TEACHING MICRO-COMPUTER SKILLS TO MANAGEMENT STUDENTS: ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT, GENDER, STUDENT EFFORT ON HOMEWORK, AND LEARNING PERFORMANCE

This paper examines the relationship between previous computer exposure, past academic achievement, time spent on homework, and performance in a course teaching computer literacy by means of an exploratory study using undergraduate management students. The results show that mate students with low past academic performance can gain most from previous computer exposure. Furthermore, female students are benefit more from an extra effort into the microcomputer course than having previously attended a course teaching traditional computer literacy. Females appear more effective in transferring time spent using the equipment into better performance than their male peers are, thereby closing the performance gap to their higher achieving peers of the same sex faster than do males do. The implications of the results for training and future research are discussed

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Systems and the Manufacturing-Marketing Interface: An Information Processing Theory View

The manufacturing-marketing (MM) interface has received substantial consideration in the operations management literature; however, relatively little attention has been paid to the role of information systems in facilitating MM integration. As integrated cross-functional systems, enterprise resource planning systems (ERP) are well-suited to provide MM integration. Based on information processing theory, the central proposition of this paper is the greater the interdependence between manufacturing and marketing, the greater the benefit of ERP. Specifically, H1 states that the greater ERP-enabled coordination between manufacturing and marketing, the greater the benefit of ERP to the plant. H2 states that the degree to which ERP-enabled manufacturing-marketing coordination improvements are realized, depends on the amount of interdependence between manufacturing and marketing. Using multiple regression, the model is tested on survey data from 107 manufacturing plants running ERP. The data support H1 and H2. These findings support the general proposition that interdependence between functions is one factor that influences the degree to which organizations reap benefits from their ERP investments. Based on the ERP literature, the model controls for the amount of time that ERP has been running in the plant; This factor was found to be insignificant in the model. However, exploratory analysis finds that time is associated with other ERP benefits

Safe Third Countries: European Developments

This article touches on an important aspect of Western European asylum policy. Whenever possible, countries try to send back asylum seekers to so-called ‘safe third countries'. The existence of a ‘safe third country' results in the asylum seeker being refused entry, in expulsion during the asylum procedure or in refusal of the asylum application. However, the principle only works if the asylum seekers or refugees can actually be sent back to third countries. Both the Dublin Convention and the Schengen Agreement offer certain possibilities. At present, European countries are trying to conclude readmission agreements with as many third countries as possible. This article deals in particular with the multilateral Schengen-Poland Agreement and with the treaty between Switzerland and Germany, considered as an example of a modern bilateral readmission agreement. There are limits, however, to the expulsion of asylum seekers to third countries. In particular, the 1951 Convention and the ECHR demand that a certain minimum standard be met. Furthermore, in the area of ‘soft law', the conclusions of the UNHCR Executive Committee must be observed. The authors examine the practical situation in certain European countries (Germany, France, Austria and Switzerland) and show to what extent the third country principle plays a role in national legislation and practice. They conclude with some remarks about the responsibilities of the host States, so-called safety in third or fourth States and die relationship between the readmission agreements and conventions governing State responsibility for examining asylum applications (Dublin and Schengen

Calibration of Computational Models with Categorical Parameters and Correlated Outputs via Bayesian Smoothing Spline ANOVA

It has become commonplace to use complex computer models to predict outcomes in regions where data does not exist. Typically these models need to be calibrated and validated using some experimental data, which often consists of multiple correlated outcomes. In addition, some of the model parameters may be categorical in nature, such as a pointer variable to alternate models (or submodels) for some of the physics of the system. Here we present a general approach for calibration in such situations where an emulator of the computationally demanding models and a discrepancy term from the model to reality are represented within a Bayesian Smoothing Spline (BSS) ANOVA framework. The BSS-ANOVA framework has several advantages over the traditional Gaussian Process, including ease of handling categorical inputs and correlated outputs, and improved computational efficiency. Finally this framework is then applied to the problem that motivated its design; a calibration of a computational fluid dynamics model of a bubbling fluidized which is used as an absorber in a CO2 capture system

Starting from Scratch: Creating an Information Technology Infrastructure for MEMS-Related Research and Development

Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS) have already revolutionized several industries through miniaturization and cost effective manufacturing capabilities that were never possible before. However, commercially available MEMS products have only scratched the surface of the application areas where MEMS has potential. The complex and highly technical nature of MEMS research and development (R&D) combined with the lack of standards in areas such as design, fabrication and test methodologies, makes creating and supporting a MEMS R&D program a financial and technological challenge. A proper information technology (IT) infrastructure is the backbone of such research and is critical to its success. While the lack of standards and the general complexity in MEMS R&D makes it impossible to provide a “one size fits all” design, a systematic approach, combined with a good understanding of the MEMS R&D environment and the relevant computer-aided design tools, provides a way for the IT architect to develop an appropriate infrastructure

Negotiation, Email, and Internet Reverse Auctions: How Sourcing Mechanisms Deployed by Buyers Affect Suppliers’ Trust

The Internet has made a wealth of new tools available to the industrial buyer. However, researchers have suggested that computer mediated interaction with suppliers may not be conducive to strong supplier relationships in general and to trust in particular. This paper compares two computer-mediated sourcing tools (email negotiation and Internet reverse auctions) with face-to-face negotiation. Information richness theory suggests that the different media will produce different impacts relating to sellers’ trust in buyers. Data are generated with a simulation experiment using 117 subjects. We found that information richness affects seller-buyer trust: Sellers who used face-to-face negotiation, the richest medium in the study, always reported higher trust in their buyer counterparts than did sellers using Internet reverse auctions. There were also some trust advantages of face-to-face negotiation over email and limited advantages of email over reverse auctions. We also found that procurement complexity influences the relationship between information richness and trust. As hypothesized, when face-to-face negotiation is used, procurement complexity has no effect on seller trust. When reverse auctions are utilized, the greater the complexity of the purchase, the less the seller trust. However, when email is used, greater procurement complexity is associated with greater seller trust, and there are no differences in trust between the email and face-to-face channels. Finally, we found that sellers’ trust in buyers is positively associated with sellers’ desire for future dealings with the buyer

The potential of an observational data set for calibration of a computationally expensive computer model

PublishedJournal ArticleWe measure the potential of an observational data set to constrain a set of inputs to a complex and computationally expensive computer model. We use each member in turn of an ensemble of output from a computationally expensive model, corresponding to an observable part of a modelled system, as a proxy for an observational data set. We argue that, given some assumptions, our ability to constrain uncertain parameter inputs to a model using its own output as data, provides a maximum bound for our ability to constrain the model inputs using observations of the real system. The ensemble provides a set of known parameter input and model output pairs, which we use to build a computationally effic. © 2013 Author(s).This work was supported by funding from the ice2sea programme from the European Union 7th Framework Programme, grant number 226375. Ice2sea contribution number 154