Three-stage Methodology Research Articles

Critical Success Factors for the Iron and Steel Industry in Turkey: A Fuzzy DEMATEL Approach

The attempt to improve the efficiency and competitiveness of an industrial sector is aided by the determination of critical success factors (CSFs) which focus efforts in those areas that really affect the whole industry, thereby conserving limited resources. In this paper, a three-stage methodology is proposed to find CSFs for an industrial sector. The methodology specifies the interrelations between factors that shape the global competitiveness of a country as a whole and those that shape the competitiveness of the particular industry in question. It integrates a Web-based survey, a Delphi-type workshop, and a fuzzy decision making trial and evaluation laboratory model to highlight those CSFs upon which policymakers should especially concentrate in order to increase the competitiveness of a given industry. This methodology is then applied to a case study, identifying the CSFs of the iron and steel industry in Turkey. The results show that the burden of custom procedures, total tax rate, scope and impact of taxation, and solidity of banks are the CSFs for the competitiveness of the Turkish iron and steel industry.

An Investigation of Market Orientation (MO) and Tourism Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises’ (SMEs) Performance in Developing Countries: A Review of the Literature

ABSTRACTThis paper aims to build a structured literature review of the field of market orientation and its impact on tourism small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) performance in developing countries. This literature review will present a comprehensive survey of market orientation (MO) published articles to facilitate good understanding of MO. It serves as an archive and aims to help the scholars and practitioners to explore, analyse, and develop a clear understanding about the different research points and methodologies implemented in previous studies related to MO and its impact on tourism SMEs’ performance. The paper systematically reviews and categorizes the published literature implementing a three-stage methodology, and thereafter analyzes and reviews this literature methodologically. The review covered many areas and identified some factors that drive/hinder market-oriented activities within tourism SMEs. Furthermore, suggestions have been made to understand more thoroughly how market orientation influences tourism SMEs performance in developing economies. A research gap in the area of market orientation and tourism SMEs performance in developing countries was identified. The study provides great benefits for owner-managers, government policy makers, scholars, and educators by clarifying the concept of market orientation and its relationship with performance in the context of tourism SMEs.

A three-stage methodology for initiating an effective management system for electronic waste in Turkey

Due to both consumption and obsolescence rates of new technology and shorter life cycles of electronic products, the volume of electronic waste (e-waste) is significantly increasing. While managing a great amount of e-waste, government institutions face compelling problems because of the economic and environmental concerns. This study uses a three-stage methodology to initiate the e-waste management activities in context of a collection campaign in Istanbul, explaining the potential benefits and underlying reasons. The problem includes selecting a superior set among a large but finite number of alternatives. Since it is hard to utilize advanced compensatory methods to solve these problems, a three-stage methodology is proposed for systematically reducing the number of alternatives. In this study, we employ the methodology to determine the locations of collection nodes in Istanbul. The main reason that we select Istanbul, is the requirement of an urgent intervention to deal with the large quantities of e-wastes. The result of this study will strongly assist the authorities to configure well-structured strategies for future e-waste management system.

Increasing the acceptability of a congestion charging scheme

Congestion charging is currently being considered as an important public policy in an increasing number of cities around the world, but evidence shows the importance of gaining public acceptability prior to its implementation. We analyse which factors should be considered to increase acceptability in the case of the Spanish city of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. We applied a three-stage methodology: first a qualitative survey using focus groups, second Likert scales and exploratory factor analysis on a sample of 89 individuals, and finally, a stated choice (SC) experiment to a different sample of 206 respondents to value their preferences. The SC experiment was designed as a cordon-price scheme, including system features and considering three different uses for revenues: improving the current bus transport system, creating an underground line and increasing green areas in the city. Our qualitative analysis shows the previous resistance to accept any charging system, the lack of confidence on politicians and stresses the importance given to the use of revenues. On the other hand, values obtained from the SC experiment suggest that that public acceptability relies on the characteristics of the congestion charging scheme. In particular more than one third of the population would be willing to pay a daily fare of €2.22 if revenues from the system were used to increase the size of green areas instead of reinvesting this into the transport system.

A methodology for identification and control of electro-mechanical actuators

Mechatronic systems are fully-integrated engineering systems that are composed of mechanical, electronic, and computer control sub-systems. These integrated systems use electro-mechanical actuators to cause the required motion. Therefore, the design of appropriate controllers for these actuators are an essential step in mechatronic system design. In this paper, a three-stage methodology for real-time identification and control of electro-mechanical actuator plants is presented, tested, and validated. First, identification models are constructed from experimental data to approximate the plants’ response. Second, the identified model is used in a simulation environment for the purpose of designing a suitable controller. Finally, the designed controller is applied and tested on the real plant through Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) environment. The described three-stage methodology provides the following practical contributions:•Establishes an easy-to-follow methodology for controller design of electro-mechanical actuators.•Combines off-line and on-line controller design for practical performance.•Modifies the HIL concept by using physical plants with computer control (rather than virtual plants with physical controllers).Simulated and experimental results for two case studies, induction motor and vehicle drive system, are presented in order to validate the proposed methodology. These results showed that electromechanical actuators can be identified and controlled using an easy-to-duplicate and flexible procedure.

Accelerated Lifetime Testing Methodology for Lifetime Estimation of Lithium-Ion Batteries Used in Augmented Wind Power Plants

The development of lifetime estimation models for Lithium-ion battery cells, which are working under highly variable mission profiles characteristic for wind power plant applications, requires a lot of expenditures and time resources. Therefore, batteries have to be tested under accelerated lifetime aging conditions. This paper presents a three-stage methodology used for accelerated lifetime testing of Lithium-ion batteries. The results obtained at the end of the accelerated aging process were used for the parameterization of a performance-degradation lifetime model, which is able to predict both the capacity fade and the power capability decrease of the selected Lithium-ion battery cells. In the proposed methodology both calendar and cycling lifetime tests were considered since both components are influencing the lifetime of Lithium-ion batteries. Furthermore, the proposed methodology was validated by running a verification stage of the lifetime model, where Lithium-ion battery cells were tested at normal operating conditions using an application specific mission profile.

Assessing artificial neural network performance in estimating the layer properties of pavements

A major concern in assessing the structural condition of existing flexible pavements is the estimation of the mechanical properties of constituent layers, which is useful for the design and decision-making process in road management systems. This parameter identification problem is truly complex due to the large number of variables involved in pavement behavior. To this end, non-conventional adaptive or approximate solutions via Artificial Neural Networks – ANNs – are considered to properly map pavement response field measurements. Previous investigations have demonstrated the exceptional ability of ANNs in layer moduli estimation from non-destructive deflection tests, but most of the reported cases were developed using synthetic deflection data or hypothetical pavement systems. This paper presents further attempts to back-calculate layer moduli via ANN modeling, using a database gathered from field tests performed on three- and four-layer pavement systems. Traditional layer structuring and pavements with a stabilized subbase were considered. A three-stage methodology is developed in this study to design and validate an “optimum” ANN-based model, i.e., the best architecture possible along with adequate learning rules. An assessment of the resulting ANN model demonstrates its forecasting capabilities and efficiency in solving a complex parameter identification problem concerning pavements.

Quantification of Transitions Occurring in a Hydrothermally Activated Fly Ash

Abstract Interaction of fly ash with NaOH results in formation of several transition compounds (viz., zeolites), which are polycrystalline in nature and their crystal wise quantification is a challenging task. In fact, various parameters (viz., oxides, minerals present in the fly ash, pH and EC of NaOH) control the outcome of such interaction at 100°C. Hence, extensive monitoring of these controlling parameters and the zeolites becomes essential. With this in view, a three-stage methodology to quantify transitions occurring in the fly ash has been proposed in this manuscript. Interestingly, it has been observed that Stage-3 of the fly ash-alkali interaction results in formation of 47 types of zeolite-crystals (viz., Na-P1, faujasite, chabazite, hydroxysodalite, and analcime), which exhibits polymerization of these zeolites and wide variation in their size (ranging from 30 to 2346 nm). This sort of transition encourages application of the residues in waste water treatment and other environmental cleanup projects.

Cross-cultural adaptation of the Window to Hope: A psychological intervention to reduce hopelessness among US Veterans with traumatic brain injury

Primary objective: To conduct a cross-cultural adaptation of Window to Hope (WtoH), a treatment to reduce hopelessness after traumatic brain injury (TBI), from the Australian civilian context to that of US Veterans.Research design: Three-stage mixed-methods approach.Methods: Stage 1: Consensus conference with stakeholders to revise the manual. Stage 2: Pilot study of the revised manual with US Veterans to examine acceptability, feasibility and fidelity. Stage 3: Review of results with consensus conference attendees and further revisions.Results: Stage 1: Conference attendees reached 100% consensus regarding changes made to the manual. Stage 2: Qualitative results yielded themes that suggest that participants benefitted from the intervention and that multiple factors contributed to successful implementation (Narrative Evaluation of Intervention Interview, User Feedback Survey-Modified, Post-Treatment Interviews). Therapists achieved 100% treatment fidelity. Quantitative results from the Client Satisfaction Questionnaire-8 suggest that the intervention was acceptable. Stage 3: The culturally adapted manual was finalized.Conclusions: Results of this study suggest that the revised WtoH manual is acceptable and feasible. US therapists exhibited adherence to the protocol. The three-stage methodology was successfully employed to cross-culturally adapt an intervention that is well-suited for a Phase II randomized controlled trial among US military Veterans.

A physical model for geological CO2 storage – Replacing misconceptions by visual explanation

The public discussion on CCS is strongly affected by misconceptions that result from the lack of knowledge about the storage of CO2 in a geological environment deep underground. In this paper, a physical model is introduced which was developed to illustrate the migration of supercritical CO2 in porous rock, the structural trapping by a caprock, and the partial immobilization by the residual trapping mechanism in a way that is visually attractive, scientifically correct, and understandable for non-experts. The reservoir consists of a glass beads packing between two glass plates to represent a thin cut through an aquifer-caprock pair. The injected CO2 is represented by a substitute liquid that contains a fluorescent dye to enhance its visibility. A three-stage methodology was applied to scale the original process to the dimensions and conditions of the physical model realistically, including experiments and modeling at the macro- and pore-scale. Operation and cleaning of the physical model are automated in order to enable a single person to give consecutive presentations within a few minutes. Ancillary exhibits in the form of samples, videos, and posters allow a coherent introduction of CCS with a focus on storage. The comprehensive display with the physical model as the centerpiece has proven to be an effective tool for knowledge transfer from researchers to the general public. A video of a storage demonstration in the physical model and additional material are made accessible as supplementary material to the reader, who is thus enabled to utilize them for communication activities about geological CO2 storage.

A Three-stage Methodology for Design Evaluation in Product Development

In order to remain competitive in today‟s technologically driven world, the faster and more efficient development of innovative products has become the focus for manufacturing companies. In tandem with this, design evaluation plays a critical role in the early phases of product development, because it has significant impact on the downstream development processes as well as on the success of the product being developed. Owing to the pressure of primary factors, such as customer expectations, technical specifications and cost and time constraints, designers have to adopt various techniques for evaluating design alternatives in order to make the right decisions as early as possible. In this work, a novel three-stage methodology for design evaluation has been developed. The preliminary stage screens all the criteria from different viewpoints using House of Quality (HoQ). The second stage uses a Fuzzy-Analytical Hierarchy Process (Fuzzy-AHP) to obtain the alternatives weighting and the final stage verifies the ranking of the alternatives by a Rough-Grey Analysis. This method will enable designers to make better-informed decisions before finalising their choice. A case example from industry are presented to demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed methodology. The result of the example shows that the integration of Fuzzy-AHP with HoQ and Rough-Grey Analysis provides a novel alternative to existing methods of design evaluation.

Evidence in stanje gospodarske javne infrastrukture, primer zadrževalnika Vogršček

An important component in the development of the environment is diverse and functioning public infrastructure (PI), which is managed by different sectors in Slovenia. Information on the PI in Slovenia is collected in the Consolidated Cadastre of PI maintained by the Surveying and Mapping Authority of Republic of Slovenia; it is an indispensable actor in the various processes of spatial governance. In this paper, a three-stage methodology for the analysis of public infrastructure is presented, which enables the systematic and repeatable analysis of PI and is also useful to check interactions between elements of PI in the observed area. The proposed methodology is tested in the wider area of the Vogrscek reservoir in the Vipava Valley. Through legislation, regulations on the management and maintenance, concession contracts and agreements, the management and maintenance of PI at the intersections of different infrastructure is defined. The examples given show the importance of the optimal operation of each part of infrastructure for the operation of the infrastructure in other sectors, as well as the importance of accurate records. Suggestions for improving the situation in the field of PI records are also given.

English

Design concept evaluation plays a critical role in the early phases of product development as it has a significant impact on the downstream development processes, as well as on the success of the product developed. In this work, a novel three-stage methodology has been developed. The preliminary stage screens all the criteria from different viewpoints using House of Quality (HoQ). The second stage uses a FuzzyAnalytical Hierarchy Process (Fuzzy-AHP) to obtain the alternatives weighting, and the final stage verifies the ranking of the alternatives by a Rough-Grey Analysis. This method will enable designers to make better informed decisions before finalizing their choice. A case example from industry is presented to demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed methodology. The prospective benefit of this new method is that it can help designers to reduce the risk of late design changes or corrections. The result of the example shows that the HoQ, Fuzzy-AHP and Rough-Grey Analysis approach provided a novel alternative to existing methods of performing design concept evaluation. The proposed framework has successfully helped the designers to reduce the product development time.

Cumulative belief degrees approach for analyzing the competitiveness of the automotive industry

As traditional competition becomes global, businesses fail to take, on their own, the measures that are required to become more competitive. Hence, in a globally competitive environment, national improvement and competitiveness have also become vital. Businesses must utilize and be supported by the international competitiveness of their nations. This study aims to analyze the competitiveness of the automotive industry from a national competitiveness perspective, using a three-stage methodology. For this purpose, a novel cumulative belief degrees (CBD) approach is introduced, to quantify the causal relations among the variables in the system. This methodology is illustrated by the analysis of the Turkish automotive industry for developing suggestions to assist policymakers in their decisions to improve the competitiveness of the industry. Although the findings are country specific, the methodology is applicable to a wider range of industries in developed and developing countries.

Mergers and acquisitions in the EU low cost carrier market. A Product and Organisation Architecture (POA) approach to identify potential merger partners

As the EU low cost airline sector matures, consolidation is expected. This paper details a three-stage methodology to examine LCCs mergers and acquisition activity. A series of depth interviews with aviation experts concludes that the motives for LCCs to enter mergers and acquisitions are largely similar to those of full service carriers. A key success factor for merging partners is to have similar business models and culture. An analysis of full service and low cost carrier mergers and acquisition activity events shows that the size ratio and degree of network overlap between merging airlines are also independent of airline type. Braxton and BCG analyses of EU LCCs show Ryanair and easyJet to be the only LCCs in the market with strong strategic positions across the markets they serve. Finally, an application of the Product and Organisation Architecture analytical approach was used to compare seven EU LCCs. easyJet and Vueling were found to have the most similar business models and were therefore considered the best strategic fit for a potential merger.

Developing Dementia Prevalence Rates Among Latinos: A Locally-Attuned, Data-Based, Service Planning Tool

The prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease and associated disorders (ADAD) determines the level of need for ADAD services. Since services need to be made available locally, therefore local—rather than national—prevalence levels are instrumental in guiding services to meet these emerging needs. This study employed a three-stage methodology to establish Latino ADAD prevalence estimates within San Diego and Imperial Counties in California for the period 2000–2050. The first stage involved the development of a working algorithm for the ADAD estimates combining existing demographic data with small-scale prevalence data from recent clinical studies of ADAD among Latinos. Results from this algorithm projected an 1,123 % increase of ADAD impacted Latinos in San Diego County and 1,213 % in Imperial County by 2050. Stage two encompassed examining the face validity and efficacy of these projections at the local provider level through focus groups. This stage confirmed the findings that a large sector of the local Latino ADAD community had a profile of lower education and socioeconomic status, more traditional cultural orientations, and high rates of diabetes mellitus and vascular disease which resulted in earlier onset of ADAD. The third stage in the methodology employed a 36-month observational window tracking the impact of the local ADAD prevalence estimates on various programs. The authors of this study argue for the efficacy, and external validity of the methodology employed to define local ADAD prevalence rates for other ethnic groups. This knowledge will promote local communities in developing culturally competent services for their own diverse local service areas based on local estimates.

Self-Employment in China: Are Rural Migrant Workers and Urban Residents Alike?

This paper studies differences in the motivation to be self-employed between rural migrants and urban residents in modern China. Estimates of the wage differential between self-employment and paid-employment obtained through a three-stage methodology using the 2002 China Household Income Project (CHIP), reveal that rural migrants become self-employed to avoid low-pay city jobs, enhancing their odds of economic assimilation. Conversely, urban residents become entrepreneurs to move out of unemployment. The empirical analysis confirms that self-employment also attracts married individuals and those in good health, while it negatively relates to high educational attainment. The decomposition of hourly wage differences between pairs (by type of employment and residence status) shows that higher hourly wages of paid and self-employed urbanites over migrants predominantly arise through differences in coefficients (i.e. discrimination) while those between self- and paid employment among urbanites are mostly due to differences in individual characteristics. Discrimination overwhelmingly accounts for hourly wage differences between self- and paid employment among rural immigrants. We interpret the relevant effect of discrimination in 2002 in urban labour markets as a sign of the institutional barriers associated with the hukou system.

A three-stage approach for aircraft line maintenance personnel rostering using MIP, discrete event simulation and DEA

Personnel scheduling problems need to cope with personnel preferences, coverage constraints, legal restrictions, and many other constraints. We present a three-stage methodology that can be used to select personnel rosters. In the first stage we generate multiple personnel rosters with a mathematical programming model. In the second stage, the performance of the rosters regarding a number of service criteria is evaluated through discrete event simulation. In the third stage, a ranking is made using data envelopment analysis. The methodology is tested on a personnel scheduling problem for aircraft line maintenance.

Computer-based craniofacial superimposition in forensic identification using soft computing

One of the most important tasks in forensic anthropology is human identification. Over the past decades, forensic anthropologists have focused on improving techniques to increase the accuracy of identification. Following a thorough examination of unidentified human remains, the investigator chooses a specific identification technique to be applied, depending on the availability of ante mortem and post mortem data. Craniofacial superimposition is a forensic process in which photographs of a missing person are compared with a skull in order to determine whether is the individual depicted and the skeletal remains are the same person. After more than one century of development, craniofacial superimposition has become an interdisciplinary research field where computer science has acquired a key role as a complement of forensic sciences. Moreover, the availability of new digital equipment has resulted in a significant advance in the applicability of this forensic identification technique. In this paper, we review a semi-automatic method devised to assist the forensic anthropologist in the identification process using craniofacial superimposition. The technique is based on a three-stage methodology. The first two are performed automatically by soft computing techniques. However, the final decision corresponds to the forensic expert. The performance of the proposed method is illustrated using several real-world identification cases.

An expert-based approach to forest road network planning by combining Delphi and spatial multi-criteria evaluation

Changes in forest landscapes resulting from road construction have increased remarkably in the last few years. On the other hand, the sustainable management of forest resources can only be achieved through a well-organized road network. In order to minimize the environmental impacts of forest roads, forest road managers must design the road network efficiently and environmentally as well. Efficient planning methodologies can assist forest road managers in considering the technical, economic, and environmental factors that affect forest road planning. This paper describes a three-stage methodology using the Delphi method for selecting the important criteria, the Analytic Hierarchy Process for obtaining the relative importance of the criteria, and finally, a spatial multi-criteria evaluation in a geographic information system (GIS) environment for identifying the lowest-impact road network alternative. Results of the Delphi method revealed that ground slope, lithology, distance from stream network, distance from faults, landslide susceptibility, erosion susceptibility, geology, and soil texture are the most important criteria for forest road planning in the study area. The suitability map for road planning was then obtained by combining the fuzzy map layers of these criteria with respect to their weights. Nine road network alternatives were designed using PEGGER, an ArcView GIS extension, and finally, their values were extracted from the suitability map. Results showed that the methodology was useful for identifying road that met environmental and cost considerations. Based on this work, we suggest future work in forest road planning using multi-criteria evaluation and decision making be considered in other regions and that the road planning criteria identified in this study may be useful.