Technical Descriptors Research Articles

Contribution of cosmetic rheology modifiers and texture to emotions, sharing experience on methodologies

The purpose of this work was to explore different methodologies, using both verbal and non-verbal parameters, to collect the emotional potential of rheological modifiers and cosmetic formula textures. Known or new methods, first tested in cosmetics, have been investigated under the supervision of neuroscience experts, analyzing subjective, behavioural and physiological parameters (i.e. verbatim, prosody, gesture, brain activity with dynamic analysis). Verbal methods provided contrasting responses according to protocol. Consumers spontaneously expressed technical descriptors, highlighting the growing education on cosmetics and showing the value of carefully designing the protocol and controlling the testing environment to get away from rational thinking. Short time in response and a preliminary stage of sensory stimuli helped to express emotions. The combination of verbal and non-verbal parameters has been shown to be useful in achieving more subtle effects when a rheological modifier is changed into a basic formula. The unconscious physical parameters of the voice (i.e. prosody) and gesture provided complementary data with a corresponding positive or negative emotional valence. The new experiment in dynamic brain activity analysis has proven to be a promising tool. The studies, carried out mainly in France but also in China, systematically demonstrated the influence of texture and rheology modifiers on the emotions generated.

Television commentary on women's and men's Australian Rules football: A thematic analysis

Commentators are reported to describe male and female players in different ways across a range of sports. The present study examines televised commentary on men's and women's games in the Australian Football League during the inaugural season of the women's professional competition. A two-phase thematic analysis was applied to television commentary on 10 men's and 10 women's Australian Rules football games. Semantic thematic analysis of the broad descriptive categories used by commentators for men's and women's matches indicated greater similarity than had been reported for televised commentary of other sports like tennis, in line with recent reports of progress towards greater gender equality in sports media reporting. Although technical descriptors were used slightly more frequently in describing men's play, there were no major differences in frequency for a number of other descriptive categories (mental, physical, personal or tactical) that have previously been observed as discriminating commentary on men's and women's sport. More in-depth, discursive thematic analysis did indicate some specific patterns of difference: terms, features and details used in commentary resulted in a greater focus on women's athletic weaknesses, and negative aspects of their skills and mentality. Identification of subtle linguistic features that minimise the athleticism and accomplishments of female players suggests that continued examination of media reporting on women's increasing involvement in traditional male sports can contribute important insights for promoting gender equality.

Improving the quality of cold merchandising unit: an application of quality function deployment

Quality of hot and cold merchandisers are an important tool if food is to be held and displayed properly to entice consumers to buy and to drive food to go sale. In this paper, QFD tool used to translate the voice of the customer to technical aspects in order to set an action plan to improve the double door cold merchandising unit. It was found that eliminating the moisture from the door glass, sliding door mechanism durability, and light system durability are the most important requirements, while increasing insulation efficiency, anti moisture solutions, using LED tubes, and electricity fluctuation solution, was found to be the most important technical descriptors. HOQ presented in this work contributed in prioritising company's R&D directions. Further research efforts will be continuing the balance steps of QFD process, other future work suggestions could be using QFD tool to assess voice of the customers for other products.

Talking About Counseling: A Plea to Return to Humanistic Language

Multiple linguistic systems have emerged to describe the counseling process. In contemporary mental health culture, humanistic lexicons have generally been displaced by technical, experience‐removed descriptors. The author argues that humanistic language should be adopted by counselors because it has far greater utility than technical linguistic systems for describing counseling processes.

Financial feasibility and value engineering principles integrated quality function deployment for a manufacturing organization

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to report a case study in which financial feasibility integrated quality function deployment (QFD) approach was implemented. Design/methodology/approach – Customer complaints were systematically gathered. The house of quality (HoQ) matrix was developed. The technical descriptors were prioritized and subjected to the financial feasibility study. The cost calculations were carried out and the actions were derived. A set of value engineering (VE) principles was used during this case study. Findings – The study reported in this paper indicated the need for integrating financial feasibility study with QFD for enhancing the effectiveness of the method. The measures taken to prevent the customer complaints will be of considerable value to the manufacturing organizations. Research limitations/implications – During the conduct of case study, high-cost factors restricted the selection of materials which would exhibit higher performance. The case study was carried out in a single electronic switches manufacturing organization. Practical implications – The manufacturing costs incurred have been reduced by incorporating changes in the part material. The outcomes of the study have been considered for further implementation in the case organisation which indicated the practicality of the study. Originality/value – The concept of apportionment of HoQ cost developed with the idea of integrating the same with QFD is the original contribution of the authors.

A Conceptual Model to Achieve Operational Excellence in a Public Sector Bus Transport Company: A Research Paper

This model aims at using the QFD methodology for converting the customer requirements and needs into quality characteristics for improving the quality of service in a public sector passenger transport company, which is a crucial sector for transportation of people in developing countries like India. In this model, traditional quality function deployment has been modified by seamlessly integrating the Principal Component Analysis (PCA) to find the weights for the customer needs and Conjoint Analysis (CA) to aid the prioritization of the technical descriptors. This QFD would help to prioritize the different technical measures to focus and improve to achieve operational excellence.

A Conceptual Model to Achieve Operational Excellence in a Public Sector Bus Transport Company: A Research Paper

This model aims at using the QFD methodology for converting the customer requirements and needs into quality characteristics for improving the quality of service in a public sector passenger transport company, which is a crucial sector for transportation of people in developing countries like India. In this model, traditional quality function deployment has been modified by seamlessly integrating the Principal Component Analysis (PCA) to find the weights for the customer needs and Conjoint Analysis (CA) to aid the prioritization of the technical descriptors. This QFD would help to prioritize the different technical measures to focus and improve to achieve operational excellence.

A QFD strategy for improving customer satisfaction: case study of telecom companies of Pakistan

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to argue that the quality function deployment (QFD) matrix that has been successfully used for developing products from customer needs can also be applied to improve the service quality of telecommunication companies.Design/methodology/approachThe paper presents a case study of the two big telecom companies (Ufone and Mobilink) of Pakistan. Data have been collected by a cross‐sectional field study of users, frontline employees and management of telecom companies. The QFD matrix has been applied to identify customer needs, to do comparative analysis of the prepaid services of these companies and to recommend the suitable measure for incorporating these requirements into their services.FindingsIt has been found that through emphasizing two technical descriptors (Antennas and Base Station Controller System), a company will not only be in a competitive position to meet the customer's demand but will also gain an advantage over its competitor.Research limitations/implicationsResearch findings are limited to telecom companies. Further research can be carried out in other service providing companies.Practical implicationsResearch outcomes also imply that if managers want to listen to the voice of their customers and update their products and services accordingly, the proposed methodology of QFD is much more effective than the traditional approaches, in which decisions regarding the product or services are prioritized based on the manager's point of view.Originality/valueMost of the previous research has applied QFD for developing products from customer needs. This is one of the few studies which have successfully applied the QFD Matrix in service providing companies.

Enhancing quality of vocational training outcome to satisfy the labor market demands in Kuwait by using Quality Function Deployment method (QFD)

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to develop a system to enhance the quality of vocational training programs in Kuwait state by using the concept of Quality Function Deployment (QFD). Approach: The approach starts by investigating the private sector of the labor market. The interviewing of a sample group of the private sector companies was done to know their expectation of the performance of vocational training outcomes. Then, QFD was applied to find the technical requirements, which will help in satisfying the market’s expectations to design a new program that leads to enhancement of the quality of the outcome of the Vocational Training. The house of quality technique allows prioritizing the technical descriptors based on the technical difficulty, target value, absolute weight, and relative weight. Findings: The first priority that found from applying the QFD is the parameter “Practice to Be Willing in Learning- Applying New Technologies” because of its highest relative weight 195 points followed by the parameter “Understanding The Need to Learn New Skills” which has a relative weight of 165 points. The second priority is the parameter “Simulation Activities” because it has a relative weight of 152 points followed by the parameter “Managing Tasks and Meeting Deadlines” which has a relative weight of 146 points. The third priority is the parameter “Using IT Skills to Complete Activities” because of it has a relative weight is 132 points followed by the parameter “Time Management Activities” which has a relative weight is 112 points. Research limitation: The research limitation is in the changing of the current curriculum program. Practical implications: The practical implication is to modify the students’ vocational training curriculum, by adapting new technologies and application sequences of activities and solution strategies within the time limit. Value: The value of this paper is to explain how a studying curriculum can be modified in order to satisfy the market requirements.

Enhancing quality of vocational training outcome to satisfy the labor market demands in Kuwait by using Quality Function Deployment method (QFD)

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to develop a system to enhance the quality of vocational training programs in Kuwait state by using the concept of Quality Function Deployment (QFD). Approach: The approach starts by investigating the private sector of the labor market. The interviewing of a sample group of the private sector companies was done to know their expectation of the performance of vocational training outcomes. Then, QFD was applied to find the technical requirements, which will help in satisfying the market’s expectations to design a new program that leads to enhancement of the quality of the outcome of the Vocational Training. The house of quality technique allows prioritizing the technical descriptors based on the technical difficulty, target value, absolute weight, and relative weight. Findings: The first priority that found from applying the QFD  is the parameter “Practice to Be Willing in Learning- Applying New Technologies” because of its highest relative weight 195 points followed by the parameter “Understanding The Need to Learn New Skills” which has a relative weight of 165 points. The second priority is the parameter “Simulation Activities” because it has a relative weight of 152 points followed by the parameter “Managing Tasks and Meeting Deadlines” which has a relative weight of 146 points. The third priority is the parameter “Using IT Skills to Complete Activities” because of it has a relative weight is 132 points followed by the parameter “Time Management Activities” which has a relative weight is 112 points. Research limitation: The research limitation is in the changing of the current curriculum program. Practical implications: The practical implication is to modify the students’ vocational training curriculum, by adapting new technologies and application sequences of activities and solution strategies within the time limit. Value: The value of this paper is to explain how a studying curriculum can be modified in order to satisfy the market requirements.

Approximating Cartography to the Customer's Expectations: Applying the “House of Quality” to Map Design

The design of a map and guide for a Spanish natural park has been guided by the application of a product-development methodology known as quality function deployment (QFD). QFD is a tool for bringing the voice of the customer into the product-development process, from conceptual design to manufacturing. In order to develop a high-quality product whose design meets customers’ needs, market research has been developed to discover customers’ expectations and the strengths and weaknesses of competitors’ products. Sixteen main customer expectations (WHATs) were considered in relation to product comfort, content, and portrayal. In order to take into account the aforementioned expectations, 24 technical descriptors (HOWs) were considered. The product was finally specified by all the technical descriptors and their target values (HOW MUCHs). Results of the methodology are expressed using a set of matrices that depicts a house, the “House of Quality,” that concentrates the most important aspects of a product plan. Applying this methodology is an enriching experience, but somewhat difficult and time consuming.

Quality Function Deployment for Customer Satisfaction in Banking Services

Today’s customers are quality concerned. For a manufacturer or service provider, it is really a challenge to tune up their product or services with all desirable or even unseen qualities. The paper focuses on the application of quality function deployment on a typical service through designing the house of quality matrix. Demanded qualities are captured by using a questionnaire survey designed in a semi structured way on the basis of Likert’s 5-scale technique. As customers drive manufacturers or service providers to add values, proper care has been given to grab their reactions and then the requirements have been put into the HOQ (House of Quality) that ultimately gives us the solution. The findings are very straightforward. The paper seeks the answer of how a service provider can ensure more customer satisfaction. Customer requirements are prioritized with the technical descriptors tosatisfy them in a more focused way. The method is practically applicable to any type of service or manufacturing companies. If you take care of your customers, they will take care of you. Let your customers know that you are listening to them and giving proper feedback.

Taiwan multi‐factor model construction: equity market neutral strategies application

Purpose – With the development of the modern portfolio theory and the advancement of information technology, the employment of quantitative approaches to practically measure asset risks and returns, and the construction of portfolios (even dynamic portfolios) has become possible and popular. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to construct a multi‐factor model for Taiwan stock universe using fundamental technical descriptors and then to apply the equity market neutral investing using multiple‐factor models as a tool.Design/methodology/approach – This study constructs a Taiwan equity multi‐factor model using cross‐sectional fundamental technical approach.Findings – The model involves 28 explanatory factors (including 20 industry factors), and the results of the estimations are satisfactory. The model's explanatory power is 58.6 per cent on average. Furthermore, this multi‐factor model is feasible, modulized, dynamic (i.e. modified over time) and updating.Originality/value – The multi‐factor model, cons...

Teaching the writing and role of specifications via a structured teardown process

The research objective is to develop teaching materials for learning engineering design at the college level where students are required to have basic engineering knowledge, but where no design experience is needed. The method structures and interprets the take-apart activities from the perspective of the design process steps, with special emphasis on the writing of specifications at increasing levels of detail. The take-apart activity assists in identifying technical descriptors or design variables, which are then given values, ranges or qualities that become specifications. It employs a common consumer product of which many variations are available.