Explain Variation In Performance Research Articles

Empirical approach to understanding natural language models

In this paper, we try to understand natural language models by treating them as black boxes. We want to learn about these models without going into their technical details pertaining to network architecture, tuning parameters, training datasets, and schedules. We instead take an empirical approach, where we classify the datasets into various categories. For scalability and avoiding subjective bias, we use Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) to categorize language text. We fine-tune and evaluate natural language models for our tasks. We compare the performance of the same model across multiple categories and for the same category across multiple models. This can help not only in choosing models for the desired categories but is also useful in understanding the model attributes that can explain performance variation. We report here the observations from this empirical study and our hypotheses. We find that models do not perform uniformly across all the categories, which could be because of uneven representation of these categories in their training datasets. Models that specialized/fine-tuned for specific tasks had higher variance in performance across categories than the generic models. Some categories have high performance consistently across all models, while others have high variance. The code for this research paper is available here: https://github.com/bhuvishi/llm_understanding

Understanding the Impact of Medicaid-Serving Primary Care Team Functioning and Clinical Context on Cancer Care Treatment Quality: Implications for Addressing Structural Inequities.

Primary care factors related to Medicaid enrollees' receipt of guideline concordant cancer treatment is understudied; however, team structure and processes likely affect care disparities. We explore Medicaid-serving primary care teams functioning within multiteam systems to understand performance variations in quality of breast and colorectal cancer care. We conducted a comparative case study, using critical case sampling of primary care clinics in New Jersey, to provide maximum variation on clinic-level care performance rates (Medicaid enrollees' receipt of guideline-concordant treatment). Site evaluations, conducted from 2019 to 2020, included observation (2-3 days) and interviews. Using a multistep analytic process, we explored contextual factors within primary care that may contribute to cancer care performance variations. We identified performance variations stemming from adaptations of multiteam system inputs and processes on the basis of contextual factors (ie, business model, clinic culture). Team 1 (average performer), part of a multisite safety-net clinic system, mainly teamed outside their organization, relying on designated roles, protocol-based care, and quality improvement informed by within-team metrics. Team 2 (high performer), part of a for-profit health system, remained mission-driven to improve urban health, teamed exclusively with internal teams through electronically enabled information exchange and health system-wide quality improvement efforts. Team 3 (low performer), a physician-owned private practice with minimal teaming, accepted Medicaid enrollees to diversify their payer mix and relied on referral-based care with limited consideration of social barriers. Primary care team structures and processes variations may (in part) explain performance variations. Future research aiming to improve care quality for Medicaid populations should consider primary care teams' capacity and context in relation to composite teams to support care quality improvements in subsequent prospective trials.

Plasticity of the gastrocnemius elastic system in response to decreased work and power demand during growth.

Elastic energy storage and release can enhance performance that would otherwise be limited by the force-velocity constraints of muscle. Although functional influence of a biological spring depends on tuning between components of an elastic system (the muscle, spring-driven mass and lever system), we do not know whether elastic systems systematically adapt to functional demand. To test whether altering work and power generation during maturation alters the morphology of an elastic system, we prevented growing guinea fowl (Numida meleagris) from jumping. We compared the jump performance of our treatment group at maturity with that of controls and measured the morphology of the gastrocnemius elastic system. We found that restricted birds jumped with lower jump power and work, yet there were no significant between-group differences in the components of the elastic system. Further, subject-specific models revealed no difference in energy storage capacity between groups, though energy storage was most sensitive to variations in muscle properties (most significantly operating length and least dependent on tendon stiffness). We conclude that the gastrocnemius elastic system in the guinea fowl displays little to no plastic response to decreased demand during growth and hypothesize that neural plasticity may explain performance variation.

Oil and regime type in Latin America: Reversing the line of causality

In its first generation, the literature on the resource curse typically posited that resource dependence shapes a country's economy and politics. More recent work posits that the effects are mediated by institutions. We take this newer approach further by arguing that economic and political institutions not just mediate but actually shape resource dependence. Our focus is on performance across national oil companies (NOCs) in Latin America. We explain performance variation by invoking variations in regime and market features. NOCs that operate in contexts of greater independence from the Executive Branch (stronger checks and balances within and outside the sector) and greater market forces—though not necessarily private actor dominance—exhibit better performance. Institutions thus influence sector conditions, rather than the other way around. We advance this argument using original data from Colombia and Venezuela, and supplementary data from Mexico, Brazil, and Argentina. Our study focuses on the oil boom-bust cycle of 2003–2016.

The Role of Strategy Implementation in the Relationship Between Strategic Planning Systems and Performance

While substantial research has been done on strategic planning and performance, there is little research on the moderating role of strategy implementation. This study attempts to bridge this gap. The study adopted a descriptive cross-sectional survey with the firm as the unit of analysis. The findings indicate that strategy implementation moderates the relationship between strategic planning systems and market performance as well as internal business process performance but not on return on investment performance. In conclusion, the configuration of planning systems with its theoretical underpinning as resource bundles explain performance variations among firms. The study's implication for practice is that strategic planning systems should be emphasized by business firms as a configuration and not by its domains.

Thermal performance of fish is explained by an interplay between physiology, behaviour and ecology.

Increasing temperatures under climate change are thought to affect individual physiology of fish and other ectotherms through increases in metabolic demands, leading to changes in species performance with concomitant effects on species ecology. Although intuitively appealing, the driving mechanism behind thermal performance is contested; thermal performance (e.g. growth) appears correlated with metabolic scope (i.e. oxygen availability for activity) for a number of species, but a substantial number of datasets do not support oxygen limitation of long-term performance. Whether or not oxygen limitations via the metabolic scope, or a lack thereof, have major ecological consequences remains a highly contested question. size and trait-based model of energy and oxygen budgets to determine the relative influence of metabolic rates, oxygen limitation and environmental conditions on ectotherm performance. We show that oxygen limitation is not necessary to explain performance variation with temperature. Oxygen can drastically limit performance and fitness, especially at temperature extremes, but changes in thermal performance are primarily driven by the interplay between changing metabolic rates and species ecology. Furthermore, our model reveals that fitness trends with temperature can oppose trends in growth, suggesting a potential explanation for the paradox that species often occur at lower temperatures than their growth optimum. Our model provides a mechanistic underpinning that can provide general and realistic predictions about temperature impacts on the performance of fish and other ectotherms and function as a null model for contrasting temperature impacts on species with different metabolic and ecological traits.

Thermal performance of fish is explained by an interplay between physiology, behaviour, and ecology

Increasing temperatures under climate change are thought to affect individual physiology of fish and other ectotherms through increases in metabolic demands, leading to changes in species performance with concomitant effects on species ecology. Although intuitively appealing, the driving mechanism behind thermal performance is contested; thermal performance (e.g. growth) appears correlated with metabolic scope (i.e. oxygen availability for activity) for a number of species, but a substantial number of datasets do not support oxygen limitation of long-term performance. Whether or not oxygen limitations via the metabolic scope, or a lack thereof, have major ecological consequences remains a highly contested question. size and trait-based model of energy and oxygen budgets to determine the relative influence of metabolic rates, oxygen limitation and environmental conditions on ectotherm performance. We show that oxygen limitation is not necessary to explain performance variation with temperature. Oxygen can drastically limit performance and fitness, especially at temperature extremes, but changes in thermal performance are primarily driven by the interplay between changing metabolic rates and species ecology. Furthermore, our model reveals that fitness trends with temperature can oppose trends in growth, suggesting a potential explanation for the paradox that species often occur at lower temperatures than their growth optimum. Our model provides a mechanistic underpinning that can provide general and realistic predictions about temperature impacts on the performance of fish and other ectotherms and function as a null model for contrasting temperature impacts on species with different metabolic and ecological traits.

Experimental and computational investigations of the interactions between model organic compounds and subsequent membrane fouling

The formation of aggregates of sodium alginate and bovine serum albumin (BSA) (as representative biopolymers) with humic acid were detected by Liquid Chromatography (LC) UV254 response in the biopolymer region for mixture solutions. BSA interaction with humic acid showed that aggregation occurred both in the presence and absence of calcium, suggesting that multivalent ions did not play a part in the aggregation process. Similar analyses of the alginate interaction with humic acid also showed a positive interaction, but only in the presence of calcium ions. The fouling characteristics for the BSA–humic acid mixture appeared to be significantly greater than the fouling characteristics of the individual solutions, while for the sodium alginate–humic acid mixture, the fouling rate was similar to that of the sodium alginate alone. The effectiveness of hydraulic backwashing, 10–15% reversibility, was observed for the BSA-humic acid mixture, while the % reversibility was 20–40% for the sodium alginate–humic acid mixture. Increased humic acid and DOC rejection were observed for both BSA–humic acid and sodium alginate–humic acid solutions compared to the individual solutions, indicating that the biopolymer filter cakes were able to retain humic acids. When compared with BSA–humic acid mixture solution, greater removal of humic acid was observed for alginate–humic mixture, suggesting that sodium alginate may have a greater capacity for associations with humic acid when in the presence of calcium than BSA. Complementary molecular dynamics simulations were designed to provide insights into the specific mechanisms of interaction between BSA and humic acid, as well as between alginate and humic acid. For the BSA–humic acid system; electrostatic, hydrophobic and hydrogen bonding were the dominant types of interactions predicted, whilst divalent ion-mediated bonding was not identified in the simulations, which supported the LC-results. Similarly for the alginate–humic acid system, the interactions predicted were divalent ion-mediated interactions only and this was also supported the LC results. This work suggests that LC-UV254 might be used to identify aggregated biopolymers, and that combined with current characterisation techniques, be used to better explain performance variations between water sources.

The Effects of Linguistic Factors on Student Performance on Economics Multiple Choice Questions

This paper proposes a framework to analyse performance on multiple choice questions with the focus on linguistic factors. Item Response Theory (IRT) is deployed to estimate ability and question difficulty levels. A logistic regression model is used to detect Differential Item Functioning questions. Probit models testify relationships between performance and linguistic factors controlling the effects of question construction and students’ background. Empirical results have important implications. The lexical density of stems affects performance. The use of non-Economics specialised vocabulary has differing impacts on the performance of students with different language backgrounds. The IRT-based ability and difficulty help explain performance variations.

Antecedents and Consequences of Social Network Characteristics for Expatriate Adjustment and Performance in Overseas Assignments: Implications for HRD

In this conceptual article, the literature on expatriate social network and its relationships to adjustment and performance in overseas assignments have been reviewed exhaustively. By identifying some gaps and inconsistencies found in the literature, a typology of research on expatriate network explanations has been proposed based on whether the aim is to explain performance variation or adaptation to local practices and norms, and also whether their explanatory mechanism is based on the structure or resources of the network. Specific propositions for each of the four resulting approaches have been developed. It has also been recommended that future researchers should study antecedents of social network structure because of their relevance to HRD interventions. The implications for HRD research and practice have been discussed at the end.

Firm factors, industry structure and performance variation: New empirical evidence to a classic debate

The quest to understand the determinants of performance has created a bifurcated view. On one side of the debate are the structural characteristics of industries. On the other side of the debate are firm-specific resources. However, in recent years, the nature of competition and the shifting of economic conditions have led to increased challenges of the assumptions upon which industry structure theories have been built. In today's business environment, arguments suggest that structural characteristics of industries are becoming less relevant determinants of performance while firm resources are becoming the basis upon which firms compete. Through studying 285 Australian firms, this research explores the relative importance of distinct resources and industry structure variables in explaining firm-level performance variation. Across the aggregated sample, the results demonstrate that resources are more important than industry structure. In service firms, resources are found to be much more important to explaining performance variation than in manufacturing firms. Lastly, in both manufacturing and services firms, intangible assets and capabilities explain performance variation while, as hypothesized, tangible resources do not.

Service Industry Clustering: A Comparison of Broadcasting in Three City-Regions

Drawing from two major studies of clustering in the UK broadcasting industry, this paper finds compelling differences between clusters; differences which explain performance variation and provide strong implications for the extant literature and UK regional policy. The paper finds that (a) regional processes have been overplayed with the importance of both broader external connectivity and narrower local impacts of location underestimated; (b) the policy-makers' conception of a successful cluster underplays the importance of large hub firms; (c) national policy has been more effective than regional policy in promoting UK broadcasting clusters; and (d) policy-makers should not overlook traditional business support.

Accounting for performance variation: how important are intangible resources?

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the degree to which intangible resources explain performance variation among firms.Design/methodology/approachThe method includes a purpose‐designed survey to measure the impact of tangible resources, intangible resources and industry structure on firm performance.FindingsThe results suggest that, in the main, intangible resources do explain performance variation, even when measured against other potential performance impacting factors. Research limitations/implications – The results suggest that capabilities, conceptualized as an intangible resource, might not be the firm's most important, contrary to theory. Further, this study suggests that future research might best be served by exploring relationships between resources and the degree to which resource combinations are important to firm performance.Practical implicationsResource allocation is a constant struggle for management. The results of this study suggest that investment in intangible resources might be a means to drive, and possibly sustain, competitive advantage.Originality/valueThis paper studies intangible resources in conjunction with other potential performance determinants, thus demonstrating a more stringent test of the resource‐based view of the firm than previous studies.

IT Assets, Organizational Capabilities, and Firm Performance: How Resource Allocations and Organizational Differences Explain Performance Variation

Despite evidence of a positive relationship between information technology (IT) investments and firm performance, results still vary across firms and performance measures. We explore two organizational explanations for this variation: differences in firms' IT investment allocations and their IT capabilities. We develop a theoretical model of IT resources, defined as the combination of specific IT assets and organizational IT capabilities. We argue that investments into different IT assets are guided by firms' strategies (e.g., cost leadership or innovation) and deliver value along performance dimensions consistent with their strategic purpose. We hypothesize that firms derive additional value per IT dollar through a mutually reinforcing system of organizational IT capabilities built on complementary practices and competencies. Empirically, we test the impact of IT assets, IT capabilities, and their combination on four dimensions of firm performance: market valuation, profitability, cost, and innovation. Our results—based on data on IT investment allocations and IT capabilities in 147 U.S. firms from 1999 to 2002—demonstrate that IT investment allocations and organizational IT capabilities drive differences in firm performance. Firms' total IT investment is not associated with performance, but investments in specific IT assets explain performance differences along dimensions consistent with their strategic purpose. In addition, a system of organizational IT capabilities strengthens the performance effects of IT assets and broadens their impact beyond their intended purpose. The results help explain variance in returns to IT capital across firms and expand our understanding of alignment between IT and organizations. We illustrate our findings with examples from a case study of 7-Eleven Japan.

Performance analysis of five interprocess communication mechanisms across UNIX operating systems

The availability of a variety of UNIX implementations necessitates the evaluation of their performance with respect to specific application characteristics. This paper concentrates on the performance evaluation of five different Interprocess Communication (IPC) mechanisms––pipes, FIFOs, messages, shared memory (with semaphores), and UNIX domain sockets. Benchmark programs were created for each mechanism, simulating a simple Producer/Consumer message transfer problem. Results were obtained for six UNIX releases––Linux 2.2.5-15, Linux 2.2.17, Linux 2.4.0-test9, RTLinux v2.3, FreeBSD 4.1, and FreeBSD 4.2. The UNIX source code was rigorously examined, and additional tests were created to determine implementation differences that would explain performance variations. Identified causes for performance differences include memory allocation schemes, transfer buffer sizes, data transfer mechanisms, locking mechanism implementations, and underlying code complexity. For all IPC mechanisms with the exception of shared memory, Linux 2.2.5-15 exhibited the best performance, followed by the remaining Linux kernels, with the FreeBSD releases finishing last. When compared against each other, pipes outperformed the other mechanisms. The developed benchmarks and ancillary tests attempt to isolate each aspect of the tested IPC mechanisms to facilitate a full understanding of IPC at the source code level.

Social networks and team performance

This paper investigates the association between team constraint and team performance. Constraint is a quantitative measure describing the pattern of connections between contacts in personal network. Team members do not leave the relationships they have with other people behind when they act as part of a team. This paper looks at one way in which the pattern of connections that team members have in their personal networks affects the performance of the team. There are 15 process improvement teams from the same company in the sample. The results from this study provide some evidence that personal networks are important to team performance, strengthening the assertion that differences in social networks do explain performance variations.

Auditory Vigilance in Aphasic Individuals: Detecting Nonlinguistic Stimuli with Full or Divided Attention

Previous research (LaPointe & Erickson, 1991) has shown that aphasic individuals have difficulty, relative to control subjects, in monitoring for spoken words while performing a secondary task. This finding may indicate that aphasics have fundamental deficits in attention or that their linguistic deficits are simply exacerbated by dividing attention. Twenty subjects, 10 nonfluent aphasic and 10 nonaphasic adults, listened to two 10-min series of nonlinguistic acoustic stimuli across conditions of focused and divided attention. Subjects tried to identify target sounds interspersed with nontarget sounds. As in prior research, aphasic subjects performed less accurately on the auditory vigilance task during the divided attention condition, relative to the undivided attention condition and to control subjects. The findings suggest that deficient cognitive processing, intertwined with linguistic deficit, may underlie auditory comprehension deficits in aphasia and may help explain performance variation within aphasic individuals across tasks.