Search results

Grocery store tasks provide many opportunities for efficiency and ergonomic improvements. Shelf stocking is one task that has received considerable attention in recent years as grocery stores seek to remain competitive by stocking shelves in an efficient manner in order to satisfy customers. The purpose of this paper is to detail an analysis performed to evaluate the effectiveness of a grocery store shelf stocking tool. This shelf stocking aid is a device designed to improve the accuracy and efficiency of stocking and fronting shelves in a supermarket or a similar retail environment.

To test the claims that the device actually does improve stocking accuracy, efficiency, and ergonomic soundness, an experiment was conducted to compare the processes of stocking shelves and fronting items on shelves with and without the stocking tool. In creating the realistic conditions of a real-world store environment, extensive inquiry about item stocking and fronting procedures was made by visiting stores and discussing the stocking and fronting tasks with industry experts. Tests were performed at varying combinations of shelf heights, shelf fullness, with and without First-In First-Out processing, and with various merchandise sizes and shapes.

The results indicate that the shelf stocking tool significantly reduces shelf stocking and fronting time. The ergonomic merits of the tool were also analyzed. A Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA) was performed to evaluate biomechanical and postural stresses experienced by a shelf stocker as they stock and front store shelves. It appears that the largest contributor to higher-than-expected RULA scores is extensive upper torso bending in the sagittal plane at the L5 S1 disc position. This is exacerbated as the stocker reaches lower shelves and bends forward to reach under the shelf directly above the item being stocked or fronted.

Only three tall and five short items were used in testing. More testing is needed to draw conclusions about stacking items. Cumulative fatigue effects were not tested nor were the locations of specific physical discomfort. Testing was not done to examine simultaneously fronting two rows with the shelf stocking tool. Testing was not done to simulate the use of a step stool, including moving and repositioning the step stool for manual restocking and fronting on high shelves. The step stool handling would improve relative performance of the shelf stocking tool because the tool eliminates the need for a step stool.

Grocery store shelf stocking associates are at risk of developing cumulative trauma type injuries from awkward posture that they have to use when stocking shelves. With many small items on a shelf that are continually becoming disheveled as customers purchase the items, there are significant inefficiencies in continually arranging and rearranging the items as well as adding new. The analysis of a tool of the type tested here has shown that the use of a simple tool such as the one tested can go a long way to improving both of these elements of the stocking and fronting task.

While the shelf stocking tool is not necessarily a remedy for bending, it appears to reduce more pronounced bending than what is required without it. For stocking or fronting upper shelves, it also appears to reduce the extensive reaches (the second most stressful contributor to the high RULA scores). This approach to stocking and fronting shelves has helped to verify the idea that a tool such as this can help to improve not only the speed and efficiency at which the task is accomplished it can also reduce the stress on the back and shoulders during this tedious task.

Addresses the issue of valuation variation. The fundamental research question is to establish the range of valuations which a group of qualified valuers operating in the same market and using the same basic assumptions would produce in their estimation of price. It significantly extends the approach adopted by Hager and Lord and draws conclusions about different market sectors, locations and size of firms. The results of the survey show a wide variation in value across both rack rented and reversionary interests. In terms of the former over 80 per cent of all valuations produced a variation from the mean of less than 20 per cent with a corresponding figure of over 90 per cent for the reversionary investments. These levels of accuracy fall short of the contention that valuers can value to within 5‐10 per cent of market value.

D.H. Lawrence thought Lady Chatterley’s Lover was his best and most important novel. Yet he had to pay to have it privately printed. His publishers thought his sexual descriptions and language were obscene under the censorship laws of the UK and the USA, and they were right. From 1928 until 1959 no‐one could legally publish or sell the unexpurgated novel, and copies were subject to confiscation. All this changed in 1959 when Charles Rembar successfully defended Grove Press’s right to publish the novel. His defense, which rested on a unique interpretation of Justice Brennan’s opinion in Roth v. United States, introduced the redeeming‐social‐value test for obscenity. Within six years it revolutionized American obscenity laws, ensuring that sexual material with even a small measure of social value would enjoy First Amendment protection.

W. Canning Materials Ltd have announced the appointment of Mr W. E. I. Galloway as Managing Director with effect from 1st January, 1985. The Company is a leading manufacturer and supplier of industrial and speciality chemicals for the surface finishing industry.

THE Deutsche Luftfahrtschau, or as it is more generally known, the Hanover Air Show, held every two years by the Bundesverband der Deutschen Luft‐ und Raumfahrtindustrie e.V. (Federal Association of the German Air and Spacecraft Industries). This year's Show will be held from April 26 to May 5 at the Hanover Langenhagen Airport and will be held at the same time as the famous Hanover Fair.

THE Farnborough 1966 Show was at first glance much the same mixture as before, but the second glance was the more revealing. The participation in the flying display of European aircraft by no means swamped the air, even if the Italian verve took the acrobatic honours, but the theme of collaboration with other countries was to be found on practically every stand inside the exhibition tent. It was obvious that the smaller firms not directly involved in production agreements with other nations were very export conscious. The pacemaker of all this collaboration was of course the Concorde, only to be seen in model form, but rapidly taking shape at Toulouse and Filton, and many of the equipment manufacturers had Concorde hardware on display. Beagle announced the Pup, Britten‐Norman produced the production Islander, and Handley Page showed the Jetstream mock‐up. After many years of neglect, the industry is now taking an interest in the general aviation market. The P.1127 (R.A.F.) made its first appearance. The paradox of the P.1127 is that it is almost a part of Farnborough history, yet there is no other V/S.T.O.L. aircraft in the world that has but a fraction of the operating experience it has gained. Farnborough this year gave the impression of being more a serious trade show, and less a public spectacle. Sir Richard Smeeton, Director of the Society of British Aerospace Companies, reported that the exhibiting firms had received more serious business enquiries this year than ever before, and he forecast that 1968 would be a vintage year, which would see the appearance of the HS.801, the Concorde and Jaguar in the Farnborough skies. It is not possible to cover every exhibit shown at the Farnborough Show, but the following report describes a wide cross‐section beginning with the exhibits of the major airframe and engine companies.

THE LIBRARY ASSOCIATION'S worsening financial position is a matter of general concern, and any constructive suggestions will no doubt be helpful to the Honorary Treasurer and others who plan our finances. The present Library Association structure is workable in practice, but it is becoming increasingly expensive to maintain, and a little thought begins to show the possibilities of economy, without any loss of effectiveness. The most important associated factor at the present time is the possibility of drastic local government reorganisation in 1974, only one year after the earliest date when Library Association subscriptions can be increased. The effect of this reorganisation, as at present proposed, on Library Association structure, needs to be borne in mind.

The study applied the Unified Theory of Technology Acceptance and Use Theory 2 (UTAUT2) to predict blended learning acceptance by students in universities in Zimbabwe. Blended learning is a heterogeneous mode of teaching and learning that combines face-to-face (F2F) and online modes. Owing to advances in technology, and recently, the advent of pandemics, such as COVID-19, the need for multimodal teaching approaches, such as blended learning, to enhance access to education in universities has become very important.

A quantitative approach that used a structured questionnaire for data collection from a sample of 432 postgraduate students was used. Data validation was done using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The structural equation modelling technique was used for data analysis.

Results showed that out of the seven factors of the UTAUT2, the factors such as performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influences, facilitating conditions and hedonic motivation significantly and positively influenced the behavioural intentions of students in universities to accept blended learning. On the other hand, habit and price value did not significantly influence university students' behavioural intentions to accept the bended learning mode. It was further shown in the study that behavioural intentions significantly influenced the acceptance of blended learning by university students. In light of the above results, it was concluded that the UTAUT2 could be used to predict the acceptance of blended learning by university students.

The main study limitation was that it was only carried out at universities that had information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure challenges owing to the fact that the economic situation in Zimbabwe is depressed. Limited ICT infrastructure in the universities might have had some impact on the nature of behavioural intentions of students to accept blended learning as a learning mode. Further research could be carried out in countries with better economies that are able to fund ICT infrastructures of their universities and to establish whether the results of the current study could either be confirmed, disconfirmed or enriched.

The paper suggests that universities need to increase investment in ICT infrastructure as well as in capacitating students with the necessary ICT skills for the effective use of institutional ICT when learning using the blended learning mode. Without adequate and appropriate ICT infrastructure as well as necessary ICT skills, students may develop low motivation levels and negative attitudes towards blended learning, which may eventually may affect their acceptance of the learning mode.

There is no known study that has been conducted using the UTAUT2 to establish antecedents of behavioural intentions of students to accept blended learning in the context of Zimbabwean universities. This study therefore opens new ground on factors influencing the acceptance of blended learning in the context of Zimbabwean universities. Also, the results showed that habit and price value do not significantly contribute to the behavioural intentions of university students to accept blended learning, which is not consistent with findings of past studies. This inconsistency opens new opportunities for further studies on the conditions under which these two factors can be used to significantly contribute to the development of behavioural intentions of students to accept blended learning.