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Desirable Results (desirable + result)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Business, Economics, Finance and Accounting	40%

Selected Abstracts

Linear models for minimizing misclassification costs in bankruptcy prediction

INTELLIGENT SYSTEMS IN ACCOUNTING, FINANCE & MANAGEMENT, Issue 3 2001
Sudhir Nanda
This paper illustrates how a misclassification cost matrix can be incorporated into an evolutionary classification system for bankruptcy prediction. Most classification systems for predicting bankruptcy have attempted to minimize misclassifications. The minimizing misclassification approach assumes that Type I and Type II error costs for misclassifications are equal. There is evidence that these costs are not equal and incorporating costs into the classification systems can lead to better and more desirable results. In this paper, we use the principles of evolution to develop and test a genetic algorithm (GA) based approach that incorporates the asymmetric Type I and Type II error costs. Using simulated and real-life bankruptcy data, we compare the results of our proposed approach with three linear approaches: statistical linear discriminant analysis (LDA), a goal programming approach, and a GA-based classification approach that does not incorporate the asymmetric misclassification costs. Our results indicate that the proposed approach, incorporating Type I and Type II error costs, results in lower misclassification costs when compared to LDA and GA approaches that do not incorporate misclassification costs. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

Effect of king palm (Archontophoenix alexandrae) flour incorporation on physicochemical and textural characteristics of gluten-free cookies

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF FOOD SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY, Issue 3 2009
Karina N. De Simas
Summary The replacement of the blend of rice flour (70%) and corn starch (30%) with king palm flour [Archontophoenix alexandrae (F. Muell.) H. Wendl. and Drude] at levels of 0,30% was investigated for its effects on the chemical and physical characteristics of gluten-free dough and cookies. Cookies containing 10, 20 and 30% of king palm flour were analysed by twenty-one celiac consumers through preference-ranking test. Ash, minerals, and dietary fibre contents increased in cookies that were added with king palm flour. Compared with the control dough, the incorporation of king palm flour increased the firmness and decreased the adhesiveness of dough samples. The incorporation of king palm flour increased the hardness of cookies in relation to the control dough. None of the cookies differed significantly (P > 0.05) in the lightness (L*) parameter. All formulations produced cookies with hue angles around 60, which indicate a tendency to brown colour. The study reveals that the incorporation of king palm flour showed desirable results in nutritional characteristics, because of the increase of the dietary fibre and minerals contents. In this study, the cookies preferred by celiac consumers were those containing 10 and 20% of king palm flour (P > 0.05). [source]

Developing a theory-based taxonomy of methods for implementing change in practice

JOURNAL OF ADVANCED NURSING, Issue 2 2007
Jennifer Leeman
Abstract Title. Developing a theory-based taxonomy of methods for implementing change in practice Aim., In this paper we present a theory-based taxonomy of the methods used to implement change in practice. Background., Implementation research is characterized by inconsistent terminology for the methods employed and inattention to differences in the relevance of methods across different disciplines. Studies of the effectiveness of implementation have yielded mixed results. Positive effects shown have been small. The limited success of many efforts to implement change in practice may be due, in part, to the absence of a framework to guide the use of implementation methods. Method., A provisional taxonomy of implementation methods, derived from theory and existing taxonomies, was used to content analyse a convenience sample of 43 reports of empirical studies of the implementation of one or more research-based practice changes involving nurses that had been published between 1995 and 2005. This taxonomy was revised throughout the course of analysis to capture more completely the information in each report. Findings., Following the analysis, nine of the 11 methods in the provisional taxonomy were retained, two were removed and five new methods were identified. The final taxonomy includes 14 implementation methods organized into five categories: (a) increasing coordination; (b) raising awareness; (c) persuasion via interpersonal channels; (d) persuasion via reinforcing belief that behaviour will lead to desirable results and (e) increasing behavioural control. Conclusions., The taxonomy presented here differs from prior taxonomies by focusing on nursing and by providing a clear and mutually exclusive guide to implementation methods. By deriving the initial coding strategy from theory, the taxonomy links the methods to theoretical constructs that may inform the selection of methods across different practice changes and settings. [source]

Bayesian mixture models for complex high dimensional count data in phage display experiments

JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL STATISTICAL SOCIETY: SERIES C (APPLIED STATISTICS), Issue 2 2007
Yuan Ji
Summary., Phage display is a biological process that is used to screen random peptide libraries for ligands that bind to a target of interest with high affinity. On the basis of a count data set from an innovative multistage phage display experiment, we propose a class of Bayesian mixture models to cluster peptide counts into three groups that exhibit different display patterns across stages. Among the three groups, the investigators are particularly interested in that with an ascending display pattern in the counts, which implies that the peptides are likely to bind to the target with strong affinity. We apply a Bayesian false discovery rate approach to identify the peptides with the strongest affinity within the group. A list of peptides is obtained, among which important ones with meaningful functions are further validated by biologists. To examine the performance of the Bayesian model, we conduct a simulation study and obtain desirable results. [source]

Utility Functions whose Parameters depend on Initial Wealth

BULLETIN OF ECONOMIC RESEARCH, Issue 4 2003
Christian S. Pedersen
D81; G11 Abstract Conventional one-period utility functions in Economics assume that initial wealth only enters preferences through the definition of final wealth. Consequently, those utility functions most utilized (i.e., exponential and quadratic) have implausible risk characteristics. The authors characterize a new class of utility function whose risk parameters depend upon initial wealth and obtain several desirable results. In particular, investors with quadratic and exponential utility functions can have decreasing risk aversion, and risky assets in a quadratic utility multi-asset environment do not have to be inferior as implied by the traditional framework. [source]