Reputation and efficiency: A non-parametric assessment of America’s top-rated MBA programs

Widely publicized reports of fresh MBAs getting multiple job offers with six-figure annual salaries leave a long-lasting general impression about the high quality of selected business schools. While such spectacular achievement in job placement rightly deserves recognition, one should not lose sight of the resources expended in order to accomplish this result. In this study, we employ a measure of Pareto-Koopmans global efficiency to evaluate the efficiency levels of the MBA programs in Business Week’s top-rated list. We compute input- and output-oriented radial and non-radial efficiency measures for comparison. Among three tier groups, the schools from a higher tier group on average are more efficient than those from lower tiers, although variations in efficiency levels do occur within the same tier, which exist over different measures of efficiency.     

Electrochemical behavior of dopamine and ascorbic acid at osmium(II) complex cationic monolayer modified gold electrodes.

The electrooxidation of dopamine (DA) and ascorbic acid (AA) was studied using gold electrodes modified by a cationic self-assembled monolayer of [Os(bpy)2(bpy-(CH2),3SH)]2+ by cyclic voltammetry. At an [Os(bpy)2(bpy-(CH2)13SH)]2+/Au electrode, the oxidation peak of DA shifted to a much more positive potential as compared with that of a bare gold electrode, while the oxidation peak potential of AA showed a slightly negative shift due to their different electrostatic interactions with the cationic monolayer. Thus, a sufficient potential difference was achieved for distinguishing the electrochemical responses of DA and AA. However, when CH3(CH2)11SH was mixed into the cationic monolayer, the enhanced packing of the mixed monolayer blocked the access of DA or AA to the electrode, resulting in further positive shifts for both oxidation-peak potentials.     

Two-dimensional assembly of [Mn(III)₂Mn(II)₂] single-molecule magnets and [Cu(pic)₂] linking units (Hpic = picolinic acid)

In an attempt to develop novel coordination networks of SMMs, a Cu(II) picolinate complex has been used to coordinate S(T) = 9 tetranuclear Mn-based SMMs resulting in an intriguing 2D framework exhibiting a magnet-like behavior at low temperature.     

Mechanical characteristics and morphological effect of complex crossed structure in biomaterials: fracture mechanics and microstructure of chalky layer in oyster shell

The complex crossed structures with a polymorph of calcite, termed a chalky layer, which make up much of the shell of an oyster, are composed of flames and leaflets. Two layers, folia and the chalky layer in the giant Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas) were examined using SEM (scanning electron microscope), micro-area-XRD (X-ray diffraction) and FT-IR (Fourier transform infrared spectrometer) to determine their morphologies and component characteristics. The chalky layer was also tested using microindentation to assess its mechanical properties, and a microcrack was generated to study the fracture mechanism of the chalky layer. From an analysis of the secondary protein structure, it was shown that the ordered structures of the two layers, α-helix and β-structure, are similar but that the unordered structures are different. Moreover, the foliated rods at the interface of the chalky layer play a key role in the crystal growth of the chalky layers. Comparing the morphology and the preferred orientation of foliated laths, the advantages of the relatively high density and low hardness of the chalky layer have interesting implications regarding the development of sophisticated complex composites.     

Fractional statistics in the fractional quantum Hall effect

A microscopic confirmation of the fractional statistics of the quasiparticles in the fractional quantum Hall effect has so far been lacking. We calculate the statistics of the composite-fermion quasiparticles at nu=1/3 and nu=2/5 by evaluating the Berry phase for a closed loop encircling another composite-fermion quasiparticle. A careful consideration of subtle perturbations in the trajectory due to the presence of an additional quasiparticle is crucial for obtaining the correct value of the statistics. The conditions for the applicability of the fractional statistics concept are discussed.     

High-density assembly of gold nanoparticles with zwitterionic carbon nanotubes and their electrocatalytic activity in oxygen reduction reaction

Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) were assembled with high density onto multi-walled carbon nanotubes, which were functionalized with zwitterionic poly(imidazoliumsulfonate). The AuNP/zwitterionic CNT hybrids exhibited decent electrocatalytic activity in oxygen reduction reaction as the AuNP-based catalysts.     

A multiscale cell boundary element method for elliptic problems

In this paper we introduce the multiscale cell boundary element method (MsCBE method). The method is obtained by applying the oversampling technique of the MsFEM by Hou and Wu [T.Y. Hou, X.H. Wu, A multiscale finite element method for elliptic problems in composite materials and porous media, J. Comput. Phys. 134 (1997) 169–189] to the newly developed numerical method, the cell boundary element(CBE) method by the author and his colleagues. The advantage of the MsCBE method is that it preserves flux exactly on arbitrary subdomain without needing the dual mesh. A complete H¹ convergence analysis and numerical examples confirming our analysis are presented.     

Non-auditory factors affecting urban soundscape evaluation

The aim of this study is to characterize urban spaces, which combine landscape, acoustics, and lighting, and to investigate people's perceptions of urban soundscapes through quantitative and qualitative analyses. A general questionnaire survey and soundwalk were performed to investigate soundscape perception in urban spaces. Non-auditory factors (visual image, day lighting, and olfactory perceptions), as well as acoustic comfort, were selected as the main contexts that affect soundscape perception, and context preferences and overall impressions were evaluated using an 11-point numerical scale. For qualitative analysis, a semantic differential test was performed in the form of a social survey, and subjects were also asked to describe their impressions during a soundwalk. The results showed that urban soundscapes can be characterized by soundmarks, and soundscape perceptions are dominated by acoustic comfort, visual images, and day lighting, whereas reverberance in urban spaces does not yield consistent preference judgments. It is posited that the subjective evaluation of reverberance can be replaced by physical measurements. The categories extracted from the qualitative analysis revealed that spatial impressions such as openness and density emerged as some of the contexts of soundscape perception.