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Research indicates that resource redeployment and asset divestiture occurring in horizontal integration can make a significant contribution to acquisition performance. Studies were based on 253 horizontal acquisitions and mergers between 1988 and 1992 in the US and European manufacturing industries.

Vanishing point detection algorithms based on a Gaussian sphere representation have been employed in a variety of computer vision systems, for extracting 3D line orientations as a first step towards object detection. Typically, these algorithms have been applied to imagery with strong perspective effects and with little noise or texture, resulting in good solutions for line orientations. However, these algorithms can fail if perspective effects are weak, or if texture edges are predominant; they also fail to take advantage of knowledge about the objects to be detected. In this paper, two new techniques for robust vanishing point detection on the Gaussian sphere are presented; primitive-based vanishing point analysis and interpretation plane error modeling. The performance of these methods, along with two other existing methods from the literature, are quantitatively evaluated and compared for the task of building detection in complex aerial imagery. Index Terms - Object recognition, shape representation, vanishing points, photogrammetry, building detection, cartographic feature extraction, performance evaluation.

The evaluation of information systems is often conducted using performance measures developed by the system designers. Still, other categories of measures exist, including those that match the system to the desires of the user, the climate of the organization, and the decision quality. This study looks at the importance to the user of different evaluation categories for three system types. Findings indicate that users value decision quality characteristics for systems intended to support the decision process, but otherwise lean toward using performance measures. These results argue in favor of user evaluation for certain system types.

'Contractors,' sometimes called 'job shoppers,' are temporary workers from an agency 'A' who perform professional work at client site 'B' under the direction of the client's employees. The authors surveyed 96 managers in six high-technology settings about their overall perceptions of contractor performance, finding that respondents perceived it to rival that of comparable employees. Such perceptions of contractor performance were unaffected by the amount of time the contractor spent in the client workgroup. Also, perceived overall contractor performance was unaffected both by aggregated client measures against coemploymeat risk and by existence of a forced-departure rule. Index Terms - Contingent labor, contingent worker, contractor, flexible firm, flexible staffing, independent contractor, job shopper, temporary help.

Continuous improvements in insulating materials, manufacturing consistencies in sealed windings, and extensive laboratory testing of various systems show that synchronous machines with NEMA II construction can replace totally enclosed machines. Tests on windings in corrosive atmosphere show that sealed insulation systems are impervious to the environment. Standard maintenance ensures that incendive arcing will not be generated in potentially hazardous environments. When compared to totally enclosed machines, the NEMA II-type construction is lighter, more efficient, has lower short-circuit current and associated torques, and is easier to maintain. Index Terms - Corrosive and harsh environments, electrical tracking, enclosures, formette, sealed windings.

Based on social cognitive theory (Bandura, 1986) and the model of performance expectations, anxiety, and performance developed by Krane, Williams, and Feltz (1992), this study further explored the relationships among anxiety, performance expectations, and athletic performance. Male and female collegiate volleyball players completed the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 immediately prior to and after each of three matches during a competitive tournament. This design allowed for the use of path analytical techniques to investigate the impact of precompetitive affect on performance as well as the impact of performance on postcompetitive and succeeding affect. Cognitive anxiety in females and males was the best predictor of state confidence (one measure of performance expectations), yet state confidence did not directly predict performance. Performance in immediately preceding matches indirectly influenced confidence, with cognitive anxiety as the mediating variable for females and males. Further, previous performance and perceived likelihood of team success predicted state cognitive and somatic anxiety for males and females. Previous performance was the most consistent predictor of subsequent male performance while there was no consistent pattern predicting female performance., Previous studies have investigated the relationships among performance expectations, anxiety and athletic performance with varied results (e.g., Martens, Burton, Vealey, Bump, & Smith, 1990; Gould, Petlichkoff, & Weinberg, 1984; Krane [...]

The memory-reconfiguration problem, encountered while repairing clustered faults of arrays with a programmable assignment of spare rows and columns to faulty ones, has been evaluated under a probabilistic quadrat-based fault model. The quadrat reconfiguration clustered fault algorithm (QRCF) repairs large fault clusters without holes exactly in polynomial time. It also scores over the approximation and optimal algorithms in execution-time and performance. The comparative performances of the various algorithms based on detailed simulation results are presented.

This paper compares data envelopment analysis (DEA) and ratio analysis as alternative tools for assessing the performance of organisational units such as bank branches and schools. Such units typically use one or more resources to secure one or more outputs, the inputs and/or outputs being possibly incommensurate. The assessment of District Health Authorities in England on the provision of perinatal care is used as a vehicle for comparing the two methods. The comparison focuses on how well the two methods agree on the performance of a unit relative to that of other units, and on the estimates of targets each method provides for improving the performance of units. It is found that provided the performance indicators capture all variables used in the DEA assessment the two methods agree reasonably closely on the performance of the units as a whole, though this depends on the way the performance indicators are combined into a summary figure of performance. The two methods can disagree substantially on the relative performance of individual units. Ratio analysis, unlike DEA, is not found to be suitable for setting targets so that units can become more efficient. This is mainly due to the fact that DEA takes simultaneous account of all resources and outputs in assessing performance while ratio analysis relates only one resource to one output at a time. However, the two methods can support each other if used jointly. Ratios do provide useful information on the performance of a unit on specific aspects and they can support the communication of DEA results to non-specialists when the two methods agree on performance. Key words - DEA, performance measurement, efficiency, health service, ratio analysis

A performance analysis of techniques used for identifying the angles of arrival of plane waves on a narrowband array of sensors shows that the multiple signal classification (MUSIC) fails when the sources are highly correlated. Algorithms such as spatial smoothing (SS) and forward-backward spatial smoothing (FBSS) help to solve this problem. The bearings and separation of sources control the performance of SS. FBSS provides better results for the same smoothing depending upon the relative signal phases. Simulation results confirm the superiority of SS and FBSS over MUSIC.

A novel data analysis methodology evaluates the quantitative performance of detection algorithms in computer vision. The methodology compresses many operating curves into a few performance curves. The measurement of the influence of variables uses the equivalent effect of a critical signal variable. The resulting variable helps in the measurement of breakdown point of the algorithm. The methodology is useful for the detection of cracks, curves and objects and for pose error estimation.

Generalized speedup provides a more suitable measurement of uniprocessor processing than traditional speedup. Generalized speed is the ratio of parallel speed to sequential speed. Generalized speed differs from traditional speed in terms of the efficiency evaluation of uniprocessor processing. Traditional speedup may attain superlinearity on shared virtual memory machines. Results from a Kendall Square KSR-1 shared memory machine reveal that asymptotic speed is a suitable measure to define uniprocessor efficiency.

Effective parallel processing on a shared-memory multiprocessor is possible through a multicoloring process for partitioning grid-structured data elements. The technique eliminates hazardous memory-access conditions and enhances multiprocessor performance. The multicoloring method transforms a characteristic matrix into a suitable diagonal diagonal block structure for parallel preconditioning in CG-like partial differential equations.

Total quality management (TQM) was developed for the private sector, but has also been proven useful in the public sector. Although performance measurement methods are needed to evaluate TQM programs, very few studies have been done to improve them. To remedy this deficiency, a performance measurement method called the Total Organizational Performance System (TOPS) was developed. The TOPS is consistent with TQM principles and emphasizes measures of effectiveness rather than efficiency. It can be adjusted to the unique needs of public agencies and has a simple procedure to compare measures across various TQM programs and public agency units.

Two hundred forty subjects working alone and in pairs performed three different versions of a task similar to industrial inspection: a rating task and spatial and temporal two-alternative forced-choice (2AFC) tasks. Performance was worse on the rating task than on the 2AFC tasks, and the spatial and temporal 2AFC tasks were performed equally well. These results could signify that performance is impaired more by demands made on long-term memory than by demands made on perception and sensory memory, or that asking subjects to compare items is fundamentally different from, and easier than, asking subjects to judge items in absolute terms. Individual differences in performance were marked, but performance was inconsistent across different versions of the inspection task. When subjects worked in pairs, performance was comparable to that obtained by requiring items to pass two inspections by individual subjects. However, a single inspection by subject pairs required less time than two inspections by individual subjects. The practical implications of these findings are discussed.

A study of changeover delay and concurrent schedule performance in domestic hens and analysis of the data in relation to the generalized matching law reveals very low values of sensitivity parameters for response and time data for programmed changeover delay. Other changeover-delay values are associated with higher values of sensitivity parameters, with the within-delay responding being unresponsive to differences in reinforcement-rates at all changeover delays. The sensitivity of post-changeover-delay responding to reinforcement-rate differences is greater than that of total responding.

Three experiments performed on budgerigars enable an understanding of the vocal behavior of these birds and the relations concerning this behavior. The first experiment, color naming, involves the training of birds to respond to various types of visual stimuli and reveals a relationship between differential food reinforcement and visual stimuli. The second experiment reveals an automatic transfer of a color-naming or color identity matching-to-sample (MTS) task call to a form-to-color MTS task. The results of the third experiment suggest the probability of association-by-contiguity.

Business performance measures based on cost accounting principles often fail to give sufficient support to management methods that are used to formulate performance optimization strategies. While these cost-based performance measures still retain a certain value, they need to be supported by alternative measures that promote strategic and operational integration within an organization. These alternative measures are likely to be non-financial in nature and are best used to streamline organizational activities toward a set of common goals. A methodology for developing such integrated performance measures is presented. This methodology has proven to be effective in encouraging the formulation of organizational strategies that optimize performance. It also provides several benefits such as enhanced business awareness among staff, consensus agreement on the roles of key personnel and improved strategic planning capabilities.

This study investigates the relationship between the experience of founders and the performance of their firms. Previous research has reported mixed evidence of a relationship between entrepreneurs' experience and their firms' performance. It is argued that this mixed evidence is due to the mediating influence of experientially acquired expertise. The study focuses on the extent to which expertise mediates between experience and firm performance, and on the relationship between distinct types of experience and distinct forms of expertise. The analyses are based on data collected from a sample of 43 owner-founded and operated biotechnology and telecommunication firms. Index Terms - Biotechnology, entrepreneur, experience, expertise, management, performance, telecommunications.

Twelve subjects (six female) participated in an experiment designed to separate the effects of perceptual/central and physical demands on psychophysiological measures of peripheral nervous system activity. The difficulty of a single-axis continuous manual tracking task was varied in two ways: order of control was manipulated to vary perceptual/central processing demand, and disturbance amplitude was manipulated to vary physical demand. Physiological measures were sensitive to the imposition of a task and were more sensitive to physical than to perceptual/central demands. A principal components analysis identified five factors (three of them physiological) that accounted for 83.1% of the observed variance. Perceptual/central processing demands specifically affected the component identified with sympathetic cardiovascular control, whereas physical demands were reflected in the component identified with parasympathetic cardiovascular control. This finding suggests that dissociations observed among cardiovascular measures in manual performance tasks are attributable to differential activation of the autonomic control systems.

Subjective workload assessment is one of the most frequently used tools for system evaluation. However, little is known about which factors contribute to the sensitivity, validity, and reliability of subjective workload ratings. One major classification of subjective workload assessment tools is based on relative judgments of the workload of different task conditions. The present research evaluated different approaches to relative subjective workload assessment in terms of their sensitivity to demand manipulations, concurrent validity with performance, and test-retest reliability. Results indicated that performing relative judgments retrospectively after having experienced all task conditions was superior to rating each task condition immediately after performing it. Further, redundant relative comparisons may produce more sensitive ratings than do relative comparisons to a single reference task. Overall, the results support the use of retrospective relative workload judgments as an evaluation tool.

Gamma-valley nonequilibrium transport properties help define the high-speed performance of InP/InGaAs double-heterojunction bipolar transistors (DHBT) that contain InP collector, InGaAs base and InGaAsP layers. The DHBTs reduce current blocking effect, enhance breakdown and generate a current gain of about 200. High injection energies in the DHBTs reduce the electron velocity and increase the upper valley number.

A linearized theory explains the performance of orifice-type pulse tube cryocoolers and is based on small pressure disturbances. The theory includes the effect of gas-to-wall heat exchange and deduces the orifice area that maximizes refrigeration power. The first-order gas-to-wall heat transfer within the pulse tube reduces refrigeration power when working with the maximum orifice area.

Conventional methods of examination and tests to evaluate the ability of students is disadvantageous. The new methods developed to evaluate student performance are supported by teachers who consider that traditional methods of tests and examination are ineffective. The new methods involve the definition of mathematical portfolios.

The development of a portfolio helps future teachers enhance their ability to assess performance. The portfolio formation involves cycle of collection, selection and reflection activities. The interim review processes involving peer groups help obtain a feedback on incomplete portfolio and subsequent modifications.

This paper describes an analysis of track initiation performance in very high target density environments. The analysis of tracking performance performed in (6) yielded very simple expressions to predict average track purity in terms of tracking parameters. These results were, however, obtained mainly for the track continuation phase in which tracks are more or less well established. We extend these results to the track initiation phase.

The performance of the Local Reduction algorithm, the Fragment and Replicate Strategy (FRS) algorithm and the Partition and Replicate Strategy (PRS) algorithm, which have a significant bearing on the performance of distributed query processing, is tested and analyzed. These algorithms' decisions as to the local functions to be executed, the relation that should stay fragmented or the relation that should be partitioned, have been validated. The performance of PRS is greatly influenced by the number of processing regions, partitioning speed compared to join speed and the sizes of the join reactions.

The speed improvement that can result from running a program on a parallel computer can be studied by a newly developed method that does not necessitate additional programing and demands very little work from the programmer. A parallelism analyzer (pp) simulates parallel behavior and calculates an upper bound on performance on a parallel computer by employing a trace of the program's sequential operation. Symbolic programs cannot be automatically concerted into parallel programs with the computation methods used for numeric programs.

The correlation between type of governance and performance using strategic management is discussed. The performance of a particular organizational type such as joint ventures, multinational organizations, franchising, diversification and integration, depends largely on managerial perceptions and decisions to implement policies in accordance to the nature of governance. Evaluating performance of a particular type of governance should take into account endogeneity of internal arrangements.

Assigning credit and blame to others for their successful and unsuccessful performances is a ubiquitous, yet relatively unstudied, process in organizations. Using a sample of 120 accountants, we assessed three predictors of the assignment of credit and blame - self-handicapping, type of causal account, and performance outcome - and two consequences of such assignment: reward allocation and impressions of an actor. Use of self-handicapping and external causal accounts diminished observers' assignments of blame for failure. In contrast, self-handicapping and causal accounts did not influence assignment of credit for success. Assignment of credit and blame significantly predicted reward allocation and impressions of the actor. We discuss implications for theory and practice and directions for future research. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

If two sets of vectors (in N-dimensional real Euclidean space [R.sup.N]) do not have an element in common, then they can always be separated from each other by using a series of N -- 1 dimensional hyperplanes in [R.sup.N]. In piecewise-linear classification, one finds such a series of hyperplanes using a training set containing elements from both classes. Efficient methods to find such a piecewise-linear separation for the training sets have been proposed in the literature. However, since complete separation of the training set fits the "noise" as well as the "signal" in the training set, the desirability of such a complete separation depends on the nature of the data. In this paper, we make use of a real data set (containing 9-D measurements of fine needle aspirates of a patient's breast for the purpose of classifying a tumor's malignancy) for which early stopping in the generation of the separating hyperplanes is not appropriate. We compare a piecewise-linear classification method (both with complete separation on the training set and with separation using only seven hyperplanes) with classification based on a single (but in a statistical sense optimal) linear separator. A precise methodology for comparing the relative efficacy of two classification methods for a particular task (including a way of providing the statistical significance of the results) is described and is applied to the comparison on the breast cancer data of the relative performances of the two versions of the piecewise-linear classifier and the classification based on an optimal linear separator. It is found that for this data set, the piecewise-linear classifier that uses all the hyperplanes needed to separate the training set outperforms the other two methods and that these differences in performance are significant at the 0.001 level. There is no statistically significant difference between the performance of the other two methods. We discuss the relevance of these results for this and other applications. Index Terms--Malignancy detection, medical diagnosis, optimal linear separation, pattern recognition, performance evaluation, piecewise-linear classification.

The balanced scorecard is a management tool that traces the important elements of a company's performance. The scorecard provides a comprehensive overview of financial and operational measures, including customer satisfaction and innovation.