Search results

1 – 10 of 85
Open Access
Article
Publication date: 17 March 2020

Ioanna Falagara Sigala, William J. Kettinger and Tina Wakolbinger

The purpose of this study is to explore what design principles need to be considered in Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems for humanitarian organizations (HOs) to enable…

5682

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to explore what design principles need to be considered in Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems for humanitarian organizations (HOs) to enable agile, adaptive and aligned (Triple-A) humanitarian supply chain capabilities and digitize humanitarian operations.

Design/methodology/approach

This study follows an embedded case study approach with a humanitarian medical relief organization, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), which engaged in a multiyear ERP design at its humanitarian field missions.

Findings

This research shows that ERP systems for humanitarian organizations should be designed as unique systems addressing humanitarian organizations' challenges and unique missions, their value generation processes, and resource base in an effort to improve organizational performance. This study presents 12 general design principles that are unique for humanitarian organizations. These design principles provide a high-level structure of guidance under which specific requirements can be further defined and engineered to achieve success.

Research limitations/implications

The results of this study are based on a single case study limiting generalizability. However, the case study was analyzed and presented as an embedded case study with five autonomous subunits using different business processes and following different adoption and implementation approaches. Therefore, the findings are derived based on considerable variance reflective of humanitarian organizations beyond MSF.

Practical implications

This study recognizes that HOs have unique routines that standard commercial ERP packages do not address easily at the field level. The primary contribution of this research is a set of design principles that consider these unique routines and guide ERP development in practice. National and international HOs that are planning to implement information systems, private companies that are trading partners of HOs as well as vendors of ERP systems that are looking for new opportunities would all benefit from this research.

Originality/value

This study fills the gap in the humanitarian literature regarding the design of ERP systems for humanitarian organizations that enable Triple–A supply chain capabilities and it advances the knowledge of the challenges of ERP design by HOs in the context of humanitarian operations.

Details

Journal of Humanitarian Logistics and Supply Chain Management, vol. 10 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2042-6747

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 17 February 2021

Katherine E. McLeod, Kelsey Timler, Mo Korchinski, Pamela Young, Tammy Milkovich, Cheri McBride, Glenn Young, William Wardell, Lara-Lisa Condello, Jane A. Buxton, Patricia A. Janssen and Ruth Elwood Martin

Currently, people leaving prisons face concurrent risks from the COVID-19 pandemic and the overdose public health emergency. The closure or reduction of community services people…

2487

Abstract

Purpose

Currently, people leaving prisons face concurrent risks from the COVID-19 pandemic and the overdose public health emergency. The closure or reduction of community services people rely on after release such as treatment centres and shelters has exacerbated the risks of poor health outcomes and harms. This paper aims to learn from peer health mentors (PHM) about changes to their work during overlapping health emergencies, as well as barriers and opportunities to support people leaving prison in this context.

Design/methodology/approach

The Unlocking the Gates (UTG) Peer Health Mentoring Program supports people leaving prison in British Columbia during the first three days after release. The authors conducted two focus groups with PHM over video conference in May 2020. Focus groups were recorded and transcribed, and themes were iteratively developed using narrative thematic analysis.

Findings

The findings highlighted the importance of peer health mentorship for people leaving prisons. PHM discussed increased opportunities for collaboration, ways the pandemic has changed how they are able to provide support, and how PHM are able to remain responsive and flexible to meet client needs. Additionally, PHM illuminated ways that COVID-19 has exacerbated existing barriers and identified specific actions needed to support client health, including increased housing and recovery beds, and tools for social and emotional well-being.

Originality/value

This study contributes to our understanding of peer health mentorship during the COVID-19 pandemic from the perspective of mentors. PHM expertise can support release planning, improved health and well-being of people leaving prison and facilitate policy-supported pandemic responses.

Details

International Journal of Prisoner Health, vol. 17 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1744-9200

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 5 December 2016

William W. Kirkley

The purpose of this pilot study was to identify the key factors that influence the decisions of entrepreneurs who are considering the creation of a new venture. The pilot was…

67165

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this pilot study was to identify the key factors that influence the decisions of entrepreneurs who are considering the creation of a new venture. The pilot was conducted to explore the cognitive antecedents of entrepreneurial decision-making and whether specific factors contribute to the decision to create a new venture.

Design/methodology/approach

The study utilised an inductive and interpretive research design within a constructivist paradigm. The sample comprised entrepreneurs situated in a business incubation unit who engaged in a series of semi-structured interviews. The results of this study will be used to refine the questions asked in preparation for a larger sample using in-depth interviews with identified entrepreneurs. The resulting narrative in this pilot was subjected to discourse analysis and is categorised into relevant themes.

Findings

The findings in this pilot study reveal that factors such as technological advancement, market opportunity, competition, customer demand and prevailing market conditions have a significant influence on the decision-making process involved in creating a new venture.

Research limitations/implications

Although the pilot has identified several factors in entrepreneurial decision-making, further work will be needed in the research design to be able to expose the cognitive processes associated with each factor. The aim is to identify the common cognitive characteristics associated with thinking through the decision to create a new venture with a much larger sample of entrepreneurs.

Originality/value

The value of this research lies in exploring and developing a better understanding of the antecedent cognitive processes used by entrepreneurs for identifying unique, innovative new ideas and converting them into exploitable products or services through new venture creation.

Details

Asia Pacific Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, vol. 10 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2071-1395

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 22 November 2018

William Smith

This paper aims to raise awareness of a potential planning pitfall and provide recommendations on how to assess and improve upon current practices. In potential conflict areas…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to raise awareness of a potential planning pitfall and provide recommendations on how to assess and improve upon current practices. In potential conflict areas, such as the Korean Theater of Operations (KTO), military forces are required to store a portion of their ammunition combat load within depots and ammunition supply points under the control of a servicing ammunition company. This necessitates a lengthy retrieval process, as the ammunition company does not have enough resources to serve all customers simultaneously.

Design/methodology/approach

The stored combat load (SCL) retrieval process is modeled as a parallel machine scheduling problem and simulated using synthetic requirements. The current system of retrieval is contrasted against a proposed alternate system through a series of simulations scaled across three factors: number of ammunition company Soldiers, number of customer units and number of magazines.

Findings

The proposed alternate system demonstrates a significant potential for reducing the makespan of the SCL retrieval process when more than half of the magazines store SCL for multiple customers and there are more than five customers per Soldier.

Originality/value

Transitioning military units from a peacetime standing to full combat readiness as quickly as possible is of immense value within the KTO and other hostile areas with established troops not actively engaged in combat.

Details

Journal of Defense Analytics and Logistics, vol. 2 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2399-6439

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 4 January 2018

Clara Inés Pardo Martínez and William H. Alfonso P.

This research analyses and evaluates the trends and perspectives of climate change in Colombia. This study aims to understand the main ideas and concepts of climate change in five…

12563

Abstract

Purpose

This research analyses and evaluates the trends and perspectives of climate change in Colombia. This study aims to understand the main ideas and concepts of climate change in five regions of the country by analysing attitudes and values, information habits, institutionalism and the social appropriation of science and technology.

Design/methodology/approach

The research study involved a focus group technique. Ten focus groups in five regions of the country, including rural regions, were administered. The selection of cities and municipalities in this study took into account vulnerability scenarios based on the two criteria of temperature and precipitation for the 2011-2040 period.

Findings

The participants of the focus groups believe that climate change began 10 years ago and that human activities have caused climate change. The main effects of climate change are believed to be droughts and floods that have appeared in the past several years and have negatively impacted agricultural activities and the quality of life of the population. Moreover, the participants believe that it is important to design and apply adequate measures to adapt to and mitigate climate change.

Originality/value

This study makes an important contribution to the extant climate change literature by identifying and categorising the main ideas and knowledge on this issue from the perspective of the population in Colombia. In developing countries with high climate change vulnerability, it is especially important to analyse this issue to determine relevant official policy instruments that could promote adequate actions and instruments to prevent, adapt to and mitigate climate change.

Details

International Journal of Climate Change Strategies and Management, vol. 10 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1756-8692

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 15 April 2018

William E. Allen

Creating a logical and consistent picture of the state of leadership theory and research is a difficult task (Hernandez, Eberly, Avolio, & Johnson, 2011). Attempts to describe…

Abstract

Creating a logical and consistent picture of the state of leadership theory and research is a difficult task (Hernandez, Eberly, Avolio, & Johnson, 2011). Attempts to describe leadership studies occasionally include words such as “paradox,” “inconsistencies,” “contradictions,” and “messy” (Brungardt, 1996; Klenke, 1993). These adjectives flow from many diverse ways of thinking about leadership (Bass, 2008; Grint, 2000; Northouse, 2015; Ruben, 2012). This paper presents an alternative view of leadership theory providing practitioners, educators, and students with an additional-and perhaps a singular-conceptual framework for their toolbox. It also provides leadership studies students with a unifying perspective of leadership theory without taking anything away from individual theories.

Details

Journal of Leadership Education, vol. 17 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1552-9045

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 1 July 2021

Daniel William Mackenzie Wright

By drawing on current reports, this paper positions that Homo sapiens could in the near future be faced with an increasingly uninhabitable planet. It emphasises the importance of…

3540

Abstract

Purpose

By drawing on current reports, this paper positions that Homo sapiens could in the near future be faced with an increasingly uninhabitable planet. It emphasises the importance of adventure tourism and its associated activities as a means of supporting individuals to develop more outdoor survival skills.

Design/methodology/approach

This study applies a scenario narrative approach in exploring and presenting potential future ideas. The significance of narratives lies at the essential examination of current trends and drivers that could be shaping future scenarios. This paper, through the exploration of past and current trends supports the researcher in presenting future views. The scenario narratives in this research are established via desk-based research and inspection of academic journals, industry reports, ideas and knowledge.

Findings

If society is pushed to the brink of extinction due to a catastrophic event(s), people will require survival skills, similar to those shared by our hunter-gather nomad ancestor. Thus, this paper highlights the value and importance of the industry in encouraging soft and hard outdoor adventure in the coming years. It recognises how different adventure travel activities can support people in rekindling with our more basic instincts and ultimately, surviving in different natural environments.

Originality/value

This paper offers original theoretical knowledge within the adventure tourism literature. Offering original consideration to the value of exploring the past as a method of understanding the future, the paper presents an original spectrum of soft and hard skills-based adventure tourism activities.

Details

Journal of Tourism Futures, vol. 9 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2055-5911

Keywords

Open Access
Book part
Publication date: 9 May 2023

Volker Stocker, William Lehr and Georgios Smaragdakis

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the ‘real’ world and substantially impacted the virtual world and thus the Internet ecosystem. It has caused a significant exogenous shock that…

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the ‘real’ world and substantially impacted the virtual world and thus the Internet ecosystem. It has caused a significant exogenous shock that offers a wealth of natural experiments and produced new data about broadband, clouds, and the Internet in times of crisis. In this chapter, we characterise and evaluate the evolving impact of the global COVID-19 crisis on traffic patterns and loads and the impact of those on Internet performance from multiple perspectives. While we place a particular focus on deriving insights into how we can better respond to crises and better plan for the post-COVID-19 ‘new normal’, we analyse the impact on and the responses by different actors of the Internet ecosystem across different jurisdictions. With a focus on the USA and Europe, we examine the responses of both public and private actors, with the latter including content and cloud providers, content delivery networks, and Internet service providers (ISPs). This chapter makes two contributions: first, we derive lessons learned for a future post-COVID-19 world to inform non-networking spheres and policy-making; second, the insights gained assist the networking community in better planning for the future.

Details

Beyond the Pandemic? Exploring the Impact of COVID-19 on Telecommunications and the Internet
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80262-050-4

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 6 June 2019

Muhsin Michael Orsini, David L. Wyrick, William B. Hansen, Rita G. O’Sullivan, Denise Hallfors, Allan B. Steckler and Ty A. Ridenour

Alcohol, tobacco, marijuana and other drugs use typically increases in prevalence and frequency during middle and late adolescence. School health instruction often focusses on…

2221

Abstract

Purpose

Alcohol, tobacco, marijuana and other drugs use typically increases in prevalence and frequency during middle and late adolescence. School health instruction often focusses on providing facts and rarely provides tools for addressing the psychosocial risk factors needed to prevent substance use. The purpose of this paper is to report about the effectiveness of a prevention programme delivered in US high school health classes. The intervention augments typical instruction by providing teachers with activities that can be infused in their daily teaching.

Design/methodology/approach

In total, 26 schools were randomly assigned to receive the intervention or serve as controls. Pupils were pretested near the beginning of the school year, posttest near the end of the school year and administered a final test near the beginning of the following school year. Teachers in treatment schools were provided with activities designed to target psychosocial variables known to mediate substance use onset and self-initiated cessation. These include normative beliefs, intentionality, lifestyle incongruence, beliefs about consequences of use, peer pressure resistance skills, decision-making skills, goal setting skills and stress management skills.

Findings

Hierarchical modelling analytic strategies revealed the intervention to have definable positive impacts on alcohol and cigarette use. Moreover, the intervention had strongest effects on alcohol and cigarette use among pupils who were identified at pretest as being lower-than-average risk.

Originality/value

This research provides support for providing teachers with a strategy for preventing alcohol, tobacco and other drugs that can be used in a flexible manner to augment the instruction they are already mandated to provide.

Details

Health Education, vol. 119 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0965-4283

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 15 January 2016

Kati Sweet and Jackie Bruce

In a world where more and more emphasis is being put on the importance of teaching leadership skills to work ready undergraduate students, instructors are often met with the…

Abstract

In a world where more and more emphasis is being put on the importance of teaching leadership skills to work ready undergraduate students, instructors are often met with the challenge of finding current, engaging, real world examples to use in their classrooms. In the case of this application, the instructors propose the use of the characters and video clips from current Fox Network television show Glee to aid in the instruction of Blake & Mouton’s Leadership Grid during a larger discussion of leadership styles.

Details

Journal of Leadership Education, vol. 15 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1552-9045

Access

Only Open Access

Year

All dates (85)

Content type

1 – 10 of 85