Business Value from Closed-loop Supply Chains

This study provides a complete framework to define and classify the value that firms can attain by their closed-loop supply chains (CLSC) and analyzes the role of information systems (IS) in this process. We present a novel typology to identify the four value types a firm can generate in CLSCs, namely sourcing, environmental, customer, and informational value. Particularly the last two types have not been recognized in literature. We adopt a case methodology and analyze 8 cases to illustrate the generation of each value type through CLSCs and highlight the role that IS play in this value generation. We ground our analysis on the integrative model of IT business value in [30] which considers the role of external business partners, which is essential to CLSCs. We find 3 key results: (1) IS is an essential enabler for all value types, (2) while sourcing value and to some extent environmental value, can be created with IS internal to the firm, the novel value types (customer and informational) can only be created with extraorganizational IS, (3) the value created by extraorganizational systems can only be created if the appropriate intraorganizational systems are in place. Our findings show that substantial value can be gained from implementing IS in CLSCs but stakeholder collaboration is necessary to reap the full value. This is an important managerial insight for the firms who still consider CLSC activities as costly and do not notice all the benefits that they can obtain from CLSCs

Call to Action: SARS-CoV-2 and CerebrovAscular DisordErs (CASCADE)

Background and purpose: The novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-Cov-2), now named coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), may change the risk of stroke through an enhanced systemic inflammatory response, hypercoagulable state, and endothelial damage in the cerebrovascular system. Moreover, due to the current pandemic, some countries have prioritized health resources towards COVID-19 management, making it more challenging to appropriately care for other potentially disabling and fatal diseases such as stroke. The aim of this study is to identify and describe changes in stroke epidemiological trends before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: This is an international, multicenter, hospital-based study on stroke incidence and outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic. We will describe patterns in stroke management, stroke hospitalization rate, and stroke severity, subtype (ischemic/hemorrhagic), and outcomes (including in-hospital mortality) in 2020 during COVID-19 pandemic, comparing them with the corresponding data from 2018 and 2019, and subsequently 2021. We will also use an interrupted time series (ITS) analysis to assess the change in stroke hospitalization rates before, during, and after COVID-19, in each participating center. Conclusion: The proposed study will potentially enable us to better understand the changes in stroke care protocols, differential hospitalization rate, and severity of stroke, as it pertains to the COVID-19 pandemic. Ultimately, this will help guide clinical-based policies surrounding COVID-19 and other similar global pandemics to ensure that management of cerebrovascular comorbidity is appropriately prioritized during the global crisis. It will also guide public health guidelines for at-risk populations to reduce risks of complications from such comorbidities. © 202

On the Co-Ordinated Convex Functions

In this paper, some new integral inequalities are given for convex functions on the co-ordinates. By using well-known classical inequalities and a new integral identity (Lemma 1), we obtain some general results for co-ordinated convex functions