Classification and benchmark of City Logistics measures: an empirical analysis

Urban freight distribution accounts for a significant share of pollution and congestion in urban areas. To reduce these negative impacts, municipalities have implemented several City Logistics (CL) measures. This paper presents the empirical analysis of a dataset of 70 European cities that have been piloting or rolling out a CL measure, to provide an updated indication of the status of CL initiatives and analyse the diffusion of CL internationally. The research objective is also to help understand the contextual factors might explain their introduction. To this end, a set of City Logistics Indices (CLI) is used as indicators of the breadth and number of CL measures implemented in a city. A statistical correlation of these CLIs with respect to a set of independent variables, namely the contextual factors, is also performed. Results reveal that the level of pollution, the diffusion of e-commerce and GDP are important drivers of CL deployment.     

On randomization, modeling and experimental design: some remarks on a paper by De Vos

De Vos (1991) claims to have discovered a new example from agricultural field experimentation which shows that a simple robust spatial model may lead to inference and systematic experimental design that outperforms the inference from randomized experiments by far. In this reaction it is shown that: (1) the example is not new; (2) the gains in efficiency are exaggerated due to comparison with an inefficient randomization method; (3) the paper is over-optimistic with respect to robustness of model-based methods and throws unjustified doubts on the validity of randomization methods; (4) the choice between randomization methods and model-based methods depends on the relative importance attached to efficiency and validity.     

Mokken scale analysis for polychotomous items: theory,a computer program and an empirical application

This paper contains three subjects. First, an extension of Mokken's nonparametric item response models from dichotomous items to items with two or more ordered answer categories is proposed. Second, a computer program to analyze multicategory item scores is presented. This program is called MSP. The analyses by means of MSP are based on the multicategory extension of Mokken's theory. Finally, an application of MSP to empirical multicategory test data is presented in order to illuminate its possibilities.     

城市农业规划设计的思想渊源与研究进展

城市农业是当前国际上多学科参与研究的热点,其规划设计思想由来已久。以欧美地区为主要关注范围,从20世纪上半叶现代城市规划理论及1970年代重建住区农业思想中寻找城市农业规划设计的思想渊源,并结合社会背景分析,对当代的研究进展进行综述。     

Mixed Methods Studies in Environmental Management Research: Prevalence,Purposes and Designs

Mixed methods research, that is, the combined use of quantitative and qualitative methods in the same study, is a popular approach in several fields. However, its use in the field of environmental management and sustainable development has not been examined. The authors review the application of mixed methods research in the journal Business Strategy and the Environment in the last ten years. A total of 340 articles have been read and reviewed, and 26 mixed methods studies have been identified. The main purposes and mixed methods designs are examined. Suggestions on why and how to use mixed methods research are offered, and recommendations are provided to guide future mixed methods studies to advance our understanding of environmental management topics. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment     

新型雨刮器的设计与应用

为了改善目前雨刮器普遍存在的刮不干净、冬天玻璃内壁出现霜雾的现象,设计了一种新型雨刮器。该雨刮器有双电机,分别驱动内外雨刮器,且外雨刮器具有双胶条结构,效果更佳。     

Training older workers: Lessons learned,unlearned, and relearned from the field of instructional design

Changing workforce demographics have highlighted the need to provide training and development opportunities for older workers. This article critically examines the current state of research on the use of systematic instructional design procedures to develop work‐related training that is inclusive of older workers. The review reveals a disconnect between what the literature recommends to achieve age‐inclusive design and what is offered as evidence of age‐inclusive design. Age‐related generalizations about cognition and learning capacity often serve as the basis for design decisions, with little attention paid to the role of training context and content. The article recommends that this disconnect be resolved and offers some specific suggestions about how human resource managers can integrate sound instructional design principles into the training and development component of their talent management strategies. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

An empirical model of transfers within a federation, with an application to the European Union

We construct a stylized model of transfers within a federation and apply it to the European Union. Our approach differs from that of most of the existing literature in that we fix the preferences for redistribution of resources among a federation's members, rather than fix the current budgetary rules or modify them on the basis of assumed scenarios. The model is tested (successfully) by assessing its ability to predict the effects of the last (1995) enlargement on the European budget. We then use the estimated model to predict the reallocation of the Union's net transfers after the upcoming Eastern enlargement. Our estimates of transfers to the incoming member states exceed those of the rest of the literature. Our results can be interpreted in one of two ways: first, either the European Union, in its collective decision-making process (that in the future will include the five incoming countries as voting members), will institute new rules and programs to further reduce the regional disparities in income, or second, if the current rules and programs are maintained, then the Eastern enlargement would result in a reduction in the “depth” of the Union. The approach we introduce can be more generally applied to the analysis of other intergovernmental or international organizations.     

Formalized HR practices and firm performance: an empirical comparison of family and non-family firms

The influence of the family on human resource (HR) management structures creates important idiosyncrasies with potential implications in terms of firm performance. Based on the agency and socioemotional wealth perspectives, this paper examines the formalization and effectiveness of three basic HR practices – selection, training and compensation – in different contexts of family and non-family firms. Using a sample of 500 Spanish companies, the results show that a higher degree of HR formalization has a positive influence on firm performance, confirming the negative moderating influence of family involvement on the relationship between the formalization of training practices and the firm performance. In addition, the findings indicate that the mediating role of selection practices in the relationship between training and firm performance is smaller in family than in non-family firms.     

A multidimensional measure of social origin: theoretical perspectives,operationalization and empirical application in the field of educational inequality research

Quality & Quantity - This article describes the theoretical reasons and empirical operationalization of a multidimensional social origin measure. It is assumed that different parental resources...     

Strategic global human resource management research in the twenty-first century: an endorsement of the mixed-method research methodology

Global competition is rapidly becoming the norm in which nearly all business organizations must compete in one fashion or another. The complexity and value of strategic global human resource management (SGHRM) will continue to compound in significance as globalization becomes the predominate form of business. Both practitioners and researchers maintain the grapple with understanding the global phenomena and the resulting impact on the entire human resource management system.

Previously, researchers' maintained research programmes utilizing Western-style theories and methods, which were predominantly quantitative, to explore phenomena that may now be inappropriate. These methods and theories frequently do not capture the ‘fabric’ of global phenomena that include complex interactions of culture, institutions, societal norms and government regulations, among a few concerns.

The mixed methods approach is proposed to add the ‘fabric’ required, illustrating the depth and flexibility needed to explore the SGHRM issues. Mixed methods are a combination of qualitative and quantitative approaches that maintain methodological rigour as well as measures for reliability and validity. This paper explores the current methods, the reasons for their lack of success in portraying the depth of the phenomena and why the mixed methods approach appears to be a superior method for research for the SGHRM field.     

Promoting research access and informant rapport in corporate settings: Notes from research on a crisis company

Obtaining evidence on managerial action is inevitably difficult. Although it has been suggested that critical events such as corporate crises provide opportunities for research, there has been a lack of discussion on what aspects of management such conditions help to illuminate and how they could be exploited in obtaining both formal access and rapport with individual informants. Based on fieldwork experience this paper suggests that corporations in crisis should be taken seriously in research on managerial action because they may both facilitate access and liberate and motivate individual managers to reflect on both their own acts and intentions and on those of other individuals.     

Linking organizational learning and customer capital through an ambidexterity context: an empirical investigation in SMEs1

Ambidexterity is an organization's context to achieve alignment and adaptability simultaneously within the organization learning processes. This paper examines the relationship between and significance of two key factors of organization learning (exploration and exploitation of knowledge) and two possible control factors (company size and sector) on the ambidexterity context, and their effects on the creation of customer capital. These relationships are examined through an empirical investigation of 269 Spanish SMEs from two different sectors (Optometry and Telecommunications), using structural equation modelling validated by factor analysis. The results indicate that the effects of exploration and exploitation of knowledge on customer capital are mediated through an ambidexterity context, which in this study is not affected by the size of SMEs but might be related to the sector in which they operate.     

郴州市石油桥桥型方案设计和比选

文章简要介绍郴州市石油桥桥型方案的比选情况,最终确定选择斜腿刚构桥方案,该桥型将桥梁结构与桥梁造型有机、巧妙地结合,与周围环境自然协调,符合现代城市桥梁景观和美学要求。     

Contract employment policy and research productivity of knowledge workers: an analysis of Spanish universities

Abstract

This article investigates how contract employment practices adopted by universities—fixed-term contracts and permanent contracts—impact research productivity measured in terms of publications in scholarly journals. The empirical application considers the Spanish public higher education system for the period 2002–2008. We report an inverse U-shaped relationship between the rate fixed-term contracts and the research productivity of Spanish universities. That is, contract policies based on fixed-term contracts are conducive to research productivity; however, beyond a critical threshold value increases in the proportion of fixed-term contracts are associated with declining research productivity. These findings reveal that contract employment policies shape research productivity, and that flexible and balanced contract practices are critical for enhancing universities’ research productivity. The results suggest that the excessive use of fixed-term contracts might create an unstable working environment that limits the universities’ capacity to capitalize on their knowledge workers. Policy implications and future research avenues are discussed.     

产学研相结合--新时期我国企业科技创新持续发展途径

本文列举了我国企业与高校、科研院所的科技力量分布不平衡的情况;介绍了科学研究的两种模式,产学研相结合开展技术创新,就是对这两种模式的具体运用,并深入分析了企业-高校-科研院所产学研相结合持续发展的作用机制、产学研相结合的三种形式;提出了社会各界对产学研相结合的持续发展应给予的政策支持。     

ERP systems success: an empirical analysis of how two organizational stakeholder groups prioritize and evaluate relevant measures

Organizations worldwide are adopting enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems. A number of studies discuss the implementation and success of such systems, but our study of the literature indicates that discussions about ERP systems success from the perspectives of key organizational stakeholders are not easy to come across. This study is designed to fill this gap in research. Using surveys in Finland and Estonia, we obtained empirical data from 66 respondents in 44 diverse, private, industrial organizations. Our objective was to determine whether differences exist between two organizational stakeholder groups, i.e. business managers and IT professionals, concerning how each group believe ERP success measures and dimensions are prioritized and evaluated in their respective organizations. Prior literature suggests that differences exist between the two groups with regard to how each perceives organizational information technology (IT) issues. Our study indicates that no significant statistical differences exist between the two groups with the exception of one dimension of ERP success, i.e. vendor/consultant quality. The implications of our findings for both practice and research are discussed.     

High performance work systems and organizational performance: an empirical study of Taiwan's semiconductor design firms

This paper presents a study examining the relationship between high performance work systems (HPWS) and organizational performance in Taiwan's semiconductor design industry. The hypotheses are tested by matching and analysing data collected from field interviews with 21 HR managers and surveys of 21 senior operations managers and 1,129 employees. The results of the statistical analysis demonstrate that the effective use of employee empowerment practices is positively related to organizational performance.     

Theorizing,testing, and concluding for mediation in SCM research: Tutorial and procedural recommendations

Empirical research in Supply Chain Management is increasingly interested in complex models involving mediation effects. We support these endeavors by directing attention to the practices for the theorizing of, the testing for, and the drawing of conclusions about mediation effects. Our paper synthesizes diverse literature in other disciplines to provide an accessible tutorial as to the mathematical foundation of mediation effects and the various methods available to test for these effects. We also provide guidance to SCM scholars in the form of eight recommendations aimed at improving the theorizing of, the testing for, and the drawing of conclusions about mediation effects. Recommendations pertaining to how mediation effects are hypothesized and stated and how to select among methods to test for mediation effects are novel contributions for and beyond the Supply Chain Management discipline.