ALBERT

Description: This paper explores the benefits organizations perceive that they have attained by their ISO 20000 service management system standard certification. The paper proposes a classification of benefits and tests the relationship between that classification and general satisfaction with the standard. The study is based on 105 responses to ISO-20000-certified organisations survey in Spain. After a descriptive analysis of the sample, a structural equation model is designed to test the hypotheses presented. According to the model, ISO 20000 benefits can be divided into those which are internal and those which are external. The variables that best define each type are identified. Moreover, those benefits are shown to be related to general satisfaction with ISO 20000 certification. The findings can be extended to other IT service management standards such as ITIL.

Description: Boron (B) is an essential micronutrient needed for normal plant growth and development. To evaluate the response of corn to foliar B applications at V4–V6 (4–6 leaves with visible collars) and VT (tasseling) growth stages on fine textured soils, a field experiment was conducted at four sites from 2008 to 2010 in Northeast Missouri. The treatments included a non-treated control; V4–V6 applied B at 0.56, 1.12 and 2.24 kg·ha−1; and VT applied B at 0.28, 0.56 and 1.12 kg·ha−1. Foliar B, applied at V4–V6 at 2.24 kg·ha−1, resulted in higher yields than VT applications. No significant differences in yield were found for B applications at different timings for concentrations of 0.56 and 1.12 kg·ha−1. Boron applied at V4–V6 and 2.24 kg·ha−1 increased yield 0.29 Mg·ha−1 compared to the non-treated control. The B applications at VT increased ear leaf tissue B concentration compared to V4–V6 applications and non-treated control, but it had no significant effect on corn yields. No significant difference between B treatments was observed for grain oil, protein, starch or extractable starch concentration; severity of anthracnose stalk rot or common rust; and ear tip fill. The B application of 2.24 kg·ha−1 at V4–V6 decreased the severity of gray leaf spot, but increased the severity of northern leaf blight compared to the non-treated control. Boron applied at V4–V6 at 2.24 kg·ha−1 was the most beneficial timing and concentration evaluated in these fine textured soils.

Description: Background: In the day surgery system are intertwined elements of state health policy, health care payers’ interests, employers of health care system, as well as the interests and wishes of patients. A problem in the health policy is to find a way to regulate ambulatory and short-term surgical procedures, which are hardly distinguishable, and still fulfil the requirements of transparent financing, quality and security. The objective of this paper is to highlight the reasons for the long-term stagnation in Slovakia day surgery and the possibilities of eliminating the structural drivers causing this negative phenomenon. Methods: Due to the nature of the analyzed data and desired outcomes, we selected application of correspondence analysis. Results of correspondence analysis provide valuable information necessary for the projection of specialization of one day surgery clinics for that type of procedure, as well as for the support of the new clinics creation (also with the potential state support), the pricing policy, systemic reduction of beds what is connected with reduction of underutilized departments in hospitals, in order to optimize management processes in the healthcare system. Results: Contribution reveals negative aspects which causing a low level of day surgery in Slovakia. Moreover, it reveals the approaches of the different subjects of day surgery. Presented options for setting optimal strategy supporting its development are based on the results of the analysis. Correspondence analysis provided valuable information of present structure of the day surgery system. The determined similarity of the regions and association of specialized fields indicate specific settings of the day surgery system and its components that are inevitable to analyze in the subsequent analytical process. Conclusions: Results of the analysis are very important in order to set up the system measures in the process of its further development, which should be part of the strategic plan of each health system. On conceptual and methodological issues related with reporting of day surgery performances are highlighting international organizations such as the OECD,WHO.JEL classificationI13, I18, H51

Description: This study extends previous literature on the association between Confucianism and corporate decisions by examining Confucianism’s influence on board gender diversity. Using a sample of Chinese listed firms during the period of 2001–2011 and geographic-proximity-based Confucianism variables, I provide strong and consistent evidence to show that Confucianism is significantly negatively associated with board gender diversity, suggesting that the proportion of women directors in the boardroom is significantly lower for firms surrounded by strong Confucianism atmosphere than for firms located in regions with weak Confucianism atmosphere. This finding also implies that Confucian philosophical system has important impacts on business ethics and women’s status in corporate governance. Moreover, GDP per capita, the proxy for economic development level in a province in which a firm is located, attenuates the negative association between Confucianism and board gender diversity. Above results are robust to different measures of Confucianism and board gender diversity and are still valid after controlling for the potential endogeneity between Confucianism and board gender diversity.

Description: Globalization is multifaceted and involves the interaction among businesses, services, governments, and societies beyond national borders. As a result, the flow of foreign direct investment (FDI), international trade in goods and services, and the economic interdependence of the nations of the world have been increasing. At the same time, much attention has been paid to the effect of corruption prevalent within many cultures and societies, and its impact on the economies, especially developing economies. This paper examines the relationship between human capital investment, the level of national corruption, and the global economic integration (GEI) of a nation in developing countries. Based on the data collected from over 60 countries, and building on the FDI and human capital theories, it was found that human capital investment and corruption are related to GEI. It was also found that the level of corruption moderates the relationship between human capital investment and GEI of developing economies. The findings of the study can help to deepen our understanding of GEI and have practical implications for developing countries in terms developing human capital, which plays a critical role in today’s knowledge-based economy.

Description: Linear programming (LP)-based relaxations have proven to be useful in enumerative solution procedures for \(\mathbf {NP}\) -hard min–sum scheduling problems. We take a dual viewpoint of the time-indexed integer linear programming (ILP) formulation for these problems. Previously proposed Lagrangian relaxation methods and a time decomposition method are interpreted and synthesized under this view. Our new results aim to find optimal or near-optimal dual solutions to the LP relaxation of the time-indexed formulation, as recent advancements made in solving this ILP problem indicate the utility of dual information. Specifically, we develop a procedure to compute optimal dual solutions using the solution information from Dantzig–Wolfe decomposition and column generation methods, whose solutions are generally nonbasic. As a byproduct, we also obtain, in some sense, a crossover method that produces optimal basic primal solutions. Furthermore, the dual view naturally leads us to propose a new polynomial-sized relaxation that is applicable to both integer and real-valued problems. The obtained dual solutions are incorporated in branch-and-bound for solving the total weighted tardiness scheduling problem, and their efficacy is evaluated and compared through computational experiments involving test problems from OR-Library.