Guidelines for benchmarking and manufacturing level agreement for outsourcing

The outsourcing of manufacturing functions is increasingly adopted by most of the manufacturers. However, due to differences between outsourcer (company) and outsourcee (supplier) regarding their locations, management methods, legal and taxation system, there are difficulties in practicing outsourcing effectively. The motive of the outsourcing is to exploit the potential benefits. The outsourcing will not guarantee success without benchmarking and explicitly well defined Manufacturing Level Agreement (MLA) among outsourcing participants. This paper addresses the concern in assisting outsourcing companies and practitioners setting up benchmarking and Manufacturing Level Agreement (MLA)

Developing an outsourcing questionnaire: validation study

Most developed countries have witnessed a sharp increase in outsourcing operations. These operations range from the service sector to manufacturing of various components such as automotive components. However, many organisations practicing outsourcing are failing to achieve their objectives for a number of reasons. In depth literature search has revealed that weaknesses in outsourcing operations are due to a large number of defects in aspects ranging from ‘order request’ to ‘invoice payment confirmation’. Analysis has shown that lack of quality in the outsourcing system is the predominant reason for weaknesses in the outsourcing operations. During the literature review, it was established that most of the data available on outsourcing was related to non-UK companies. In view of this information, it is crucial to develop a questionnaire to acquire information related to outsourcing from UK based companies. The Questionnaire is used to find out if any other newly generated problems are contributing to the poor quality of the outsourcing system resulting in failure. This paper presents an overview of outsourcing weaknesses/defects acquired through the literature search and a step by step process preparing a questionnaire to investigate the weaknesses in the outsourcing system and operations. The questionnaire is designed with a rational to measure the frequency of the quality defects in the outsourcing system. As such they are best aimed at collecting data to improve the framework

Nuclear Charge Radii of Be-7,9,10 and the one-neutron halo nucleus Be-11

Nuclear charge radii of $^{7,9,10,11}$Be have been determined by high-precision laser spectroscopy. On-line measurements were performed with collinear laser spectroscopy in the $2s_{1/2} \to 2p_{1/2}$ transition on a beam of Be$^{+}$ ions. Collinear and anticollinear laser beams were used simultaneously and the absolute frequency determination using a frequency comb yielded an accuracy in the isotope-shift measurements of about 1 MHz. Combination with accurate calculations of the mass-dependent isotope shifts yield nuclear charge radii. The charge radius decreases from $^7$Be to $^{10}$Be and then increases for the halo nucleus $^{11}$Be. When comparing our results with predictions of {\it ab initio} nuclear structure calculations we find good agreement. Additionally, the nuclear magnetic moment of $^7$Be was determined to be $-1.3995(5)\mu_{\rm N}$ and that of $^{11}$Be from a previous $\beta$-NMR measurement was confirmed.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures calculated mass shift values have been re-evaluated with the latest mass values for the beryllium isotopes and the nuclear polarization contribution for Be-11, published by K. Pachucki et al. ater submission of our manuscript, is also included no

University students’ self-regulated learning using digital technologies

Abstract Analysing the process by which students—whether at university or not—manage and facilitate their own learning has been a recurrent educational research problem. Recently, the question arises about how the development of strategies taking place during the aforementioned process could be made easier by using technologies. In an effort to know whether university students really use digital technologies to plan, organize and facilitate their own learning, we have proposed three research questions. Which technologies do university students use to self-regulate their learning? What self-regulated learning strategies do they develop using technologies? What profiles could be identified among students based on their use of self-regulation strategies with technology? To answer these questions, the “Survey of Self-regulated Learning with Technology at the University” was designed. Information from a sample group with 711 students from various universities located in the region of Andalusia (Spain) was collected with this survey. The results indicate that university students, even when they are frequent users of digital technology, they tend not to use these technologies to regulate their own learning process. Of all technologies analysed, Internet information search and instant communication tools are used continually. In turn, the most generalised self-regulation learning strategies are those relative to social support. Nevertheless, students differ from each other regarding their use and frequency. There are groups of students who make use of self-regulation strategies when learning with technologies. In this regard, two distinctive groups of students have been identified, who show differentiated self-regulated levels

Academic dishonesty, personality traits and academic adjustment

Many recent studies has been indicating that academic dishonesty is more frequent in higher education, under the form plagiarism, cheating on exams, and copying assignments from other students. The present research aims to explore the relationship of personality traits, academic dishonesty and academic adjustment. The results showed that conscientiousness, honesty and openness were significantly negatively related to reports of academic dishonesty. Academic neuroticism was the most powerful predictor of cheating behaviours, while an overall high level of maladjustment predicted the positive attitudes towards academic cheating. The significant associations between academic adjustment and academic dishonesty confirmed previous research in the field

The development of moral judgement during childhood and pre-adolescent in the Romanian setting

The moral development is a classical topic, but still insufficiently investigated in the recent studies in Romania. Our study aimed to compare the results obtained by Piaget regarding the child’s moral development with the child’s moral development corresponding to the recent cultural Romanian setting. The research method is mixed, qualitative and quantitative. The clinical interview and the short stories were designed after Piaget’s model. Our findings suggest the existence of the same clasical stages of moral development, but identify numerous mixed profiles that highlight the oscillations of the moral judgments for amoral children and submissive pre-adolescences