Sustainable Supply Chain: Maintaining a Competitive Advantage in Retail Organizations

Some retail managers encounter challenges with efficiency and responsiveness in their attempts to gain and maintain a competitive advantage in the retail industry. Many retail managers are receptive to changes in global markets, technology, and customer demands. The purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore the strategies that some retail managers used to motivate their sales associates to maintain a competitive advantage in the retail industry. Maintaining a competitive advantage increases profitability and customer satisfaction. Sustainable Supply Chain Management was the primary conceptual framework for this study. The purposive sample consisted of 4 retail managers from a mid-sized retail distribution organization in southeastern Georgia. Face-to-face interviews were recorded, transcribed, verified, and analyzed. Analysis in this qualitative single case study was based on the sustainable supply chain management framework. Four emergent themes were identified relating to essential strategies, ethical factors, risk factors, and the value of sustainable strategy toward stakeholders, suppliers, and customers. Implications for positive social change include retail managers’ improved ability to motivate their sales associates to maintain a competitive advantage, which will allow organizations to sustain their progress in the community and thereby contribute to the success and wellbeing of employees, families, communities, and the economy. Motivated and qualified employees tend to remain with their organizations, which is good for employees and their families, as well as the business, the community, and the economy

Modeling the Pancreatic α-Cell: Dual Mechanisms of Glucose Suppression of Glucagon Secretion

AbstractThe mechanism by which glucose induces insulin secretion in β-cells is fairly well understood. Despite years of research, however, the mechanism of glucagon secretion in α-cells is still not well established. It has been proposed that glucose regulates glucagon secretion by decreasing the conductance of either outward ATP-dependent potassium channels (K(ATP)) or an inward store-operated current (SOC). We have developed a mathematical model based on mouse data to test these hypotheses and found that both mechanisms are possible. Glucose metabolism closes K(ATP) channels, which depolarizes the cell but paradoxically reduces calcium influx by inactivating voltage-dependent calcium and sodium channels and decreases secretion. Glucose metabolism also activates SERCA pumps, which fills the endoplasmic reticulum and hyperpolarizes the cells by reducing the inward current through SOC channels and again suppresses glucagon secretion. We find further that the two mechanisms can combine to account for the nonmonotonic dependence of secretion on glucose observed in some studies, an effect that cannot be obtained with either mechanism alone

Filtering of Calcium Transients by the Endoplasmic Reticulum in Pancreatic β-Cells

AbstractCalcium handling in pancreatic β-cells is important for intracellular signaling, the control of electrical activity, and insulin secretion. The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is a key organelle involved in the storage and release of intracellular Ca2+. Using mathematical modeling, we analyze the filtering properties of the ER and clarify the dual role that it plays as both a Ca2+ source and a Ca2+ sink. We demonstrate that recent time-dependent data on the free Ca2+ concentration in pancreatic islets and β-cell clusters can be explained with a model that uses a passive ER that takes up Ca2+ when the cell is depolarized and the cytosolic Ca2+ concentration is elevated, and releases Ca2+ when the cell is repolarized and the cytosolic Ca2+ is at a lower concentration. We find that Ca2+-induced Ca2+ release is not necessary to explain the data, and indeed the model is inconsistent with the data if Ca2+-induced Ca2+ release is a dominating factor. Finally, we show that a three-compartment model that includes a subspace compartment between the ER and the plasma membrane provides the best agreement with the experimental Ca2+ data

Consumption-related values and product placement: The effect of cultivating fashion consciousness on the appeal of brands in reality television

By 2003, Baylor University\u27s forensic science program had grown by ten times the 1999 intake and other universities across the US were scrambling to create forensic science courses to cater for new student demand (Johnston 2003). The reason? Since it aired on the 6th of October 2000, Crime Scene Investigation (CSI), a television (TV) series, had stimulated enormous interest in forensics and the science of solving crime. So much so that it was affecting student choice and behavior. These types of TV inspired phenomenon are not uncommon. Although much of the evidence is anecdotal, there are many instances where very specific consumption trends have been fueled by television programs. The Biggest Loser has generated an interest in boot camps, American Idol has created a resurgence of karaoke games and various home improvement programs have inspired their audience to renovate. These trends have become more acute with recent reality and lifestyle television focusing on particular behaviors that transform the real people on their programs. This paper examines how the cultivation of relevant consumption values generates these trends through increasing the viewer\u27s desire for associated products and brands integrated within TV programs. Specifically, this longitudinal study explores the cultivation of fashion consciousness and its impact on the desire for brands that are implicitly endorsed within reality television programming. © 2012

Consumer socialisation in a marketer-sponsored edutainment centre

© 2016, © Emerald Group Publishing Limited. Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate a marketer-sponsored edutainment centre as a consumer socialisation agent by examining effects on preference for the sponsor brands and the degree of socialisation children experience. Design/methodology/approach: Interviews were undertaken with 16 children in their analytical stage of development as well as one of their parents immediately prior, immediately after, and one week following a part-day visit to the heavily branded edutainment centre Kidzania. Findings: Results suggest that children did experience consumer socialisation. There was a movement in brand preferences towards the sponsored brands. The children also demonstrated advances in transaction knowledge. Specifically, significant increases were found in product and brand knowledge, shopping scripts and retail knowledge, with some children moving beyond perceptual and analytical thought and demonstrating reflective thought. In contrast, most children did not demonstrate an analytical level of advertising and persuasion knowledge. Research limitations/implications: Findings are constrained by the children’s specific experiences and the aptitude of both the children as interviewees and the parents as observers/interpreters. Although delayed measures were used this does not necessarily confirm permanency of the effects. Originality/value: This is the first study to date to examine a marketer-sponsored edutainment centre as a socialisation agent. Specifically, the study contributes to the understanding of this new, participatory form of marketing communications by demonstrating its value in achieving brand objectives while fostering the consumer socialisation of children

Implant Treatment in the Predoctoral Clinic: A Retrospective Database Study of 1091 Patients

Purpose: This retrospective study was conducted at the Marquette University School of Dentistry to (1) characterize the implant patient population in a predoctoral clinic, (2) describe the implants inserted, and (3) provide information on implant failures. Materials and Methods: The study cohort included 1091 patients who received 1918 dental implants between 2004 and 2012, and had their implants restored by a crown or a fixed dental prosthesis. Data were collected from patient records, entered in a database, and summarized in tables and figures. Contingency tables were prepared and analyzed by a chi-squared test. The cumulative survival probability of implants was described using a Kaplan-Meier survival curve. Univariate and multivariate frailty Cox regression models for clustered observations were computed to identify factors associated with implant failure. Results: Mean patient age (±1 SD) at implantation was 59.7 ± 15.3 years; 53.9% of patients were females, 73.5% were Caucasians. Noble Biocare was the most frequently used implant brand (65.0%). Most implants had a regular-size diameter (59.3%). More implants were inserted in posterior (79.0%) than in anterior jaw regions. Mandibular posterior was the most frequently restored site (43%); 87.8% of implants were restored using single implant crowns. The overall implant-based cumulative survival rate was 96.4%. The patient-based implant survival rate was 94.6%. Implant failure risk was greater among patients than within patients (p \u3c 0.05). Age (\u3e65 years; hazard ratio [HR] = 3.2, p = 0.02), implant staging (two-stage; HR = 4.0, p \u3c 0.001), and implant diameter (wide; HR = 0.4, p = 0.04) were statistically associated with implant failure. Conclusions: Treatment with dental implants in a supervised predoctoral clinic environment resulted in survival rates similar to published results obtained in private practice or research clinics. Older age and implant staging increased failure risk, while the selection of a wide implant diameter was associated with a lower failure risk

McDonald, Arthur Sherman to Ross Barnett, 26 September 1962

Telegram supporting Barnett\u27s attempt to keep those negroes in their placehttps://egrove.olemiss.edu/west_union_gov/1080/thumbnail.jp

Do We Trust in AI? Role of Anthropomorphism and Intelligence

© 2020 International Association for Computer Information Systems. AI applications are radically transforming the manner in which service providers and consumers interact. We explore how the humanness of AI applications affects consumers’ trust in these applications. Qualitative evidence collected with focus groups provides fresh insights into the roles of anthropomorphism and intelligence, as key constructs representing humanness. Our findings reveal the consumers’ perspective on the nuances of these constructs pertaining to services enabled by AI applications. It also extends current understanding of the phenomenon of the “uncanny valley,” by identifying conditions under which consumers experience discomfort and uneasiness as AI humanness increases in service environments