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Empirical research aims to establish generalizable claims from data. Such claims involve concepts that often must be measured indirectly by using indicators. Construct validity is concerned with whether one can justifiably make claims at the conceptual level that are supported by results at the operational level. We report a quantitative analysis of the awareness of construct validity in the software engineering literature between 2000 and 2019 and a qualitative review of 83 articles about human-centric experiments published in five high-quality journals between 2015 and 2019. Over the two decades, the appearance in the literature of the term construct validity increased sevenfold. Some of the reviewed articles we reviewed employed various ways to ensure that the indicators span the concept in an unbiased manner. We also found articles that reuse formerly validated constructs. However, the articles disagree about how to define construct validity. Several interpret construct validity excessively by including threats to internal, external, or statistical conclusion validity. A few articles also include fundamental challenges of a study, such as cheating and misunderstandings of experiment material. The diversity of topics discussed makes us recommend a minimalist approach to construct validity. We propose seven guidelines to establish a common ground for addressing construct validity in software engineering.

This study aims to estimate and explore the experience of introducing renewable energy use in the context of the world’s smart cities. In this regard, the study points out that the use of green energy is an important part of sustainable development. Environmental problems are a matter of global concern. Hence sustainable development is one of the approaches to end the harmful anthropogenic impact. The work includes quantitative assessment methods, for example, statistics, quantitative analysis, analogy, and synthesis. As a result, the analysis confirms that the effective development of a smart green city is impossible without the introduction of several renewable energy sources, the integrated use of which will reduce the likelihood of problems with the city’s energy supply. Likewise, the outcome accentuates that the desire to fully switch to renewable energy sources (RES) can be accompanied by several problems as the creation of RES technologies does not always take the risk of abnormal situations into account. In conclusion, the research findings are recommended to be taken into consideration by researchers in the field of smart and sustainable cities development, as well as urbanists and economists for designing future smart green cities based on renewable energy sources.

Computational experiments have emerged as a new method for quantitative analysis of complex social systems. It has been applied to many interdisciplinary research fields, such as economics, finance, and epidemiology. Though the representation form of computational experiments is relatively flexible, the real system is more complex. Therefore, it is important to seek a balance between the flexibility of computational modeling and the credibility of conclusion. This article proposes a customized design framework for computational experiment models, so as to meet the diverse application demands of computational experiments in different fields. Finally, this article outlines some typical applications of computational experiments to provide a roadmap for its rapid development and widespread application.

Understanding intra-urban human mobility patterns and their potential driving forces are vital to city planning and commercial site selection. In this paper, we first investigate the functions of urban regions and how different region types dynamically influence people's trip decisions. Furthermore, we characterize urban circadian rhythms by time-vary inter-regional transition probabilities between these regions with different functions, and integrate them into intervening opportunity model to predict human mobility. Public transportation card data in Shanghai are used to demonstrate the effectiveness of the model in terms of station passenger flows, travel time and trip flux. By taking regional function into consideration, the proposed model significantly improved the prediction accuracy. Quantitative analysis ulteriorly indicates that trip intentions and regional features are critical elements in trip flux prediction, especially in the afternoon and evening when people have an abundance of opportunities to travel by their own volition. When the function of a certain region changes, our model is able to make reasonable predictions accordingly. The results indicate the importance of considering individual travel motivation and regional function in modeling human mobility. The proposed model could serve as a guide for popularity and trip flux prediction in urban planning and reconstruction.

Merging at highway on-ramps while interacting with other human-driven vehicles is challenging for autonomous vehicles (AVs). An efficient route to this challenge requires exploring and exploiting knowledge of the interaction process from demonstrations by humans. However, it is unclear what information (or environmental states) is utilized by the human driver to guide their behavior throughout the whole merging process. This paper provides quantitative analysis and evaluation of the merging behavior at highway on-ramps with congested traffic in a volume of time and space. Two types of social interaction scenarios are considered based on the social preferences of surrounding vehicles: courteous and rude. The significant levels of environmental states for characterizing the interactive merging process are empirically analyzed based on the real-world INTERACTION dataset. Experimental results reveal two fundamental mechanisms in the merging process: 1) Human drivers select different states to make sequential decisions at different moments of task execution, and 2) the social preference of surrounding vehicles can impact variable selection for making decisions. It implies that efficient decision-making design should filter out irrelevant information while considering social preference to achieve comparable human-level performance. These essential findings shed light on developing new decision-making approaches for AVs., Comment: 12 pages, 8 figures

The Emergency Diesel Generator (EDG) is a critical and essential part of the Nuclear Power Plant (NPP). Due to past catastrophic disasters, critical systems of NPP like EDG are designed to meet high dependability requirements. Therefore, we propose a framework for the dynamic reliability assessment using the Fault Tree and the Dynamic Bayesian Network. In this framework, the information of the component's failure probability is updated based on observed data. The framework is powerful to perform qualitative as well as quantitative analysis of the system. The validity of the framework is done by applying it on several NPP systems.

We carry out a quantitative analysis of the financing measures proposed for the European Deposit Insurance Scheme (EDIS) regarding the target level of the fund and the contribution scheme of member entities. We estimate the loss distribution of the EDIS considering different sources of systemic risk associated with the correlations between bank assets inside and outside the eurozone countries, and we analyse the sensitivity of the results to bank portfolio risk. We determine the variations in the cost of insurance due to the relative risk profile of banks in the Banking Union and the loss-absorbing capacity of the contribution made by countries with the methodologies proposed by the European Banking Authority (2015). Our findings show how the interconnection between banks of different countries has an important influence on accumulated losses in the tail of the distribution, although the correlation within a country exerts a stronger effect. Both aspects must be considered in the calibration of the target level of the fund to avoid underestimating financing needs. Likewise, deterioration in the quality of bank portfolios produces a significant reduction in the fund's loss-absorbing capacity, which calls into question its soundness in times of economic recession. Finally, we assess the impact of the new contribution scheme on moral hazard and the possibility of cross-border subsidies between the countries of the Banking Union. Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Quantitative analysis is a solid, well established mathematical technique that can be used to analyze the result of survey(s) in a specific field. Survey analysis is usually based on the study of the effect of independent variables on a dependent variable. Although quantitative analysis can use an R-Squared value as a method to measure the strength of the relationship between the independent and dependent variables, it does not capture the effect of participants' ambiguity when answering questionnaires. The source of such ambiguity stems from the process of completing the survey, whereby the respondent may have answered most of the independent questions with ease, but has difficulty in responding to the overall dependent question (or vice versa). The objective of this paper is to demonstrate the use of fuzzy logic as a mechanism to measure the uncertainty faced by participants when filling a questionnaire. Based on the participants' responses to the independent variables, the proposed technique uses fuzzy logic inference to measure the subjectivity (qualitative aspect) of the participants' response to the dependent variable. Beyond quantitative analysis, augmentation with such a fuzzy module can provide clearer picture to analysts when analyzing the survey results.

El conllevar de mejor manera la gestión de los diferentes niveles de gobierno, en la cual se tenga una relación directa con la ciudadanía, originó un nuevo modelo de asumir y ejecutar competencias. La descentralización trajo consigo una distribución diferente de recursos basada en las características propias del territorio y en la equidad, pero también dejo inmerso el trabajo continuo que los Gobiernos Autónomos Descentralizados (GAD) deben realizar para fortalecer sus capacidades institucionales y financieras. De ahí la importancia del fortalecimiento de las finanzas de los GAD a través de su gestión con enfoque en sus principales ingresos propios. El análisis cuantitativo basado en los GAD municipales refiere que si bien es cierto en el periodo entre 2006–2015 los ingresos propios han incrementado y el índice de dependencia ha ido disminuyendo paulatinamente, no obstante esta disminución es corta, debido a que el índice se sitúa en 77%. Es indudable que la gestión por parte de los GAD municipales en fortalecer sus finanzas se ha traducido en un incremento de recaudación por concepto de sus principales ingresos propios, es decir, los tributos (impuesto predial, patentes y activos totales), llegando a tener una mayor representatividad en relación al producto interno bruto (PIB).

According to the reports of emergency doctors, the average time spent for one call is rather high: an average of 52–63 minutes. A quantitative analysis of the emergency calls by disease entities, which has been performed for the same reports, enables to make a conclusion that most of the calls are related to diseases of the circulatory system, arterial hypertension with crises, diseases of the respiratory, digestive and nervous system. For clarity, the authors found it necessary to reflect some of the data from the three-year qualification report for the period of 2010–2012. The legislation of Ukraine in the field of health care requires continuous improvement, along with the changes that occur in the life of the state and society, in which it is necessary to take into account the experience of the advanced countries and the accumulated data of the leading international organizations in the industry. Knowledge of the key moments of the current legislation, as well as the main international legal instruments in the field of health care enables physicians to legally protect themselves in conflict situations in their daily work and to justify their actions (or reconsider inaction) when performing job descriptions in the emergency medicine.

Even though digital technologies such as cloud technologies are prevalent in transforming businesses, the role of employees and their digital skills in the process is, to a large extent, neglected. This article brings forward the novel concept of digital literacy to explore the role of employees in understanding the wide variety of opportunities of digital technologies and their actualization. By treating digital literacy as the antecedent of cognitive behavior of employees in utilizing cloud technology at companies, we apply the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) for analyzing preliminary empirical data collected from 124 Australian employees’ technology use intentionality and behavior. The quantitative analysis shows that the TPB holds for the utilization of cloud technology and there is a positive relationship between employees' digital literacy and the utilization of cloud technology at companies. Overall, the study contributes to the technology management literature by offering a workable construct to measure the digital skills of employees in the form of digital literacy. Further, it expands the TPB framework by introducing digital literacy as a perceived behavior control variable that helps to examine the role of employees in digital transformation. The paper ends with implications and limitations of our preliminary study, followed with suggestions for future studies.

Funding: Floristic identification in plots in the RAINFOR forest monitoring network have been supported by the Natural Environment Research Council (grants NE/B503384/1, NE/ D01025X/1, NE/I02982X/1, NE/F005806/1, NE/D005590/1 and NE/I028122/1) and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. In a time of rapid global change, the question of what determines patterns in species abundance distribution remains a priority for understanding the complex dynamics of ecosystems. The constrained maximization of information entropy provides a framework for the understanding of such complex systems dynamics by a quantitative analysis of important constraints via predictions using least biased probability distributions. We apply it to over two thousand hectares of Amazonian tree inventories across seven forest types and thirteen functional traits, representing major global axes of plant strategies. Results show that constraints formed by regional relative abundances of genera explain eight times more of local relative abundances than constraints based on directional selection for specific functional traits, although the latter does show clear signals of environmental dependency. These results provide a quantitative insight by inference from large-scale data using cross-disciplinary methods, furthering our understanding of ecological dynamics. Publisher PDF

In this study, we analyzed 3.4 GB of log file data from the participation of 475 children in a CSCL environment over a period of five years. Using scripts to divide the children's commands typed into categories, we found that girls spend significantly more time than boys communicating with others in the CSCL environment. Analyzing the children's level of programming achievement, we found that gender does not affect programming performance. Regression analysis shows that performance is correlated with prior programming experience and time on task. Boys are more likely than girls to have prior programming experience, and spend more time programming on average. We contrast these quantitative findings with our qualitative observations, and conclude that quantitative analysis has an important role to play in CSCL research. These results suggest that educators wishing to increase gender equity in technical skill should focus on strategies for fostering interest among girls.

The specific objectives of this research are; 1) To find out the development of production, working capital, labor, sales volume, wage level, selling price, material costs, and profits of brick industry business actors, 2) To determine the feasibility of brick business in Banda Aceh City, and 3) To analyze strategic flexibility in the development of the brick refinery business after the COVID-19 pandemic. Descriptive and quantitative analysis was used to analyze the data, with direct observation of a research object in order to determine the condition of the business location and the characteristics of the brick business in Banda Aceh City. In order to determine whether or not the business was feasible, the business was carried out using BCR analysis calculations. Based on the results of research and discussion, it can be concluded that the development of the brick refinery business is known. The results of data analysis regarding the amount of production, labor, working capital, sales volume, wages, selling prices, raw material costs, and business profits of the brick refinery have increased every year. In contrast, in 2020-2021 there will be a decline caused by declining demand and high raw materials for brick processing. The results of the calculation of business feasibility in terms of Capital and Revenue using the BCR formula show that the capital and revenue variables have a positive effect on the feasibility of the 2017 to 2019 Brick Refinery Business or in other words that the Brick Refinery Business does not lose. It was reversed in 2020-2021 where the brick business decreased in demand but the stock became large and no significant losses were found. However, the bricks business revenue has decreased. The brick refinery business seen from the marketing aspect experienced positive developments in 2017-2019, this can be seen from the number of requests that always increase every year. It is different in 2020-2021 where the development from the marketing aspect is low, due to the pandemic and reduced development in Banda Aceh City.

Background and Objectives: The color vision evaluation of gas station workers in Isfahan City. Methods: This cross-sectional comparative study was performed on workers at gas stations in Isfahan; all the workers were men. The participants were divided into two 40-people groups of exposure and non-exposure (the members of the fuel sales department). The participants had better vision than 8/10 and no underlying problems or eye disease. Besides, examination, including color vision was performed for all subjects. Color vision was assessed using the D15 test under high to medium light conditions. Also, the color vision test was performed monocularly. Then, the obtained data were analyzed using SPSS V. 22. Results: The two study groups significantly differed in terms of color vision impairment index (P

For almost 30 years since the end of the civil war in Lebanon, signing of the Taif agreements in 1989 and the dissolution of the USSR in 1991 with the emergence of new Russia, the bilateral Russian-Lebanese relations remained partnership and friendly. They have reflected the trend of strengthening mutually beneficial cooperation. Nevertheless, Russian-Lebanese relations at the present stage (21st century) have remained partially unexplored. The article is devoted to a comprehensive study of Russian-Lebanese relations in the political, diplomatic, economic and cultural spheres; the focus is made on the 2000s. The research contains a quantitative analysis of Russian-Lebanese official contacts (2006-2020), as well as a review of the commodity structure of the countries turnover.

Multiproduct pipelines play an important role in ensuring the downstream energy supply as they transport about 70% of refined products. To guarantee the safe and stable operation of pipelines during the scheduling horizon, it is necessary to make a reasonable schedule. During the past two decades, the multiproduct pipeline scheduling problem has been widely studied in the world. In this paper, the bibliometric analysis method is adopted to conduct quantitative analysis and visual research on related literature. Then, through the review of the existing articles, the research framework of multiproduct pipeline scheduling problem is constructed. Finally, the research defects and trends are analyzed. The aim of the paper is to provide a comprehensive understanding of multiproduct pipeline scheduling as well as some directions and inspiration for the future research.

This paper revisits multiple-airport systems from a noise pollution perspective. It aims to investigate the contradictions between the ( re )development of an older airport located close to the core city, despite the existence of newer airports on the one hand and noise pollution issues on the other hand. Case studies include Tokyo, Shanghai, Paris, Milan, Houston and Rome. Quantitative analysis shows that traffic patterns are more diverse than previous classifications. The qualitative analysis highlights the factors inherent in these patterns, which include passengers' preference for shorter access/egress journeys; inconsistent public policies (older airport not closed, a lack of effective rules for distributing air traffic among airports, permissive land planning and relaxing operational restrictions); low-cost airlines’ network strategies; and high-speed rail/air service integration.

This study investigates the factors that drive the differences in regional economic development in Kazakhstan. The paper focuses on the roles of industrial composition, physical infrastructure, natural resource endowments, and human capital. The model-based quantitative analysis using rich micro-level Labor Force Survey data reveals that the structural composition is one of the essential drivers of regional convergence in the country. The findings show that nearly three-fourths of cross-region income differences can be explained by natural resources, human and physical capital, and structural composition.

Background With the growth of global imports and exports of agri-food commodities, food safety issues have received widespread attention globally. To secure public health, it is essential to develop rapid and nondestructive tools for analysis of the quality and safety of agri-food products. The emerging Raman spectroscopic techniques (RSTs) have shown noble potential on agri-foods analysis in various aspects, owing to the incomparable merits of RSTs such as fingerprint spectrum, rapid acquisition, noninvasiveness, and simple sample preparation. Scope and approach To obtain a better comprehension of employing RSTs in agri-food industry, this current review presents the fundamentals of three RSTs including spontaneous Raman spectroscopy, Raman chemical imaging, and surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy for rapid and nondestructive analysis. Recent advances in their applications for the safety and quality control of agri-food products during the last five years are outlined. Finally, challenges and future perspectives of RSTs application are discussed in depth. Key findings and conclusions RSTs have been demonstrated as effective tools for both qualitative and quantitative analysis of agri-food products. Despite the persisting limitations resulting from technical difficulties and complexity of the food sample matrix, the continuous developments in Raman systems, nanomaterials, and spectral analysis algorithms will promote these technologies from laboratory to industry.

Problem and goal. The active introduction of e-learning and distance learning technologies in the educational process, the reform of traditional models of learning and education have become priority areas of reforms and initiatives in various national education systems in the 21st century. Given that public spending is the main source of funding for education in the OECD countries, assessing the economic impact of implementing a digital educational environment at different levels of education under pressure on public budgets has become a key issue for national governments and educational organizations, as well as the subject of special research. In Russian practice assessment of the economic effect of the full-scale use of e-learning and distance learning technologies in the implementation of educational programs of secondary professional (training of middle-level specialists) and higher education have not yet been carried out. For these purposes, a methodology has been developed, which, however, needs to be tested. Results. The study identified a list of costs required to ensure the full use of e-learning and distance educational technologies in realization of educational programs of secondary vocational (training of mid-level professionals) and higher (including graduate school) education; the methodlogy for assessing the economic effect of these measures is justified, and calculations are made based on this methodology. Conclusion. The developed methodology has shown its effectiveness and needs further research and quantitative analysis.

PurposeThis study aims to explore and understand consumers' perceptions and behaviour towards pyjamas in the People's Republic of China (China).Design/methodology/approachA quantitative analysis and comparative methods were used for this study. From a large body of literature, seven product attributes were identified and used to measure and evaluate what constitutes consumers' purchasing decision for pyjamas. A total of 203 usable surveys were compiled, analyzed and collated.FindingsThis study shows evidence that consumers are more conscious of the functional values of a low‐involvement product than the symbolic values. The results of this survey indicate that comfort, fabric and quality are significant attributes, whereas country‐of‐origin and brand are relatively insignificant determinants for purchasing a pair of pyjamas.Research limitations/implicationsLimitations of this study include the use of a convenience sample of female college students and confinement to a specific product – pyjamas. The results of this study are useful for fashion designers and marketers to understand Chinese consumers' perceptions of pyjamas.Originality/valueThis study is one of the few consumer research studies on a low‐involvement and privately consumed apparel product – pyjamas. The findings of this study provide insight and implications for fashion practitioners to develop their product and business in China.

Emergency management of coal mines requires enhanced synergy among departments, institutions, and enterprises, which means overall efficiency in management. Their synergy can effectively lower the cost of emergency management, improve the effectiveness of it, and build a strong joint force for the prevention and control of emergencies. Accordingly, this study established a synergy system for regional coal mine emergency management and analyzed the interest relationship among key stakeholders in the system. Then, it established differential game models of the management synergy, explored the selection process of the behavior strategy of each stakeholder under different situations, and provided important tools for quantitative analysis on emergency management synergy practice. Furthermore, numerical simulation was carried out to analyze the influencing factors of their decision behaviors. The research results are of great significance for the comprehension of the evolution mechanism for the emergency management synergy of coal mines, the assistance for the government in determining the optimal method in emergency management synergy, the mobilization of the stakeholders, and the improvement of the current situation of emergency management synergy of coal mines in China.

The study’s aim is analyzing the influence of management of customer relationship and brand image on loyalty by way of decision to stay. Population of this study was guests who stayed more than twice at Santika Taman Mini Hotel. The sampling technique uses purposive sampling to obtain 243 respondents. The method of data analysis is quantitative descriptive. The quantitative analysis is done by the use of SEM (Structural Equation Modeling). The results of this research indicate that customer relationship management has a significant which gives influence on stay decision , brand image has got influence which is significant on decision to stay, customer relationship management has a significant influence on loyalty, brand image has a significant influence on loyalty, decision to stayhas a significant on loyalty, customer relationship management has an influence that is indirect on loyalty through decision to stay, and brand image has an indirect influence on loyalty through decision to stay.

The importance of (physical) security is increasingly acknowledged by society and the scientific community. In light of increasing terrorist threat levels, numerous security assessments of critical infrastructures are conducted in practice and researchers propose new approaches continuously. While practical security risk assessments (SRA) use mostly qualitative methods, most of the lately proposed approaches are based on quantitative metrics. Due to little evidence of actual attacks, both qualitative and quantitative approaches suffer from the fundamental problem of inherent uncertainties regarding threats and capabilities of security measures as a result from vague data or the usage of expert knowledge. In quantitative analysis, such uncertainties may be represented by, e.g., probability distributions to reflect the knowledge on security measure performance available. This paper focuses on the impact of these uncertainties in security assessment and their consideration in system design. We show this influence by comparing the results of a scalar evaluation that does not take into account uncertainties and another evaluation based on distributed input values. In addition, we show that the influence is concentrated on certain barriers of the security system. Specifically, we discuss the robustness of the system by conducting quantitative vulnerability assessment as part of the SRA process of an airport structure example. Based on these results, we propose the concept of a security margin. This concept accounts for the uncertain knowledge of the input parameters in the design of the security system and minimizes the influence of these uncertainties on the actual system performance. We show how this approach can be used for vulnerability assessment by applying it to the initially assessed configuration of the airport structure. The results of this case study support our assumptions that the security margin can help in targeted uncertainty consideration leading to reduced system vulnerability.

Introducción Amelia SANZ CABRERIZO

In the social sciences, a theoretical analysis has predominated in its research. The scarcity of data and its difficulty in collecting and storing it, has been the main limitation for the social sciences to adopt quantitative approaches. However, the large amount of information generated in recent years, mainly through the use of the Internet, has allowed the social sciences to include more and more quantitative analysis. This study proposes the use of technologies such as Machine Learning (ML) are the answers to solving this data scarcity. The objective is to estimate the multidimensional poverty index at the personal level in a particular territory of Ecuador by using Machine Learning (ML) regression models based on a limited amount of data for training. Ten ML models are compared, such as linear, regularized, and assembled models and Random Forest performs outstandingly against the other models. An error of 7.5% was obtained in the cross-validation and 7.48% with the test data set. The estimates are compared with statistical approximations of the MPI in a geographical area and it is obtained that the average MPI estimated by the model compared to the average reported by the statistical studies differs by 1%.

Haidilao has created a model for China's catering service industry. From corporate management to brand building, it embodies its indelible emotional marketing. This article analyzes the development of Haidilao and investigates the methods for how to satisfy the customers. This research captures the detailed behavior of Haidilao to keep more customers participation. Then, this study establishes the SWOT model to Haidilao and giving insights about Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. This article also introduces the most opportunity for this firm is that with the development of society, China's economy has developed rapidly. This would bring many new urban people and mobile people emerging and catering industry products. In the future, more quantitative analysis will be conducted for the company's business development.

My country’s current research on the influencing factors of total factor productivity has problems such as single evaluation method, low efficiency, and poor overall level in terms of evaluation methods and evaluation efficiency. Based on this, this study divides the financial structure into three traditional sections, banking, securities, and insurance, and uses the DEA model to study the temporal and spatial differences of the financial structure’s influence on the total factor productivity of the four major political and economic regions of China’s eastern, western, central, and northeastern China. First, establish a DEA model based on data mining algorithms, combine financial data comparisons over the years, to achieve a quantitative analysis of the financial structure’s impact on China’s total factor productivity, calculate financial efficiency, and then combine the DEA analysis data model with the grey correlation method. Analyze its internal influence rules, and design experiments for model verification analysis. The results show that the DEA analysis model can realize 8 iterations of data on the impact of financial structure on China’s total factor productivity, and its evaluation accuracy can reach more than 96.2%.

Purpose This study aims to explore how to deanonymize cryptocurrency money launderers with the help of machine learning (ML). Money is laundered through cryptocurrencies by distributing funds to multiple accounts and then reexchanging the crypto back. This process of exchanging currencies is done through cryptocurrency exchanges. Current preventive efforts are outdated, and ML may provide novel ways to identify illicit currency movements. Hence, this study investigates ML applicability for combatting money laundering activities using cryptocurrency. Design/methodology/approach Four supervised-learning algorithms were compared using the Bitcoin Elliptic Dataset. The method covered a quantitative analysis of the algorithmic performance, capturing differences in three key evaluation metrics of F1-scores, precision and recall. Two complementary qualitative interviews were performed at cryptocurrency exchanges to identify fit and applicability of the algorithms. Findings The study results show that the current implemented ML tools for preventing money laundering at cryptocurrency exchanges are all too slow and need to be optimized for the task. The results also show that while not one single algorithm is most suitable for detecting transactions related to money-laundering, the specific applicability of the decision tree algorithm is most suitable for adoption by cryptocurrency exchanges. Originality/value Given the growth of cryptocurrency use, this study explores the newly developed field of algorithmic tools to combat illicit currency movement, in particular in the growing arena of cryptocurrencies. The study results provide new insights into the applicability of ML as a tool to combat money laundering using cryptocurrency exchanges.

Kano’s model is very effective in classifying different customer requirements into different categories considering their impact on customer satisfaction. Since the analysis of the Kano’s model is ...

Ethiopia is one of the largest bamboo resource bases in Africa. However, a dearth of reliable data on bamboo resources has impeded the proper management of bamboo forests and limited their potential in providing more socio-economic and environmental benefits. Therefore, the objective of this study was to examine the socio-economic importance of O. abyssinica in the Lower Beles River Basin, north-western Ethiopia. Datasets were collected from both primary and secondary sources. A combination of techniques: descriptive statistics and qualitative analysis, was employed for data analysis. The results showed that a total of 10 services were identified as important socio-economic uses of bamboo. Bamboo as construction material, traditional furniture, income, food, and medicine were the top five uses of bamboo as perceived by respondents and confirmed through quantitative analysis. Differences in views among respondents of different ethnic backgrounds concerning some socio-economic uses of bamboo, namely food, medicine, and musical instruments, were statistically significant. Despite the wide range of services bamboo provides, the management practice is so unsustainable and rudimentary, which impedes the sustainability of the resource and livelihood of people relying on it. Therefore, concerned bodies should provide the priority attention that the resource deserves to curve the unsustainability spiral as well as properly utilize and conserve the bamboo resource.

Purpose This study aims to investigate the relevance of knowledge-oriented leadership (KOL) to technology standard innovation (TSI) from a temporary-team perspective. The mediating and moderating effect on knowledge integration (KI) and leader–member exchange (LMX) is emphasized. Design/methodology/approach The conceptual model is built based on an exhaustive literature review and is empirically tested in terms of a sample of 341 Chinese individuals with TSI experience. Quantitative analysis was performed using a questionnaire with the bootstrapping method used to demonstrate the mediating effect of KI. Findings The empirical results of this study prove that KI mediates the relationship between KOL and TSI. The authors deduce that LMX moderates the positive relation between KOL and KI. Originality/value Few studies have investigated the innovation activities of technology standards from a temporary-team perspective. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to look into the underlying mechanism of KOL in TSI. This research deepens the analysis by introducing LMX’s moderating role in the innovation process of technology standards, thereby providing valuable insights for leaders of innovation activities of technology standards and illuminating new aspects of knowledge-intensive temporary-team management.

Road network conditions and road quality are directly linked with the performance of an entire infrastructure system. As sensor monitoring of road deteriorations has rapidly increased, road infrastructure performance can now be assessed using multiple measures. However, more effective and accurate quantitative analysis methods are increasingly required. This research explores road infrastructure performance using road deterioration network data in the Mid West Gascoyne region, Australia. A spatial heterogeneity-based segmentation (SHS) model is developed for redefining road segments across the network in terms of sensor monitoring data, and for both project-level and network-level infrastructure systems management. To evaluate the model effectiveness and accuracy, an evaluation system is proposed from four aspects: segment number, homogeneity within segments, heterogeneity among segments, and segment morphology. The SHS model is compared with two widely used road network segmentation methods. The results show that the SHS model can use fewer segments to ensure higher homogeneity within segments and heterogeneity among segments across the network. Meanwhile, the segment lengths are more uniformly distributed as compared with results from other methods. The developed model and findings from this research can significantly improve the utilization of sensor monitoring network data and support multi-scale infrastructure systems management.

The article presents the results of a quantitative analysis of the connection between the intertemporal changes in the performance of industries, or types of economic activities, and in consolidated macroeconomic indicators in Russia’s economy in 1995–2016. The presence of a cyclical factor is established in the connection between the changes in individual types of economic activities and macroeconomic indicators in this period. A possibility of using a special class of time functions (based on the Fourier transform) for modeling economic dynamics at the level of individual types of activities is analyzed.

The article explores a possible reason for the consistent dominance in the EU energy space of one energy policy priority, environment, when a more balanced policy would be expected, according to the classical energy trilemma. Stemming from a policy dynamics theoretical background, the sensitivity of EU policymakers to external factors is quantitatively tested by comparing legislative output against key relevant indicators, such as the public opinion and air pollutants emissions. The study encapsulates the last three decades, across all the three energy pillars of the energy trilemma, plus a fourth, internal energy market. The investigation converts into ordinal values data from selected indicators so as to create comparable scales. Results show that, unlike other energy pillars, which display strong connections between external factors and legislative output, environment legislation is rather indifferent to external factors pressure. Possible explanations are incorrect policy calibration or internal factors, originating in the rational choice realm. This research is one of the first to introduce comparative assessments in the Environmental Policy Integration discussion and employs in novel ways research methods for energy policy analysis emerged in the field of energy security policies.Keywords: electricity policy; policy dynamics; quantitative analysis; classical energy trilemmaJEL Classifications: F530; Q480DOI: https://doi.org/10.32479/ijeep.11630

This paper innovatively applies fuzzy comprehensive evaluation (FCE) method with analytic hierarchy process methodology (AHP) to quantitatively explore the academic value of literature about model predictive control (MPC) as energy management strategy (EMS) for hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs). Among that, Date of publication, Journal Impact Factor, Journal Cite Score and Times Cited are considered as evaluation factors of literature. Then classifications of MPC framework from six perspectives, such as hybrid types and working scenarios, prediction method, cost function, MPC solver and benchmark EMSs in the comparison, are proposed for the first time. The quantitative academic value of literature is reversely assigned to each perspective of MPC with the aid of above method and further study like benefits and limitations of each method. Finally, the academic contribution of method in each perspective is also obtained to objectively analyze future development trend of kinds of method in MPC framework. This paper can not only provide a new method to summarize and analyze the literature about works of interested area, but also supply a comprehensive and detailly view for relevant scholars with the effective suggestions.

The objective of European Works Councils (EWCs) is to provide employees in multinational companies with information on transnational issues, and with the opportunity to voice their opinions, in order to influence managerial decision-making. Few, however, reach that goal. This article therefore asks the question: Why? What factors explain whether or not an EWC is able to reach its goals? Building on previously established models and using large-scale survey analysis, this article largely confirms the importance of factors related to management structure and policy, employee-side organisation and interaction with management. As several of the main determinants relate directly or indirectly to managerial agency, the study discusses alternative ways to improve EWC functioning by focusing on the role of management.

The inherent financial and reputational risks in companies’ tax avoidance practices should be of great concern to members of the board of directors. However, studies on the relationship between the board’s attributes and corporate tax avoidance have documented mixed findings. Since these studies are predominantly quantitative, the present study uses a qualitative strand in providing explanations to the mixed findings in addition to the quantitative strand. The quantitative data came from the annual reports of the top 100 Malaysian companies based on FTSE tradable index. The panel data were analysed using the system Generalized Methods of Moment (GMM). The findings were used to develop a semi-structured instrument for further qualitative inquiry through personal interview sessions with ten tax auditors of the Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia (IRBM). The quantitative analysis shows board effectiveness to be negatively related to corporate tax avoidance. However, board independence and board members’ financial literacy were not. The analysis of the interview responses shows that the members of the board have little influence on the choice of the company’s tax management strategy. These findings should be understood within the limitations of study focusing on large companies; the timeframe of the three-year financial period and use of the views of the tax auditors instead of the views of the directors. Nevertheless, the findings are relevant for the revision of the guidelines on the appointment and oversight roles of directors in the Malaysian Codes of Corporate Governance (MCCG). Key words: Board attributes, corporate governance, corporate taxation, corporate tax avoidance, generalized methods of moment, Malaysia.

In this study we conducted component analyses of portable XRF detectors using four Au-Cu alloy standard samples to improve their accuracy by drawing up a calibration curve based on ICP-OES standard values. The portable XRF analysis found absolute errors of 0.3 to 3.7 wt% for Au and 0.2 to 8.2 wt% for Cu, confirming that the error range and standard deviation differed from one detector to another. Furthermore, the calibration curve improved their accuracy, such that the relative error rates of Au and Cu decreased from 9.8% and 14% to 3.5% and 3.7%, respectively. Accordingly, an experiment to confirm the calibration curve was conducted using unknown samples, finding that the measured values of the unknown samples fell on the calibration curve. Therefore, to accurately analyze the components of metal cultural heritage items, it is necessary to prepare a calibration curve for each element after checking whether the detector is suitable for the artifact.

Existing studies on the information technology (IT) usage of firms are constrained within the perspective of “IT tool” or “IT investment.” Few studies have analyzed the IT usage of firms from a new perspective. This study aims to fill this gap by examining the impact of IT usage on the innovation performance of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from the perspective of the product value chain (PVC). A research model integrating IT usage width, IT usage frequency, manufacturing flexibility, human capital quality, and firm innovation performance was proposed for this analysis. Furthermore, a quantitative analysis was performed on a sample of more than 1300 Chinese manufacturing firms using the newest data provided by the World Bank. Results validate that IT usage width and IT usage frequency have a significantly positive impact on the innovation performance of SMEs. Manufacturing flexibility plays a partially mediating role between IT usage frequency and the innovation performance of SMEs. Moreover, human capital quality has a significantly positive moderating effect on IT usage width and the innovation performance of SMEs. IT usage width and IT usage frequency appear to be important predictors of the innovation performance of SMEs, whereas there are substantial differences in the influencing mechanism of IT usage width and IT usage frequency on the innovation performance of SMEs.

Scholarly resources, just like any other resources on the web, are subject to reference rot as they frequently disappear or significantly change over time. Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) are commonplace to persistently identify scholarly resources and have become the de facto standard for citing them. This paper is an extended version of work previously published in the proceedings of the 2020 International Conference on Theory and Practice of Digital Libraries (TPDL). We investigate the notion of persistence of DOIs by conducting a series of experiments to analyze a DOI’s resolution on the web, with this work presenting a set of novel investigations to expand on our previous work. We derive confidence in the persistence of these identifiers in part from the assumption that dereferencing a DOI will consistently return the same response, regardless of which HTTP request method we use or from which network environment we send the requests. Our experiments show, however, that persistence, according to our interpretation, is not warranted. We find that scholarly content providers respond differently to varying request methods and network environments, change their response to requests against the same DOI, and even return inconsistent results over a period of time. We present the results of our quantitative analysis that is aimed at informing the scholarly communication community about this disconcerting lack of consistency.

The aim of the paper is to analyze if and in which way the national culture acts as a driver toward the implementation of corporate environmental strategy. An environmental proactive strategy seeks to reduce environmental impact and manage the interface between business and the nature beyond imposed compliance. It is recognized that the introduction of environmental protection can be used to develop successful strategy to reach a competitive advantage. The Organization and the natural environment literature identify several drivers able to push toward ecological engagement. One of the most important is the ethical attitude of organizations. Ethics could vary among different organizations because of different circumstance; in particular ethical values are strictly embedded to culture. The most of literature focused the analysis on the broader issue of Corporate Social Responsibility, analyzing the effect of national culture on Corporate Social Performance. Conversely, only few studies have analyzed the relationship that occurs between the national culture and the environmental proactivity, employing national environmental indicator rather than firms’ performance scores. Previous studies, which used Hofstede's framework, have found out that the national culture is able to influence the overall national environmental performances, missing to analyze cultural impact on company’s environmental behaviour. Does the national culture influence the company’s attitude to implement a proactive environmental strategy? Which cultural dimension is able to represent this pressure? The study is based on a quantitative analysis aimed at statistically measuring how national culture could influence corporate environmental proactivity, measured using the CDP Global 500 report.

Rural areas in Northwest China have always been the main concentration of poverty-stricken people in China. In 1986, China listed 665 poor counties (mostly in the northwest), and successively launched the actions of “Volunteer Teaching in Western China” and “Great Development of Western China” to help underdeveloped areas get rid of poverty. At present, the number of poor counties has been reduced to 52. In 2014, the Chinese government proposed to comprehensively improve the rural living environment by 2020. Through in-depth investigation and visit to 11 districts (counties) of Yulin City, Shaanxi Province, China, this study puts forward a set of index system suitable for evaluating the human settlements in underdeveloped rural areas and constructs a comprehensive evaluation model by using a variety of mathematical methods. Using the combination of accurate evaluation and fuzzy comprehensive evaluation, this paper makes a horizontal evaluation on the residential environment of each district (county) in Yulin City, and a dynamic evaluation on the overall development level of livable environment in Yulin City in recent 9 years. Finally, using qualitative and quantitative analysis methods, this paper discusses the shortcomings, available advantages and development prospects in the construction of human settlements in Yulin City, and concludes that the key to improving rural human settlements is to develop township enterprises. This study is an empirical analysis of the government’s long-term poverty alleviation effect, summarizes experience and finds out existing problems, so as to provide basis and reference for the government’s poverty alleviation in future.

Measuring, analyzing, and evaluating social, environmental, and economic impact is crucial to aligning the sustainable development strategies of international organizations, governments, and businesses. In this sense, society has been a determining factor exerting pressure for urgent solutions. The main objective of this paper is to provide an exhaustive analysis of the literature about the tools for measuring social impact and their evolution over the last 50 years. The search was conducted in the main academic databases (Scopus and Web of Science), where 924 articles were found from 1969 to 2020 related to the topic. The results of the quantitative analysis show that 71% of the publications were in the last ten years and the most productive countries were the USA and the United Kingdom. The relational analysis identifies 4 large clusters that fragment the literature into different subfields. The most used keywords are linked to the term "Social" in measurement methods, new concepts, and participants. This article contributes to the literature by giving the researcher an insight into the current state of art, trends, categories within the field, and future lines of research.

Path Planning problems with Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are among the most studied knowledge areas in the related literature. However, few of them have been applied to groups of UAVs. The use of swarms allows to speed up the flight time and, thus, reducing the operational costs. When combined with Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithms, a single system or operator can control all aircraft while optimal paths for each one can be computed. In order to introduce the current situation of these AI-based systems, a review of the most novel and relevant articles was carried out. This review was performed in two steps: first, a summary of the found articles; second, a quantitative analysis of the publications found based on different factors, such as the temporal evolution or the number of articles found based on different criteria. Therefore, this review provides not only a summary of the most recent work but it gives an overview of the trend in the use of AI algorithms in UAV swarms for Path Planning problems. The AI techniques of the articles found can be separated into four main groups based on their technique: reinforcement Learning techniques, Evolutive Computing techniques, Swarm Intelligence techniques, and, Graph Neural Networks. The final results show an increase in publications in recent years and that there is a change in the predominance of the most widely used techniques.