AN INTERNATIONAL COMPARISON OF STANDARD BAROMETERS

An International Comparison

This research describes, classifies, and comparatively evaluates national models and mechanisms used to evaluate research and allocate research funding in 16 countries. Although these models and mechanisms vary widely in terms of how research is evaluated and financed, nearly all share the common characteristic of relating funding to some measure of past performance. Each of these 16 national m...

Iran Railway Efficiency Analysis, Using DEA: An International Comparison

Efficiency measurement is critical for industries where firms do not face strong competition, as we cannot rely on the market to discipline the firms' efficiency. Railway is a typical example. At the same time the fact that railway produces multiple outputs using the common set of inputs calls for a delicate and sophisticated treatment in measuring the efficiencies. In this article, the DEA ...

Designing Community Atmosphere Barometers

The World of learning is undergoing radical changes. Increasingly Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) support new temporal and spatial learning configurations. Traditional face-toface learning situations offer a variety of ways for people to provide informal feedback contributing to the establishment and maintenance of a community atmosphere. ICT supported distance education presen...

Unhealthy Behaviours: An International Comparison

In the current global economy, chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs) have become the leading cause of death and a major health concern for both developed and developing countries. Among other factors, the worldwide spread of NCDs is driven by the globalisation of unhealthy habits. The purpose of this paper is to develop a simple statistic to measure, at the national level, the average popula...

Assessment of surgically induced astigmatism: toward an international standard II.