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Value Analysis (value + analysis)
Kinds of Value Analysis Selected AbstractsCollaborative Value Analysis: Experiences from the Automotive IndustryJOURNAL OF SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT, Issue 4 2000Janet L. Hartley SUMMARY As the nature of competition shifts to a supply chain focus, effectively leveraging suppliers' technical expertise is becoming essential to market success in many industries. Some organizations are using a time-proven technique, value analysis (VA), to leverage their suppliers' technical expertise. This study reports the benefits and challenges of supplier involvement in VA based on the experiences of four first-tier automotive suppliers. When suppliers are involved in VA, many ideas can be developed and trust can increase, both of which strengthen buyer-supplier partnerships. Unfortunately, reluctance to share cost data, lack of engineering resources, and failure to obtain customer approval are barriers to VA implementation. Several practices can be used to overcome these barriers. [source] On the Prospects for Democratic Deliberation: Values Analysis Applied to AustralianPoliticsPOLITICAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 2 2000John S. Dryzek Democratic theorists increasingly stress that democratic legitimacy rests primarily on authentic deliberation. Critics of deliberative democracy believe that this hope is unrealistic,that deliberation either will prove intractable across political differences or will exacerbate instability. This paper deploys some tools of political psychology, notably Q methodology and values analysis, to investigate the conditions under which effective deliberation is likely to occur. These tools are applied to contemporary political debates in Australia, concerned with how the Australian polity should be constituted in light of a reform agenda underpinned by a discourse we term "Inclusive Republicanism." An investigation of the character of the basic value commitments associated with discursive positions in these debates shows that some differences will yield to deliberation, but others will not. When two discourses subscribe to different value bases, deliberation will induce reflection and facilitate positive-sum outcomes. When a discourse has a value base but finds its specific goals opposed by a competitor that otherwise has no value base of its own, deliberation will be ineffective. When one discourse subscribes to a value base that another questions, but without providing an alternative, deliberation can help to bridge idealism and cynicism. [source] Capital Allocation for Insurance Companies,What Good IS IT?JOURNAL OF RISK AND INSURANCE, Issue 2 2007Helmut Gründl In their 2001 Journal of Risk and Insurance article, Stewart C. Myers and James A. Read Jr. propose to use a specific capital allocation method for pricing insurance contracts. We show that in their model framework no capital allocation to lines of business is needed for pricing insurance contracts. In the case of having to cover frictional costs, the suggested allocation method may even lead to inappropriate insurance prices. Beside the purpose of pricing insurance contracts, capital allocation methods proposed in the literature and used in insurance practice are typically intended to help derive capital budgeting decisions in insurance companies, such as expanding or contracting lines of business. We also show that net present value analyses provide better capital budgeting decisions than capital allocation in general. [source] Spatial variations in throughfall in a Moso bamboo forest: sampling design for the estimates of stand-scale throughfallHYDROLOGICAL PROCESSES, Issue 3 2010Yoshinori Shinohara Abstract We investigated the spatial and seasonal variations in throughfall (Tf) in relation to spatial and seasonal variations in canopy structure and gross rainfall (Rf) and assessed the impacts of the variations in Tf on stand-scale Tf estimates. We observed the canopy structure expressed as the leaf area index (LAI) once a month and Tf once a week in 25 grids placed in a Moso bamboo (Phyllostachys pubescens) forest for 1 year. The mean LAI and spatial variation in LAI did have some seasonal variations. The spatial variations in Tf reduced with increasing Rf, and the relationship between the spatial variation and the Rf held throughout the year. These results indicate that the seasonal change in LAI had little impact on spatial variations in Tf, and that Rf is a critical factor determining the spatial variations in Tf at the study site. We evaluated potential errors in stand-scale Tf estimates on the basis of measured Tf data using Monte Carlo sampling. The results showed that the error decreases greatly with increasing sample size when the sample size was less than ,8, whereas it was near stable when the sample size was 8 or more, regardless of Rf. A sample size of eight results in less than 10% error for Tf estimates based on Student's t -value analysis and would be satisfactory for interception loss estimates when considering errors included in Rf data. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Prioritisation of public investments in social infrastructures using multicriteria value analysis and decision conferencing: a case studyINTERNATIONAL TRANSACTIONS IN OPERATIONAL RESEARCH, Issue 4 2006Carlos A. Bana e Costa Abstract Not-for-profit private organisations that provide social services to children, the elderly and the disabled apply for financial support to develop or to renew their social infrastructures, through the Portuguese Institute for Social Welfare. In the context of scarce financial resources, the Institute decision-makers felt the need to adopt an improved "rationality" in resource allocation, in order to increase transparency and to ensure that the collective best use is made of a limited budget. This paper describes the socio-technical process followed in building a multicriteria value model, under a decision conferencing framework in which participation and interaction among decision-actors were key features in the development of the three main phases of problem structuring, evaluation and prioritisation. [source] Extreme US stock market fluctuations in the wake of 9/11JOURNAL OF APPLIED ECONOMETRICS, Issue 1 2008S. T. M. Straetmans We apply extreme value analysis to US sectoral stock indices in order to assess whether tail risk measures like value-at-risk and extremal linkages were significantly altered by 9/11. We test whether semi-parametric quantile estimates of ,downside risk' and ,upward potential' have increased after 9/11. The same methodology allows one to estimate probabilities of joint booms and busts for pairs of sectoral indices or for a sectoral index and a market portfolio. The latter probabilities measure the sectoral response to macro shocks during periods of financial stress (so-called ,tail-,s'). Taking 9/11 as the sample midpoint we find that tail-,s often increase in a statistically and economically significant way. This might be due to perceived risk of new terrorist attacks. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Collaborative Value Analysis: Experiences from the Automotive IndustryJOURNAL OF SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT, Issue 4 2000Janet L. Hartley SUMMARY As the nature of competition shifts to a supply chain focus, effectively leveraging suppliers' technical expertise is becoming essential to market success in many industries. Some organizations are using a time-proven technique, value analysis (VA), to leverage their suppliers' technical expertise. This study reports the benefits and challenges of supplier involvement in VA based on the experiences of four first-tier automotive suppliers. When suppliers are involved in VA, many ideas can be developed and trust can increase, both of which strengthen buyer-supplier partnerships. Unfortunately, reluctance to share cost data, lack of engineering resources, and failure to obtain customer approval are barriers to VA implementation. Several practices can be used to overcome these barriers. [source] A new class of models for bivariate joint tailsJOURNAL OF THE ROYAL STATISTICAL SOCIETY: SERIES B (STATISTICAL METHODOLOGY), Issue 1 2009Alexandra Ramos Summary., A fundamental issue in applied multivariate extreme value analysis is modelling dependence within joint tail regions. The primary focus of this work is to extend the classical pseudopolar treatment of multivariate extremes to develop an asymptotically motivated representation of extremal dependence that also encompasses asymptotic independence. Starting with the usual mild bivariate regular variation assumptions that underpin the coefficient of tail dependence as a measure of extremal dependence, our main result is a characterization of the limiting structure of the joint survivor function in terms of an essentially arbitrary non-negative measure that must satisfy some mild constraints. We then construct parametric models from this new class and study in detail one example that accommodates asymptotic dependence, asymptotic independence and asymmetry within a straightforward parsimonious parameterization. We provide a fast simulation algorithm for this example and detail likelihood-based inference including tests for asymptotic dependence and symmetry which are useful for submodel selection. We illustrate this model by application to both simulated and real data. In contrast with the classical multivariate extreme value approach, which concentrates on the limiting distribution of normalized componentwise maxima, our framework focuses directly on the structure of the limiting joint survivor function and provides significant extensions of both the theoretical and the practical tools that are available for joint tail modelling. [source] Anticipating catastrophes through extreme value modellingJOURNAL OF THE ROYAL STATISTICAL SOCIETY: SERIES C (APPLIED STATISTICS), Issue 4 2003Stuart Coles Summary. When catastrophes strike it is easy to be wise after the event. It is also often argued that such catastrophic events are unforeseeable, or at least so implausible as to be negligible for planning purposes. We consider these issues in the context of daily rainfall measurements recorded in Venezuela. Before 1999 simple extreme value techniques were used to assess likely future levels of extreme rainfall, and these gave no particular cause for concern. In December 1999 a daily precipitation event of more than 410 mm, almost three times the magnitude of the previously recorded maximum, caused devastation and an estimated 30000 deaths. We look carefully at the previous history of the process and offer an extreme value analysis of the data,with some methodological novelty,that suggests that the 1999 event was much more plausible than the previous analyses had claimed. Deriving design parameters from the results of such an analysis may have had some mitigating effects on the consequences of the subsequent disaster. The themes of the new analysis are simple: the full exploitation of available data, proper accounting of uncertainty, careful interpretation of asymptotic limit laws and allowance for non-stationarity. The effect on the Venezuelan data analysis is dramatic. The broader implications are equally dramatic; that a naïve use of extreme value techniques is likely to lead to a false sense of security that might have devastating consequences in practice. [source] Simulation and extremal analysis of hurricane eventsJOURNAL OF THE ROYAL STATISTICAL SOCIETY: SERIES C (APPLIED STATISTICS), Issue 3 2000E. Casson In regions affected by tropical storms the damage caused by hurricane winds can be catastrophic. Consequently, accurate estimates of hurricane activity in such regions are vital. Unfortunately, the severity of events means that wind speed data are scarce and unreliable, even by standards which are usual for extreme value analysis. In contrast, records of atmospheric pressures are more complete. This suggests a two-stage approach: the development of a model describing spatiotemporal patterns of wind field behaviour for hurricane events; then the simulation of such events, using meteorological climate models, to obtain a realization of associated wind speeds whose extremal characteristics are summarized. This is not a new idea, but we apply careful statistical modelling for each aspect of the model development and simulation, taking the Gulf and Atlantic coastlines of the USA as our study area. Moreover, we address for the first time the issue of spatial dependence in extremes of hurricane events, which we find to have substantial implications for regional risk assessments. [source] The multivariate Gaussian tail model: an application to oceanographic dataJOURNAL OF THE ROYAL STATISTICAL SOCIETY: SERIES C (APPLIED STATISTICS), Issue 1 2000P. Bortot Optimal design of sea-walls requires the extreme value analysis of a variety of oceanographic data. Asymptotic arguments suggest the use of multivariate extreme value models, but empirical studies based on data from several UK locations have revealed an inadequacy of this class for modelling the types of dependence that are often encountered in such data. This paper develops a specific model based on the marginal transformation of the tail of a multivariate Gaussian distribution and examines its utility in overcoming the limitations that are encountered with the current methodology. Diagnostics for the model are developed and the robustness of the model is demonstrated through a simulation study. Our analysis focuses on extreme sea-levels at Newlyn, a port in south-west England, for which previous studies had given conflicting estimates of the probability of flooding. The novel diagnostics suggest that this discrepancy may be due to the weak dependence at extreme levels between wave periods and both wave heights and still water levels. The multivariate Gaussian tail model is shown to resolve the conflict and to offer a convincing description of the extremal sea-state process at Newlyn. [source] Time variation in the tail behavior of Bund future returnsTHE JOURNAL OF FUTURES MARKETS, Issue 4 2004Thomas Werner The literature on the tail behavior of asset prices focuses mainly on the foreign exchange and stock markets, with only a few articles dealing with bonds or bond futures. The present article addresses this omission. It focuses on three questions using extreme value analysis: (a) Does the distribution of Bund future returns have heavy tails? (b) Do the tails change over time? (c) Does the tail index provide information that is not captured by a standard VaR approach? The results are as follows: (a) The distribution of high-frequency returns of the Bund future is indeed characterized by heavy tails. The tails are thinner for lower frequencies, but remain significantly heavy even for daily data. (b) There are statistically significant breaks in the tails of the return distribution. (c) The likelihood of extreme price movements suggested by extreme value theory differs from that obtained by standard risk measures. This suggests that the tail index does indeed provide information not contained in volatility measures. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Jrl Fut Mark 24:387,398, 2004 [source] Extreme value analysis in biometricsBIOMETRICAL JOURNAL, Issue 2 2009Jürg Hüsler Abstract We review some approaches of extreme value analysis in the context of biometrical applications. The classical extreme value analysis is based on iid random variables. Two different general methods are applied, which will be discussed together with biometrical examples. Different estimation, testing, goodness-of-fit procedures for applications are discussed. Furthermore, some non-classical situations are considered where the data are possibly dependent, where a non-stationary behavior is observed in the data or where the observations are not univariate. A few open problems are also stated. [source] Duck Hunting and Wetland Conservation: Compromise or Synergy?CANADIAN JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS, Issue 2 2003Jeff Bennett Duck hunting is an issue , often controversial , that generates both benefits and costs to society. Hunters enjoy benefits from engaging in their sport, while those who have ethical concerns regarding the shooting of ducks endure costs. Some in the community fear that duck hunting puts pressure on the continued ecological viability of the hunted species, while others argue that the demand for hunting provides sufficient economic incentive for wetland conservation. Whether society as a whole should permit or restrict duck hunting is to some extent an empirical question: Are the costs to society of allowing duck hunting greater or less than the benefits it generates? Evidence presented in this paper addresses this question. The benefits enjoyed by people who hunt ducks in the upper south east of South Australia are estimated using the travel cost method. The ethical costs borne by the general community because of duck hunting are estimated using the choice modeling technique. Finally a threshold value analysis is used to assess the activities of Wetlands and Wildlife, a not-for-profit organization that manages wetlands in part for hunting. La chasse au canard est un sujet qui prête souvent à controverse et qui est une source de coûts et d'avantages pour la société. Les chasseurs profitent des avantages que leur procure leur sport, tandis que ceux qui ont des préoccupations d'ordre moral touchant à la chasse subissent des coûts. Certaines personnes dans la communauté craignent que la chasse au canard ne fasse pression sur la viabilitéécologique des espèces chassées. Est-ce que la société dans son ensemble devrait permettre ou limiter la chasse au canard est dans une certaine mesure une question empirique: est-ce que les coûts pour la société de permettre la chasse excèdent ou non les avantages qu'elle procure? Les données présentées dans cet article répondent à cette question. Les avantages reçus par ceux qui chassent le canard dans le haut du sud-est de l'Australie du Sud sont estimés en utilisant la méthode du coût de transport. Les coûts d'ordre moral subis par la communauté dans son ensemble à cause de la chasse au canard sont estimés en utilisant la technique de modélisation des choix. Enfin, une analyse de valeur seuil est utilisée pour évaluer les activités de Zones Aquifères et Nature, un organisme bénévole qui gère les zones aquifères en partie pour la chasse. [source] Primary Steps of pH-Dependent Insulin Aggregation Kinetics are Governed by Conformational FlexibilityCHEMBIOCHEM, Issue 11 2009Jürgen Haas Dr. Abstract Insulin aggregation critically depends on pH. The underlying energetic and structural determinants are, however, unknown. Here, we measure the kinetics of the primary aggregation steps of the insulin monomer in vitro and relate it to its conformational flexibility. To assess these primary steps the monomer concentration was monitored by mass spectrometry at various pH values and aggregation products were imaged by atomic force microscopy. Lowering the pH from 3 to 1.6 markedly accelerated the observed aggregation kinetics. The influence of pH on the monomer structure and dynamics in solution was studied by molecular dynamics simulations, with the protonation states of the titrable groups obtained from electrostatic calculations. Reduced flexibility was observed for low pH values, mainly in the C terminus and in the helix of the B chain; these corresponded to an estimated entropy loss of 150 J,mol,1,K,1. The striking correlation between entropy loss and pH value is consistent with the observed kinetic traces. In analogy to the well-known , value analysis, this result allows the extraction of structural information about the rate determining transition state of the primary aggregation steps. In particular, we suggest that the residues in the helix of the B chain are involved in this transition state. [source] On the Prospects for Democratic Deliberation: Values Analysis Applied to AustralianPoliticsPOLITICAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 2 2000John S. Dryzek Democratic theorists increasingly stress that democratic legitimacy rests primarily on authentic deliberation. Critics of deliberative democracy believe that this hope is unrealistic,that deliberation either will prove intractable across political differences or will exacerbate instability. This paper deploys some tools of political psychology, notably Q methodology and values analysis, to investigate the conditions under which effective deliberation is likely to occur. These tools are applied to contemporary political debates in Australia, concerned with how the Australian polity should be constituted in light of a reform agenda underpinned by a discourse we term "Inclusive Republicanism." An investigation of the character of the basic value commitments associated with discursive positions in these debates shows that some differences will yield to deliberation, but others will not. When two discourses subscribe to different value bases, deliberation will induce reflection and facilitate positive-sum outcomes. When a discourse has a value base but finds its specific goals opposed by a competitor that otherwise has no value base of its own, deliberation will be ineffective. When one discourse subscribes to a value base that another questions, but without providing an alternative, deliberation can help to bridge idealism and cynicism. [source] | |||||||||||||