G.B. Ihde and H.H. Merkel
One of the significant features of modern economies is the extensive use of technical equipment throughout production and consumption. Defects and malfunctioning of technical…
Abstract
One of the significant features of modern economies is the extensive use of technical equipment throughout production and consumption. Defects and malfunctioning of technical products result in various extra costs in terms of interrupted production as well as lost utility and additional expenses in private households. These consequences of product failures are amplified by the interdependencies within our economic system. Following an initiative by the Federal Association of Logistics Germany (Bundesvereinigung Logistik e.V.) an investigation of spare part logistics systems (SPLSs) in a number of West German industries was just completed. The research concentrated particularly on car, truck, and farming vehicle manufacturing, household appliances, audio and television equipment, and machinery. Our attention was focused on the structure and the functioning of SPLSs, in particular, whether to make or to buy a SPLS, which efficiency standards are employed and what kind of reorganisation had taken place during recent years.
In the last four years, since Volume I of this Bibliography first appeared, there has been an explosion of literature in all the main functional areas of business. This wealth of…
Abstract
In the last four years, since Volume I of this Bibliography first appeared, there has been an explosion of literature in all the main functional areas of business. This wealth of material poses problems for the researcher in management studies — and, of course, for the librarian: uncovering what has been written in any one area is not an easy task. This volume aims to help the librarian and the researcher overcome some of the immediate problems of identification of material. It is an annotated bibliography of management, drawing on the wide variety of literature produced by MCB University Press. Over the last four years, MCB University Press has produced an extensive range of books and serial publications covering most of the established and many of the developing areas of management. This volume, in conjunction with Volume I, provides a guide to all the material published so far.
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Werner Delfmann, Sascha Albers and Martin Gehring
The impact of e‐commerce on the business environment is often praised but seldom analyzed with scrutiny. In this paper we try to depict the underlying logistically relevant…
Abstract
The impact of e‐commerce on the business environment is often praised but seldom analyzed with scrutiny. In this paper we try to depict the underlying logistically relevant aspects of e‐commerce and their impacts on logistics service providers. This seems to be of considerable importance, as logistics is seen as the back‐bone of e‐commerce operations. However, the firms specializing in this field are commonly neglected. We argue that the logistical implications of e‐commerce can be differentiated into two main categories: the rise of e‐marketplaces; and the elimination of supply chain elements (disintermediation). By analyzing these two categories and their major logistical implications in detail we deduct strategic consequences for logistics service providers.
Due to the growing percentage share of urban dwellers, the physical distribution of products faces altering conditions. This research explores the effects that urbanization has on…
Abstract
Purpose
Due to the growing percentage share of urban dwellers, the physical distribution of products faces altering conditions. This research explores the effects that urbanization has on the performance of a fast-moving consumer goods distribution network. A focus is set on changes in distribution cost, the cost-minimal network design, and greenhouse gas emissions.
Design/methodology/approach
The analyses are based on a quantitative distribution network model of an existing manufacturer of consumer goods.
Findings
The results indicate that the foreseen population shift will affect the network's economic and environmental performance. Effects are, among others, due to differences in the efficiency of supplying urban and nonurban regions. The combined effects of urbanization and the development of the population size will even more affect the network's performance.
Originality/value
Research dealing with distribution logistics and urbanization primarily focuses on city logistics. In this paper, the object of analysis is the entire distribution system.
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Peter G. Eibl, Roddy Mackenzie and David B. Kidner
Presents an in‐depth case study of the practical experience of applyinginteractive vehicle routeing and scheduling software at a major brewingcompany in the United Kingdom (UK)…
Abstract
Presents an in‐depth case study of the practical experience of applying interactive vehicle routeing and scheduling software at a major brewing company in the United Kingdom (UK). Illustrates the use of the software at all levels of transport planning and addresses strategic, tactical and operational issues; comprises a review of the software′s overall implementation and its consequences within the organization. Special attention is given to the critical analysis of both quantitative and qualitative benefits, as well as organizational problems arising from the use of such software.
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Nima Talebian and Turkan Ulusu Uraz
This study aims to explore the concepts of ‘place' and ‘place-experience' within the context of Post-phenomenology. During 70's, humanistic geographers have introduced…
Abstract
This study aims to explore the concepts of ‘place' and ‘place-experience' within the context of Post-phenomenology. During 70's, humanistic geographers have introduced ‘phenomenology of place' as a revolutionary approach toward place, which has been largely condemned by Marxist, Feminist and Post-Structural critiques through the last three decades. Accordingly, this study attempts to merge these place-related critiques in order to clarify a new framework titled ‘Post-phenomenology of place'. ‘Post-phenomenology', as a novel philosophical trend, is a merged school of thought, trying to re-read phenomenology based on Post-structuralism, Pragmatism and Materialism. In this study after a theoretical review on the formation of Post-phenomenology, the various aspects of place are discussed in order to clarify distinctions and paradoxes between phenomenological and Post-phenomenological understandings of place.
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Hans Voordijk, Seirgei Miller and Faridaddin Vahdatikhaki
Using real-time support systems may help operators in road construction to improve paving and compaction operations. Nowadays, these systems transform from descriptive to…
Abstract
Purpose
Using real-time support systems may help operators in road construction to improve paving and compaction operations. Nowadays, these systems transform from descriptive to prescriptive systems. Prescriptive or operator guidance systems propose operators actionable compaction strategies and guidance, based on the data collected. It is investigated how these systems mediate the perceptions and actions of operators in road pavement practice.
Design/methodology/approach
A case study is conducted on the specific application of an operator guidance system in a road pavement project. In this case study, comprehensive information is presented regarding the process of converting input in the form of data from cameras and sensors into useful output. The ways in which the operator guidance systems translate data into actionable guidance for operators are analyzed from the technological mediation perspective.
Findings
Operator guidance systems mediate actions of operators physically, cognitively and contextually. These different types of action mediation are related to preconditions for successful implementation and use of these systems. Coercive interventions only succeed if there is widespread agreement among the operators. Persuasive interventions are most effective when collective and individual interests align. Contextual influence relates to designs of the operator guidance systems that determine human-technology interactions when using them.
Originality/value
This is the first study that analyzes the functioning of an operator guidance system using the technological mediation approach. It adds a new perspective on the interaction between this system and its users in road pavement practice.
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The purpose of this study is to examine the role of videoconferencing technologies for mediating and transforming emotional experiences in virtual context.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine the role of videoconferencing technologies for mediating and transforming emotional experiences in virtual context.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing on empirical data of video conferencing experiences, this study identifies different constitutive relations with technology through which actors cope with actual or potential anxieties in virtual meetings. It draws on the phenomenological-existential tradition (Sartre and Merleau-Ponty) and on an interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA) to conceptualize and illustrate the role of affective affordances in virtual settings.
Findings
The study identifies four different body–technology–other relations that provide different action possibilities, both disclosing and concealing, for navigating emotional experiences in virtual encounters of mutual gazing. These findings offer insights into the anatomy of virtual emotions and provide explanations on the nature of Zoom fatigue (interactive exhaustion) and heightened feelings of self-consciousness resulting from video conferencing interactions.
Originality/value
This paper builds on and extends current scholarship on technological affordances, as well as emotions, to suggest that technologies also afford different tactics for navigating emotional experiences. Thus, this paper proposes the notion of affective affordance that can expand current information system (IS) and organization studies (OS) scholarship in important ways. The focus is on videoconference technologies and meetings that have received little research attention and even less so from a perspective on emotions. Importantly, the paper offers nuanced insights that can advance current research discourse on the relationships between technology, human body and emotions.
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Jess Hardley and Ingrid Richardson
This chapter considers how phenomenology and ethnography can be combined as an interpretive strategy for studying mobile media practices in everyday life. We argue that haptic…
Abstract
This chapter considers how phenomenology and ethnography can be combined as an interpretive strategy for studying mobile media practices in everyday life. We argue that haptic methodologies in mobile media research generate an overflow of data that are often difficult to capture in written form. The dilemma of data excess is discussed in the context of a 4-year research project on gendered mobile media practices, exploring how mobile devices are often intertwined with the experience of bodily safety in urban environments. Our primary aim was to investigate the relationship between networked connectivity, mobile media and perceptions of risk in terms of bodily experience, including affective or emotional feelings. This chapter focuses on the haptic methods and techniques used during home visits with participants and the various ways that the volume and density of data are subsequently thinned out to become manageable and publishable. We first situate our research within haptic and mobile media studies, followed by an explanation of phenomenology and how it can be used to inform ethnographic methods in ways that are particularly useful for researching haptic media practices. This chapter then provides some examples of how the data are always in excess, an overflow resulting from the variability and individuality of participant experience and the difficulty of describing and accounting for personal histories and feelings. Finally, we show how the data can be strategically ‘contained’ in the process of writing for the purposes of publication, thematic framing and knowledge translation.