Kendall's Coefficient Of Concordance Research Articles

Green Human Resource Management and Organisational Sustainability of Deposit Money Banks in Nigeria

This study investigates the relationship between green human resource management and organisational sustainability of deposit money banks in Nigeria using cross-sectional survey. Ten deposit money banks were surveyed using simple random sampling. Five managers from each bank were surveyed. Fifty copies of questionnaire were administered but forty one copies were returned and filled correctly. Kendall coefficient of concordance (tau_b) was used to analyse the hypotheses with SPSS (20.0). The study found that green recruitment, green training and green employee relations were positively associated with organisational sustainability. The study concluded that green human resource management consciousness measured in terms of green recruitment, green training and green human relations enhances organisational sustainability of deposit money banks in Nigeria. The study recommends that managers of deposit money banks should inculcate green human resource management culture into their strategic intent in order to enhance organisational sustainability.

A roadmap for a leanness company to emerge as a true lean organization

The problem this work aims to solve is the improvement of the leanness level of a company jeopardized by the lack of lean engagement. The objectives of the research are to present a method based on a lean self-assessment approach, consisted of a qualitative self-assessment method based on lean elements that drives an index definition associated with a roadmap. The method consists in providing a roadmap for the assessed enterprise composed by the company’s lean index, recommendations and countermeasures deriving from Delphi and Kendall Coefficient of Concordance ( W) application among lean experts, leading the assessed enterprise to achieve results in terms of lean engagement, autonomy, and decision support criteria for future resource allocation. The results demonstrated that method can highlight gaps where additional improvements and investments would be necessary in the assessed enterprise. Finally, the study concludes that the lean performance identification associated to a lean roadmap in a company can be a highly effective tool to improve lean adoption in a leanness organization.

Workplace Democracy and Employee Resilience in Nigerian Hospitality Industry

This study investigates the relationship between workplace democracy and employee resilience in Nigerian hospitality industry using cross-sectional survey. Accessible population of one hundred (100) managers,supervisors and employees were sampled from twenty selected hospitality firms operating in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, Nigeria. Simple random sampling technique was used in selecting the twenty hospitality firms. Sample size of eighty (80) was ascertained from the accessible population with Krejcie and Morgan sample size determination table. Closed ended structured questionnaire was used to collect data from the respondents. Eighty (80) copies of questionnaire were administered to respondents but sixty three (63) copies were correctly filled and found useful for analysis. Face validity was used to ascertain the validity of the instrument, while Cronbach α was used to ascertain the reliability of the instrument. Respondents’ demographic characteristics were analysed with descriptive statistics (frequencies). Kendall Coefficient of Concordance was used to analyse the hypotheses with IBM SPSS Statistics (20.0). The study found that workplace democracy dimensions are positively associated with measures of employee resilience in Nigerian hospitality industry. This study concludes that workplace democracy that is measured in terms of organisational justice and individuation predicts employee resilience in Nigerian hospitality industry.

MEANS FOR THE ASSOCIATED IMPROVEMENT OF THE TAKE-OFF TECHNIQUE AND SPECIAL FITNESS OF SKILLED LONG JUMPERS

The article is devoted to the scientific and practical substantiation of the means for improving the technique of take-off and special fitness of skilled long jumpers. Objective. To determine the most effective exercises for the combined improvement of the take-off technique and special fitness of skilled athletes specialized in long jump. Methods. Theoretical analysis, generalization of scientific and methodological literature and the Internet, expert assessments, mathematical statistics. Results. Using the method of expert evaluations of 30 specialists (experts) of China in the field of sport, athletics exercises for the combined improvement of the take-off technique and special fitness of skilled long jumpers were systematized. The Kendall concordance coefficient was W = 0.741, p < 0,001, which indicates the agreement of experts on this issue. In the process of preparation, skilled long jumpers use various athletics exercises, which in their structure and manifestation of motor qualities are as close as possible to a competitive exercise. Among the proposed exercises, most experts prefer the use of long jumps from different runs - from short (8 running steps) and medium (10-14 running steps) to full and extended (from 16 to 24 running steps), as well as exercises with complication coordination of movements requiring maximum manifestation of speed-strength abilities.

Effect of Concept Mapping Instructional Strategy on Students' Conceptual Change in Physics

This study focused on the Effect of Concept Mapping Teaching Strategy on students’ conceptual change in physics. Two research questions guided the study. Two null hypotheses were formulated and tested at the probability of 0.05 level of significance. The study adopted a quasi-experimental non-equivalent control group design. The study was carried out in Agbani Education zone of Enugu State. One hundred and nineteen students consisting of 63 boys and 56 girls from three co-educational schools were selected through purposive sampling for the study. Two intact streams of SSS 2 students in each of the secondary schools were used. The experimental group was taught concepts/principles involving refraction of the light wave using concept mapping while the control group was taught the same topics in optics using the conventional method. Thirty items on Test on Physics Concept (TPC) were developed by the researchers. The items were validated by three experts, one in measurement and evaluation and two in the Department of Science Education with a physics background, all from the Department of Science Education University of Nigeria Nsukka. Content validation was also carried out based on the table of specification. The reliability of the items was tested using the Kendall coefficient of concordance (W) with a coefficient of 0.81. Data on students' conceptual change in physics were collected using TPC. Pre-test scores were collected before the treatment while the post-test was administered after the treatment. Research questions were answered using mean and standard deviation while hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance using analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). Results of data analyzed revealed that there exists a difference between the mean scores of physics students in Test of physics concepts when taught using concept mapping and lecture methods in favour of the group taught light waves using concept mapping strategy. That there exists no significant difference between the mean scores of male and female physics students in a test of physics concepts when taught using concept mapping and lecture methods. The recommendations among others are that concept mapping and lecture methods should be used interchangeably in the teaching of physics to breach the gap in performance between male and female students and concept mapping instructional strategy should be used to promote conceptual change in physics.

Knowledge of Hospital Staff on the Procedures and Obstacles to Public Procurement in Ghana

Healthcare is an essential part of human life and cannot be disregarded whether for an individual, a family or a state. A conscious and planned effort must be taken by the state to make sure that goods and services are made available and accessed through effective and efficient procurement systems. The purpose of the study was to examine hospital staff knowledge on application, procedures and obstacles to public procurement at Oda Government Hospital in Ghana. A mixed method approach using survey and interview guide was used to solicit information from the hospital staff and the Procurement Manager. Data was analysed using descriptive statistics and Kendall Coefficient of Concordance. The study revealed that the staff had knowledge on procurement procedures and tried to follow the recommended guidelines. The highest mean was scored for application and familiarity with the Public Procurement Act (PPA) whereas verification of documentation, opening tenders for bidding and publishing contract awards were the key procurement procedures.Major obstacles identified included bureaucracy, lack of skilled personnel and adhoc membership of the tender team. The Medical Superintendent and the hospital Administrator were the officers responsible for policy approval and supervision of the Public Procurement Act. There is a need to enforce adherence to the Public Procurement Act and ensure regular training of staff and stronger stakeholder participation in the procurement processes to equip the staff with knowledge and skills on the application of the Public Procurement Act.

Tibial bone stress injury: diagnostic performance and inter-reader agreement of an abbreviated 5-min magnetic resonance protocol.

To compare the diagnostic performance and inter-reader agreement of an abbreviated (5min) MR protocol compared to a complete (25min) protocol, for evaluation of suspected tibial bone stress injury. This IRB-approved retrospective study consisted of 95 consecutive MR examinations in 88 patients with suspected tibial bone stress injury. Three musculoskeletal radiologists independently classified all examinations utilizing both an abbreviated protocol consisting only of axial T2-weighted images with fat suppression, and after a washout period again classified the complete examinations. Accuracy was calculated as proportion of cases classified exactly, within 1 grade, within 2 grades, and also utilizing a simplified "clinically relevant" classification combining grades 2, 3, and 4A into a single group. Significance testing was performed with the chi-test, and a post-hoc power analysis was performed. Inter-reader agreement was calculated with Kendall's coefficient of concordance, with significance testing performed utilizing the z-test after bootstrapping to obtain the standard error. There was no significant difference in accuracy of grading tibial bone stress injuries between complete and abbreviated examinations. For complete exams, pooled exact accuracy was 47.8%; accuracy within 1 grade was 82.8%; and accuracy within 2 grades was 96.1%. For the abbreviated protocol, corresponding accuracies were 50.2, 82.0, and 93.9%. With the "clinically relevant" simplified classification, accuracy was 58.6% for complete exams and 64.2% for abbreviated exams. There was no significant difference in inter-reader agreement, with substantial agreement demonstrated for both complete (Kendall coefficient of concordance 0.805) and abbreviated examinations (coefficient of 0.767).

Impediments of Supply Chain Management Application in Readymade Garments Industry of Bangladesh

There is a paramount importance of the Readymade Garments (RMG) industry of Bangladesh as it is the highest contributor in earning foreign exchange for the country. But the industry is facing stiff competition from other RMG producing countries including China, India, and Sri Lanka of the world. Hence, competitiveness especially at the manufacturing level became important for this industry. An efficient Supply Chain Management can increase the competitiveness and the satisfaction of the customers. Nowadays, SCM plays an integral part of a firm’s success as it allows firms to quickly deliver products to the end-user for a low cost. Hence, RMG companies have very limited options other than implementing SCM as a strategy in order to remain competitive. This study intends to identify the impediments in applying sound SCM in the RMG industry. A mixed research method with a questionnaire survey has been employed for determining the impediments objectively. Use of descriptive analysis and Kendall Coefficient of Concordance have been made for ranking the challenges. This study found workplace safety, unavailability of raw materials and political instability are the major impediments for SCM applications in the RMG industry of Bangladesh.

Content validity and expert judgement: innovation model for new ways of working

The objective is to validate the content of the information collection instrument, through expert judgement and pilot testing. Methodology: Non-experimental, correlational research with a cross-sectional design. The first sample of the expert judgment was composed of 8 experts, the second of 27 employees was used for the pilot test. Unit of measurement: Employees from four Technological Universities of Puebla, studying empowerment, leadership, work routine, collaborative work and innovation. The methodology of the analysis included the Kendall Concordance Coefficient (W), to decide the level of correlation between the experts and we used Cronbach’s Alpha for the statistical analysis of the pilot test to measure the reliability of the measurement scale. The results of the expert judgement showed changes that would improve the clarity of the instrument. The wording would be expressed in third person, the use of technical language would be avoided, with the aim of generalizing understanding in the wording. The identification data would be defined according to the organizational structure of the media unit. Kendall's coefficient and Cronbach's Alpha showed acceptable agreement. Discussion. It is important to control the application of these tests with strict adherence to the methodology, minimizing human bias. It is concluded that the content validity represents an elemental tool to evidence the dominance and representativeness of the constructs. If the results are not reached, it is possible to repeat the process until acceptable values are reached. It is proposed to improve the instrument as a result of the experts' judgment and check the concordance between experts.

A Factorial Study of Bottlenecks in Nigerian Petroleum Refineries

Bottlenecks in the refineries lead to the disruption of refinery operations which result in production loss and time wastage. Nigerian refineries are four and they have not been able to work optimally as they have failed to produce up to their installed capacity. A lot of factors are contributing to this and are known as bottlenecks. This study was taken so as to identify those bottlenecks in the refineries with a view of making them known so that actions can be taken to tackle them and get Nigerian Refineries move from their pariah states to a welcome state. Kendall’s Coefficient of Concordance (K.C.C) and Principal Component Analysis (P.C.A) which are tools in factor analysis were employed. The K.C.C helped in ranking the identified variables according to their order of importance while the PCA helped to achieve parsimony through factor reduction. The results obtained revealed that the experts ranking of the thirty two scale items were in agreement at an alpha level of 0.01 and the computed coefficient of concordance was 0.51which is substantial. The thirty two scale items were able to be reduced into mere five clusters by PCA. A lone variable cluster which was labeled creatively ‘Government interference’ came up trump and account for most of the challenges being experienced in the Refineries. Other clusters labeled creatively were Eclectic issues, organizational management, Supply Chain Architecture and Personnel Management. The import of this is that government interference needs to be removed if refineries are to work optimally and the remaining four clusters should also be looked at in order to tackle these bottlenecks.

Factorial Study of Bottlenecks in Nigerian Petroleum Refineries

Bottlenecks in the refineries lead to the disruption of refinery operations which result in production loss and time wastage. Nigerian refineries are four and they have not been able to work optimally as they have failed to produce up to their installed capacity. A lot of factors are contributing to this and are known as bottlenecks. This study was taken so as to identify those bottlenecks in the refineries with a view of making them known so that actions can be taken to tackle them and get Nigerian Refineries move from their pariah states to a welcome state. Kendall’s Coefficient of Concordance (K.C.C) and Principal Component Analysis (P.C.A) which are tools in factor analysis were employed. The K.C.C helped in ranking the identified variables according to their order of importance while the PCA helped to achieve parsimony through factor reduction. The results obtained revealed that the experts ranking of the thirty two scale items were in agreement at an alpha level of 0.01 and the computed coefficient of concordance was 0.51which is substantial. The thirty two scale items were able to be reduced into mere five clusters by PCA. A lone variable cluster which was labeled creatively ‘Government interference’ came up trump and account for most of the challenges being experienced in the Refineries. Other clusters labeled creatively were Eclectic issues, organizational management, Supply Chain Architecture and Personnel Management. The import of this is that government interference needs to be removed if refineries are to work optimally and the remaining four clusters should also be looked at in order to tackle these bottlenecks.

IDENTIFICATION AND ASSESSMENT OF HIGH-PRODUCTIVITY PLANT PRODUCTION PLANNING PROCESS RISKS

Analysis of production planning process was done: model of process described with applying of IDEF0 methodology, problems of production planning process listed and also risks of developed process identified. Risk assessment conducted by two methods – critical level ranking by experts and FMEA. Calculation results of Kendall coefficient of concordance and Spearmen criterion showed consistency of expert opinions and comparability of the level of assessed risks criticality. The most critical risks include risks related with mistakes in provided data and created plan and also risk of provided data unreliability. A key way of identified risks elimination is automating of studied process. After development of automated planning system and implementation of all methods for risks elimination or minimization, risk of wrong data entry into the system was assessed by HRA method.

An Intervention to Promote Medication Understanding and Use Self-Efficacy: Design of Video Narratives for Aging Patients at Risk of Recurrent Stroke.

BackgroundThe debilitating effects of recurrent stroke among aging patients have urged researchers to explore medication adherence among these patients. Video narratives built upon Health Belief Model (HBM) constructs have displayed potential impact on medication adherence, adding an advantage to patient education efforts. However, its effect on medication understanding and use self-efficacy have not been tested.ObjectiveThe researchers believed that culturally sensitive video narratives, which catered to a specific niche, would reveal a personalized impact on medication adherence. Therefore, this study aimed to develop and validate video narratives for this purpose.MethodsThis study adapted the Delphi method to develop a consensus on the video scripts’ contents based on learning outcomes and HBM constructs. The panel of experts comprised 8 members representing professional stroke disease experts and experienced poststroke patients in Malaysia. The Delphi method involved 3 rounds of discussions. Once the consensus among members was achieved, the researchers drafted the initial scripts in English, which were then back translated to the Malay language. A total of 10 bilingual patients, within the study’s inclusion criteria, screened the scripts for comprehension. Subsequently, a neurologist and poststroke patient narrated the scripts in both languages as they were filmed, to add to the realism of the narratives. Then, the video narratives underwent a few cycles of editing after some feedback on video engagement by the bilingual patients. Few statistical analyses were applied to confirm the validity and reliability of the video narratives.ResultsInitially, the researchers proposed 8 learning outcomes and 9 questions based on HBM constructs for the video scripts’ content. However, following Delphi rounds 1 to 3, a few statements were omitted and rephrased. The Kendall coefficient of concordance, W, was about 0.7 (P<.001) for both learning outcomes and questions which indicated good agreement between members. Each statement’s Cronbach alpha was above .8 with SD values within a range below 1.5 that confirmed satisfactory content and construct validity. Approximately 75% (6/8) of members agreed that all chosen statements were relevant and suitable for video script content development. Similarly, more than 80% (8/10) of patients scored video engagement above average, intraclass correlation coefficient was above 0.7, whereas its Kendall W was about 0.7 with significance (P<.001), which indicated average agreement that the video narratives perceived realism.ConclusionsThe Delphi method was proven to be helpful in conducting discussions systematically and providing precise content for the development of video narratives, whereas the Video Engagement Scale was an appropriate measurement of video realism and emotions, which the researchers believed could positively impact medication understanding and use self-efficacy among patients with stroke. A feasibility and acceptability study in an actual stroke care center is needed.Trial RegistrationAustralian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN12618000174280; https://www.anzctr.org.au /Trial/Registration/TrialReview.aspx?id=373554&isReview=true

ALGORITHM AND COMPLEX INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY FOR SOFTWARE PROJECTS RISKS EVALUATION

Problem of software projects risks evaluation is identified. Review of modern approaches to risks evaluation is carried out. Analysis of software projects risks evaluation methods is performed. Analysis of sensitivity, scenarios method, simulation modeling, expert assessment are reviewed. Conclusions on importance of risks evaluation for "Software as a Service" software application systems at design stage are performed. It's proposed to perform software projects risks evaluation with expert assessment using by realization of corresponding information technology. &#x0D; Mathematically risks evaluation technology is realized by Delphi method and ranking. Term of confidence interval is used as stopover criterion in computational procedure of Delphi method with the goal of coherent expert opinion obtaining. Calculating procedure envisages initial expert data correction by expert opinions revision and correction of expert group personnel. Consistency of expert opinions in mathematical technology on ranking method is checking with using of Kendall concordance coefficient, and its significance is evaluating on the basis of Pearson criterion. Presented mathematical apparatus formalizes solution of risks evaluation problem. &#x0D; Methods of software projects risks evaluation and theirs mathematical technologies requires a big amount of calculating operations. Information support increases the rate and precision of such operations, ensures initial data and obtained results accumulation. Information support of software projects risks evaluation is realized as software application system. At development of software application system functional and nonfunctional requirements, database model and its structure were defined. Principles of object oriented analysis, data modeling, modern design patterns, CASE software tools were used. &#x0D; It's proposed to realize software application system of information technology in accordance with client-server architecture, dedicated application server with distributed access rights with using of IDE NetBeans by PHP means under MySQL control. Conclusions on possibility of software application system using by performed validation and verification with expertise and PHP Unit using are made. Results of this work may be used for development of software projects risks evaluation information technology.

Subjective methods to quantify temperament in beef cattle are insensitive to the number and biases of observers

Associations between excitable temperament and many economically relevant traits have been established, resulting in an increased focus on docility in breeding programs in cattle. Several methods have been proposed to quantify temperament during normal handling procedures, which appear to differ in their usefulness and accuracy of measure. The objective of this study was to determine the merit of using chute score (CS), exit score (ES), and exit velocity (EV) to evaluate temperament in a production setting, by assessing (i) the impact of experience and number of observers on inter-observer reliability, and (ii) the repeatability of these measures. Over three consecutive years, a factorial design of two measurement protocols [frequent (F), infrequent (IN)], and three recording periods, each one month apart, was used. Each year, twenty commercial Bos taurus heifers, 2-wk post weaning, were randomly assigned to each protocol. Each day of observation, heifers were moved into a squeeze chute and their heads caught. A CS from 1 (docile) to 6 (aggressive) was assigned to loosely restrained cattle by as many as six observers of varying experience. When released from the chute, EV over a distance of 2 m was obtained, and an ES of 1 (docile) to 5 (aggressive) assigned by the same observers. Heifers were evaluated repeatedly over three months, with some heifers scored on as many as nine occasions. Inter-observer reliability was calculated using the irr package in R. Kendall's coefficient of concordance (KCC) and intra-class correlation coefficients (ICC) were calculated for the average of two, three, or four experienced observers for all nine days of the study. Observers were then divided by experience [experienced (E), inexperienced (IE)] and compared to a benchmark observer using these same statistics. Repeatabilities were calculated using ASReml fitting protocol, event, and their interaction as fixed effects, body weight as a covariate, and sire and year as random effects. While reliability decreased with increasing number of observers for both measures, agreement was consistently higher when assessing ES compared to CS. Both measures had reliabilities indicative of acceptable agreement (ICCCS ≥ 0.74, ICCES ≥ 0.90; KCCCS ≥ 0.79, KCCES ≥ 0.93). However, inexperience reduced reliability of CS assignments, with more variation in scores than in E observers. All methods were highly repeatable. These findings demonstrate the usefulness of subjective methods for quantifying temperament on site. Their lack of susceptibility to individual bias in distinguishing behaviors makes them useful criteria for evaluating temperament in cattle.

Local connectivity of the resting brain connectome in patients with low back-related leg pain: A multiscale frequency-related Kendall's coefficient of concordance and coherence-regional homogeneity study.

Increasing evidence has suggested that central plasticity plays a crucial role in the development and maintenance of (chronic) nonspecific low back pain. However, it is unclear how local or short-distance functional interactions contribute to persisting low back-related leg pain (LBLP) due to a specific condition (i.e., lumbar disc herniation). In particular, the multiscale nature of local connectivity properties in various brain regions is still unclear. Here, we used voxelwise Kendall's coefficient of concordance (KCC) and coherence (Cohe) regional homogeneity (ReHo) in the typical (0.01–0.1 Hz) and five specific frequency (slow-6 to slow-2) bands to analyze individual whole-brain resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging scans in 25 persistent LBLP patients (duration: 36.7 ± 9.6 months) and 26 healthy control subjects. Between-group differences demonstrated significant alterations in the KCC- and Cohe- ReHo of the right cerebellum posterior lobe, brainstem, left medial prefrontal cortex and bilateral precuneus in LBLP patients in the typical and five specific frequency bands, respectively, along with interactions between disease status and the five specific frequency bands in several regions of the pain matrix and the default-mode network (P < .01, Gaussian random field theory correction). The altered ReHo in the five specific frequency bands was correlated with the duration of pain and two-point discrimination, which were assessed using partial correlational analysis. These results linked the course of disease to the local connectivity properties in specific frequency bands in persisting LBLP. In future studies exploring local connectome association in pain conditions, integrated frequency bands and analytical methods should be considered.

Differential method for establishing a comparative danger of air traffic controllers errors in professional activity

The advantage systems of air traffic controllers as operators of the “front line”, which are directly responsible for ensuring the appropriate level of flight safety, are considered as a component of their decision making, determines, on the one hand, the influence of the human factor on the choice they make, and on the other hand, makes this choice much easier. The use of paired comparisons and determination of part of the total comparative danger as a way of establishing the systems of benefits of professional air traffic controllers on the spectrum of the characteristic errors that they make in the process of professional activity are substantiated. For the first time, the total risk of a pair of errors is determined in an absolute and unique by quasi metric features 100-point scale, and their separate contribution to this danger covers the entire continuum of the scale. In contrast to the traditional practice, which regulates part of the total danger, it allowed for a more differentiated assessment of the comparative dangers of errors. Using the traditional and the proposed method, group systems of advantages of air traffic controllers on the studied range of errors, which are almost identical, are constructed: Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient is equal to the value. The Kendall concordance coefficient calculated for the group preference system constructed in the traditional way is equal to and statistically reliable, and therefore the corresponding preference system is consistent. The coefficient of concordance calculated for the group system of benefits based on the application of the proposed differential approach to the pairwise comparison of the dangers of errors is almost twice greater, equal to the value and statistically reliable at a high level of significance. This indicates both the consistency of the opinions of the subjects and the high efficiency of the proposed differential approach.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY OF SOFTWARE PROJECTS RISKS EVALUATION

Problem of software projects risks evaluation is identified. Review of modern approaches to risks evaluation is carried out. Analysis of software projects risks evaluation methods is performed. Analysis of sensitivity, scenarios method, simulation modeling, expert assessment are reviewed. Conclusions on importance of risks evaluation for "software as a service" software application systems at design stage are performed. It's proposed to perform software projects risks evaluation with expert assessment using by realization of corresponding information technology. Mathematically risks evaluation technology is realized by Delphi method and ranking. Term of confidence interval is used as stopover criterion in computational procedure of Delphi method with the goal of coherent expert opinion obtaining. Calculating procedure envisages initial expert data correction by expert opinions revision and correction of expert group personnel. Consistency of expert opinions in mathematical technology on ranking method is checking with using of Kendall concordance coefficient, and its significance is evaluating on the basis of Pearson criterion. Presented mathematical apparatus formalizes solution of risks evaluation problem. Methods of software projects risks evaluation and theirs mathematical technologies requires a big amount of calculating operations. Information support increases the rate and precision of such operations, ensures initial data and obtained results accumulation. Information support of software projects risks evaluation is realized as software application system. At development of software application system functional and nonfunctional requirements, database model and its structure were defined. Principles of object oriented analysis, data modeling, modern design patterns, CASE software tools were used. It's proposed to realize software application system of information technology in accordance with client-server architecture, dedicated application server with distributed access rights with using of IDE NetBeans by PHP means under MySQL control. Conclusions on possibility of software application system using by performed validation and verification with expertise and PHPUnit using are made. Results of this work may be used for development of software projects risks evaluation information technology.

Occupancy of the Slovak Accommodation Establishments by Foreign Tourists

Abstract Accommodation has an important role in the development of tourism in every country we perceive as the tourism destination. Due to the increasing competition in the tourism industry, it is necessary to analyze the occupancy of the accommodation establishments, and thus to find specific segments of the market, which the tourism development strategy should focus on. The aim of this study is to describe, which types of the selected accommodation establishments are preferred in the Slovak Republic by foreign tourists with a special focus on seven specific nationalities (Czech, Hungarian, Polish, Ukrainian, German, Austrian, and Russian nationalities). Formally, the hypothesis being tested is whether there is a statistically significant relationship in the choice of the accommodation establishment by tourists of any of these nationalities over time. In addition, we aim to discuss the development of the selected types of the accommodation establishments in the Slovak Republic in 2014–2017, and at the same time to emphasize the development of the hotels according to hotel classes. The results showed that in the Slovak Republic, the most numerous groups of the accommodation establishments by their type, were hotels, motels, botels, and guesthouses, and these establishments are also the most used by foreign tourists. Furthermore, the set hypothesis has been confirmed, on the basis of the results of Friedman ANOVA and the Kendall coefficient of concordance.

Methods of forming an expert assessment of the criteria of an information system for managing projects and programs

The article presents a method for determining and ranking significance of the criteria of an information system for managing projects and programs (hereinafter, PMIS) based on the concept of subjective probability with the help of expert assessments. The method of expert assessments is implemented by processing the opinions of experienced specialists on the possible values of losses and (or) the probability of their occurrence. It is also used in non-formalizable problem situations, when the lack of a sufficient array of information or its unreliability does not allow the use of purely formal mathematical methods. When analyzing the PMIS choice, expert assessments can be used, firstly, to form a subjective assessment of one or another PMIS with the subsequent use of this information in order to quantify it using statistical methods. Secondly, for a qualitative assessment of the PMIS choice in terms of determining their rank significance, priority in an ordered list of PMIS criteria. As the main stages of the proposed methodology, the following are proposed: 1) development of a list of assessed PMIS criteria and formation of a list of experts; 2) conducting a survey of experts in order to obtain a set of individual expert assessments according to the PMIS criteria; 3) calculation of the average assessment criteria of the PMIS; 4) checking the consistency of expert opinions on the rank significance of the assessed PMIS criteria based on the Kendall coefficient of concordance; 5) summing up the results of expert assessment of the PMIS criteria. The practical aspects of the expert assessment are considered: calculation tables, the method of filling them, processing and analyzing the results. The method of expert assessment of the PMIS criteria was further developed, thanks to which a set of effective and functional criteria was determined, which will be taken into account when developing technical requirements for this system