Transparency is Key to an Efficient Supply Chain

There was a time when customers cared little as to how a company or business sourced its products and resources. They didn’t think much about a brand’s economic and social impact. They cared even less about sustainability and environmental influence. Those days are long gone. According to a 2015 survey by Cone Communications, 81 percent of global consumers now consider a company’s corporate social responsibility when making a buying decision. That, of course, includes their supply chain and the impact it has on its surroundings. If you’re sourcing materials or resources in a way that has a negative impact, your customers will find out, and that will have a direct result on your performance. This is just one prominent reason for switching to a more transparent, more efficient supply chain

Factors Influencing College Selection by NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Players

National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III basketball, coaches are often faced with the challenge of stretching resources to successfully recruit players who will represent the institution without the benefit of athletic scholarships. Having a better grasp of the factors that influence the college selection of NCAA Division III players might assist these coaches in more efficiently maximizing their resources. The purposes of this study were to (a) examine specific factors which influence why DIII basketball players made their choice to attend a particular school, (b) determine if there were differences based upon the type of school attended, and (c) examine whether there were categorical factors that differed on the basis of a players recruitment, year in school, race/ethnicity, playing status, or financial aid status.   Using the revised Influential Factors Survey for Student Athletes (IFSSA-R; Pauline, 2010), 503 DIII men’s basketball players were surveyed. Participant responses indicated that ‘career opportunities’ was the most vital item affecting college selection. With regard to the five categorical factors (academic, athletic, coaching staff, financial aid, and social atmosphere) academic factors were also found to be important.   Analyses revealed significant (p < .05) differences as determined by type of school for the athletic, academic, and financial aid subscales.  Results of the study will provide useful information for DIII men’s basketball coaches and college administrators throughout various points in the recruiting and college selection process.  Keywords: coaching, recruiting, basketball, NCAA Division III, college selectio

From Invisibility to Belonging: Supports and Challenges of First-Generation College Students Who Identify as Racial or Ethnic Minorities

Martinez, Megan N. From Invisibility to Belonging: Supports and Challenges of First- Generation College Students who Identify as Racial and Ethnic Minorities. Published Doctor of Philosophy dissertation, University of Northern Colorado, 2020. The experience of navigating through college is fraught with challenges, and within six years only 20 percent of first-generation college students graduate with their bachelor’s degree (RTI International, 2019b). Additionally, these students experience notable academic difficulties during college when compared to peers, including lower GPA (Chen & Carroll, 2005; D’Amico & Dika, 2013; Lohfink & Paulsen, 2005), decreased academic engagement (Soria & Stebleton, 2012b), and greater likelihood of withdrawing from or repeating coursework in college (Chen & Carroll, 2005). The purpose of this phenomenological study was to (a) understand how first-generation students who identify as racial or ethnic minorities experience support and challenges, and how they overcome challenges, as they navigate diverse social spheres and (b) to add to the body of knowledge about the relational experiences of first-generation students and how these relationships change during the duration of their undergraduate career. Narratives were gathered from 12 first-generation college students who identify as racial and ethnic minorities from a mid-sized institution in the Rocky Mountain region. From these narratives, 14 themes emerged including: Strengths, Isolation, Shared Identity, Cultural Values, Visibility, Awareness of Faculty’s Willingness to Help, Mentorship, Connection with Peers, Knowing Where to Find Help, Understanding What it Takes to Succeed, Honoring Hard Work and Sacrifice, Modeling, Success for Future Generations, Emotional Support and Encouragement, and Experiences with Counseling. Results guide implications for empowering first-generation college students who identify as racial and ethnic minorities for counseling psychologists and mental health professionals working in university counseling centers, faculty and mentors working with this population, and supportive family members. Keywords: first-generation students, racial, ethnic, university, culture, support, challenges, qualitative study, strengths

What Does it Take to Make Discovery a Success?: A Survey of Discovery Tool Adoption, Instruction, and Evaluation Among Academic Libraries

Discovery tools have been widely adopted by academic libraries, yet little information exists that connects common practices regarding discovery tool implementation, maintenance, assessment, and staffing with conventions for research and instruction. The authors surveyed heads of reference and instruction departments in research and land-grant university libraries. The survey results revealed common practices with discovery tools among academic libraries. This study also draws connections between operational, instructional, and assessment practices and perceptions that participants have of the success of their discovery tool. Participants who indicated successful implementation of their discovery tool hailed from institutions that made significant commitments to the operations, maintenance, and acceptance of their discovery tool. Participants who indicated an unsuccessful implementation, or who were unsure about the success of their implementation, did not make lasting commitments to the technical maintenance, operations, and acceptance of their discovery tool

Assessing the Psychometric Properties of Both a Global and a Domain-Specific Perceived Quality of Life Measure When Used with Youth Who Have Chronic Conditions

The purpose of this paper was to assess the psychometric properties of the Students’ Life Satisfaction Scale (SLSS) and the Brief Multidimensional Students’ Life Satisfaction Scale (BMSLSS) when used with youth who have chronic conditions. Baseline data from a longitudinal study examining predictors of changes in perceived quality of life (PQOL) for youth with chronic conditions were used. SLSS and BMSLSS data were collected on over 400 youth aged 11–17 using youth self-report and parent proxy-report versions. Internal consistency, convergent validity, and factor structure were examined for both versions. Extent of agreement and magnitude of differences between youth and parent report were evaluated. Finally, gender, age, and condition group differences in youth report scores were examined for the SLSS and BMSLSS. Strong internal consistency was demonstrated for the youth and parent reports of both measures. As with normative samples, a single factor structure was found for youth and parent reports of the BMSLSS. However, both youth and parent reports of the SLSS had a two-factor structure: one consisting of five positively worded items, and the other, two negatively worded items. Youth reported their PQOL to be significantly higher than did their parents. Significant differences in PQOL scores for the youth report were not found by age, gender, or conditions. Findings show that, from a psychometric standpoint, the BMSLSS (both youth and parent report) is a promising measure of PQOL for use in population-based research with youth who have chronic conditions. The SLSS may need to be revised to exclude negative items when used with this population of youth

Three-year Trajectories of Global Perceived Quality of Life for Youth With Chronic Health Conditions

Purpose Objectives of this longitudinal study were to examine 3-year trajectories of global perceived quality of life (QOL) for youth with chronic health conditions, as obtained from youth and parent reports, and to identify personal and environmental factors associated with the trajectory groups for each perspective. Methods Youth with various chronic conditions aged 11–17 years and one of their parents were recruited from eight children’s treatment centers. Latent class growth analysis was used to investigate perceived QOL trajectories (separately for youth and parent perspectives) over a 3-year period (four data collection time points spaced 12 months apart). Multinomial logistic regression was employed to identify factors associated with these trajectories. Results A total of 439 youth and one of their parents participated at baseline, and 302 (69 %) of those youth/parent dyads completed all four data collection time points. Two QOL trajectories were identified for the youth analysis: ‘high and stable’ (85.7 %) and ‘moderate/low and stable’ (14.3 %), while three trajectories were found for the parent analysis: ‘high and stable’ (35.7 %), ‘moderate and stable’ (46.6 %), and ‘moderate/low and stable’ (17.7 %). Relative to the ‘high and stable’ groups, youth with more reported pain/other physical symptoms, emotional symptoms, and home/community barriers were more likely to be in the ‘moderate and stable’ or ‘moderate/low and stable’ groups. Also, youth with higher reported self-determination, spirituality, family social support, family functioning, school productivity/engagement, and school belongingness/safety were less likely to be in the ‘moderate and stable’ or ‘moderate/low and stable’ groups, compared to the ‘high and stable’ groups. Conclusion Findings suggest that youth with chronic conditions experience stable global perceived QOL across time, but that some individuals maintain stability at moderate to moderate/low levels which is related to ongoing personal and environmental influences. Potential benefits of universal strategies and programs to safeguard resilience for all youth and targeted interventions to optimize certain youths’ global perceived QOL are indicated