operation of public administration where the proliferation of traditional ministries, and the impartiality of the administration, become very problematic in terms of the extremely limited resources and the very personal nature of public life— especially in the microstates. In this paper the question of scale is addressed in the context of the relationship between one island state, Fiji, and its bilateral and multilateral partners. This is considered not just in terms of aid and loans, but in terms of such issues as the ‘critical mass’ of skilled professional people, and the problems of functioning in a system where the rules for such things as overheads seem to have been evolved in the context of the Third‐World giants. It is shown that the scale variable is a very powerful one in both the effectiveness and efficiency of governments working in tandem with major external sources of capital assistance.
The importance of community participation
Authors: Bamberger Michael 
Published: July 2007

AbstractAt a 1986 Economic Development Institute (EDI)‐sponsored workshop, the value of community participation in development projects was emphasized, including greater possibilities for project efficiency and effectiveness, cost‐recovery, social acceptability, and sustainability. Among the possible dangers brought out at the workshop were included: delays, additional costs, sabotage by powerful economic or social groups, hostility to or distrust of the government, intensification of community conflicts, and diversion of benefits to the well‐established rather than to women or the disadvantaged. Some of these potential problems can be reduced by careful research, flexible project design, appropriate technology and two‐way flows of communication. For projects to be effective, more research, training, information dissemination, and interorganizational coordination may be essential, in which EDI could play a role.This article is extracted from Bamberger, M. (1988). The Role of Community Participation in Development Planning and Project Management, EDI Policy Seminar Report No. 13. World Bank EDI, Washington D.C. The essays referred to here by Samuel Paul, Norman Uphoff, and Caroline Moser are contained in: Bamberger, M. (ed.) (1987). Readings in Community Participation: Papers presented at an International Workshop Organized by the Economic Development Institute of the World Bank. The World Bank EDI, Washington D.C.
Urban local government finance in Benin: The case of Cotonou Urban District I
Authors: Laleye O. Mouftaou 
Published: July 2007

AbstractThe centralized system of government in the People's Republic of Benin was established when the country was a French colony. During the 1970s and 1980s, the government system was reorganized to conform to the principles of the ruling Marxist–Leninist regime. Deteriorating economic conditions have negatively affected the public sector in recent years. The capital city of Cotonou, however, has managed to perform better than other urban governments despite facing serious economic problems and many constraints imposed by a strict system of central control over local authorities. This paper examines the nature of and reasons for Cotonou's performance.
Environmental management and street‐level regulators: A cultural trap?
Authors: Khator Renu , Ng Kathleen , Chan Hon S. 
Published: July 2007

AbstractIt has been argued that environmental management is in an administrative trap. Numerous factors leading to this trapped situation have already been identified in the literature: institutional rigidity, lack of co‐ordination, formalization, non‐accountability and political interference. This study focusses on the organizational, cultural dimension of the administrative trap and argues that in order to reform administrative structures, the organizational culture must also be reformed. On the basis of several face‐to‐face interviews with street‐level environmental regulators in Hong Kong, the study claims that a role‐oriented, hierarchical culture exists. While such an organizational culture is in perfect agreement with existing administrative arrangements, it may, in the end, hamper the effectiveness of environmental management.
Public waste and private property. An enquiry into the economics of solid waste in Calcutta
Authors: Bose Anu , Blore Ian 
Published: July 2007

AbstractPerceptions of solid waste management in India belong to a tradition of thought which dates back to the early nineteenth century. Solid waste is often thought of as a purely municipal problem. The paper examines how far informal systems of solid waste management are a response to a void in property rights. It analyses the variety of local operations in Calcutta, including the informal system. The assumptions that solid waste management is a public good that therefore needs to be municipalized and that in the absence of municipalization there would be greater costs are both questioned. It is hypothesized that there may be no measurable economies of scale in any part of the waste cycle. It may be more worthwhile to improve and expand the informal system of waste management than to collectivize further the traditional system of collection, transportation and disposal.
Comments on ‘Enhancing organizational effectiveness in developing countries: The training and visit system revisited’
Authors: Venkatesan V. 
Published: July 2007

AbstractThis article comments on the above‐titled article which appeared in Public Administration and Development (PAD), Vol. 12. It argues that Hulme's article: (i) does not, as it professes to, bring out the organizational impact of the training and visit (T&V) system of extension and, more seriously, does not suggest what improvements are needed to the system, and whether any such improvements have been tried anywhere and with what results; (ii) dismisses the rigorous statistical analysis of the impact of the system by Feder and Slade, and approvingly cites Antholt's methodologically unsustainable comparison between states in India, without giving convincing reasons for this choice; and (iii) ignores the important developments regarding T&V extension in the recent past, and relies on earlier papers on the subject. Some of the recent developments regarding the implementation of T&V in Africa are given in this article, including a summary of recent evaluations done in Kenya and Burkina Faso. The article concludes with an account of the managerial issues posed by T&V.
Privatizing the housing sector: The case of Slovakia
Authors: Faltan Lubomir , Dodder Richard A. 
Published: July 2007

AbstractThe events of the 1980s generated the end of an era in central Europe—an era characterized by central, planned economies and totalitarian political structures. As each new country struggled to create democratic political processes and market economies, many problems emerged; one of the most vexing was the privatization of housing. In Slovakia, individual family housing had never been nationalized, leaving most of the rural and village families owning their own homes. Apartment houses, as well as multiple dwellings and estates, however, had been nationalized. Consequently, the state created a Restitution Act early on (1990), so that people could reclaim properties unjustly taken from them. In addition, the state had built considerable housing units (usually high‐rise apartment blocks); many of these units were simply rented to individual families. But there had also been state construction companies that operated as co‐operatives, such that rent payments were credited toward the eventual ownership of the housing. Lastly, many large industries (state owned) had built housing units, which they rented to their employees. But there were not nearly enough housing units, and many people, especially young people, newlyweds, and elderly, were on waiting lists for housing. In all cases ‘rent’ was almost negligible as were utilities, and since there were no taxes or insurance, the total amount of a family budget spent for housing was, on average, quite meagre. This, then, was the situation confronting the new government in 1990. Beginning with data from 1988, this article examines the economic restructuring, apartment construction, changes in proprietary relations, and issues as yet unresolved regarding the privatization of housing in Slovakia.
Proton Compton Effect
Authors: Baranov P. S. , Fil'kov L. V. , Sokol G. A. 
Published: July 2007

AbstractA method of calculating cross‐sections of Compton scattering on protons based on dispersion relations at a fixed square of the momentum transferred with a subtraction for invariant amplitudes is thoroughly discussed in this review. Dispersion sum rules for the interaction constants of πo, η and Xo mesons are analysed. A comparison is made by means of x2‐test. The results obtained from the comparison of the experimental data in the range of energies up to 300 MeV with the theoretical cross‐sections are presented. In the range of gamma‐ray energies from 180 to 220 MeV a strong difference between theoretical calculations and experimental data is observed. In the other ranges of energy the experimental data available are in agreement with the theoretical calculations, the contribution from the annihilation channel being considered and the sign of the contribution from the π°‐meson pole being chosen equal to the sing of the main amplitude.
Relay failure prevention by internal visual inspection
Authors: Mejerovich J. , Brenman M. 
Published: July 2007

AbstractThere is an evident lack of information about military‐type relays regarding their reliability, failure mechanisms and modes. In trying to fill this gap, even partially, this paper deals with different findings of internal visual inspection (IVI), failure analysis (FA) and a proposal for screening tests of relays as have been carried out in our laboratory. Likewise, it includes recommendations for quality assurance improvements. A special emphasis is placed on failure predictions by analysis of the IVI findings. This paper is based on a paper presented at the Seventh International Conference of the Israel Society for Quality Assurance (Tel‐Aviv, 8–10 November 1988).
The design of mechanical equipment for the limitation of in‐service failure
Authors: Martin P. 
Published: July 2007

AbstractMechanical equipment design demands a deep understanding of the inherent failure mechanisms likely to be encountered in service operation. Such understanding can result in the eradication or the limitation of the effects of in‐service failures. This aspect of engineering design is examined and a case study example, in which the design of stand‐by equipment involved the limitation of fretting corrosion, is used as an illustration of the general principles involved.
The use of taguchi methods in performance demonstrations
Authors: Bandurek G. R. , Hughes H. L. , Crouch D. 
Published: July 2007

AbstractThe use of Taguchi methods for parameter design and tolerance design is well established. This paper describes a new application to qualification trials or type approval tests. The essential difference from the accepted use is that the purpose is to demonstrate performance when a product is subjected to internal or external noise. With a tolerance trial the aim is to find which sources of noise can be cost‐effectively controlled. Two case‐study examples are presented which show the value of the technique. The first shows how the measurements are used to provide one of the published performance specifications for a digital electronic product. The second reveals how an interaction between three environmental parameters took an analogue electronic product out of specification. There is a discussion on the suitability of the technique for software testing and for reliability demonstrations. This includes comments on which arrays are most appropriate for which situation.
Improved alignment of fibre‐optics active devices via response surface methodology
Authors: Tan Eric , Goh T. N. 
Published: July 2007

AbstractResponse surface methodology (RSM) has long been recognized as an effective approach to empirical optimization of engineering processes. This paper reports a novel application of the methodology to enhance the efficiency and reliability of an active device alignment operation that is critical to fibreoptics manufacturing. With 22 factorial designs, the RSM approach has been found capable of locating the optimum co‐ordinates for maximum power coupling at speeds more than three times those of the usual search algorithms.
Failure analysis using ferroelectric liquid crystals
Authors: Picart B. , Arranz A. , Oustry G. , Tromeur B. 
Published: July 2007

AbstractThe complexity of present VLSI chips requires powerful tools to detect possible defects. For such a purpose, internal contactless testing methods such as electron beam or laser testing, have been developed to help the precise localization of the electrical defect.The aim of this paper is to describe the liquid crystals test method, used at the IBM COMPEC laboratory for failure analysis. The electro‐optical properties of these materials allow the visualization of electric signals on the chips surface.
Reliability and failure analysis of GaAs mesfets on GaAs and Si substrates
Authors: Kornilios N. , Tsagaraki K. , Stoemenos J. , Christou A. 
Published: July 2007

AbstractReliability of GaAs MESFET's on GaAs and Si was studied using high‐temperature storage tests. Tested MESFETs were back etched and analysed by SEM, EDX and TEM. The major failure modes have been identified as gate sinking and an increase of ohmic contact resistance through Au particle formation.
Degradation of ion implanted GaAs MESFETs
Authors: Goostray J. , Thomas H. , Morgan D. V. , Conlon R. , Dumas J. M. , Gauneau G. M. 
Published: July 2007

AbstractIon‐implanted Si‐doped GaAs MESFETs with 1μm and 5μm gate lengths have been subjected to DC life testing at temperatures of 220°C and 250°C for 4000 and 2250 h, respectively. Two failure mechanisms have been identified:
Diffusion of platinum from the gate contact into the n‐GaAs channel.
An increase of deep‐level trapping, specifically of EL2 (Ea=0.8 eV), in the channel region.
Analysis of reliability of powder metallurgy steels by means of weibull statistics
Authors: Straffelini Giovanni , Molinari Alberto 
Published: July 2007

AbstractPorous sintered steels, because of porosity, present low tensile elongation and impact strength, suggesting reduced ductility and consequently poor reliability in structural applications. However, they present some typical features of ductile materials. To study the reliability of these materials, some Fe‐C‐P alloys were selected and tested by means of the Weibull analysis. The results are very encouraging, since they demonstrate that porous sintered steels may be compared to conventional structural steels. The values of the Weibull modulus are affected by the chemical composition, varying between 20 and 55. The aim of this paper is to correlate the microstructural characteristics and the fracture behaviour of the specimens, pointing out how the intrinsic properties of the microstructural constituents affect reliability.
Tempex: An expert system for temperature control in an injection moulding process
Authors: Pham D. T. , Oztemel E. 
Published: July 2007

AbstractCurrent developments in expert system technology make it possible to devise systems for on‐line quality control. Knowledge can be acquired and coded into a program to enable the operator or foreman to take immediate action to maintain product quality level through on‐line monitoring. This paper presents TEMPEX, a knowledge‐based statistical process control system for controlling the temperature in an injection moulding machine. The system is able to determine the process limits, detect out of control situations, find possible assignable causes and suggest corrective actions. The system is based on Leonardo, an expert system shell with a hybrid knowledge representation facility enabling the use of rules, rulesets, frames and procedures. The system contains 207 rules, 19 rule‐sets, 315 frames and 28 procedures.
On the effectiveness of the unit sample size for standard control charts: ARL VS. Aurl
Authors: Snow Jeffrey M. , Usher John S. , Stuckman Bruce E. 
Published: July 2007

AbstractIn this paper we investigate the use of the average unit run length (AURL) as an important measure of the effectiveness of various quality control charting schemes. In particular we focus on its appropriateness for normally distributed processes that tend to produce units (or measurements) at slow rates. In our investigations with the standard Shewhart X̄ and R charts, as well as the CUSUM chart, AURL shows that a sample size of n=1 can yield the fastest means of detecting shifts.
The total costs of quality: What else should be contemplated?
Authors: Elsen Stephan H. , Followell Roy F. 
Published: July 2007

AbstractA fast changing environment during the 1980s and early 1990s combined with tougher competition from Japan and increasing customer expectations of quality kept the minimum acceptable quality standards rising, and has significantly enhanced competition world‐wide. Although quality is now perceived as one of the single most important competitive issues in the 1990s, 1 only a minority of firms report their cost of quality. 2‐4 These costs usually range from 5 to 25 % of sales turnover. 5 This paper reviews some of the literature and suggests additional major components which should be considered in addition to those in the limited P‐A‐F model. The idea of never‐ending improvement leads to proactive elements in the new proposed model. 6 These include benchmarking, process cost model, world class manufacturing, market share analysis, goodwill analysis, statistical process control and Taguchi methods. The proactive elements are less exactly measurable but significantly larger in their ultimate impact on the long term survival and success of a business. The largely reactive elements of the P‐A‐F model tend to account for past costs but ignore longer term opportunities. After only minor initial testing, 6 a new suggested model requires more extensive evaluation in order to judge its usefulness and practicability to focus on long‐run success accounting measurement.
Optical ammeter for integrated circuit characterization and failure analysis
Authors: Claeys W. , Dilhaire S. , Lewis D. , Quintard V. , Phan T. , Aucouturier J. L. 
Published: July 2007

AbstractThe current which flows through the metal semiconductor interface of an ohmic contact produces a Peltier effect. This thermal effect has been optically detected and used for the development of an optical ammeter, the determination of doping type of semiconductors and the homogeneity scanning upon integrated circuits.
Training needs analysis—a human factors analysis tool
Authors: Griffiths C. W. , Lees Alan 
Published: July 2007

AbstractHuman factors (HF) engineers have contributed to the reduction of human error, by improving user performance through the design of the user interface. However, there still remains a requirement for user training. This is especially true for complex, high risk processes employing new technology. Reduced manning and downskilling are putting increased pressures on users who, in many activities, still remain the last level of safety protection. In responding to this need, HF engineers now employ a range of tools and methods during the design process, which assist in identifying the training media and training design. Training needs analysis (TNA) offers a structured methodology to facilitate the information gathering process and identify any shortfall between current user performance and that demanded by new technology and designs.By the use of these methods and tools the potential for human error can be reduced, for the following reasons: (a) improved user performance (b) better designed and more efficient training systems.Existing TNA methods have been better suited to the study of existing equipment. This paper describes the training requirements process, and proposes a usable methodology for contractors conducting a TNA in the design of new systems/equipment. It is of particular use where information on the operation or maintenance may be limited.