This paper presents the underlying rationale, the mechanisms and the output format of a computerised management information system (hereafter referred to as the MIS) designed for…
Abstract
This paper presents the underlying rationale, the mechanisms and the output format of a computerised management information system (hereafter referred to as the MIS) designed for social service agencies. The MIS has been used as the basis of a graduate course in information systems offered for the past two years at the Paul Baerwald School Work, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Maria De Marsico, Filippo Sciarrone, Andrea Sterbini and Marco Temperini
In the last years, the design and implementation of web-based education systems has grown exponentially, spurred by the fact that neither students nor teachers are bound to a…
Abstract
In the last years, the design and implementation of web-based education systems has grown exponentially, spurred by the fact that neither students nor teachers are bound to a specific location and that this form of computer-based education is virtually independent of any specific hardware platform. These systems accumulate a large amount of data: educational data mining and learning analytics are the two much related fields of research with the aim of using these educational data to improve the learning process. In this chapter, the authors investigate the peer assessment setting in communities of learners. Peer assessment is an effective didactic strategy, useful to evaluate groups of students in educational environments such as high schools and universities where students are required to answer open-ended questions to increase their problem-solving skills. Furthermore, such an approach could become necessary in the learning contexts where the number of students to evaluate could be very large as, for example, in massive open online courses. Here the author focus on the automated support to grading open answers via a peer evaluation-based approach, which is mediated by the (partial) grading work of the teacher, and produces a (partial as well) automated grading. The author propose to support such automated grading by means of two methods, coming from the data-mining field, such as Bayesian Networks and K-Nearest Neighbours (K-NN), presenting some experimental results, which support our choices.
Details
Keywords
The review of food consumption elsewhere in this issue shows the broad pattern of food supplies in this country; what and how much we eat. Dietary habits are different to what…
Abstract
The review of food consumption elsewhere in this issue shows the broad pattern of food supplies in this country; what and how much we eat. Dietary habits are different to what they were before the last War, but there have been few real changes since the end of that War. Because of supplies and prices, shifts within commodity groups have occurred, e.g. carcase meat, bread, milk, but overall, the range of foods commonly eaten has remained stable. The rise of “convenience foods” in the twenty‐five year since the War is seen as a change in household needs and the increasing employment of women in industry and commerce, rather than a change in foods eaten or in consumer preference. Supplies available for consumption have remained fairly steady throughout the period, but if the main food sources, energy and nutrient content of the diet have not changed, changes in detail have begun to appear and the broad pattern of food is not quite so markedly stable as of yore.
Clement S.F. Chow, Erdener Kaynak and Cathy J. Yang
This paper aims to investigate the balance of power between a giant manufacturer in the air conditioners market (i.e. Gree) and a giant retailer in the home appliances market…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the balance of power between a giant manufacturer in the air conditioners market (i.e. Gree) and a giant retailer in the home appliances market (anonymity preserved). Both companies are operating in the rapidly growing Chinese home appliances market. In order to access the balance of power, the paper studies their channel power conflicts and examine's which party is influenced, as a result of the inherent conflicts, to comply with the other party's marketing and channels of distribution policy.
Design/methodology/approach
This is an exploratory type of study which adopted a case research methodology. Since the focus was on channel power and power is a function of company strength, the biggest/strongest manufacturer of the air conditioner industry and the biggest/strongest retailer in the home appliances market were selected for the study. Primary data were collected through personal in‐depth interviews of senior sales and management personnel of both Gree and the giant retailer (fictitiously called Z‐retail).
Findings
The findings of the study suggest that the Chinese manufacturer possesses higher power over the Chinese retailer. While it cannot be denied that each of the giants is dependent on the other, the study results indicate that Z‐retail is more dependent on Gree than Gree is on Z‐retail. This lays out the groundwork to generate some tentative research propositions that are believed testable by future quantitative (conclusive) type of channels of distribution research.
Originality/value
Studies of how channel power and/or conflict affect the relationship between suppliers and retailers and their performance level are abundant, but studies of who possesses higher power over the other are few. The few studies of the past have been conducted in the context of the Western developed country markets. It appears that even fewer studies have been conducted in a market of an emerging economy like China. The current study attempts to investigate if the suppliers, or the retailers, in the Chinese market have a higher power over the others. It is discovered that the channel power traditionally held by the suppliers would still be retained mostly on the supplier side.