Provision of customer knowledge to supply chains

Knowledge about customers is vital for supply chains in order to ensure customer satisfaction. In an ideal supply chain environment, supply chain partners are able to perform planning tasks collaboratively, because they share information. However, customers are not always able or willing to share information with their suppliers. End consumers, on the one hand, do not usually provide a retail company with demand information. On the other hand, industrial customers might consciously hide information. Wherever a supply chain is not provided with demand forecast information, it needs to derive these demand forecasts by other means. Customer Relationship Management provides a set of tools to overcome informational uncertainty. We show how CRM and SCM information can be integrated on the conceptual as well as technical levels in order to provide supply chain managers with relevant information.

trans-Polyacetylene on sodium and cesium mordenites: a resonance Raman spectroscopic study

Sodium and cesium mordenite (denoted NaM and CsM, respectively) were investigated as potential catalysts for the synthesis of polyacetylene ((CH) x). Both were successful in initiating polymerization of purified gaseous acetylene at room temperature as evidenced by Raman spectroscopic studies. The polyacetylene synthesised in this way exhibited resonance enhancement of the polyene skeletal vibrations. trans-Polyacetylene, but no cis-(CH) x, was detected. As no apparent coloration of the NaM and CsM substrates accompanied the formation of trans-(CH) x it was concluded that only small quantities of the polymer were present. The number of conjugated double bonds was estimated from the frequencies of the Raman active C-C and C=C stretching vibrations, and it was shown that the trans-(CH) x formed on CsM has a distribution of conjugation lengths ranging from less than 6 to at least 30 double bonds. The polyacetylene formed on NaM was significantly shorter and was produced in lower yields than that synthesized on CsM. "Sliced" resonance excitation profiles of polyacetylene formed on CsM were obtained using nearly 40 different excitation wavelengths and these confirmed that the adsorbed trans-(CH) x was composed of segments having a distribution of conjugated lengths. The architecture of the mordenite pore system permitted only a single polymer molecule per channel, thereby preventing cross-linking. Raman spectroscopic studies of the effects of exposure to air revealed that progressive oxidative degradation occurred with a reduction in the number of conjugated double bond

An activity and resource advisory system for manufacturing process chains selection at the early stage of product development

Designers need to consider both the functional and production process requirements at the early stage of product development. A variety of the research works found in the literature has been proposed to assist designers in selecting the most viable manufacturing process chain. However, they do not provide any assistance for designers to evaluate the processes according to the particular circumstances of their company. This paper describes a framework of an Activity and Resource Advisory System (ARAS) that generates advice about the required activities and the possible resources for various manufacturing process chains. The system provides more insight, more flexibility, and a more holistic and suitable approach for designers to evaluate and then select the most viable manufacturing process chain at the early stage of product development.

Effect of dangling chains on the structure and physical properties of a tightly crosslinked poly(ethylene glycol) network

Major imperfections in crosslinked polymers include loose or dangling chain ends that lower the crosslink d., thereby reducing elastic recovery and increasing the solvent swelling. These imperfections are hard to detect, quantify and control when the network is initiated by free radical reactions. As an alternative approach, the sol-​gel synthesis of a model poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG-​2000) network is described using controlled amts. of bis- and mono-​triethoxy silyl Pr urethane PEG precursors to give silsesquioxane (SSQ, R-​SiO1.5) structures as crosslink junctions with a controlled no. of dangling chains. The effect of the no. of dangling chains on the structure and connectivity of the dried SSQ networks has been detd. by step-​crystn. differential scanning calorimetry. The role that micelle formation plays in controlling the sol-​gel PEG network connectivity has been studied by dynamic light scattering of the bis- and mono-​triethoxy silyl precursors and the networks have been characterized by 29Si solid state NMR, sol fraction and swelling measurements. These show that the dangling chains will increase the mesh size and water uptake. Compared to other end-​linked PEG hydrogels, the SSQ-​crosslinked networks show a low sol fraction and high connectivity, which reduces solvent swelling, degree of crystallinity and the crystal transition temp. The increased degree of freedom in segment movement on the addn. of dangling chains in the SSQ-​crosslinked network facilitates the packing process in crystn. of the dry network and, in the hydrogel, helps to accommodate more water mols. before reaching equil.

Adaptive estimation of hidden semi-Markov chains with parameterised transition probabilities and exponential decaying states

This paper develops maximum likelihood (ML) estimation schemes for finite-state semi-Markov chains in white Gaussian noise. We assume that the semi-Markov chain is characterised by transition probabilities of known parametric from with unknown parameters. We reformulate this hidden semi-Markov model (HSM) problem in the scalar case as a two-vector homogeneous hidden Markov model (HMM) problem in which the state consist of the signal augmented by the time to last transition. With this reformulation we apply the expectation Maximumisation (EM ) algorithm to obtain ML estimates of the transition probabilities parameters, Markov state levels and noise variance. To demonstrate our proposed schemes, motivated by neuro-biological applications, we use a damped sinusoidal parameterised function for the transition probabilities.

Regulating supply chains to improve health and safety

The fragmentation of previously integrated systems of production and service delivery has been an important feature of organisational restructuring over the last three decades. This article highlights the adverse implications of this development for the health and safety of workers, examines the extent to which current British health and safety law provides an adequate framework for addressing these outcomes and explores whether its capacity to do so could be enhanced through the introduction of new statutory provisions on the regulation of supply chains. It concludes that, in terms of both structure and operation, the present framework of law is problematic. It further argues that recent international initiatives show that it is feasible to develop such statutory provisions and that existing evidence suggests that provisions of this type could usefully be introduced in respect of a number of areas of activity where the implications of the externalisation of production and service delivery seem particularly problematic.

Regulating supply-chains to address the occupational health and safety problems associated with precarious employment: The case of home-based clothing workers in Australia

Over the past 20 years the labour market, workforce and work organisation of most if not all industrialised countries have been significantly refashioned by the increased use of more flexible work arrangements, variously labelled as precarious employment or contingent work. There is now a substantial and growing body of international evidence that many of these arrangements are associated with a significant deterioration in occupational health and safety (OHS), using a range of measures such as injury rates, disease, hazard exposures and work-related stress. Moreover, there is an emerging body of evidence that these arrangements pose particular problems for conventional regulatory regimes. Recognition of these problems has aroused the concern of policy makers - especially in Europe, North America and Australia - and a number of responses have been adopted in terms of modifying legislation, producing new guidance material and codes of practice and revised enforcement practices. This article describes one such in itiative in Australia with regard to home-based clothing workers. The regulatory strategy developed in one Australian jurisdiction (and now being ‘exported’ into others) seeks to counter this process via contractual tracking mechanisms to follow the work, tie in liability and shift overarching legal responsibility to the top of the supply chain. The process also entails the integration of minimum standards relating to wages, hours and working conditions; OHS and access to workers’ compensation. While home-based clothing manufacture represents a very old type of ‘flexible’ work arrangement, it is one that regulators have found especially difficult to address. Further, the elaborate multi-tiered subcont racting and diffuse work locations found in this industry are also characteristic of newer forms of contingent work in other industries (such as some telework) and the regulatory challenges they pose (such as the tendency of elaborate supply chains to attenuate and fracture statutory responsibilities, at least in terms of the attitudes and behaviour of those involved).

An exploration of NGO and media efforts to influence workplace practices and associated accountability within global supply chains

This paper investigates how social and environmental non-government organisations (NGOs) use the news media in an endeavour to create changes in the social performance and associated accountabilities of multinational buying companies’ (MBCs’) supply chains located in the developing country of Bangladesh. In this research, we explicitly seek the views of senior officers from global and local NGOs operating in Bangladesh, as well as the views of journalists from major global and local news media organisations. Our results show that social and environmental NGOs strategically use the news media in an effort to effect changes in corporate labour practices and related disclosure practices. More particularly, both the NGOs and the news media representatives stated that NGOs would be relatively powerless to create change in corporate without media coverage. This is the first known study to specifically address the joint and complementary role of NGOs and the news media in potentially creating changes in the social and environmental operating and disclosure practices of supply chains emanating from a developing country.

The new supply chains : the Multichannel Networks

Digital innovation is transforming the media and entertainment industries. The professionalization of YouTube’s platform is paradigmatic of that change. The 100 original channel initiative launched in late 2011 was designed to transform YouTube’s brand through production of a high volume of quality premium video content that would more deeply engage its audience base and in the process attract big advertisers. An unanticipated by-product has been the rapid growth of a wave of aspiring next-generation digital media companies from within the YouTube ecosystem. Fuelled by early venture capital some have ambitious goals to become global media corporations in the online video space. A number of larger MCNs (Multi-Channel Networks) - BigFrame, Machinima, Fullscreen, AwesomenessTV, Maker Studios , Revision3 and DanceOn - have attracted interest from media incumbents like Warner Brothers, DreamWorks, Discovery, Bertlesmann, Comcast and AMC, and two larger MCNs Alloy and Break Media have merged. This indicates that a shakeout is underway in these new online supply chains, after rapid initial growth. The higher profile MCNs seek to rapidly develop scale economies in online distribution and facilitate audience growth for their member channels, helping channels optimize monetization, develop sustainable business models and to facilitate producer-collaboration within a growing online community of like-minded content creators. Some MCNs already attract far larger online audiences than any national TV network. The speed with which these developments have occurred is reminiscent of the 1910s, when Hollywood studios first emerged and within only a few years replaced the incumbent film studios as the dominant force within the film industry.

Enhanced interfacial thermal transport across graphene–polymer interfaces by grafting polymer chains

Thermal transport in graphene-polymer nanocomposite is complicated and has not been well understood. The interfacial thermal transport between graphene nanofiller and polymer matrix is expected to play a key role in controlling the overall thermal performance of graphene-polymer nanocomposite. In this work, we investigated the thermal transport across graphene-polymer interfaces functionalized with end-grafted polymer chains using molecular dynamics simulations. The effects of grafting density, chain length and initial morphology on the interfacial thermal transport were systematically investigated. It was found that end-grafted polymer chains could significantly enhance interfacial thermal transport and the underlying mechanism was considered to be the enhanced vibration coupling between graphene and polymer. In addition, a theoretical model based on effective medium theory was established to predict the thermal conductivity in graphene-polymer nanocomposites.

Social audits and global clothing supply chains : some observations

This study provides some preliminary insight in relation to the use of social audits by the global clothing and retail companies that source garment products from developing nations. In the era of globalisation, companies based in developed nations have transferred their production locations to many parts of the developing nations. At the same time, there are widespread global stakeholder concerns about the use of child labour, inadequate health and safety standards and poor working conditions at many of these production locations. Social audits appear to be a tool used by companies to monitor working conditions and to ensure that manufacturing takes place in a humane working environment. The study finds that companies use social auditing in order to maintain their legitimacy within the wider community.

Social Compliance Accounting : Managing Legitimacy in Global Supply Chains

This book covers key discussions involving major US and European multinational companies (MNCs) that source products from suppliers in developing countries. Due to the transfer of production from developed to developing nations, there is an urgent need to establish social compliance as a new form of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and a means by which MNCs can meet expected social standards. The cases described are internationally relevant and can be seen to reflect or represent the behavior of many MNCs and their suppliers in developing nations. The discussion offers essential insights into how different levels of social compliance risk and pressure (including broader stakeholder concerns) move managers to adopt or embrace particular social compliance accounting, reporting and auditing strategies. The book will help readers to understand the major concerns, challenges and dilemmas faced by management in the supply chains of MNCs, and proposes measures that can be taken to resolve those dilemmas. Most importantly, it develops a systematic method of assessing the social compliance performance of suppliers to MNCs. This includes highly detailed accounts of the social compliance performance of suppliers within the clothing industry (in a developing nation) that supply goods to the extensive US and European markets. The book offers a valuable guide, not only for corporate managers but also for practitioners, researchers, academics, and undergraduate and postgraduate business students.

The synthesis, characterization, X-ray structure and magnetism of dinuclear-based bis[μ-(1,1,3,3-tetracyano-2-ethoxypropenido-κ2N,N′) (1,1,3,3-tetracyano-2-ethoxypropenido-κN)(2,2′-bipyridine)copper(II)] organized in alternating chains via semi-coordinating Cu–N distances

The monoanionic ligand 1,1,3,3 tetracyano-2 ethoxypropenide (tcnoet) is reported with its Cu(II)–bpy complex of formula [Cu2(µ-tcnoet)2(tcnoet)2(bpy)2]. The structure has been determined using X-ray diffraction and features an alternating chain with bridging tcnoet ligands. One ligand acts as a bidentate, dinucleating ligand with one short Cu–N and one medium Cu–N bond, whereas the other tcnoet is largely monodentate, albeit with a very weak interdimer Cu–N bond. Despite the arrangement in dinuclear units, further arranged into linear chains through the non-bridging tcnoet ligand, the compound shows no significant magnetic exchange, as deduced from magnetic susceptibility down to 4 K. Ligand-field, IR and EPR spectra in the solid state and in frozen solution are reported and are consistent with the overall structure.

Protective legal regulation for home-based workers in Australian textile, clothing and footwear supply chains

Supply chain outsourcing has posed problems for conventional labour regulation, which focuses on employers contracting directly with workers, particularly employees. These difficulties have been exacerbated by the traditional trifurcated approach to regulation of pay and conditions, work health and safety and workers’ compensation. This paper analyses the parallel interaction of two legal developments within the Australian textile, clothing and footwear industry. The first is mandatory contractual tracking mechanisms within state and federal labour laws and the second is the duties imposed by the harmonised Work Health and Safety Acts. Their combined effect has created an innovative, fully enforceable and integrated regulatory framework for the textile, clothing and footwear industry and, it is argued, other supply chains in different industry contexts. This paper highlights how regulatory solutions can address adverse issues for workers at the bottom of contractual networks, such as fissured workplaces and capital fragmentation, by enabling regulators to harness the commercial power of business controllers at the apex to ensure compliance throughout the entire chain.

Anatomy of a trending topic : Methods for the visualisation of retweet chains [Anatomie eines Trending Topics: Methoden zur Visualisierung von Retweet-Ketten]

Twitter and other social networking sites play an ever more present role in the spread of current events. The dynamics of information dissemination through digital network structures are still relatively unexplored, however. At what time an issue is taken up by whom? Who forwards a message when to whom else? What role do individual communication participants, existing digital communities or the technical foundations of each network platform play in the spread of news? In this chapter we discuss, using the example of a video on a current sociopolitical issue in Australia that was shared on Twitter, a number of new methods for the dynamic visualisation and analysis of communication processes. Our method combines temporal and spatial analytical approaches and provides new insights into the spread of news in digital networks. [Social media dienen immer häufger als Disseminationsmechanismen für Medieninhalte. Auf Twitter ermöglicht besonders die Retweet-Funktion den schnellen und weitläufgen Transfer von Nachrichten. In diesem Beitrag etablieren neue methodische Ansätze zur Erfassung, Visualisierung und Analyse von Retweet-Ketten. Insbesondere heben wir hervor, wie bestehende Netzwerkanalysemethoden ergänzt werden können, um den Ablauf der Weiterleitung sowohl temporal als auch spatial zu erfassen. Unsere Fallstudie demonstriert die verbreitung des videoclips einer am 9. Oktober 2012 spontan gehaltenen Wutrede der australischen Premierministerin Julia Gillard, in der sie Oppositionsführer Tony Abbott als Frauenhasser brandmarkte. Durch die Erfassung von Hintergrunddaten zu den jeweiligen NutzerInnen, die sich an der Weiterleitung des Videoclips beteiligten, erstellen wir ein detailliertes Bild des Disseminationsablaufs im vorliegenden Fall. So lassen sich die wichtigsten AkteurInnen und der Ablauf der Weiterleitung darstellen und analysieren. Daraus entstehen Einblicke in die allgemeinen verbreitungsmuster von Nachrichten auf Twitter].