Understanding Supply Chain Complexity with Performance Measurement

Abstract: Despite the great number of complex systems existing in the real world, complexity is currently a poorly explored topic. In organizational settings, managers regularly apply to complex contexts classical approaches developed for simple systems, just because they do not know how to take into account companies' internal and external complexity. Nevertheless, before developing new managerial models, a deep knowledge about drivers and effects of complexity is needed. After defining the characteristics making supply chains complex systems, this paper discusses performance measurement as a methodology to analyze the effects of complexity on supply chain behavior. The results of a survey highlight that manufacturing companies usually evaluate isolated aspects of their supply chains, without considering the relationships between different performance indicators or dimensions. This work suggests System Dynamics as a valuable approach to understand the cause and effect connections among metrics and system elements affecting their values, thus clarifying the structure leading to a complex behavior. This research is the first step of a larger project aimed at providing companies with innovative tools to understand and manage supply chain complexit

How Does Birth Control Impact Overall User Wellness: A Mixed-Methodology Approach Surveying How Physical, Mental, and Social Wellness is Impacted by Use of Birth Control

The purpose of this study is to understand the ways in which birth control may impact wellness. By looking at physical activity, social wellness, experienced side effects, and a range of demographics, the goal is to better understand how the use of birth control may impact its user’s overall wellness. After gathering data in a two-week survey, I discovered that mood swings, weight gain, and depression were the top three reported side effects and Latina women reported irregular bleeding at a higher frequency than white women. Loneliness is impacted by birth control use; users were 30% more likely to report being lonely multiple times a week than nonusers. The results of this research can be used to further investigate the relationship between social wellness and birth control use. Additionally, more research can be done into why Latina women may experience irregular bleeding more frequently

Impacts of Diets and Weight on Cognitive Decline Diseases Among the Middle-aged Populations in Louisiana

Cognitive decline is a public health concern since people are living longer, but little is known regarding how to prevent the progression of this condition; furthermore, current treatment options are not always effective after diagnosis. Previous research indicated obesity was associated with diminishing cognitive health, but most studies were conducted on individuals over the age of 65. The purpose of the study was to determine if there is a statistical correlation between cognitive decline and body mass index (BMI) among those between the ages of 40 and 64 years. Data from the 2015-2020 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Alzheimer’s Disease and Healthy Aging dataset for Louisiana citizens were used. Louisiana was chosen due to high rates of obesity and lack of research among this population. Bronfenbrenner’s ecological model served as the conceptual framework. Logistic regression was used to test the relationship between BMI and cognitive decline while controlling for race, gender, income, and education level. No statical relationship was found between cognitive decline and BMI nor cognitive decline and daily fruit intake. However, there was a statistically significant relationship between cognitive decline and daily vegetable intake. Implications for positive social change include emphasizing increased vegetable intake as this could improve cognitive disease outcomes and perhaps prevent or mitigate actual cognitive decline later in life

gLCB: An Energy Aware Context Broker

Context Worldwide mobile device sales will reach 821 Million units in 2012 and will rise to 1.2 Billion in 2013. Inevitably the paradigm for access information and Internet services is increasingly migrating to mobile. Context-aware services can help to improve the user experience because they can adapt themselves to the users’ context but, despite the improvements in terms of hardware, the the main obstacle towards a widespread adoption of such services is the limited battery life. A context-aware service requires the installation of a Context-Broker Application, which generates a continuous flow of data from the smartphone and a constant usage of its equipped sensors: as a consequence the considerable increase of energy consumption becomes a problem. Aim The aim of this work is to propose gLCB an Energy Efficient Context-Aware middleware for Android OS, which is able to collect Context Information and to send it to a remote platform in an energy-efficient way. The gLCB application proposes a new energy-aware data collection based on user profiles. Methods We define policies based on battery consumption profiles, which are selected depending on modifications of the context information. Moreover, we have implemented an automatic consumption testing mechanism and a statistical treatment of results to provide a reliable validation of gLCB in terms of energy efficiency. Results Experimental results show that our middleware got the best trade-off between number of server uploads and battery lifetime with the policies computed automatically by the device. This means that the way in which software is written can impact the energy consumption of a mobile device and service adaptation can be based on the actual value of the battery charge

Examining barriers in building multicultural competency within school psychology faculty

The need for multicultural competency in school psychology is crucial for creating inclusive and culturally responsive learning environments. While research has often focused on graduate student perspectives, there\u27s a notable gap regarding faculty members in school psychology programs. Ensuring that faculty are multiculturally competent is essential, and examining factors that influence their competency is imperative. This study explores multicultural competency from the perspectives of school psychology faculty, involving 75 participants who reflected on their interactions with diverse individuals and assessed their program climate regarding multicultural issues. Using the SPCMS-R and the MEI-R measures, the study analyzed the impact of program climate and three distinct variables—training level, personal experience, and professional experience—on faculty members’ self-reported multicultural competency. The regression analyses for Cultural Awareness, Cultural Knowledge, Cultural Skills, and Cultural Appreciation indicated that independent variables such as curriculum and supervision, climate and comfort, honesty in recruitment, and multicultural research explained modest to significant variance in these factors. However, none significantly impacted the factors individually, suggesting that their individual influence is insufficient for substantial changes. Higher training levels were positively associated with cultural knowledge and engagement in multicultural research, whereas lower levels were not. Personal experience with diverse individuals positively influenced cultural appreciation for diversity and curriculum and supervision practices. Professional experience positively related to integrating diversity appreciation into curriculum and supervision practices and fostering an inclusive environment at average and high levels but was insufficient alone for enhancing awareness in these areas. The study highlights the need for comprehensive training and experience to enhance multicultural competency among school psychology faculty

Staff Members\u27 Perceptions of General Education Development Programs in Virginia\u27s Correctional System

The Virginia Department of Corrections mandates that all offenders without a high school diploma or general equivalency diploma (GED) are required to be enrolled in GED programs offered in the prison system. However, these programs have shown varying rates of success. Supported by the constructivist theory, the purpose of this qualitative case study was to identify how correctional education staff members perceived the effectiveness of the GED programs. Data from surveys and interviews with 9 educational correctional staff members were collected and analyzed for themes. Findings indicated that (a) participants use computer software for effective instruction, (b) offenders who were enrolled in correctional education programs successfully reenter society after being released from incarceration, and (c) offenders\u27 self-efficacy is related to GED instruction. Findings may be used to improve GED programs to support offenders in obtaining a GED and training to promote social justice by returning to their communities more prepared to obtain jobs and contribute to the global economy

Performance measurement : challenges for tomorrow

This paper demonstrates that the context within which performance measurement is used is changing. The key questions posed are: Is performance measurement ready for the emerging context? What are the gaps in our knowledge? and Which lines of enquiry do we need to pursue? A literature synthesis conducted by a team of multidisciplinary researchers charts the evolution of the performance-measurement literature and identifies that the literature largely follows the emerging business and global trends. The ensuing discussion introduces the currently emerging and predicted future trends and explores how current knowledge on performance measurement may deal with the emerging context. This results in identification of specific challenges for performance measurement within a holistic systems-based framework. The principle limitation of the paper is that it covers a broad literature base without in-depth analysis of a particular aspect of performance measurement. However, this weakness is also the strength of the paper. What is perhaps most significant is that there is a need for rethinking how we research the field of performance measurement by taking a holistic systems-based approach, recognizing the integrated and concurrent nature of challenges that the practitioners, and consequently the field, face

Assessing Regional Farm-to-Institution Food Distribution Systems: An Agent-Based Approach

The long-term sustainability and resilience of the industrial food supply system is threatened by its extremely high rate of resource consumption and its lack of structural complexity. Seeking a safer, healthier, and more sustainable alternative, farmers and consumers are increasingly participating in localized food systems. Scaling up the capacity of localized food supply chains (FSCs) to meet growing consumer demand will require the development of new types of marketing and distribution channels. The farm-to-institution channel, in which farmers sell their products directly to institutional and retail customers, is of particular interest. This paper describes an agent-based approach to modeling and analyzing FSCs, with an aim of investigating the impact of farm-to-institution distribution on emergent FSC structure and sustainability outcomes