1,720,964 research outputs found
Performance measurement in UK universities : bringing in the stakeholders' perspectives using data envelopment analysis
Get PDFThis thesis is about performance measurement in higher education. It brings in
different stakeholders' perspectives on performance measurement, in UK universities
using data envelopment analysis. The introduction gives the background of the higher
education sector in the UK at present and its history. It introduces the drive for
performance measurement in higher education, and the motivation for the dissertation.
The method data envelopment analysis is then described.
The traditional use of performance indicators and peer assessment is reviewed and
the use of DEA, instead of parametric techniques, is justified. The opportunity to use
DEA in a somewhat different way than previously is identified.
The novel proposed framework integrates in the same analysis the perspectives of
three different levels of stakeholders. Firstly, the perspective of the applicant in the
process of choosing a university to apply to; secondly, the perspective of the State that
funds and evaluates university performance; and finally the institutional perspective. In
the applicant's perspective, the use of DEA in university selection is compared to
existing methods. The new approach devised recognises the different values of students
and is empirically tested in a case study at a comprehensive school. This chapter clearly
deals with a choice problem, and the link with MCDM is first approached. Finally, a
comprehensive decision support system that includes DEA for university selection is
arrived at.
Then the relationship between the State and higher education over time is described,
the current operational model explained and the future trends outlined. In order to
measure performance, according to the mission and objectives of the state/ funding
councils, a review of their three main remits is undertaken. The contribution of DEA to
inform the State/ funding councils in their remit is then discussed. The problem of
taking account of subject mix factor in the measurement of performance is dealt with,
by linking the input/ output divide by means of virtual weights restrictions.
It is shown how institutions can turn performance measurement to their own benefit,
by using it as a formative exercise to understand the different expectations of them, by
the two previous external evaluations. A methodology for institutional performance
management is proposed that takes into account the external/ internal interfaces: the
applicant/ institution, and state/ institution interfaces. The methodology is illustrated
with an application to the University of Warwick.
Virtual weights restrictions are widely used in this thesis, a reflection on its uses is
offered. The reasons for mainly using virtual weights restrictions instead of absolute
weights restrictions are explained. The use of proportional weights restrictions is
reviewed, and the reasons for using simple virtual weights and virtual assurance regions
in this thesis is ascertained. Alternatives to using virtual weights restrictions are
considered, namely using absolute weights restrictions with a virtual meaning. The
relationship between DEA and MCDM in this domain is elaborated upon.
Several conclusions are arrived at and novel contributions are made to the
knowledge of the subject treated: the importance of bringing in the perspectives of
different stakeholders in an integrated approach; the contribution of DEA in choice
problems; handling subject mix by means of virtual assurance regions; data availability
policy is found to be inadequate; a more appropriate way of comparing departments
within a university; and the superiority of virtual assurance regions to represent
preference structures and link the input-output divide
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Get PDF“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Get PDFWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Cognitive mapping and problem structuring for system dynamics model building
No full textThis chapter discusses an approach to problem structuring that seeks to recognize the significance of multiple perspectives and the richness they provide in generating politically feasible ways of resolving problems. In particular, the method—cognitive mapping and an associated computer-based group support system—is related to the early stages of modeling situations that are characterized by feedback dynamics. Thus, the method is argued to be particularly suitable as a visual interactive modeling method, which is mutually supportive of visual interactive system dynamics modeling methods
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Get PDFWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
koamabayili/VECTRON-author-checklist: VECTRON author checklist
No full textWe have done our best to complete the author checklist relating to the use of animals in the hut study. Note that the objective for the hut study was to evaluate the IRS treatment applications for residual efficacy against Anopheles mosquitoes, including the local An. coluzzii mosquito population. Cows were only used to attract mosquitoes into the huts and no tests were carried out directly on the cows. The author checklist is intended for use with studies where experiments are carried out on animals, which is why we have had such difficulty in completing this for the hut study, as many of the questions do not relate to how the cows were used
Author-wise bibliometric analysis based on entropy.
No full textAuthor-wise bibliometric analysis based on entropy.</p
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