The late Roman field army in Northern Britain? Mobility, material culture and multi-isotope analysis at Scorton (N. Yorks)

At Hollow Banks Quarry, Scorton, located just north of Catterick (N Yorks.), a highly unusual group of 15 late Roman burials was excavated between 1998 and 2000. The small cemetery consists of almost exclusively male burials, dated to the fourth century. An unusually large proportion of these individuals was buried with crossbow brooches and belt fittings, suggesting that they may have been serving in the late Roman army or administration and may have come to Scorton from the Continent. Multi-isotope analyses (carbon, nitrogen, oxygen and strontium) of nine sufficiently well-preserved individuals indicate that seven males, all equipped with crossbow brooches and/or belt fittings, were not local to the Catterick area and that at least six of them probably came from the European mainland. Dietary (carbon and nitrogen isotope) analysis only of a tenth individual also suggests a non-local origin. At Scorton it appears that the presence of crossbow brooches and belts in the grave was more important for suggesting non-British origins than whether or not they were worn. This paper argues that cultural and social factors played a crucial part in the creation of funerary identities and highlights the need for both multi-proxy analyses and the careful contextual study of artefacts.

Collective financing among Chinese entrepreneurs and department store retailing in China

Chinese entrepreneurship in department store retailing differed from that seen in other emerging economies before 1940. Rather than the leading examples of the format being owned by advanced economy firms, in China a small group of Cantonese entrepreneurs established what became known as the ‘Big Four’ department stores in Shanghai. By 1940 the ‘Big Four’ department stores were among the most famous stores in China, and among the biggest businesses in China. None of these Chinese entrepreneurs had any prior experience in department store retailing. Rather this article explains how their success in department store retailing was dependent on a business model that enabled these Chinese entrepreneurs to act as informal investment bankers (or ‘shadow’ banks) for the thousands of overseas Chinese wanting to invest surplus savings in mainland China, so creating large indigenous business groups.

The only way is up: retail format saturation and the demise of the American five and dime store, 1914-1941

We examine a classic ‘wheel of retailing’ episode – the abandonment of the five and dime pricing formula by American variety chains. These switched from a conventional product lifecycle, focusing on cost reduction through standardisation, to a reverse path up the ‘service cost - unit value’ continuum. We show that, rather than reflecting deteriorating managerial acumen, this was a response to the continued imperative for growth following retail format saturation. Firm-specific (rather than format-specific) competitive advantages were too weak for any chain to be confident it could win a within-format price war, making inter-format competition through raising price points more attractive.

Grafisk profilering för butiksmiljö : Creating a visual identity for a store

A new visual identity for the ski store Alpingaraget in Stockholm has been proposed as the result of this thesis. Theproposal includes a new logotype, various printed matters, design planning of the store, interior design, signs and otherapplications.The theory section is within the field of graphic profiling and with some focus on profiling in stores.A clear visual identity is important for a company because what the company communicates internally and externallyshould be kept as consistent as possible. This is especially important nowadays when more and more similar products andstores are available. This means that the visual identity becomes part of the competition with other products and stores.The base elements in a visual identity are logotype, colors and typograpy. Using these elements according to rules andtemplates makes a consistent visual profile.

Economic Evaluation of a Solar Charged Thermal Energy Store for Space Heating

A thermal energy store corrects the misalignment of heating demand in the winter relative to solar thermal energy gathered in the summer. This thesis reviews the viability of a solar charged hot water tank thermal energy store for a school at latitude 56.25N, longitude -120.85W

Replacing Finned Copper withCorrugated Stainless Steel, forthe Heat Exchangers of a SolarCombisystem Store : Performance and EconomicEvaluation

The importance of investigating cost reduction in materials and components for solar thermal systems is crucial at the present time. This work focuses on the influence of two different heat exchangers on the performance of a solar thermal system. Both heat exchangers studied are immersed helically coiled, one made with corrugated stainless steel tube, and the other made with finned copper tube with smooth inner surface.A test apparatus has been designed and a simple test procedure applied in order to study heat transfer characteristics and pressure drop of both coils. Thereafter, the resulting experimental data was used to perform a parameter identification of the heat exchangers, in order to obtain a TRNSYS model with its corresponding numerical expression. Also a representative small-scale combisystem model was designed in TRNSYS, in order to study the influence of both heat exchangers on the solar fraction of the system, when working at different flow rates.It has been found that the highest solar fraction is given by the corrugated stainless steel coil, when it works at the lowest flow rate (100 l/hr). For any higher flow rate, the studied copper coil presents a higher solar fraction. The advantageous low flow performance of stainless steel heat exchanger turns out to be beneficial for the particular case of solar thermal systems, where it is well known that low flow collector loops lead to enhanced store stratification, and consequently higher solar fractions.Finally, an optimization of the stainless steel heat exchanger length is carried out, according to economic figures. For the given combisystem model and boundary conditions, the optimum length value is found between 10 and 12 m.

To what extent are CO2 emissions from intra-urban shopping trips by cars affected by drivers’ travel behaviour and store location?

Transportation is seen as one of the major sources of CO2 pollutants nowadays. The impact of increased transport in retailing should not be underestimated. Most previous studies have focused on transportation and underlying trips, in general, while very few studies have addressed the specific affects that, for instance, intra-city shopping trips generate. Furthermore, most of the existing methods used to estimate emission are based on macro-data designed to generate national or regional inventory projections. There is a lack of studies using micro-data based methods that are able to distinguish between driver behaviour and the locational effects induced by shopping trips, which is an important precondition for energy efficient urban planning. The aim of this study is to implement a micro-data method to estimate and compare CO2 emission induced by intra-urban car travelling to a retail destination of durable goods (DG), and non-durable goods (NDG). We estimate the emissions from aspects of travel behaviour and store location. The study is conducted by means of a case study in the city of Borlänge, where GPS tracking data on intra-urban car travel is collected from 250 households. We find that a behavioural change during a trip towards a CO2 optimal travelling by car has the potential to decrease emission to 36% (DG), and to 25% (NDG) of the emissions induced by car-travelling shopping trips today. There is also a potential of reducing CO2 emissions induced by intra-urban shopping trips due to poor location by 54%, and if the consumer selected the closest of 8 existing stores, the CO2 emissions would be reduced by 37% of the current emission induced by NDG shopping trips.

Factors influencing supermarket store loyalty

Este estudo focou na indústria de supermercados e teve como objetivo examinar o quanto os fatores referentes à existência de um programa de fidelidade em um supermercado, a fidelidade do cliente com esse programa e a percepção de valor que o cliente tem da loja, influenciam na sua lealdade à loja. Como muitas empresas têm feito um grande investimento nos Programas de Fidelidade, é certamente relevante que seja medida a efetividade desse tipo de programa. A metodologia usada foi a análise de regressão linear. Nesta análise de regressão foram consideradas as seguintes variáveis independentes: Valor percebido do programa, a Lealdade ao cartão de fidelidade da loja, o valor percebido da loja. Como variável dependente foi considerada a Lealdade à loja. A análise concluiu que os programas de lealdade em supermercados não estão funcionando como instrumentos efetivos de fidelidade e não têm relação com o Valor Percebido da Loja. O investimento das empresas nessa ferramenta não está trazendo o retorno esperado de desenvolver fidelidade no cliente.

Aproximação entre civis e militares com a criação do Ministério da Defesa

O objetivo desta dissertação é constatar o nível de relacionamento entre civis e militares, antes e depois da criação do Ministério da Defesa, em 1999. Inicialmente descreve-se sobre o surgimento de cada Força Armada e verifica-se que Marinha do Brasil e Exército Brasileiro, nos anos 1820, foram criados por necessidade de segurança e defesa ao País, mas obtidas por iniciativa e vontade do povo. A Aeronáutica, nos 1940, originou-se da junção dos segmentos aeronáuticos da Marinha e do Exército. Constata-se que a sociedade não se envolve, como deveria, nas questões de segurança e defesa nacionais, muito menos durante e após o período dos Governos Militares. Percebe-se que esta apatia, por parte da sociedade, com o tema tem várias explicações. Há falta de informações sobre o assunto. Passados mais de vinte anos de os Governos Militares, a ferida ainda custa para ser cicatrizada e o estreitamento desejado, entre civis e militares, é questão a ser estudada. Após a criação do Ministério da Defesa, constatou-se que, de alguma forma, houve aproximação entre civis e militares. Inclusive na troca de conhecimentos. Houve conferências, simpósios, encontros, reuniões sobre as questões de defesa, e documentos de alto nível foram estudados e elaborados por civis e militares. A revisão da Política de Defesa Nacional, a elaboração da Estratégia Nacional de Defesa e os estudos para a confecção do Livro Branco de Defesa Nacional são exemplos que confirmam esta aproximação. Antes da existência do Ministério da Defesa isso não acontecia. O presente estudo objetiva avaliar a criação do Ministério da Defesa como possível ponto de inflexão na participação da sociedade nos assuntos de Defesa e a aproximação entre civis e militares.

Adequando práticas e modelos de gestão bem sucedidos ao Programa Netuno: a implementação do balanced scorecard

Há tempo busca-se um aperfeiçoamento do aparelho estatal no Brasil e, ao longo dos anos. os governos que se sucedem no poder vêm buscando alternativas para melhorar a eficiência do Estado. Mais recentemente, no Governo do Presidente Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, foi instituído o Programa Nacional de Gestão Pública e Desburocratização (Gespública), que incentiva órgãos públicos a implementarem sistemas de gestão, participando de um processo de avaliação com premiações para as melhores práticas gerenciais voltadas à qualidade dos serviços aos cidadãos. No âmbito da Marinha do Brasil o Programa foi adaptado às peculiaridade da Força e nasceu, assim, o Programa Netuno que visa à institucionalização de boas práticas de gestão, permitindo que as organizações da Marinha do Brasil busquem a melhoria contínua dos processos inerentes a suas atividades. Uma das ferramentas que se pretende incorporar ao Programa é o Balanced Scorecard, geralmente utilizado na gestão estratégica e na avaliação do desempenho de organizações. Portanto, com a finalidade de contribuir para o aprimoramento da eficiência da gestão das Organizações Militares da Marinha do Brasil, este trabalho tem como objetivo identificar as vantagens, desvantagens e dificuldades da implementação do Modelo de Gestão Balanced Scorecard (BSC), tomando como base as experiências bem sucedidas de outras organizações da iniciativa privada e pública, bem como do Exército Brasileiro, que já implementaram e utilizam o modelo.

A Força Aérea e as relações civis-militares no Brasil

Considerando que a análise do grau de democratização das relações civis- militares, conforme proposto por Barany (2012) está diretamente associada à análise das interações entre Estado e Forças Armadas; sociedade e Forças Armadas; e Estado e sociedade, e ainda, que o Brasil se encontra em estágio sólido de democratização, este trabalho buscou avaliar a influência política da Força Aérea Brasileira nas relações civis- militares, por meio de três aspectos: (1) a análise do orçamento da Força Aérea em relação ao Exército Brasileiro e a Marinha do Brasil, de 2004 a 2014, (2) a participação da Força Aérea em cargos do Executivo, comparada às demais Forças, de 2012 a 2013, e (3) a interação da Força Aérea com a Academia atualmente. A suposição de que a Força Aérea possui menos influência política em relação ao Exército e à Marinha foi rejeitada, por não terem sido identificadas evidências de precedência política de uma Força em relação às outras, nas medidas analisadas.

Effect of price and in-store promotion on sales: a study of distinct regions in an emerging market

Increasing competition caused by globalization, high growth of some emerging markets and stagnation of developed economies motivate Consumer Packaged Goods (CPGs) manufacturers to drive their attention to emerging markets. These companies are expected to adapt their marketing activities to the particularities of these markets in order to succeed. In a country classified as emerging market, regions are not alike and some contrasts can be identified. In addition, divergences of marketing variables effect can also be observed in the different retail formats. The retail formats in emerging markets can be segregated in chain self-service and traditional full-service. Thus, understanding the effectiveness of marketing mix not only in country aggregated level data can be an important contribution. Inasmuch as companies aim to generate profits from emerging markets, price is an important marketing variable in the process of creating competitive advantage. Along with price, promotional variables such as in-store displays and price cut are often viewed as temporary incentives to increase short-term sales. Managers defend the usage of promotions as being the most reliable and fastest manner to increase sales and then short-term profits. However, some authors alert about sales promotions disadvantages; mainly in the long-term. This study investigates the effect of price and in-store promotions on sales volume in different regions within an emerging market. The database used is at SKU level for juice, being segregated in the Brazilian northeast and southeast regions and corresponding to the period from January 2011 to January 2013. The methodological approach is descriptive quantitative involving validation tests, application of multivariate and temporal series analysis method. The Vector-Autoregressive (VAR) model was used to perform the analysis. Results suggest similar price sensitivity in the northeast and southeast region and greater in-store promotion sensitivity in the northeast. Price reductions show negative results in the long-term (persistent sales in six months) and in-store promotion, positive results. In-store promotion shows no significant influence on sales in chain self-service stores while price demonstrates no relevant impact on sales in traditional full-service stores. Hence, this study contributes to the business environment for companies wishing to manage price and sales promotions for consumer brands in regions with different features within an emerging market. As a theoretical contribution, this study fills an academic gap providing a dedicated price and sales promotion study to contrast regions in an emerging market.