Total Quality Management and Corporate Social Responsibility. Literature review. The case of Nabeiro Delta Cafés Group

The relationship between the themes of Total Quality Management (TQM) and Social Responsibility (CSR) through the concepts, approaches and models of excellence is a reality of sustainable and stable companies. Being organizations, people, act correctly and rightly do in society go through a quality management and social responsibility thereof. It is based on these two philosophies (Total Quality Management and Corporate Social Responsibility), which developed this literature review work, essentially based on a relational analysis in two papers, namely: "TQM and CSR Nexus" by Ghobadian et al. (2007) and "The Corporate Social Responsibility Audit Within the Quality Management Framework," de Kok et al. (2001) and applied to an organizational situation in concrete: the Nabeiro Delta Cafés Group - SGPS, SA.

Integration of sentiment analysis into customer relational model : the importance of feature ontology and synonym

Online business or Electronic Commerce (EC) is getting popular among customers today, as a result large number of product reviews have been posted online by the customers. This information is very valuable not only for prospective customers to make decision on buying product but also for companies to gather information of customers’ satisfaction about their products. Opinion mining is used to capture customer reviews and separated this review into subjective expressions (sentiment word) and objective expressions (no sentiment word). This paper proposes a novel, multi-dimensional model for opinion mining, which integrates customers’ characteristics and their opinion about any products. The model captures subjective expression from product reviews and transfers to fact table before representing in multi-dimensions named as customers, products, time and location. Data warehouse techniques such as OLAP and Data Cubes were used to analyze opinionated sentences. A comprehensive way to calculate customers’ orientation on products’ features and attributes are presented in this paper.

The Relational Self, the Social Bond and the Dynamics of Personal Relationships : A Sociological Analysis

This study analyses personal relationships linking research to sociological theory on the questions of the social bond and on the self as social. From the viewpoint of disruptive life events and experiences, such as loss, divorce and illness, it aims at understanding how selves are bound to their significant others as those specific people ‘close or otherwise important’ to them. Who form the configurations of significant others? How do different bonds respond in disruptions and how do relational processes unfold? How is the embeddedness of selves manifested in the processes of bonding, on the one hand, and in the relational formation of the self, on the other? The bonds are analyzed from an anti-categorical viewpoint based on personal citations of significance as opposed to given relationship categories, such as ‘family’ or ‘friendship’ – the two kinds of relationships that in fact are most frequently significant. The study draws from analysis of the personal narratives of 37 Finnish women and men (in all 80 interviews) and their entire configurations of those specific people who they cite as ‘close or otherwise important’. The analysis stresses the subjective experiences, while also investigating the actualized relational processes and configurations of all personal relationships with certain relationship histories embedded in micro-level structures. The research is based on four empirical sub-studies of personal relationships and a summary discussing the questions of the self and social bond. Discussion draws from G. H. Mead, C. Cooley, N. Elias, T. Scheff, G. Simmel and the contributors of ‘relational sociology’. Sub-studies analyse bonds to others from the viewpoint of biographical disruption and re-configuration of significant others, estranged family bonds, peer support and the formation of the most intimate relationships into exclusive and inclusive configurations. All analyses examine the dialectics of the social and the personal, asking how different structuring mechanisms and personal experiences and negotiations together contribute to the unfolding of the bonds. The summary elaborates personal relationships as social bonds embedded in wider webs of interdependent people and social settings that are laden with cultural expectations. Regarding the question of the relational self, the study proposes both bonding and individuality as significant. They are seen as interdependent phases of the relationality of the self. Bonding anchors the self to its significant relationships, in which individuality is manifested, for example, in contrasting and differentiating dynamics, but also in active attempts to connect with others. Individuality is not a fixed quality of the self, but a fluid and interdependent phase of the relational self. More specifically, it appears in three formats in the flux of relational processes: as a sense of unique self (via cultivation of subjective experiences), as agency and as (a search for) relative autonomy. The study includes an epilogue addressing the ambivalence between the social expectation of individuality in society and the bonded reality of selves.

Two- and three-dimensional shape fabric analysis by the intercept method in grey levels

The count intercept is a robust method for the numerical analysis of fabrics Launeau and Robin (1996). It counts the number of intersections between a set of parallel scan lines and a mineral phase, which must be identified on a digital image. However, the method is only sensitive to boundaries and therefore supposes the user has some knowledge about their significance. The aim of this paper is to show that a proper grey level detection of boundaries along scan lines is sufficient to calculate the two-dimensional anisotropy of grain or crystal distributions without any particular image processing. Populations of grains and crystals usually display elliptical anisotropies in rocks. When confirmed by the intercept analysis, a combination of a minimum of 3 mean length intercept roses, taken on 3 more or less perpendicular sections, allows the calculation of 3-dimensional ellipsoids and the determination of their standard deviation with direction and intensity in 3 dimensions as well. The feasibility of this quick method is attested by numerous examples on theoretical objects deformed by active and passive deformation, on BSE images of synthetic magma flow, on drawing or direct analysis of thin section pictures of sandstones and on digital images of granites directly taken and measured in the field. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Genomic analysis for managing small and endangered populations: a case study in Tyrol Grey cattle

Analysis of genomic data is increasingly becoming part of the livestock industry. Therefore, the routine collection of genomic information would be an invaluable resource for effective management of breeding programs in small, endangered populations. The objective of the paper was to demonstrate how genomic data could be used to analyse (1) linkage disequlibrium (LD), LD decay and the effective population size (NeLD); (2) Inbreeding level and effective population size (NeROH) based on runs of homozygosity (ROH); (3) Prediction of genomic breeding values (GEBV) using small within-breed and genomic information from other breeds. The Tyrol Grey population was used as an example, with the goal to highlight the potential of genomic analyses for small breeds. In addition to our own results we discuss additional use of genomics to assess relatedness, admixture proportions, and inheritance of harmful variants. The example data set consisted of 218 Tyrol Grey bull genotypes, which were all available AI bulls in the population. After standard quality control restrictions 34,581 SNPs remained for the analysis. A separate quality control was applied to determine ROH levels based on Illumina GenCall and Illumina GenTrain scores, resulting into 211 bulls and 33,604 SNPs. LD was computed as the squared correlation coefficient between SNPs within a 10 mega base pair (Mb) region. ROHs were derived based on regions covering at least 4, 8, and 16 Mb, suggesting that animals had common ancestors approximately 12, 6, and 3 generations ago, respectively. The corresponding mean inbreeding coefficients (F ROH) were 4.0% for 4 Mb, 2.9% for 8 Mb and 1.6% for 16 Mb runs. With an average generation interval of 5.66 years, estimated NeROH was 125 (NeROH>16 Mb), 186 (NeROH>8 Mb) and 370 (NeROH>4 Mb) indicating strict avoidance of close inbreeding in the population. The LD was used as an alternative method to infer the population history and the Ne. The results show a continuous decrease in NeLD, to 780, 120, and 80 for 100, 10, and 5 generations ago, respectively. Genomic selection was developed for and is working well in large breeds. The same methodology was applied in Tyrol Grey cattle, using different reference populations. Contrary to the expectations, the accuracy of GEBVs with very small within breed reference populations were very high, between 0.13-0.91 and 0.12-0.63, when estimated breeding values and deregressed breeding values were used as pseudo-phenotypes, respectively. Subsequent analyses confirmed the high accuracies being a consequence of low reliabilities of pseudo-phenotypes in the validation set, thus being heavily influenced by parent averages. Multi-breed and across breed reference sets gave inconsistent and lower accuracies. Genomic information may have a crucial role in management of small breeds, even if its primary usage differs from that of large breeds. It allows to assess relatedness between individuals, trends in inbreeding and to take decisions accordingly. These decisions would be based on the real genome architecture, rather than conventional pedigree information, which can be missing or incomplete. We strongly suggest the routine genotyping of all individuals that belong to a small breed in order to facilitate the effective management of endangered livestock populations.

An analysis of relational complexity in an air traffic control conflict detection task

Theoretical analyses of air traffic complexity were carried out using the Method for the Analysis of Relational Complexity. Twenty-two air traffic controllers examined static air traffic displays and were required to detect and resolve conflicts. Objective measures of performance included conflict detection time and accuracy. Subjective perceptions of mental workload were assessed by a complexity-sorting task and subjective ratings of the difficulty of different aspects of the task. A metric quantifying the complexity of pair-wise relations among aircraft was able to account for a substantial portion of the variance in the perceived complexity and difficulty of conflict detection problems, as well as reaction time. Other variables that influenced performance included the mean minimum separation between aircraft pairs and the amount of time that aircraft spent in conflict.

Romano-British wall-painting fragments: a spectroscopic analysis

Raman spectroscopic analyses of fragmented wall-painting specimens from a Romano-British villa dating from ca. 200 AD are reported. The predominant pigment is red haematite, to which carbon, chalk and sand have been added to produce colour variations, applied to a typical Roman limewash putty composition. Other pigment colours are identified as white chalk, yellow (goethite), grey (soot/chalk mixture) and violet. The latter pigment is ascribed to caput mortuum, a rare form of haematite, to which kaolinite (possibly from Cornwall) has been added, presumably in an effort to increase the adhesive properties of the pigment to the substratum. This is the first time that kaolinite has been reported in this context and could indicate the successful application of an ancient technology discovered by the Romano-British artists. Supporting evidence for the Raman data is provided by X-ray diffraction and SEM-EDAX analyses of the purple pigment.

What’s in a handshake? Exploring business-to-business relational exchange

Despite its importance in the development of competitive advantage, attempts to unify diverse classifications of business-to-business relational exchange have been largely unsuccessful. We used 18 semi-structured, in-depth interviews with managers from a wide range of industries to explain the business-to-business relational exchange construct. Analysis of the data revealed that business-to-business relational exchange comprises five key dimensions. These are communication, compatibility, commitment, trust and power symmetry. The research highlights the importance of personal interaction in business relationships and provided additional insights into the importance of affective commitment. In addition we reveal a number of negative consequences of affective commitment, which have been previously unexplored. A new conceptual model of business-to-business relational exchange is presented, which synthesises these findings and directs future research.

What is that place? Observations of the impact of environment colour through photographic analysis

Isolating the impact of a colour, or a combination of colours, is extremely difficult to achieve because it is difficult to remove other environmental elements such as sound, odours, light, and occasion from the experience of being in a place. In order to ascertain the impact of colour on how we interpret the world in day to day situations, the current study records participant responses to achromatic scenes of the built environment prior to viewing the same scene in colour. A number of environments were photographed in colour or copied from design books; and copies of the images saved as both colour and black/grey/white. An overview of the study will be introduced by firstly providing examples of studies which have linked colour to meaning and emotions. For example, yellow is said to be connected to happiness1 ; or red evokes feelings of anger2 or passion. A link between colour and the way we understand and/or feel is established however, there is a further need for knowledge of colour in context. In response to this need, the current achromatic/chromatic environmental study will be described and discussed in light of the findings. Finally, suggestions for future research are posed. Based on previous research the authors hypothesised that a shift in environmental perception by participants would occur. It was found that the impact of colour includes a shift in perception of aspects such as its atmosphere and youthfulness. Through studio-class discussions it was also noted that the predicted age of the place, the function, and in association, the potential users when colour was added (or deleted) were often challenged. It is posited that the ability of a designer (for example, interior designer, architect, or landscape architect) to design for a particular target group—user and/or clients will be enhanced through more targeted studies relating colour in situ. The importance of noting the perceptual shift for the participants in our study, who were young designers, is the realisation that colour potentially holds the power to impact on the identity of an architectural form, an interior space, and/or particular elements such as doorways, furniture settings, and the like.

Relational factors that explain supply chain relationships

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to gain a better understanding of the types of relationships that exist along the supply chain and the capabilities that are needed to manage them effectively. ---------- Design/methodology/approach: This is exploratory research as there has been little empirical research into this area. Quantitative data were gathered by using a self-administered questionnaire, using the Australian road freight industry as the context. There were 132 usable responses. Inferential and descriptive analysis, including factor analysis, confirmatory factor and regression analysis was used to examine the predictive power of relational factors in inter-firm relationships. ---------- Findings: Three factors were identified as having significant influence on relationships: sharing, power and interdependency. “Sharing” is the willingness of the organisation to share resources with other members of the supply chain. “Power” relates to exercising control based on experience, knowledge and position in the supply chain. “Interdependency” is the relative levels of dependency along the supply chain. ---------- Research limitations/implications: The research only looks at the Australian road freight industry; a wider sample including other industries would help to strengthen the generalisability of the findings. ---------- Practical implications: When these factors are correlated to the types of relationship, arm's length, cooperation, collaboration and alliances, managerial implications can be identified. The more road freight businesses place importance on power, the less they will cooperate. The greater the importance of sharing and interdependency, the greater is the likelihood of arm's length relationships. ---------- Originality/value: This paper makes a contribution by describing empirical work conducted in an under-researched but important area – supply chain relationships in the Australian road freight industry.

Fingerprint analysis using wavelet transform with application to compression and feature extraction

The main goal of this research is to design an efficient compression al~ gorithm for fingerprint images. The wavelet transform technique is the principal tool used to reduce interpixel redundancies and to obtain a parsimonious representation for these images. A specific fixed decomposition structure is designed to be used by the wavelet packet in order to save on the computation, transmission, and storage costs. This decomposition structure is based on analysis of information packing performance of several decompositions, two-dimensional power spectral density, effect of each frequency band on the reconstructed image, and the human visual sensitivities. This fixed structure is found to provide the "most" suitable representation for fingerprints, according to the chosen criteria. Different compression techniques are used for different subbands, based on their observed statistics. The decision is based on the effect of each subband on the reconstructed image according to the mean square criteria as well as the sensitivities in human vision. To design an efficient quantization algorithm, a precise model for distribution of the wavelet coefficients is developed. The model is based on the generalized Gaussian distribution. A least squares algorithm on a nonlinear function of the distribution model shape parameter is formulated to estimate the model parameters. A noise shaping bit allocation procedure is then used to assign the bit rate among subbands. To obtain high compression ratios, vector quantization is used. In this work, the lattice vector quantization (LVQ) is chosen because of its superior performance over other types of vector quantizers. The structure of a lattice quantizer is determined by its parameters known as truncation level and scaling factor. In lattice-based compression algorithms reported in the literature the lattice structure is commonly predetermined leading to a nonoptimized quantization approach. In this research, a new technique for determining the lattice parameters is proposed. In the lattice structure design, no assumption about the lattice parameters is made and no training and multi-quantizing is required. The design is based on minimizing the quantization distortion by adapting to the statistical characteristics of the source in each subimage. 11 Abstract Abstract Since LVQ is a multidimensional generalization of uniform quantizers, it produces minimum distortion for inputs with uniform distributions. In order to take advantage of the properties of LVQ and its fast implementation, while considering the i.i.d. nonuniform distribution of wavelet coefficients, the piecewise-uniform pyramid LVQ algorithm is proposed. The proposed algorithm quantizes almost all of source vectors without the need to project these on the lattice outermost shell, while it properly maintains a small codebook size. It also resolves the wedge region problem commonly encountered with sharply distributed random sources. These represent some of the drawbacks of the algorithm proposed by Barlaud [26). The proposed algorithm handles all types of lattices, not only the cubic lattices, as opposed to the algorithms developed by Fischer [29) and Jeong [42). Furthermore, no training and multiquantizing (to determine lattice parameters) is required, as opposed to Powell's algorithm [78). For coefficients with high-frequency content, the positive-negative mean algorithm is proposed to improve the resolution of reconstructed images. For coefficients with low-frequency content, a lossless predictive compression scheme is used to preserve the quality of reconstructed images. A method to reduce bit requirements of necessary side information is also introduced. Lossless entropy coding techniques are subsequently used to remove coding redundancy. The algorithms result in high quality reconstructed images with better compression ratios than other available algorithms. To evaluate the proposed algorithms their objective and subjective performance comparisons with other available techniques are presented. The quality of the reconstructed images is important for a reliable identification. Enhancement and feature extraction on the reconstructed images are also investigated in this research. A structural-based feature extraction algorithm is proposed in which the unique properties of fingerprint textures are used to enhance the images and improve the fidelity of their characteristic features. The ridges are extracted from enhanced grey-level foreground areas based on the local ridge dominant directions. The proposed ridge extraction algorithm, properly preserves the natural shape of grey-level ridges as well as precise locations of the features, as opposed to the ridge extraction algorithm in [81). Furthermore, it is fast and operates only on foreground regions, as opposed to the adaptive floating average thresholding process in [68). Spurious features are subsequently eliminated using the proposed post-processing scheme.

Defending the patch : a labour geography analysis of unions’ construction of and responses to the problem of declining union membership amongst youth

If the trade union movement is to remain an influential force in the industrial, economic and socio/political arenas of industrialised nations it is vital that its recruitment of young members improve dramatically. Australian union membership levels have declined markedly over the last three decades and youth union membership levels have decreased more than any age group. Currently around 10% of young workers aged between 16-24 years are members of unions in Australia compared to 26% of workers aged 45-58 (Oliver, 2008). This decline has occurred throughout the union movement, in all states and in almost all industries and occupations. This research, which consists of interviews with union organisers and union officials, draws on perspectives from the labour geography literature to explore how union personnel located in various places, spaces and scales construct the issue of declining youth union membership. It explores the scale of connections within the labour movement and the extent to which these connections are leveraged to address the problem of youth union membership decline. To offer the reader a sense of context and perspective, the thesis firstly outlines the historical development of the union movement. It also reviews the literature on youth membership decline. Labour geography offers a rich and apposite analytical tool for investigation of this area. The notion of ‘scale’ as a dynamic, interactive, constructed and reconstructed entity (Ellem, 2006) is an appropriate lens for viewing youth-union membership issues. In this non-linear view, scale is a relational element which interplays with space, place and the environment (Howett, in Marston, 2000) rather than being ‘sequential’ and hierarchical. Importantly, the thesis investigates the notion of unions as ‘spaces of dependence’ (Cox, 1998a, p.2), organisations whose space is centred upon realising essential interests. It also considers the quality of unions’ interactions with others – their ‘spaces of engagement‘(Cox, 1998a, p.2), and the impact that this has upon their ability to recruit youth. The findings reveal that most respondents across the spectrum of the union movement attribute the decline in youth membership levels to factors external to the movement itself, such as changes to industrial relations legislation and the impact of globalisation on employment markets. However, participants also attribute responsibility for declining membership levels to the union movement itself, citing factors such as a lack of resourcing and a need to change unions’ perceived identity and methods of operation. The research further determined that networks of connections across the union movement are tenuous and, to date, are not being fully utilised to assist unions to overcome the youth recruitment dilemma. The study concludes that potential connections between unions are hampered by poor resourcing, workload issues and some deeply entrenched attitudes related to unions ‘defending (and maintaining) their patch’.

Towards a relational contracting framework in the Australian construction industry : an initial framework

The Australian construction industry is characterized as being a competitive and risky business environment due to lack of cooperation, insufficient trust, ineffective communication and adversarial relationships which are likely lead to poor project performance. Relational contracting (RC) is advocated by literature as an innovative approach to improve the procurement process in the construction industry. Various studies have collectively added to the current knowledge of known RC norms, but there seem to be little effort on investigating the determinants of RC and its impact on project outcomes. In such circumstances, there is lack of evidence and explanation on the manner on how these issues lead to different performance. Simultaneously, the New Engineering Contract (NEC) that embraced the concept of RC is seen as a modern way of contracting and also considered as one of the best approaches to the perennial problem of improving adversarial relationships within the industry. The reality of practice of RC in Australia is investigated through the lens of the NEC. A synthesis of literature views on the concept, processes and tools of RC is first conducted to develop the framework of RC. A case study approach is proposed for an in-depth analysis to explore the critical issues addressed by RC in relation to project performance. Understanding the realities of RC will assist stakeholders in the construction industry with their investment in RC.