Doing Research in the Real World



SAGE Publications Ltd | ISBN 0 7619 4879 1 | English | PDF | Pages: 441 | Size: 3.86 MB | RAR Compressed | No Password

INTRODUCTION
This book is designed to introduce you to some of the essential methodologies, approaches and tools of research. In doing so,we will explore some of the philosophies and theoretical perspectives behind the many different ways of conducting research, as well as providing practical examples and guidance as to how research should be planned and implemented. Later in this chapter we will look at the structure of the book, but first we need to examine the nature of the research process and why research is being seen as increasingly important in a growing number of organizations and contexts. The term ‘globalization’ is often used to describe a world that is becoming increasingly integrated and interdependent and where large, international organizations dominate.Within this globalized world, change in business and working environments has become rapid, pervasive and perpetual. Organizations have adapted to this uncertainty in a number of ways. One approach has been to understand (research) and develop
relationships ith both markets and supply chains. Most forward-looking organizations have also recognized the need for a multiskilled and occupationally agile workforce. It has also required that organizations understand what motivates their workforce and how people embrace change. All this has had an enormous impact on the way organizations operate and interact with the ‘real world’, and how they communicate and work. Small and mediumsized enterprises (SMEs) have also had to modernize their organizational practices and to understand their working environment, as have public sector organizations (including hospitals, schools, colleges and universities) and voluntary organizations. Faced with a more competitive, dynamic and uncertain world, a knowledge of research methods is important because it helps people in organizations to understand, predict and control their internal and external environments (Sekaran, 1992). It also means that those involved in commissioning or sponsoring organizational research are
better placed to understand and manage the work of researchers and to objectively evaluate and interpret the outcomes of research. Hence, it becomes possible to calculate the potential risks and benefits in implementing research projects. But what do we mean by the term ‘research’?

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The Economist October 04 2008



The Economist Group. | Oct-2008 | English | PDF | Pages: 185 | Size: 2.88 MB | RAR Compressed | No Password


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A First Course in Stochastic Models



John Wiley & Sons Ltd. | ISBN 0-471-49881-5 | English | PDF | Pages: 491 | Size: 2.11 MB | RAR Compressed | No Password

INTRODUCTION
The Poisson process is a counting process that counts the number of occurrences of some specific event through time. Examples include the arrivals of customers at a counter, the occurrences of earthquakes in a certain region, the occurrences of breakdowns in an electricity generator, etc. The Poisson process is a natural modelling tool in numerous applied probability problems. It not only models many real-world phenomena, but the process allows for tractable mathematical analysis as well. The Poisson process is discussed in detail in Section 1.1. Basic properties are derived including the characteristic memoryless property. Illustrative examples are given to show the usefulness of the model. The compound Poisson process is dealt with in Section 1.2. In a Poisson arrival process customers arrive singly, while in a compound Poisson arrival process customers arrive in batches. Another generalization of the Poisson process is the non-stationary Poisson process that is discussed in Section 1.3. The Poisson process assumes that the intensity at which events occur is time-independent. This assumption is dropped in the non-stationary Poisson process. The final Section 1.4 discusses the Markov modulated arrival process in which the intensity at which Poisson arrivals occur is subject to a random environment.

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Understanding and Using Advanced Statistics



SAGE Publications Ltd | ISBN 1 4129 0014 X | English | PDF | Pages: 193 | Size: 990 KB

INTRODUCTION
The aim of this book is to describe some of the statistical techniques which are becoming increasingly common, particularly in the social sciences. The spread of sophisticated computer packages and the machinery on which to run them has meant that procedures which were previously only available to experienced researchers with access to expensive machines and research students can now be carried out in a few seconds by almost every undergraduate. The tendency of the packages to produce items of output which are unfamiliar to most users has lead to modifications in the content of quantitative data analysis courses, but this has not always meant that students gain an understanding of what the analytic procedures do, when they should be used and what the results provided signify. Our aim has been to provide the basis for gaining such an understanding. There are many texts and Internet resources covering the material which we do, but our experience is that many of them are too advanced, starting at too high a
level and including topics such as matrix algebra which leave many students baffled. What we have attempted to provide is an assistant which will help you make the transition from the simpler statistics (t-tests, analysis of variance) to more complex procedures; we are hoping we have translated the more technical texts into a form which matches your understanding. Each chapter provides an outline of the statistical technique, the type of question it answers, what the results produced tell you and gives examples from published literature of how the technique has been used. In recent years there has been a considerable growth in the use of qualitative research methods in many areas of social science including psychology and nursing and this has been accompanied by a decline in the previous preponderance of quantitative research. One feature of the qualitative research movement has been an emphasis upon the ethical issues involved in carrying out researchinvolving people, the need to recognise that the
participats own their data and that they should have an input – even perhaps a veto – over the interpretations made of it and the uses to which it is put. This concern has rejuvenated the ethical debate within quantitative research and brought back an awareness of the need to ensure that participants give informed consent to taking part, that they are not studied unknowingly or covertly, that they have the right to confidentiality and anonymity. This is not the place to discuss the ethics of research, but it is only proper that we should urge those considering quantitative research to be aware of the ethical guidelines applicable to their discipline and ensure they abide by them. Gathering the data which lends itself to quantitative analysis is not a value-free activity even if ‘number crunching’ may in itself appear to be so. Before describing the more complex statistical techniques, we begin by recapitulating the basics of statistical analysis, reminding you of the analysis of variance and outlining the
principles of the general linear model (GLM) which underpins many of the techniques described later.

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Know and Understand Centrifugal Pumps



Bachus Company, Inc. | ISBN 1856174093 | English | PDF | Pages: 270 | Size: 5.11 MB | RAR Compressed | No Password

Prologue
Very few industrial pumps come out of service and go into the maintenance shop because the volute casing or impeller split down the middle, or because the shaft fractured into four pieces. The majority of pumps go into the shop because the bearings or the mechanical seal failed. Most mechanics spend their time at work time greasing and changing bearings, changing pump packing, and mechanical seals. The mechanical engineers spend their time comparing the various claims of the pump manufacturers, trying desperately to relate the theory learned at the University with the reality of the industrial plant. Purchasing agents have to make costly decisions with inadequate information at their disposal. Process engineers and operators are charged with maintaining and increasing production. The focus of industrial plant maintenance has always been that the design is correct, and that the operation of the pumps in the system is as it should be. In this book, you will see that in the majority of occasions, this is not
true. Most of us in maintenance spend our valuable time, just changing parts, and in the best of cases, performing preventive maintenance, trying to diminish the time required to change those parts.
We almost never stop to consider what is causing the continual failure of this equipment. This book will help you to step away from the fireman approach, of putting out fires and chasing emergencies. This book is directed toward the understanding of industrial pumps and their systems. It won’t be a guide on how to correctly design pumps, nor how to rebuild and repair pumps. There are existing books and courses directed toward those themes. By understanding the real reasons for pump failure, analyzing those failures, and diagnosing pump behavior through interpretation of pressure gauges, you can achieve productive pump operation and contain maintenance costs. This book will serve as a guide to STOP repairing industrial pumps.

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