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The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of sharing and utilizing remaining shelf life (RSL) information from grocery stores by the use of age-based replenishment policies for perishables.

The performance is evaluated through a discrete event simulation model, which mirrors a part of one of Norway’s largest grocery retailer and uses their POS data to reflect a realistic demand pattern of 232 stores for one year.

The findings indicate that a current age-based replenishment policy (EWA policy) provides a significant improvement of 17.7 percent increase in availability for perishables with a shelf life between 4 and 11 days, but suffers from high inventory levels and only reduces waste by 3.4 percent compared to a base stock policy. A proposed adjustment to the EWA policy, EWA_SS, provides a more balanced performance in the conducted study with a reduction of 10.7 percent waste and 10.3 percent increase in availability by keeping the same average inventory level.

Sharing and utilizing RSL information for replenishment of perishables with a predetermined shelf life between 6 and 11 days can be beneficial, and could enable the replenishment processes to be automated. However, for products with longer shelf life, the benefits slowly diminish.

The study proposes a new age-based replenishment policy which in the conducted study showed a more balanced performance improvement, in both waste and availability, compared with previous replenishment policies.

This paper reports on the outcomes of a study in a service industry in which concept maps were used to facilitate the process of employees at all levels of an organisation discussing and negotiating work issues. The use of the maps in the discussions facilitated inter‐employee co‐operation and communication. Specifically the use of the maps assisted employees to understand the perspective of others, organise their own thoughts, keep on track during meetings, reduce confrontation in meetings, share information, and involve all participants. The authors include, as an example, a description of one of the nine cases in the study in which two employees redesign a component of their work, and in the process improve their working relationship, thus addressing issues of significance to both employees. The authors conclude that concept mapping is an innovative tool which can be used by employees at all levels of an organisation for co‐operative work redesign.

This chapter looks to the future of research in next generation learning spaces. It begins with a review of the literature and concludes with the implications for future research. The review demonstrates that most ‘next generation learning space’ research has focused on the design and evaluation of spaces. We know that students like the spaces, but we don’t know if the spaces alone are effective in improving student learning or if the spaces in combination with changed pedagogic practices and/or curriculum design improve learning. There are many opportunities for researchers to provide much needed evidence to institutions on the interrelationships between next generation learning spaces design, teaching practices, curriculum design and learning outcomes.

Social factors are an under‐researched but important aspect in the success of manufacturing cells. This paper sets out to investigate the impact and importance of various human factors within a socio‐technical system such as team‐based cellular manufacturing (TBCM).

A questionnaire survey was designed to provide information about human factors in TBCM. The survey was conducted at four medium‐to‐large size organisations in Australia and Switzerland where participants were required to be working within a TBCM environment and included managers, team leaders, and operators. A set of research questions and hypotheses was developed and tested.

It was found that human issues account for a significant proportion of problems within team‐based manufacturing cells. Of the eight human factors tested in this survey, communication, teamwork and training were ranked the most important, while reward/compensation was ranked the least important. Testing showed significant relationships between factors such as companies, positions, experience and team size; therefore most hypotheses were supported.

Traditionally, the research focus has been on the technical aspect of socio‐technical systems such as TBCM. This study offers practitioners and academics a better understanding of the human issues associated with this important form of manufacturing, therefore improving the likelihood of its success.

This paper demonstrates the need for research into the social side of TBCM, while providing an understanding of the important human factors associated with this system.

Teams and teamworking has now become a common form of work structure in most organisations, including facilities management. The human interactions which occur when people work together in groups is still problematic. In this study human factors are identified and the purpose of this paper is to establish the level of importance of each factor involving specialised teams within a manufacturing environment.

A quantitative study was undertaken at a number of manufacturing plants which were using the process: team‐based cellular manufacturing. Managers, team leaders, and operators involved with manufacturing cells were targeted to evaluate the various human related factors associated with these teams.

From the nine human factors evaluated, three factors: “communication”, “teamwork”, and “training” were identified as being key to the day‐to‐day success of team‐based cellular manufacturing. Some notable differences were observed when comparing the data between countries.

This study adds to the limited research which has been conducted on the human aspects of socio‐technical processes. Further work is required to enhance understanding of key human factors.

For practitioners involved with manufacturing cells, the study provides an understanding of the key areas towards which attention and resources can be channelled.

While the study provides valuable insights into a socio‐technical process in manufacturing, the findings are also very useful to management practitioners who are attempting to manage and improve the effectiveness of teams and teamwork.

International figures on university expenditure on the development of next generation learning spaces (NGLS) are not readily available but anecdote suggests that simply retrofitting an existing classroom as an NGLS conservatively costs $AUD200,000, while developing new buildings often cost in the region of 100 million dollars and over the last five years, many universities in Australia, Europe and North America have developed new buildings. Despite this considerable investment, it appears that the full potential of these spaces is not being realised.

While researchers argue that a more student centred learning approach to teaching has inspired the design of next generation learning spaces (Tom, Voss, & Scheetz, 2008) and that changed spaces change practice (Joint Information Systems Committee, 2009) when ‘confronted’ with a next generation learning spaces for the first time, anecdotes suggest that many academics resort to teaching as they have always taught and as they were taught. This chapter highlights factors that influence teaching practices, showing that they are to be found in the external, organisational and personal domains.

We argue that in order to fully realise significant improvements in student outcomes through the sector’s investment in next generation learning spaces, universities need to provide holistic and systematic support across three domains – the external, the organisational and the personal domains, by changing policies, systems, procedures and localised practices to better facilitate changes in teaching practices that maximise the potential of next generation learning spaces.

The purpose of this chapter is to provide a framework to guide learning and teaching practice in next generation learning spaces. The framework is informed by both learning and teaching theory and the current context of the sector. The framework provides guidance to those who teach in next generation learning spaces and is illustrated with examples of effective pedagogic practices that use the affordances of spaces while avoiding their limitations. The chapter discusses the tension between next generation learning space design and use. Design is influenced by drivers ranging from a need to accommodate ever-larger student numbers and responding to digital technologies and other developments in educational media, to providing for new approaches to learning. Use is determined by understandings of the teaching task, which can range from presentation by a teacher through to students working individually or in groups to generate meaningful knowledge, useful skills and professional values. In this chapter we identify drivers underpinning the creation and design of next generation learning spaces in universities today and associated expectations of the ways in which the spaces will be used. We reflect on understandings of sound pedagogic practice and work through to implications for learning and teaching in NGLS. In some cases advocated pedagogic practice asks teaching staff to make the most of spaces designed to allow students to engage constructively in their learning. In other cases it involves teaching constructively in spite of the design of the space.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the use of lean principles to drive operational improvements in intermodal container facilities. Intermodal terminals have an important role in today’s globally complex supply networks. In the case of bottleneck-derived terminalization, operational issues such as achieving effective material flow remains a significant and common challenge. To assist with such challenges, the paper develops a conceptual framework built on the principles of lean.

In this paper, a theory-building approach is adopted and a lean terminalization framework developed by combining aspects of lean- and intermodal transport theory with practical insights. The framework was developed in conjunction with two intermodal container facilities within the Scandinavian region.

The conceptual framework demonstrates how lean approaches can be used to identify improvement areas, as well as to develop solutions for improved material flow in the context of intermodal transport operations. The framework can be used to guide the lean implementation process in small to medium intermodal container facilities.

The development of the framework represents the first stage of a two-stage project. The second stage will involve implementing and empirically testing the framework in the practical settings of the two-case facilities.

Lean is a philosophical approach that consists of a set of principles that drive organizations to continually add value to their operations. The application of lean practices enhances necessary process steps and eliminates those that fail to add value, thereby improving material flow and performance.

Improving the operational efficiency and effectiveness of container terminals out not only assists the profitability of the facilities but also has flow-on benefits for stakeholders, external customers, consumers and the environment.

Lean has been successfully applied in manufacturing because the 1990s, and though it has also found relevance in a number of other industries, applications of lean within the intermodal transport sector is limited.