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The purpose of this paper is to identify a light and scalable augmented reality (AR) solution to enhance library collections.

The author first did research to identify the major obstacle in creating a scalable AR solution. Next, she explored possible workaround methods and successfully developed two prototypes that make the current Web-based AR work with ISBN barcode.

Libraries have adopted AR technology in recent years mainly by developing mobile applications for specific education or navigation programs. Yet a straight-forward AR solution to enhance a library's collection has not been seen. One of the obstacles lies in finding a scalable and painless solution to associate special AR objects with physical books. At title level, books already have their unique identifier – the ISBN number. Unfortunately, marker-based AR technology only accept two-dimensional (2-D) objects, not the one-dimensional (1-D) EAN barcode (or ISBN barcode) used by books, as markers for technical reasons. In this paper, the author shares her development of two prototypes to make the Web-based AR work with the ISBN barcode. With the prototypes, a user can simply scan the ISBN barcode on a book to retrieve related AR content.

This paper mainly researched and experimented with Web-based AR technologies in the attempt to identify a solution that is as platform-neutral as possible, and as user-friendly as possible.

The light and platform-neutral AR prototypes discussed in this paper have the benefits of minimum cost on both the development side and the experience side. A library does not need to put any additional marker on any book to implement the AR. A user does not need to install any additional applications in his/her smartphone to experience the AR. The prototypes show a promising future where physical collections inside libraries can become more interactive and attractive by blurring the line of reality and virtuality.

The paper can help initiate the discussion on applying Web-based AR technologies to library collections.

This paper argues that contemporary executions by lethal injection represent spectacles of death. This spectacle of death upholds the sovereignty of the liberal state by evoking a sense of fear among the citizens. The State uses the apparently “painless” and “humane” form of execution by lethal injection to legitimize the death penalty in the U.S. I take the example of McVeigh’s execution to suggest that spectacles of execution continue in modern society, along with disciplinary processes that the liberal state depends on for its legitimacy. This paper, thus, aims to contribute towards a rethinking of a Foucauldian notion of power.

Some of Lou Pondy′s closest colleagues were invited to submit letters and articles, as a starting point for this special issue. Many letters were received from leading scholars at some of the most respected institutions in the world, capturing Lou′s human qualities and his unique analytic style. A selection of these letters are included here.

With the rapid development of China’s urbanisation and market economy, municipal solid waste (MSW) generation is increasing dramatically. In response to the threat of environmental pollution and the potential value of converting waste into energy, both the government and the public are now paying more attention to MSW treatment and disposal methods. In 2014, 178.6 million tonnes of MSW was collected at a safe treatment rate of 84.8%. However, the treatment methods and the composition of MSW are influenced by the collection area, its gross domestic product, population, rainfall and living conditions. This chapter analysed the MSW composition properties of Lhasa, Tibet, compared with other cities, such as Beijing, Guangzhou and so forth. The research showed that the moisture content of MSW in Lhasa approaches 31%, which is much lower than the other cities mentioned previously. The proportion of paper and plastics (rubbers) collected was 25.67% and 19.1%, respectively. This was 1.00–3.17 times and 0.75–2.44 times more than those found in Beijing and Guangzhou, respectively. Non-combustibles can reach up to 22.5%, which was 4.03–9.11 times that of Beijing and Guangzhou, respectively. The net heating values could reach up to 6,616 kilojoule/kilogram. The food residue was only half the proportion found in other cities. Moreover, the disposal method applied in each city has also been studied and compared.

Any suggestion’s Six Sigma program may be at high risk without heeding the lessons learned from the past and that tries to operate without a robust business foundation. A foundation that preferably should consist of stepping‐stones such as a 5‐S house‐keeping program, an effective Integrated Management System (IMS), which includes a strong focus on planning for quality to fully capture the Voice of the Customer (VOC), and an organization‐wide training scheme, as well as a reliable Cost of Poor Quality (COPQ) system. That’s the best advise I can give to any organization that wishes to embark on a Six Sigma improvement program and hope to be successful. The paper will elaborate on the above issues and provide suggested solutions based on the review of published historical information and the experiences encountered over the last four decades by the author, as a quality practitioner and consultant, in industries that produced safety‐critical product. This author maintains that few fundamentrally new or useful things have been created in the field of Quality during the last couple of decades. Nevertheless, this paper deliberates on a number of relatively “newer” issues including the concept of “three types of customers”, the CTC, “Critical To Customer” term, the eight Quality Management Principles of the new ISO 9000 family, the growth of industry‐specific standards, the adoption of Integrated Management Systems, the rebirth of AS2561 COQ standard, the spread of Six Sigma as well as related ASQ certification and the need for a robust business foundation to ensure Six Sigma survival.

Presents a special issue, enlisting the help of the author’s students and colleagues, focusing on age, sex, colour and disability discrimination in America. Breaks the evidence down into manageable chunks, covering: age discrimination in the workplace; discrimination against African‐Americans; sex discrimination in the workplace; same sex sexual harassment; how to investigate and prove disability discrimination; sexual harassment in the military; when the main US job‐discrimination law applies to small companies; how to investigate and prove racial discrimination; developments concerning race discrimination in the workplace; developments concerning the Equal Pay Act; developments concerning discrimination against workers with HIV or AIDS; developments concerning discrimination based on refusal of family care leave; developments concerning discrimination against gay or lesbian employees; developments concerning discrimination based on colour; how to investigate and prove discrimination concerning based on colour; developments concerning the Equal Pay Act; using statistics in employment discrimination cases; race discrimination in the workplace; developments concerning gender discrimination in the workplace; discrimination in Japanese organizations in America; discrimination in the entertainment industry; discrimination in the utility industry; understanding and effectively managing national origin discrimination; how to investigate and prove hiring discrimination based on colour; and, finally, how to investigate sexual harassment in the workplace.

Asks on whose behalf the black woman poet in the USA speaks, what type of language she uses and what audience she has. Points out that an earlier lack of tradition meant that originally white styles of language were used and aimed at the white audience. Looks at the rise of the blues era and the “blueswoman”. Considers the work of Phillis Wheatley, Alice Dunbar Nelson, Anne Spencer and Angelina Grimke together with Margaret Walker and singers such as Ma Rainey and Bessie Smith. Finally, outlines the development of a political era and the growing sexual freedom of black women and the impact their writings.

The Bureau of Economics in the Federal Trade Commission has a three-part role in the Agency and the strength of its functions changed over time depending on the preferences and ideology of the FTC’s leaders, developments in the field of economics, and the tenor of the times. The over-riding current role is to provide well considered, unbiased economic advice regarding antitrust and consumer protection law enforcement cases to the legal staff and the Commission. The second role, which long ago was primary, is to provide reports on investigations of various industries to the public and public officials. This role was more recently called research or “policy R&D”. A third role is to advocate for competition and markets both domestically and internationally. As a practical matter, the provision of economic advice to the FTC and to the legal staff has required that the economists wear “two hats,” helping the legal staff investigate cases and provide evidence to support law enforcement cases while also providing advice to the legal bureaus and to the Commission on which cases to pursue (thus providing “a second set of eyes” to evaluate cases). There is sometimes a tension in those functions because building a case is not the same as evaluating a case. Economists and the Bureau of Economics have provided such services to the FTC for over 100 years proving that a sub-organization can survive while playing roles that sometimes conflict. Such a life is not, however, always easy or fun.

In this article we compare the performance of the traditional CAPM with the multi factor model of Fama and French (1996) for equities listed in the Shanghai Stock Exchange. We also investigate the explanatory power of idiosyncratic volatility and respond to the claim that multi factor model findings can be explained by the turn of the year effect. Our results show that firm size, book to market equity and idiosyncratic volatility are priced risk factors in addition to the theoretically well specified market factor. As far as the turn of the year effect is concerned we reject the claim that the findings are driven by seasonal factors.

L'industrie de la restauration connait dans son ensemble, au Québec, un certain nombre de difficultés. Les raisons sont diverses dont l'absence ou l'insuffisance d'une analyse de marché, la faiblesse de la conception, de la planification, de l'exécution et du contrôle des activités des entreprises de ce secteur. Mais il y a aussi et surtout le déséquilibre financier qui caractérise la majorité des restaurants que ce soit en raison d'une capitalisation insuffisante en début d'activité ou à cause d'une gestion loin d'être satisfaisante. Des facteurs institutionnels défavorisent aussi l'activité de la restauration au Québec depuis 1980, et parfois même avant cette période, auxquels s'ajoute une conjoncture très difficile en 1981–83 dont les conséquences continuent à se faire sentir jusqu'aujourd'hui. L'année 1985 a enregistré près de 2700 changements de propriétaires de restaurants au Québec tandis qu'approximativement 450 ont disparus pendant cette même année. L'ensemble des transferts de propriétés — dus à des difficultés financières et à des liquidations à bas prix dans la plupart des cas — et des liquidations et fermetures définitives de restaurants constituent près du quart du nombre total (soit 12'400) de restaurants opérant au Québec en 1985. Les pertes enregistrées par une évolution si défavorable sont substantielles et indiquent combien une partie non négligeable de l'industrie de la restauration gaspille des ressources. Il faudra établir, dans la mesure du possible, car les statistiques officielles sont fort limitées, les causes et les facteurs explicatifs des difficultés considérables vécues par les entreprises de la restauration. Il faudra ensuite tenter de dégager les grandes lignes des mesures susceptibles de redresser leur situation financière essentiellement par une amélioration de la gestion et par une réglementation et une législation fiscale plus adéquates. Plusieurs recommandations sont formulées afin de rétablir la rentabilité des restaurants dans un environnement très concurrentiel.