Weak Identification Research Articles

A multi-agent based simulation model of consumer behaviour in the health and wellness food market

The main scientific goal of the article is to present the results of research which aimed to build a multi-agent simulation model of consumer behaviour on the health and wellness market. A multi-agent based modelling and simulation (MABS) method was used to build the model. The analysis of the collected data allowed for a typology of a group of consumers in the health and wellness food market. The results of the simulation experiments led to the identification of key strengths and weaknesses and indicate which opportunities and threats have the strongest impact on the development of the health and wellness food market. The findings could be useful in the development of tools and strategies that could be adapted to encourage healthy eating habits. The study can increase consumer awareness of the importance of healthy eating, sustainable consumption and lead to more healthy buying behaviour.

ШЛЯХИ ВДОСКОНАЛЕННЯ СИСТЕМИ УПРАВЛІННЯ ПЕРСОНАЛОМ НА ТУРИСТИЧНОМУ ПІДПРИЄМСТВІ «ГАЛА-ГОТЕЛЬ» (м. Кам’янець-Подільський)

The purpose of the article is to study the existing personnel management system at the tourist enterprise "Gala-Hotel" in the city of Kamianets-Podilskyi and search for ways to improve it. Methods. The research methodology is based on the use of general scientific and special research methods. General scientific methods include the descriptive method, the method of analysis and synthesis, generalization and abstraction, comparison and analogy. All these methods made it possible to identify, describe and evaluate the existing personnel management system in the example of one of the hotels in the city of Kamianets-Podilskyi. Results. It was found that under the conditions of a competitive market environment, the result of the company's activity largely depends on the quality characteristics of the staff and the ability of the management apparatus to effectively use this production resource. "Gala-Hotel" in Kamianets-Podilskyi is a typical accommodation facility, on the example of which you can trace the gains and miscalculations of the enterprise in the personnel management system of the tourist enterprise. In its activities, the tourist enterprise "Gala-Hotel" uses almost all available personnel management mechanisms to obtain the maximum economic effect. Work with personnel begins with the hiring process, the definition of job duties, the establishment of rules of labor discipline, and features of corporate ethics. The company has created conditions for professional training and career growth. Methods of material and moral protection of employees are used. At the same time, in order to increase the efficiency of the company's work, it would be advisable to use modern technologies more widely, which have changed the situation in the management of everyday HR processes, providing convenient software for HR managers and employees of companies. It will also be appropriate and useful to establish feedback in communication between management and staff. In general, it is possible to state the great potential of the "Gala-Hotel", including in human resources, and its implementation depends on a competent, balanced personnel management policy on the part of the management of this institution. The scientific novelty is in the fact that the conditions for the development of accommodation establishments and their role in the development of the tourism sector were clarified. The factors affecting the effectiveness of personnel management at the tourist enterprise were determined, new trends and methods in the personnel management system were identified, the role of feedback was determined to link in management and staff communication. The practical significance lies in the identification of strengths and weaknesses in the personnel management system in the example of a specific accommodation facility. It can be used by anyone employees who work in this field. It is also important to popularize the city of Kamianets-Podilskyi as a tourist center.

Increasing effectiveness of management in foodservice sector through dynamic delivery pricing model

Purpose: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the foodservice sector's activities have not only been limited but have also experienced a change – increase in demand for online order and delivery of food. Thus, improving the cost-effectiveness of food delivery is not so much as recommended, as it is necessary. Design/methodology/approach: The aim of this study is to propose a dynamic model of delivery valuation. Using SWOT analysis, the significance of delivery presents itself as a factor influencing competitiveness. An IDI with suppliers allowed for the identification of weaknesses in the current delivery price models. Subsequently, a dynamic price model, based on the possibility of usage of publicly accessible data, was proposed. Findings: Fixed delivery costs can reduce revenues and generate losses in the event of a high fluctuation in fuel prices. Therefore, it is crucial to properly evaluate delivery costs, taking into account not only the distance, but also other variables. The key factors of delivery costs include: one-time cost for the courier’s course, distance, opportunity cost of a given delivery expressed as the possibility of making another delivery defined as delivery time. It should be emphasized that it ought to be determined by the volume of traffic at a given moment. Originality/value: The proposed model provides solutions for the foodservice industry, allowing for optimization of delivery costs. The implementation of the dynamic model in a new market sector can be described as an innovation, which could help not only entrepreneurs, but also customers. Keywords: foodservice sector, online order, food delivery, dynamic pricing model. Category of the paper: Research paper.

Identification and characterization of learning weakness from drawing analysis at the pre-literacy stage

Handwriting learning delays should be addressed early to prevent their exacerbation and long-lasting consequences on whole children’s lives. Ideally, proper training should start even before learning how to write. This work presents a novel method to disclose potential handwriting problems, from a pre-literacy stage, based on drawings instead of words production analysis. Two hundred forty-one kindergartners drew on a tablet, and we computed features known to be distinctive of poor handwriting from symbols drawings. We verified that abnormal features patterns reflected abnormal drawings, and found correspondence in experts’ evaluation of the potential risk of developing a learning delay in the graphical sphere. A machine learning model was able to discriminate with 0.75 sensitivity and 0.76 specificity children at risk. Finally, we explained why children were considered at risk by the algorithms to inform teachers on the specific weaknesses that need training. Thanks to this system, early intervention to train specific learning delays will be finally possible.

Generation Expansion Planning Considering Weakness Reinforcement of Power Grids Based on Robust Model

Large-scale integration of variable renewable energy and power electronic device has raised great changes in the physical characteristics of power systems. It is urgent to strengthen system weaknesses in system evolution study. To fill the gap, a generation expansion planning model considering weakness identification and reinforcement is proposed. An efficient outer-inner loop algorithm is designed based on the structure of the model. An IEEE 6-bus test case is carried out to show the effectiveness of the proposed model and methodology. The test case reveals that weakness reinforcement schemes are robust against the worst-case contingency and the unserved demand can be reduced to 20.6% after the weakness reinforcement process.

Introduction of a pilot program to measure and improve the clinical care of melanoma patients in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship in Poland: a report of 20 months experience

BackgroundIn recent years, benchmarking and assessment methods to improve the quality of care have become increasingly important. Such approaches allow for a uniform assessment, comparisons between centers or over time, and the identification of weaknesses. In this study, the results of a 20-month pilot program to assess, monitor and improve the quality of care in melanoma patients primarily treated surgically are presented.MethodsThe pilot program started in May 2020 at the Lower Silesian Oncology, Pulmonology and Hematology Center (LSOPHC) in Wroclaw, Poland (Lower Silesian Voivodeship, southwestern province of Poland with a population of 2,9 million). The program involved the introduction of a synoptic histopathological protocol, medical coordinators, and a set of measures to assess oncological care. In total, 11 Skin Cancer Unit (SCU) measures were introduced to analyze clinical outcomes, diagnostic quality, and duration. Data from 352 patients covered by the program were analyzed. In addition, the completeness of diagnostics from external sites was compared to our own results. Furthermore, the timeliness of the initial diagnostic tests and in-depth diagnostics were assessed and compared to the timeliness before implementation of the pilot program.ResultsThe introduced measures assessed the mortality related to oncological treatment, the rate of complications, advanced stages of melanoma, the completeness and duration of diagnostics, the involved nodes after lymphadenectomy, and melanoma screening. During the study period, the timeliness of the initial diagnostics was maintained at 87.8%, and the timeliness of the in-depth diagnostics at 89.5%. Compared to a similar period before the program, these values were 36.1% and 67.5%, respectively.ConclusionThe introduced measures seem to be effective and practical tools for benchmarking clinical and diagnostic aspects. They also allowed for a sensitive assessment of individual issues and indicated sensitive points. Furthermore, the actions undertaken in this pilot program allowed for a shortening of the duration of diagnostics.

Discussion on "Instrumented difference-in-differences" by Ting Ye, Ashkan Ertefaie, James Flory, Sean Hennessy & Dylan S. Small.

We reinterpret the instrumented difference-in-differences (iDID) under a linear instrumental variables (IV) model. Under the linear IV model, we show why iDID is a clear improvement over two existing methods, difference-in-differences (DID) and a cross-sectional, IV analysis. We also re-express some of the assumptions of iDID using familiar, regression-based identification assumptions. We conclude with a method inspired by the linear IV model that can potentially remedy the weak identification problem iniDID.

Using a rapid-cycle approach to evaluate implementation of competency-based medical education in ophthalmology

ObjectifÀ mesure que s'implante la formation médicale axée sur les compétences (FMAC) au Canada, il devient de plus en plus important de mesurer les progrès au jour le jour afin d’évaluer les forces et les faiblesses de la FMAC et d'orienter la conception des programmes de formation. L'ophtalmologie se prépare au lancement de la FMAC à l’échelle nationale au cours des prochaines années. La présente étude visait à décrire l'expérience vécue par des intervenants clés qui en étaient au stade de l'acquisition des fondements de la discipline dans le contexte d'une FMAC au sein d'un département d'ophtalmologie. NatureIl s'agissait d'une étude de cas comportant des évaluations qualitatives à cycle rapide, réalisée pendant l'année universitaire 2018–2019. ParticipantsLes résidents, les membres du corps professoral, les conseillers pédagogiques, les membres du comité de compétence de même que le directeur du programme, l'administrateur du programme et le consultant en éducation ont été invités à évaluer le programme. MéthodesLa formule d’évaluation à cycle rapide consistait en 2 cycles d’évaluation : la première série d'entrevues et de groupes de discussion a eu lieu en octobre 2018 et la deuxième, en mars 2019. Les recommandations ont été mises en œuvre en novembre 2019 et en juin 2019. Toutes les données ont été analysées par thématique grâce au logiciel NVivo. RésultatsLes données recueillies ont permis de dégager 3 grands besoins : l’élaboration d'une compréhension commune (p. ex., attentes liées aux rôles et modifications à apporter aux évaluations), le peaufinage des processus et des outils d’évaluation (p. ex., simplification et clarification) et la rétroaction (p. ex., valeur et avantages perçus des commentaires formulés). ConclusionsL'examen des expériences vécues durant cette étude a donné lieu à l'amélioration immédiate du programme de résidence. La démarche utilisée et les recommandations émises serviront à d'autres départements et établissements canadiens qui se préparent à implanter le modèle de compétence par conception.

The Transformation of Romanian Internal Public Audit between 2006 and 2020

"The article analyzes how internal public audit (IPA) transformed in Romania between 2006 and 2020, in order to explore: (a) the degree in which cen tral and local public institutions organized their IPA activities as a specialized department or in an asso ciative structure; (b) how did the human resources allocated to IPA activities transformed in this period (focusing on employment, the ability to cover the needs of public organizations and the educational/ professional specialization of internal auditors), and (c) how IPA missions changed over time. The empiri cal research consists of a detailed analysis of official annual reports published by the Central Harmoniza tion Unit for Internal Public Audit, thus ensuring the reliability of the analysis. Our main results indicate the existence of multiple differences between central and local public organi zations, regarding their degree/level of IPA activities organization (especially before 2013) and the num ber of organizations each internal public auditor was tasked to audit (ranging from 1 at the central level to almost 8 at the local level). Unfortunately, the under staffing of IPA departments/ bureaus is not condu cive to an accurate identification and assessment of potential organizational weaknesses and risks, thus potentially hindering the performance of both central and local public institutions. "

Instrumented difference-in-differences.

Unmeasured confounding is a key threat to reliable causal inference based on observational studies. Motivated from two powerful natural experiment devices, the instrumental variables and difference-in-differences, we propose a new method called instrumented difference-in-differences that explicitly leverages exogenous randomness in an exposure trend to estimate the average and conditional average treatment effect in the presence of unmeasured confounding. We develop the identification assumptions using the potential outcomes framework. We propose a Wald estimator and a class of multiply robust and efficient semiparametric estimators, with provable consistency and asymptotic normality. In addition, we extend the instrumented difference-in-differences to a two-sample design to facilitate investigations of delayed treatment effect and provide a measure of weak identification. We demonstrate our results in simulated and realdatasets.

University Teachers’ Digital Competence: A Case Study from Portugal

It has become increasingly important to train for an educational culture that makes use of digital technology to enhance its practices. Frameworks such as DigCompEdu enable identification of weaknesses and areas which require more training. This paper presents the results of a case study with 249 participants from a Portuguese University examining differences in the digital competence of teachers according to gender, age, faculty and experience. Based on the data obtained, it was found that there were no significant differences and that it was, therefore, more important to consider training for digital empowerment according to the different areas of the DigCompEdu framework and to address weaknesses found in each of these areas.

Identification of Mobility Patterns in Rural Areas of Low Demographic Density through Stated Preference Surveys

Within the multiple urban–rural interactions that make up the territorial dynamics, this article addresses and identifies how mobility relations are produced between neighbouring municipalities that share services. The aim of this research is to carry out a diagnosis of the current mobility situation in an area of low population density in order to identify the needs and possible shortcomings in this area. The initial identification of weaknesses is essential in order to propose solutions for rural mobility. The methodology adopted is based on two distinct lines of work: (1) analysis of information in open data from public repositories using geographic information system tools (GIS), and (2) surveys of citizens living in the study area. The results allude to the fact that the most transcendental problem in the study area is the lack of a quality collective public transport service that meets minimum utility requirements for users, a fact that generates a transfer towards the use of private vehicles. No serious parking, noise, pollution or road safety problems are observed; however, similar dynamics to other rural areas with low demographic density are confirmed, such as the age of the mobile fleet and an aging population with accessibility problems. The presence of new modes of transport (electric bicycles, personal mobility vehicles, and even electric vehicles) is practically insignificant. Both teleworking and the new consumer habits associated with online shopping have not yet had a strong impact. Political decision making by public administrations is identified as a direct application of this research.

Evolution of social informatics: Publications, research, and educational activities

A comprehensive review of 1985–2019 trends related to the (English) term social informatics was conducted for scholarly literature, research and educational institutions, conferences, journals, blogs, and presentations at the International Conference on Social Informatics. The bibliographic search yielded 275 scientific documents with the term social informatics in the title, abstract, or keywords; which were coded according to ten characteristics. The analysis showed that corresponding scientific publications peaked in 2005–2009 and then roughly stagnated. At the same time, they increasingly spread worldwide, with most authors still referring to the concept of social informatics developed by Rob Kling. Other activities related to social informatics were mostly stagnant or slightly declining after 2010–2014, except for the number of educational courses. In contrast, the widespread general use of the term social informatics grew rapidly, especially in the context of computational social science. This is most evident in the analysis of 476 papers from the proceedings of International Conference on Social Informatics (2009–2019), which revealed a very weak identification with the notion of social informatics. Considering these findings, the prospects of social informatics are discussed in a broader context.

Analysis of methods used to identify combustible gas and vapour-related factors contributing to explosions in the context of assigning explosion and fire safety categories to premises

Introduction . The authors have classified numerous publications, addressing the assignment of explosion and fire safety categories to premises, buildings and outdoor facilities, into the three groups: 1) sources of information that are in effect (including in-house and region-wide documents), sources that were in effect; 2) manuals and guidelines on category assignment; 3) publications that confirm (refute) or clarify some provisions, specified in regulatory sources. This article can be included into the third group of publications. Goal. Analysis of different methods, used to identify the value of Z factor; identification of strengths and weaknesses of each method, development of recommendations on the application of these methods. Objectives . The objective is to identify the substance-related factor contributing to explosions, use particular cases to demonstrate the efficiency of this or other identification method. Results and discussion. The analysis of Z factor identification methods, describing the contribution of vapours of highly flammable liquids to an explosion, has proven that three types of procedures can be used to find the Z factor value: the method of tables (that uses the maximal possible tabular value of Z = 1; for gases and aerosols Z = 0.5; for vapours of highly flammable liquids Z = 0.3); the computational method based on a pattern of three-dimensional gas and vapour spreading on the premises; however, this method, if applied, may involve a high probability of errors due to numerous conditions limiting its applicability; hence, the unexplainable value of Z may exceed 1. Besides, the computational method is extremely laborious. Its application requires the clarification of conditions for its use; the graphical method (based on the dependency graph of Z on the X parameter). This method is the simplest and the most reliable one. When the graphical method is used to find the value of Z , the excess oxidant ratio must be taken as being equal to one, and the Х parameter must be calculated according to the following formula: Х = 0.99 Р s.v / С st.c . Conclusions. The graphical method, used to find the value of Z , is simple and reliable. When the Х parameter is identified, the excess air ratio is used: φ = 1.9, which leads to the underestimation of Z , the vapour-related factor contributing to explosions. To prevent the unreasonable underestimation of Z , the excess air ratio must be disregarded or taken as being equal to 0.99.

Stages of Development of Communicative Competence: Experience of Medical University of Karaganda

This study describes the stages of transformation of curricula for the development of communicative competencies among students in the specialty "General Medicine". Fifteen years of experience of the Medical University of Karaganda (Kazakhstan) showed the evolution of the training program with the identification of weaknesses and justification of the reasons for changing the program in order to improve it.

Досвід перекладу Передмови до «Критики чистого розуму» Імануеля Канта

The article provides a substantive philosophical, philological and translation­al analysis of each paragraph of the Preface to Immanuel Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason. It is revealed the conceptual character of the Preface’s formulations, which shows the logic of the movement of Kant’s thought in philosophy. In particular, the complexity of the problems of Kant’s philosophical research and the unity of his phil­osophical position, which can be traced in various works of Kant, are visualized. In this light, the Preface acts both as a certain summary and as a general direction for Kant’s subsequent philosophical developments. Pitfalls of possible misunderstand­ing and, accordingly, inadequate translation of individual provisions set forth in the Preface have been identified. The translation of the Preface must take into account Kant’s respect for metaphysics, which the German thinker seeks not so much to sur­pass as to improve. Kant’s metaphysics appears not as a frozen doctrine, but as a path of reason, his creative search for answers to the last/first questions of philoso­phy. This search for reason has been ongoing throughout the history of philosophy and will obviously not be completed by the philosophy of Kant, as he himself was well aware. Criticism of skepticism appears in this light not as a denial of metaphysics as such, but as an identification of weaknesses in one or another historical version of metaphysics. In addition, the study of metaphysics is a matter of discourse – a com­petition of judgments of different thinkers. Metaphysics concerns not only and not so much the reason of a person, but the person himself as the bearer of the reason. At the same time, Kant emphasizes the self-sufficiency of the reason (with all the men­tioned multiple ways of it) as a means of achieving the completeness of metaphysics. This article is an accompaniment to the new Ukrainian translation of the Preface, which is presented below in the same issue of “Philosophy of Education”. The author previously presented these theses for public discussion, but here they received their first academic edition.

Neighbourhood effects on early adulthood family life courses: A trajectory‐based approach

AbstractThis study maps early adulthood family life courses from ages 15 to 28 and tests whether they are causally linked to neighbourhood conditions with an instrumental strategy in the United States using Add Health data. Results show that the risk of sorting into pathways typified by early childbearing regardless of relationship status was higher in disadvantaged neighbourhoods. The instrumental variable strategy further showed that pathways characterized by single parenthood and early marriage with multiple children increased significantly with neighbourhood disadvantage, whereas other significant associations disappeared in these analyses. Overall, the results highlight the importance of considering multiple family events as a process outcome to understand the impact of neighbourhood conditions. Indeed, neighbourhood deprivation may lead to life courses associated with nonconventional outcomes. While some of the observed neighbourhood effects may be driven by selection bias in the United States, not all effects are necessarily due to selection and depend on the longitudinal family trajectories. These results were supported by several robustness tests, including the use of an alternative instrumental variable, as the main models suggested weak identification.

A Review of Infrared Thermography for Condition-Based Monitoring in Electrical Energy: Applications and Recommendations

Condition-based monitoring (CBM) has emerged as a critical instrument for lowering the cost of unplanned operations while also improving the efficacy, execution, and dependability of tools. Thermal abnormalities can be thoroughly examined using thermography for condition monitoring. Thanks to the advent of high-resolution infrared cameras, researchers are paying more attention to thermography as a non-contact approach for monitoring the temperature rise of objects and as a technique in great experiments to analyze processes thermally. It also allows for the early identification of weaknesses and failures in equipment while it is in use, decreasing system downtime, catastrophic failure, and maintenance expenses. In many applications, the usage of IRT as a condition monitoring approach has steadily increased during the previous three decades. Infrared cameras are steadily finding use in research and development, in addition to their routine use in condition monitoring and preventative maintenance. This study focuses on infrared crucial thermographic theoretical stages, experimental methodologies, relative and absolute temperature requirements, and infrared essential thermographic theoretical processes for electrical and electronics energy applications. Furthermore, this article addresses the major concerns and obstacles and makes some specific recommendations for future development. With developments in artificial intelligence, particularly computer fiction, depending on the present deep learning algorithm, IRT can boost CBM analysis.

Co-tutorship process with high-risk children: an evaluation of the Rede Mãe Paranaense

Objective: to understand how the co-tutorship between primary health care and the referral outpatient clinic from the Mother Network from Paraná (Rede Mãe Paranaense) in the follow up of high-risk children. Methods: qualitative study carried out by understanding the process of co-tutorship between primary health care and the referral outpatient clinic of the Stork Network (Rede Cegonha) in the follow up of high-risk children. The study included 28 coordinators of primary health care and two representatives of the high-risk clinic. Data collection was carried out through interviews that were transcribed and underwent thematic category analysis according with Bardin's principles. Results: data analysis led to the creation of the category Communication between primary health care and outpatient clinics: outcomes of the (dis)continuity of care to high-risk children. It became clear that the process of co-tutorship has weaknesses that prevent the provision of integral care. Conclusion: fragmented communication and lack of alignment between the services, in addition to not acting like co-tutors as they provide care to children and their families lead to shortcomings in the attention provided. Contributions to practice: the study allowed for the identification of weaknesses that can be crucial for future interventions in the high risk childcare network.

Information of university nurses in physiology and anatomy

Anatomy and physiology, these two sciences form a pair of related disciplines, and are often studied together. Important of the study is evaluation and identification of weaknesses in the anatomy and physiology information of the functional systems of university nurses, but problem of study is what the level of the university nurses about their information in anatomy & physiology of functional systems ? The aim of study is to record level the university nurses in anatomy & physiology according to the test. Sample of the study include (22) university nurses. (17) Female and (5) male. The instrument of the study questionnaire format determined by (11) parts (systems), each part contain 10 question (5 true and false, 5 multiple choice questions). The most important results of the study are the nurses' information level in physiology and anatomy is acceptable , where the nurses success ( 54.54 %) while the nurses fails (45.45 %) as well as there is a shortage of nurses' information in the Integumentary (skin) system with a percentage of (22.72 %) and Immune lymph system (40.90 %).