Mustafa R. Yilmaz

Work-Family Conflict: A Study of American and Australian Family Businesses

This study examines causal pathways linking work strain to anxiety among Australian and American family business owners. To date, there has been no empirical test of strain-based, work-family conflict models on family businesses; nor have there been comparisons made between Australian and American business owners. This paper suggests a specific causal model and provides country-specific and comparative evidence for that model. The suggested model includes mediation and moderation mechanisms that link work strain and anxiety from the perspective of business owners. Data for the research were obtained through the administration of essentially identical questionnaires in the two countries in 1999. Results show that the proposed model fits the data reasonably well, regardless of the type of firm and country.

Genetic clustering of social networks using random walks

In the era of globalization, traditional theories and models of social systems are shifting their focus from isolation and independence to networks and connectedness. Analyzing these new complex social models is a growing, and computationally demanding area of research. In this study, we investigate the integration of genetic algorithms (GAs) with a random-walk-based distance measure to find subgroups in social networks. We test our approach by synthetically generating realistic social network data sets. Our clustering experiments using random-walk-based distances reveal exceptionally accurate results compared with the experiments using Euclidean distances.

Quality confusion: Too many gurus, not enough disciples

These words, which seem especially valid today, belong to the great Mahatma Gandhi in a speech given to immigrant Indians in Johannesburg, South Africa in 1890. It underscores the message that quality and the importance of the customer are timeless. Such pioneers as W. Shewhart and J.M. Juran were writing about quality assurance in the 1920s and 1930s joined by W.E. Deming, E. Feigenbaum, and many others in the post-war era of the late 1940s. American management was only mildly interested in the ideas of these pioneers until the 197Os, when the erosion of American dominance in world markets became noticeable. The continuation of this erosion was the backdrop for Deming’s 1982 book, Out of the Crisis, which provided a timely bandwagon for everyone to board. The ensuing rush has been a chaotic and confusing experience; that experience is the subject of our discussion. Despite many decades of prodd&g by pioneers and relentless competitive pressure, progress in achieving high levels of quality in American manufacturing has been very slow compared to the accomplishments of foreign competitors. There are success stories, to be sure, and quality decline has been halted in many cases. Yet real questions remain about whether America can close the gap and regain markets in a number of industries that have fallen on hard times, or maintain lead1 ership in other industries now being threatened. Managers must learn ~ the principles of quality before they ’ can understand its practice. I i

The NBA as an evolving multivariate system

Abstract This article examines the NBA as an evolving system from the viewpoint of evolutionary biologist Stephen Jay Gould who wrote extensively on the disappearance of the .400 hitter in major league baseball, arguing that this is actually a sign of improvement in the quality of play. After reviewing his argument, we use multivariate performance measures of professional basketball players to see if similar characteristics of evolution are observed. It is found that basketball is beginning to exhibit some of these characteristics in recent years, albeit to a much lesser extent than that observed in baseball.

Can we improve upon approval voting

Abstract Voting is an important means of reaching societal or organizational decisions. Yet, all voting procedures have drawbacks on normative or ethical grounds. Approval voting ameliorates many of the drawbacks if voter preferences are dichotomous. Important problems remain, however, if voters do not have dichotomous preferences. These problems include the possible violation of Condorcet criteria and the possibility of strategic manipulation of voting. This paper considers an alternative voting method in which preferences are modeled in terms of three categories rather than two. Although the proposed alternative is not strategy-proof, it has a number of advantages which are discussed.

An approximate entropy test for randomness

We develop an entropy-based test for randomness of binary time series of finite length. The test uses the frequencies of contiguous blocks of different lengths. A simple condition ib the block lengths and the length of the time series enables one to estimate the entropy rate for the data, and this information is used to develop a statistic to test the hypothesis of randomness. This static measures the deviation of the estimated entropy of the observed data from the theoretical maximum under the randomness hypothesis. This test offers a real alternative to the conventional runs test. Critical percentage points, based on simulations, are provided for testing the hypothesis of randomness. Power calculations using dependent data show that the proposed test has higher power against the runs test for short series, and it is similar to the runs test for long series. The test is applied to two published data sets that wree investigated by others with respect to their randomness.

An Information-Based Model for Subjective Probability

SYNOPTIC ABSTRACTIntuitive subjective probability is commonly assumed to represent an individuals comparative probability judgments of the events in some algebra. Conditions under which these judgments can be represented with numerical probabilities have been stated in various axiom systems. Existing axiom systems treat comparative probability judgments as a primitive concept without formulating the basis upon which these judgments are made. This paper argues for a constructive model of intuitive probability based on the relevant information available to an individual. In this model, probability is derived from the individuals subjective judgments of the extent to which available information supports the occurrence of an event. A specific model is suggested and it is illustrated with some examples.

Subjective Probability and Information: A Constructive Perspective

SYNOPTIC ABSTRACT Subjective probability was developed for representing uncertainty in real world situations. Traditionally, it is viewed either as an intuitive notion that can be measured directly, or as a by-product of an agents preferences among uncertain choices. This paper argues that subjective probability is often not a primitive notion, but a construct that must be built using the available information. In this view, probability represents the extent to which available information supports the occurrence of an event. Approaches to probability construction are discussed, and one of the models is illustrated with examples. The discussion also sheds some light on the sources of difficulties in the measurement of subjective probability.