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The purpose of this paper is to theorise and develop seven dimensions (strategic supplier partnership, level of information sharing, quality of information sharing, customer service management, internal lean practices, postponement and total quality management) into a supply chain management (SCM) practices (SCMPs) construct and studies its causal relationship with the conceptualised constructs of supply chain performance (SCP) and manufacturing firms’ performance (MFP). The study also explores the causal relationship between SCP and MFP.

Data were collected through a survey questionnaire responded by 249 Jordanian manufacturing firms. The relationships proposed in the developed theoretical framework were represented through three hypotheses: H1 – there is a significant relationship between SCMPs and SCP; H2 – there is a significant relationship between SCMPs and MFP; and H3 – there is a significant relationship between SCP and MFP. Linear regression, ANOVA and Pearson correlation were used to test the hypotheses. The results were further validated using structural equation modelling.

The results indicate that SCMPs have a positive effect on SCP (H1), which in turn also positively affect MFP (H3). Despite this intermediary positive effect of SCMP on MFP through SCP, the study also suggests that SCMPs have a direct and positive effect on MFP (H2).

This study provides hard evidence indicating that higher levels of SCMPs can lead to enhanced supply chain and firms’ performance. It also provides SC managers of manufacturing firms with a multi-dimensional operational measure of the construct of SCMPs for assessing the comprehensiveness of the SCMPs of their firms.

This study is among the very first SCM researches conducted on the Jordanian manufacturing sector, particularly, in relation to the practices that manufacturing firms in this country need to adopt to make their supply chains a solid competitive vehicle for their development. The results have broader implications for all manufacturing companies, particularly in developing economies where the growth of manufacturing and the development of integrated supply chains are key stages in economic development.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze supply chain practices, and supply chain food quality performance indicator in the Australian beef processing industry.

A conceptual model was developed to test how supply chain practices: strategic alliance, customer focus, information sharing, information quality, Lean system and antecedent cooperative behavior: trust and commitment impact on food quality. A survey questionnaire to 600 Australian beef processors was conducted to collect the empirical data for testing of the formulated hypotheses. The stepwise multiple regression analysis was performed to test the hypothesized relationships.

Strategic alliance, information quality and trust and commitment are significantly related to food quality. In particular, the standardized coefficient shows that information quality has a significant positive relationship with food quality.

As Lean principles have been widely adopted in the red meat industry, strategic alliance becomes even critical for maintaining cost and operation effectiveness in the beef supply chain. A various approaches in terms of innovative technologies can improve information quality and promote information sharing in the beef supply chain. To build trust and commitment among supply chain partners requires perception of mutual long-term goals.

Australian Meat Manufacturers face greater regulatory challenges and restraints (product labeling, food safety and carbon tax) over the next five years. Therefore, to tackle the challenges, the findings of this research have significant practical implications.

This study intends to fill the research gap and explore how advanced supply chain systems have a potential to provide contributions to Australian beef processing industry performance. Vertical integration between livestock producers, meat processors, wholesalers and retailers provides the opportunities for greater economies of scale in production and distribution.

Libraries as they are known today can be defined by the term Library 1.0. This defines the way resources are kept on shelves or at a computer behind a login. These resources can be taken from a shelf, checked out to the librarian, taken home for a certain length of time and absorbed, and then taken back to the library for someone else to use. Library 1.0 is a one‐directional service that takes people to the information that they require. Library 2.0 – or L2 as it is now more commonly addressed as – aims to take the information to the people by bringing the library service to the internet and getting the users more involved by encouraging feedback participation. This paper seeks to present an overview of Library 2.0.

This paper presents an overview of Web 2.0 including definitions, technologies involved and sites currently advocated as examples of Web 2.0.

The major difference between Library 1.0 and L2 is that Library 1.0 only allows for a one‐way flow of information while L2 is a read‐write library that gives library users the power to decide the service that they get. L2 reinforces the role libraries play in the community by building on today's best and continually improving the service. L2 can be summarized as being user‐driven and aiming to save each library user time in retrieving information.

Libraries have been around for centuries and are considered places in which books, journals, CDs, etc. are kept for reference or for borrowing by the public. The term L2 was believed to have been first made by Michael Casey in his blog LibraryCrunch. Chad and Paul Miller describe Library 2.0 (L2) as a concept, very different from the service one knows today, that operates according to the expectations of today's users. They state that with this concept the library will make information available wherever and whenever the user requires it. One point to note here is that this concept is not about replacing the 1.0 technology already being used but rather about adding additional functionality.

This case traces Under Armour from its founding in 1996 through 2008 when the company entered the hyper-competitive non-cleated athletic footwear market. In 1996, with an innovative product and locker room access to college and pro players, Kevin Plank started Under Armour. He turned a struggling t-shirt company into a dominant player capturing 75% of the performance apparel market. In 2006, Under Armour successfully entered the athletic footwear market with a line of football cleats. Under Armour was the first company to disrupt Nike's dominance of the football cleat market by gaining 25% of the market within a year of introduction. In 2008, Under Armour entered the non-cleated athletic footwear market with a cross-trainer sneaker line and a $4.4 million Super Bowl ad. Unlike prior introductions, Nike responded aggressively to Under Armour's move into sneakers. Despite increased sales, Under Armour's costs increased, and profits and stock price decreased. The case concludes by asking students to evaluate Under Armour's next move. An extensive exhibit provides an overview of the athletic footwear industry in 2008.

Organisations need to have a profound level of understanding of their supply chains if they are to successfully find sources of competitive advantage within them. Current methodologies for analysing supply chains, such as the Supply Chain Operations Reference (SCOR) model, are not sufficiently comprehensive, particularly when it comes to understanding the complex social and political factors that are an integral part of any supply chain. This paper aims to use a case study of a supply chain from the public utility industry sector in Australia to develop an integrated framework for analysing supply chains within a multi‐disciplinary and multi‐method research paradigm.

The case study supply chain was mapped with the SCOR modelling tool which provided insights into the physical characteristics and value points along the supply chain.

Analysis of the SCOR model map also helped identify 31 key “actors” in the chain, who were then interviewed in depth. These interviews provided insights into the social and political factors which determined the supply chain performance.

The outcome of this study is a framework that provides two primary benefits. First, it shows the relationships between relevant variables from different disciplines (i.e. corporate governance, infrastructure, operations knowledge, social climate and innovation), and how they impact on performance. Second, the framework provides a way forward in synthesising multi‐disciplinary and multi‐method research into a coherent whole.

Sport organizations increasingly emphasize their support for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) inclusion by promoting a perfect score on the Athlete Ally Equality Index, partnering with nonprofits to increase awareness of LGBTQ individuals in sport (e.g. Rainbow Laces campaign), or hosting a pride night for LGBTQ fans. Despite these and similar efforts, LGBTQ fans historically have felt unwelcome in sport settings, thereby signaling the need for inclusive fan codes of conduct. The purpose of this study was to examine both the prevalence and antecedents of such policies.

Using publicly available data sources, the authors focused on 350 Division 1 college athletic departments in the USA.

Results illustrate factors at both the macro (i.e. institution) and meso- (i.e. athletic department) levels interact to explain whether a school will possess a fan code of conduct. Specifically, research-intensive institutions with strong gender equity are more likely to possess a code of conduct than schools that are not research oriented and have weak gender equity. This project extends the understanding of LBGTQ inclusion in the sports industry.

The current study is the first to examine the prevalence and predictors of LGBTQ-inclusive fan codes of conduct. Understanding these dynamics can help athletic programs that want to create safe and inclusive sport spaces for LGBTQ fans and spectators.

This paper introduces two methodological innovations for qualitative research. We apply these innovations to holistically understand youth peer cultures and improve participant-driven qualitative methodology.

It moves the methodological frontier forward by blending technology with the “go-along” approach used by ethnographers to prioritize participants’ perspectives and experiences within their socio-cultural contexts.

We introduce the youth-centered and participant-driven virtual tours, including a neighborhood tour using Google Maps designed to explore how youth navigate their socio-spatial environments (n = 64; 10–17 year-olds; 2013) and a social media tour designed to explore how youth navigate their networked publics (n = 50; 10–17 year-olds; 2013), both in relation to their local peer cultures.

Applicable to a wide range of research populations, the Google Maps tour and the social media tour give the qualitative researcher additional tools to conduct participant-driven research into youths’ socio-cultural worlds. These two innovations help to address challenges in youth research as well as qualitative research more broadly. We find, for example, that the “go-along” aspect of the virtual tour minimizes the perceived threat of the researcher’s adult status and brings youth participants’ perspectives and experiences to the center of inquiry in the study of local peer cultures.

This paper aims to describe a novel community development and how the synergies arising from the interaction of diverse perspectives (including arts and health, person centredness, co-production and shared leadership) have led to a transformative initiative for individuals and a local community in the Republic of Ireland.

This is a descriptive case study. It includes the personal narrative of an expert by experience who is one of the co-authors. Links to short digital films are also included along with references to internal evaluation documents and published literature. Reflections from the nurses who contributed to the initiative and a university academic are also incorporated.

A space in the community built around the principles of relational practice has evolved into an alchemical space, enabling creativity, recovery and well-being. The benefits arising out of this network of social relationships have contributed to personal recovery, integration with the local community and generated social capital. This has enhanced mental health and well-being locally.

Statutory Irish health policy is reflective of developments in health care internationally, with an emphasis on greater delivery of care in the community. This views citizens as active partners in the maintenance of their health and well-being. This case study illustrates how this has unfolded in practice in a rural mental health community context.

This paper adds to the evidence base that demonstrates the potential benefits of participation in the arts to individual recovery journeys. In addition, it shows that when arts and health perspectives coalesce with the wider domain of relational practice, the synergies arising contribute positively to the health and well-being of local communities.

Explores the attitudes of employers and unions in Northern Ireland to the revival in the 1980s of earlier concerns about religious discrimination, and to the failure of the Fair Employment Act 1976 to make any real impact on Roman Catholic disadvantage in the labour market. Concludes that not only were their responses predictable but that, almost as a result, the unions had a disproportionate influence on the final shape of the new legislation introduced in 1989.