Given the increasing importance of performance indicators in current UK health policy, this
paper provides a systematic review of empirical and theoretical writings concerning their use …

We review three leading stochastic optimization methods—simulated annealing, genetic
algorithms, and tabu search. In each case we analyze the method, give the exact algorithm …

Chaos and complexity are the new buzz words in both science and contemporary society.
The ideas they represent have enormous implications for the way we understand and …

Since the original publication of the bestselling Modelling Binary Data, a number of
important methodological and computational developments have emerged, accompanied by …

Social indicators are an important tool for evaluating a country's level of social development
and for assessing the impact of policy. Such indicators are already in use in investigating …

I began this book because I wanted to write a text that reflected my own practice both as a
social researcher and as someone who most years teaches two MA modules entitled …

This paper sets out a simple framework with which to examine the performance
management process. It examines the organizational context within which performance …

Background: Patient characteristics (case-mix bias) and physician-level variation (clustering)
are often overlooked in profiling the quality of care provided by different groups of …

One of the persistent challenges confronting societies is how to reduce inequalities in the
educational and occupational attainment of students from different socio-economic, ethnic …

Objective. To evaluate the amount of variation in diabetes practice patterns at the primary
care provider (PCP), provider group, and facility level, and to examine the reliability of …