Search results

Drawing on information processing theory, the linkage between buffering and bridging and the ability on the part of procurement to resolve demand–supply imbalances is investigated, as well as contexts in which these strategies may be particularly useful or detrimental. Buffering may be achieved through demand change or redundancy, while bridging may be achieved by the means of collaboration or monitoring.

This study employs a hierarchical regression analysis of a survey of 150 Finnish and Swedish procurement and sales and operations planning professionals, each responding from the perspective of their own area of supply responsibility.

Both the demand change and redundancy varieties of buffering are associated with procurement's ability to resolve demand–supply imbalances without delivery disruptions, but not with cost-efficient resolution. Bridging is associated with the cost-efficient resolution of imbalances: while collaboration offers benefits, monitoring seems to make things worse. Dynamism diminishes, while the co-management of procurement in S&OP improves procurement's ability to resolve demand–supply imbalances. The most potent strategy for tackling problematic contexts appears to be buffering via demand change.

The results highlight the importance of procurement in the S&OP process and suggest tactical measures that can be taken to resolve and reduce the effects of supply and demand imbalances.

The results contribute to the procurement and S&OP literature by increasing knowledge regarding the role and integration of procurement to the crucial process of balancing demand and supply operations.

Several attack models attempt to describe behaviours of attacks with the intent to understand and combat them better. However, all models are to some degree incomplete. They may lack insight about minor variations about attacks that are observed in the real world (but are not described in the model). This may lead to similar attacks being classified as the same type of attack, or in some cases the same instance of attack. The appropriate solution would be to modify the model or replace it entirely. However, doing so may be undesirable as the model may work well for most cases or time and resource constraints may factor in as well. This paper aims to explore the potential value of adding information about attacks and attackers to existing models.

This paper investigates used cases of minor variations in attacks and how it may and may not be appropriate to communicate subtle differences in existing attack models through the use of annotations. In particular, the authors investigate commonalities across a range of existing models and identify where and how annotations may be helpful.

The authors propose that nuances (of attack properties) can be appended as annotations to existing attack models. Using annotations appropriately should enable analysts and researchers to express subtle but important variations in attacks that may not fit the model currently being used.

This work only demonstrated a few simple, generic examples. In the future, the authors intend to investigate how this annotation approach can be extended further. Particularly, they intend to explore how annotations can be created computationally; the authors wish to obtain feedback from security analysts through interviews, identify where potential biases may arise and identify other real-world applications.

The value of this paper is that the authors demonstrate how annotations may help analysts communicate and ask better questions during identification of unknown aspects of attacks faster,e.g. as a means of storing mental notes in a structured manner, especially while facing zero-day attacks when information is incomplete.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of one online PD in PBL. Researchers want to investigate if a five-day international online PBL training will prepare teachers to implement PBL in their classrooms. Secondly, the researchers aim to determine if the training provides teachers with sufficient knowledge and support to ensure successful PBL implementation.

Participants were given a 5-day (20 h) online PBL training created by one of the researchers with three frontline teachers. Seven trainers are divided into four groups for four groups of participants. Group A included Grade 1 and Grade 2 teachers, Group B included Grade 3 and Grade 4 teachers, Group C included Grade 5 and Grade 6 teachers, and Group D consisted of Grades 7 through 9 teachers. All the participants were given exactly the same surveys at the beginning and the end of the training.

Consistent with previous studies comparing in person and virtue PD programs, this five-day interactive PD program was effective in increasing teachers' knowledge of and ability to plan and implement PBL projects. Specifically, results showed that teachers' knowledge level of PBL shifted from a shallow understanding of what the name implies to a deeper, more comprehensive, and more concrete understanding of PBL essential concepts, its pedagogical values, specific process involved in a PBL project. In addition, the PD program increased teachers' comfort level and ability of planning and implementing PBL projects across grade levels and subject areas.

This research study supported the previous study results that virtual PD programs can be as effective as in person programs. Further, this is the study discovered the effectiveness of PBL training between the US and China through online format, which has not been conducted literately before. The positive results will be used to promote the online collaboration internationally in the future.

The emergence of distributed manufacturing (DM) is examined as a new form of localised production, distinct from previous manifestations of multi-domestic and indigenous production.

Supply network (SN) configuration and infrastructural provisioning perspectives were used to examine the literature on established localised production models as well as DM. A multiple case study was then undertaken to describe and explore the DM model further. A maximum variation sampling procedure was used to select five exemplar cases.

Three main contributions emerge from this study. First, the research uniquely brings together two bodies of literature, namely SN configuration and infrastructure provisioning to explore the DM context. Second, the research applies these theoretical lenses to establish the distinctive nature of DM across seven dimensions of analysis. Third, emerging DM design rules are identified and compared with the more established models of localised production, drawing on both literature and DM case evidence.

This study provides a rich SN configuration and infrastructural provisioning view on DM leading to a set of design rules for DM adoption, thus supporting practitioners in their efforts to develop viable DM implementation plans.

The authors contribute to the intra- and inter-organisational requirements for the emerging DM context by providing new perspectives through the combined lenses of SN configuration and infrastructural provisioning approaches.

Increasingly, interest in and the uptake of herbal infusions has advanced, namely, owing to their bioactive properties and potential links to health. Given this, the purpose of the present review was to collate evidence from human trials for five popular herbal infusions.

The systematic review comprised ten human trials (560 participants), investigating inter-relationships between herbal infusions consumption and health. Only human studies involving German chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla L. Asteraceae), ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe Zingiberaceae), lemon balm (Melissa officinalis L. Lamiaceae), peppermint (Mentha x spicata L. Lamiaceae)/spearmint (Mentha spicata L. Lamiaceae) and rosehip (Rosa canina L. Rosaceae) teas were included in the present paper.

Most herbal infusions serve as a good source of flavonoids and other polyphenols in the human diet. Studies included in this paper indicate that herbal infusions (1-3 cups tended to be drank daily; infusion rates up to 15 min) could benefit certain aspects of health. In particular, this includes aspects of sleep quality and glycaemic control (German chamomile), osteoarthritic stiffness and hormone control (spearmint), oxidative stress (lemon balm) and primary dysmenorrhea (rosehip).

Ongoing research is needed using homogenous herbal infusion forms, brewing rates and volumes of water to further reinforce these findings. In the meantime, herbal infusions could provide a useful supplementary approach to improving certain aspects of well-being.

The present paper collates evidence from human trials for five popular herbal infusions.

This study empirically assesses the effects of two key types of organizational and managerial capabilities—dynamic capabilities, and coordination and cohesion capabilities—on environmental performance, considering the moderating effect of family ownership. By applying the tenets of the natural resource-based view and the dynamic capabilities theory, this paper offers new insights into the topic.

The article presents empirical evidence from a survey of 1,019 firms operating in the Spanish tourism sector analyzed using multiple linear regression.

Overall, our results show that both dynamic capabilities and coordination and cohesion capabilities have direct and synergetic positive effects on environmental performance. In addition, the results confirm recent studies that report conflicting evidence on how family ownership affects environmental performance: family ownership is found to exert a distinct direct effect on environmental performance and on the development and application of the capabilities required to improve such performance.

This article sheds light on the conceptual frontiers between the different types of capabilities, as well as provides practical ways of measuring them. The article also brings evidence to bear on the debate concerning the direct and moderating effect that family ownership exerts on the relationship between both types of capabilities over environmental performance. The results of this analysis confirm the complexity of the family ownership effect on this aspect, and provide important insights for both business practitioners and academics.

本研究擬審查多頻率的及為市場成份的信息流和全球指數。

研究人員使用基於改良完全集合經驗模態分解自適應噪聲(Improved Complete Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition with Adaptive Noise)的聚類分析法,取得Rényi有效轉移熵,藉此得到研究結果。

我們發現、於大部份多頻率,在持續性股票和傳統股票間有顯著的負信息流動,這會增加多樣化的益處。這些信息流大部份是雙向的,這強調了股票市場成份及其全球指數在構建投資組合上的重要性。

我們認為持續性股票市場和傳統股票市場大多為異質市場,這顯示了市場的低效率,而且這低效率的程度頗大。

關於傳統股票的實證性文獻裡是充滿了變革動力的,這顯示了它們以多樣化為目的的回報行為。這使我們對關於持續性股票的回報行為、認識變得實在太少了。於此,大量的企業社會責任的新措施不斷提醒各公司、要本著企業社會責任的理念去營運;但投資者需清晰明白他們為何需在可見的將來保持可持續性。因此,他們卑微的願望是一個較好的多樣化投資組合得以形成,故此他們高度要求股票要有組成可靠投資組合的性質和能力,特別是在持續性股票和/或傳統股票當中。

Many countries today, especially in Europe, provide publicly funded public services in quasi-markets. As these markets commercialize, agencies of various types are providing technologies that support citizens’ choice of services. Citizens’ use of technologies for service provision is studied as e-government under labels of channel management, e-service uptake or adoption. In contrast, by using actor–network theory (ANT), the purpose of this paper is to focus on the marketing devices that are used to enroll citizens to choose technologies in a context with large penetration of quasi-market arrangements.

Based on a Swedish case study, this paper uses qualitative data from 11 occurrences of technologies to support citizens’ choice (“market devices”) in education, healthcare and public pension in an analysis of the means taken (“marketing devices”) to increase their use. The study formulates a tentative typology of these devices.

The marketing devices are intended to attract citizens’ attention to the possibility of choice (e.g. catalogs, postcards and commercials), invite interaction (e.g. various social media platforms), improve the technological support in line with user needs (e.g. user participation in development), increase visibility of technological support (e.g. search optimization) or directly connect citizens to technological support (e.g. via links).

The paper contributes to e-government research through a typology of means taken to increase citizens’ technology use based on selected concepts from ANT, and to a discussion of technologies and humans.

This paper analyses the way that the industry's competitive environment and the company's strategy influence the implementation of the supply chain's (SC’s) triple-A capabilities (agility, adaptability and alignment). Two competitive environment variables are analysed: competitive intensity of the industry and complexity of the SC. Two opposing competitive strategies are also considered: cost and differentiation.

The hypotheses have been tested using data gathered via a questionnaire given to 277 Spanish manufacturing companies, and structural equation modelling has been used for the analysis.

The results show that competitive intensity is the most influential factor followed by business strategy. SC complexity does not seem to affect agility. Moreover, although the competitive environment variables affect the business strategy, the latter has no mediating effects between the competitive environment and SC agility, adaptability and alignment capabilities.

This study presents new insights into the environmental and strategic drivers linked to the implementation of SC agility, adaptability and alignment capabilities and offers guidelines to managers involved in SC management.

本文分析產業的競爭環境和公司的策略如何影響供應鏈三A能力 (靈活性、適應能力和調整能力) 的實現。兩個競爭環境變數被分析, 就是產業的競爭強度和供應鏈的複雜性。同時, 兩個對立的競爭策略也被探討,就是價格和差異化。

各個假設均以數據測試; 數據取自277間西班牙製造商囘應之問卷, 分析則以結構方程模型進行。

研究結果顯示、競爭強度是最重要的影響因素, 其次是經營策略。供應鏈的複雜性似乎對靈活性沒有影響; 而且, 雖然競爭環境變數影響著經營策略, 但經營策略在競爭環境與供應鏈靈活性、適應能力和調整能力之間沒有起仲介效果。

本研究就環境和策略如何驅動供應鏈靈活性、適應能力和調整能力方面提供了新的啓示, 亦為負責供應鏈管理的主管提供了指引。

The development of written accuracy among learners of English as a Second Language (ESL) has always been a primary concern for ESL teachers and researchers in Applied Linguistics and Second Language Acquisition (SLA). While a vast body of research has examined written corrective feedback on students’ written products, few studies have focused on the development of written accuracy among Arabic speaking learners of English using automated feedback tools. This case study first examined the level of written accuracy of Bahraini learners of English in their second year at a higher education institute, highlighting the frequency of errors influenced by their first language (Arabic). The course following this first stage included a significant component of automated feedback on students’ writing; and this study explored the impact that the use of these feedback tools had on learners’ writing in English, tracking development over the course of an academic semester. A corpus of students’ initial writings and subsequent revisions was analysed to identify whether there was an improvement in the accuracy of students’ texts; and students’ perceptions were elicited.

ﻟط ﺎﻟ ﻣﺎ ﻛﺎ ن ﺗ طوﯾ ر اﻟدﻗﺔ ﻓ ﻲ ﻣﮭﺎ رة اﻟ ﻛﺗﺎﺑﺔ ﺑﯾ ن ﻣﺗ ﻌﻠ ﻣ ﻲ اﻟﻠ ﻐﺔ ا ﻹﻧ ﺟﻠﯾ زﯾﺔ ﻛﻠ ﻐﺔ ﺛﺎﻧﯾﺔ اﻟ ﺷـ ﻐ ل اﻟ ﺷـﺎ ﻏل ﻟ ﻣﻌﻠ ﻣ ﻲ اﻟﻠ ﻐﺔ ا ﻹﻧﺟ ﻠﯾ زﯾﺔ واﻟﺑﺎﺣ ﺛﯾ ن ﻓ ﻲ اﻟﻠ ﻐو ﯾﺎ ت اﻟ ﺗ ط ﺑﯾﻘﯾ ﺔ و ا ﻛﺗ ﺳ ـﺎ ب اﻟﻠ ﻐﺔ اﻟ ﺛﺎﻧﯾ ﺔ. ﻓ ﻲ ﺣ ﯾ ن أ ن ﻣ ﺟ ﻣو ﻋ ﺔ ﻛﺑﯾ ر ة ﻣ ن ا ﻷ ﺑ ﺣ ﺎ ث ﻗد د ر ﺳ ـ ت ﻣ ﻼ ﺣ ظ ﺎ ت ﺗ ﺻ ـ ﺣ ﯾ ﺣ ﯾ ﺔ ﺧ ط ﯾ ﺔ ﻋ ﻠ ﻰ ﻛﺗﺎﺑﺎ ت اﻟط ﻼ ب ، ﻓﻘ د رﻛز ت د را ﺳ ــﺎ ت ﻗﻠﯾﻠ ﺔ ﻋ ﻠ ﻰ ﺗ ط وﯾ ر اﻟ دﻗﺔ ﻓ ﻲ ﻣﮭﺎ رة اﻟ ﻛﺗﺎﺑ ﺔ ﺑﯾ ن ﻣﺗ ﻌﻠ ﻣ ﻲ اﻟﻠ ﻐﺔ ا ﻹ ﻧ ﺟ ﻠﯾ زﯾ ﺔ اﻟﻧﺎ ط ﻘﯾ ن ﺑﺎﻟ ﻌرﺑﯾ ﺔ ﺑﺎ ﺳ ــﺗ ﺧ دا م أدو ا ت اﻟ ﺗ ﻐذﯾ ﺔ ا ﻻ ﺳ ـــﺗ ر ﺟ ﺎ ﻋ ﯾ ﺔ ﻋ ﺑ ر ا ﻹ ﻧﺗ ر ﻧ ت . ﺗ ﺗ ﻧ ﺎ و ل د ر ا ﺳ ـ ـ ﺔ ا ﻟ ﺣ ﺎ ﻟ ﺔ ھ ذ ه أ و ﻻً ﻣ ﺳ ـ ـ ﺗ و ى ا ﻟ د ﻗ ﺔ ا ﻟ ﻣ ﻛ ﺗ و ﺑ ﺔ ﻟ ﻠ ﻣ ﺗ ﻌ ﻠ ﻣ ﯾ ن ا ﻟ ﺑ ﺣ ر ﯾ ﻧ ﯾ ﯾ ن ﻟ ﻠ ﻐ ﺔ ا ﻹ ﻧ ﺟ ﻠ ﯾ ز ﯾ ﺔ ﻓ ﻲ ﺳـ ﻧﺗ ﮭم اﻟﺛﺎﻧﯾ ﺔ ﻓ ﻲ ﻣؤﺳـ ﺳـ ﺔ ﻟﻠﺗ ﻌﻠﯾم اﻟﻌﺎﻟ ﻲ ، ﻣﻊ اﻟﺗ رﻛﯾ ز ﻋﻠ ﻰ ﺗﻛرا ر أ ﺧطﺎ ء اﻟﺗدا ﺧل ﺑﯾ ن اﻟﻠ ﻐﺔ ا ﻻوﻟ ﻰ واﻟﺛﺎﻧﯾﺔ. ﺛم ﺗ ﺳـﺗﻛ ﺷـ ف اﻟد را ﺳـ ﺔ ﺗﺄﺛﯾ ر أ دو ا ت اﻟ ﻣ ﻼﺣظﺎ ت ﻋﺑ ر ا ﻹﻧﺗ رﻧ ت ﻋﻠ ﻰ ﻛﺗﺎﺑﺔ اﻟ ﻣﺗ ﻌﻠ ﻣﯾ ن ﺑﺎﻟﻠ ﻐﺔ ا ﻹﻧ ﺟﻠﯾ زﯾﺔ ﻛﻠ ﻐﺔ ﺛﺎ ﻧﯾ ﺔ، وﺗ ﺗﺑ ﻊ اﻟﺗ طور ﺧﻼل اﻟﻔ ﺻ ـــ ل اﻟ د را ﺳـــ ﻲ. ﯾﺗ ﺿ ـــ ﻣ ن ا ﻟ ﺗ د ﺧ ل ا ﻟ ﻣ ط ﺑ ق ﻟ ﺗ ﺣ ﺳـ ﯾ ن ﺗ ﻧ ﻣ ﯾ ﺔ ﻣ ﮭ ﺎ ر ا ت ا ﻟ ﻣ ﺗ ﻌ ﻠ ﻣ ﯾ ن ﻣ ﻛ و ﻧًﺎ ﻣ ﮭ ﻣً ﺎ ﻟ ﻠ ﺗ ﻌ ﻠ ﯾ ق ﻋ ﺑ ر ا ﻹ ﻧ ﺗ ر ﻧ ت . ﻗ ﺎ ﻣ ت ا ﻟ د ر ا ﺳـ ﺔ ﺑ ﺗ ﺣ ﻠ ﯾ ل ﻣ ﺟ ﻣ و ﻋ ﺔ ﻣ ن ا ﻟ ﻛ ﺗ ﺎ ﺑ ﺎ ت ا ﻷ و ﻟ ﯾ ﺔ وا ﻟ ﻣرا ﺟﻌﺎ ت اﻟ ﻼﺣ ﻘﺔ ﻟﻠط ﻼ ب ، ﺑﺎﻹ ﺿ ﺎﻓﺔ إﻟ ﻰ ﻣر ا ﺟ ﻌﺎ ت اﻟ ﻧ ظ ر ا ء، ﻟﺗﺣ دﯾد ﻣﺎ إ ذا ﻛﺎ ن ھﻧﺎ ك ﺗ ﺣ ﺳ ن ﻓ ﻲ دﻗﺔ اﻟﻧ ﺻ و ص اﻟﻣﻛﺗ و ﺑ ﺔ ﻟﻠط ﻼ ب .

International Journal of Operations and Production Management (IJOPM)'s Impact Pathway (IP) section has been launched in 2020 to host short contributions grounded in current managerial practices and/or policy development, challenging established operations and supply chain management (OSCM) knowledge and highlighting innovative and relevant research directions. This commentary reflects on the achievements of the section, delineates the key features of IP papers and stimulates further development.

This commentary provides a brief overview of the IJOPM's IP section, taking stock of the contributions that have been published so far, analysing their topics, methodologies, insights and impact.

The 19 contributions published over the last three years have dealt with a variety of emerging topics, ranging from the COVID-19 response to additive manufacturing, leveraging on key evidence from managerial practice that challenges consolidated knowledge and theory, providing clear research directions as well as managerial and/or policy guidelines.

The commentary reflects on the importance of phenomenon-driven research that seeks to bridge the gap between theory and practice, thus increasing the impact and reach of OSCM research. This is a call for contributions from scholars, business leaders and policymakers to develop further impact-oriented research.