He said, Ze said

Thrust into the chaos of freshman orientation, you met more people than you could remember. You tried to remember their name, major, hometown…and preferred personal pronoun? Chances are, probably not

Influential Article Review - Omni-channel General Merchandise Fulfillment Networks

This paper examines logistics. We present insights from a highly influential paper. Here are the highlights from this paper: The growing importance of online sales means that traditional bricks-and-mortar retailers need to create new distribution systems to serve customers through multiple channels. Building an effective and efficient omni-channel (OC) distribution system, however, leads to multiple challenges. The questions arise for example, from where online orders should be fulfilled, how delivery and return processes can be organized, and which context-specific OC distribution systems exist. Answering these questions retail research and practice require an overall view of the distribution concepts for direct-to-customer and store deliveries in OC retailing, including the associated return processes. This overall picture is still missing in the literature. We conducted an exploratory study to close this observable gap in the literature. This exploratory study is based on semi-structured interviews with major OC retailers in German-speaking countries and was complemented by market data research and discussions with further experts in the field of OC retailing. Based on the results of the study, the forward distribution system in OC retailing is characterized by the sources (supplier DCs, retailer DCs, stores) and destinations (home, store) which describe the options for store delivery, home delivery, and store pickup. Return processes are likewise characterized by the sources (store, home) and destinations (store, DC, return center). This framework forms the foundation for analyzing contextual criteria, identifying when the different conceptual designs are applied, determining industry-specific characteristics, and illustrating ways to further advance OC retailing. The present paper, therefore, contributes to the literature in three main areas: (1) it identifies and systematizes the forward and backward concepts in OC retailing, (2) it reveals application and development areas for achieving excellence in OC fulfillment and logistics, and (3) shows the need for developing sector- and context-specific OC distribution systems. For our overseas readers, we then present the insights from this paper in Spanish, French, Portuguese, and German

MOOCs - mass marketing for a niche audience?

Context The Gateway Project extends the MBA Plus through the development of a key module as an open learning MOOC. This work in progress consider the issues involved in developing open learning suitable for a broad and unknown audience with a view to encouraging users to sign up for a formal MBA. Rationale The MOOC has two intentions: to give the student insight into the demands of postgraduate study while introducing the core area of Critical Issues in Business. This will be achieved through a series of key topics from expert speakers that leads into a reflective and collaborative activities that allows students to engage with others to consider key issues while simultaneously assessing the demands of undertaking an online postgraduate programme before making a full commitment. There are risks in this strategy, we may lose students that would have previously signed up for the MBA programme but the Module Team also see a potential to introduce and market the MBA to a global audience through open online learning. Discussion This MOOC is an ideal platform to introduce potential students to Northampton Business School’s flagship MBAPlus Programme and raise the profile of the University of Northampton worldwide. There is some evidence that MOOCs are being used as a strategic tool to explore alternative models of course delivery (Allen & Seaman, 2013). This short paper will discuss progress and introduce a range of discussion topics including the issues with learning design for open learning, planning for engagement and the generic topic of developing MOOCs in higher education, is it education for the masses or just edu-tainment (Scott, 2013) where do we go from here ..

Designing for online learning

During a time of change in HE we need to make sure we are broadening access to knowledge, enabling global mobility, being competitive and embracing new technologies - how do we do this

Development and validation of an astronomy self-efficacy instrument for understanding and doing

This paper presents a new astronomy self-efficacy instrument, composed of two factors; one relating to learning astronomy content, which we call astronomy personal self-efficacy, and the other relating to the use of astronomical instrumentation, specifically the use of remote robotic telescopes for data collection. The latter is referred to as the astronomy instrumental self-efficacy factor. The instrument has been tested for reliability and construct validity. Reliability testing showed that factor 1 had a Cronbach\u27s α of 0.901 and factor 2 had a Cronbach\u27s α of 0.937. Construct validity was established by computing one-way analyses of variances, with the p value suitably protected, using independent variables peripherally related to the constructs. These analyses demonstrate that both scales possess high construct validity. The development of this astronomy specific instrument is an important step in evaluating self-efficacy as a precursor to investigating the construct of science identity in the field of astronomy

Use of an Observational Coding System with Families of Adolescents: Psychometric Properties among Pediatric and Healthy Populations

Objective: To examine reliability and validity data for the Family Interaction Macro-coding System (FIMS) with adolescents with spina bifida (SB), adolescents with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM), and healthy adolescents and their families.Methods: Sixty-eight families of children with SB, 58 families of adolescents with T1DM, and 68 families in a healthy comparison group completed family interaction tasks and self-report questionnaires. Trained coders rated family interactions using the FIMS.Results: Acceptable interrater and scale reliabilities were obtained for FIMS items and subscales. Observed FIMS parental acceptance, parental behavioral control, parental psychological control, family cohesion, and family conflict scores demonstrated convergent validity with conceptually similar self-report measures.Conclusions: Preliminary evidence supports the use of the FIMS with families of youths with SB and T1DM and healthy youths. Future research on overall family functioning may be enhanced by use of the FIMS

The Banking Sector and Recovery in the EU Economy. ESRI Research Bulletin 2011/2/2

The financial crisis of the last three years has seen a dramatic change in the EU financial sector. Since the early 1990s, with the completion of the internal market, there had been a growing trend towards an EU financial services market. Banks were becoming more international with greater regional coverage within the EU (and the world) resulting in a more efficient use of capital in the EU economy and enhanced competition. The benefit of this growth in “European” banks was expected to arise from both efficiency gains within the sector and also from a more efficient allocation of capital across wider European economy, all leading to higher growth. Experience has shown that the expected changes in the banking sector within the EU did, in fact, translate into welfare benefits for consumers in the period prior to the current crisis

Snapshot of Internet Innovation: Using e-Philanthropy to Expand Volunteering, Giving and Community Building

A report on the 3rd e-Philanthropy Conference in McLean, Virginia, USA, exploring the strategic issues and promising practices of the Internet to increase various forms of civic engagement including giving, volunteering, and community buildin

Development of a Sustainable Community‐Based Dental Education Program

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/153534/1/jddj002203372011758tb05148x.pd

Labour commodification in the employment heartland: Union responses to teachers' temporary work

This article analyses the commodification of professional labour and union responses to these processes within the employment heartland. It explores the category of fixed-contract or ‘temporary’ employment using Australian public school teaching as the empirical lens. Established to address intensifying conditions of labour market insecurity, the union-led creation of the temporary category was intended to partly decommodify labour by providing intermediate security between permanent and ‘casual’ employment. However, using historical case and contemporary survey data, we discern that escalation of temporary teacher numbers and intensifying work-effort demands concurrently increased insecurity within the teacher workforce, constituting recommodification. The paper contributes to scant literature on unions and commodification, highlighting that within the current marketised context, labour commodification may occur through contradictory influences at multiple levels, and that union responses to combat this derogation of work must similarly be multi-level and sustained