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The purpose of this paper is to investigate a strategic change from parallel cell‐based assembly (old) to serial‐line assembly (new) in a Swedish company with special reference to how production system design elements affect both productivity and ergonomics.

Multiple methods, including records and video analysis, questionnaires, interviews, biomechanical modelling, and flow simulation were applied.

The new system, unlike the old, showed the emergence of system and balance losses as well as vulnerability to disturbances and difficulty handling all product variants. Nevertheless, the new system as realised partially overcame productivity barriers in the operation and management of the old system. The new system had impaired ergonomics due to decreased physical variation and increased repetitiveness with cycle times that were 6 per cent of previous thus increasing repetitiveness, and significantly reducing perceived influence over work. Workstations' uneven exposure to physical tasks such as nut running created a potential problem for workload management. The adoption of teamwork in the new system contributed to significantly increased co‐worker support – an ergonomic benefit.

Design decisions made early in the development process affect both ergonomics and productivity in the resulting system. While the time pattern of physical loading appeared to be controlled by flow and work organisation elements, the amplitude of loading was determined more by workstation layout. Psychosocial conditions appear to be affected by a combination of system elements including layout, flow, and work organisation elements. Strategic use of parallelisation elements in assembly, perhaps in hybrid forms from configurations observed here, appears to be a viable design option for improved performance by reducing the fragility and ergonomic problems of assembly lines.

The interacting design elements examined here pose potential “levers” of control by which productivity and ergonomics could be jointly optimised for improved total system performance.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the changes in governance structures that evolved as reverse logistics systems were developed. The UK car crash repair sector was used as a case study.

The value‐chain governance framework proposed by Gereffi et al. was used to assess changes in governance systems as firms developed a reverse logistics flow and three transactional variables were used to determine how supply chains are governed and change. Both forward and reverse product flows for two supply chains were assessed to determine what changes in governance of the supply chain took place as reverse logistics operations developed.

The authors' analysis documents how relationships between the focal firm and other supply chain members altered as the new reverse logistic system developed. The modular governance structure that developed through increased supplier capability coupled with higher levels of knowledge and information codifications were shown to be important factors in the establishment of a reverse logistics system. Supplier capability, knowledge codification and transaction complexity were found to be moderating variables which can enrich the traditional models on buyer‐supplier relationships based on trust and ongoing commitment.

Reverse logistics continues to be a major issue for business. Our findings provide an insight into some of the governance and knowledge management developments as focal firms respond to growing pressures to re‐use materials and parts. In total, six factors were identified which can assist firms in assessing their current governance structures and the development of a pathway for implementation of reverse logistics.

Little research has been conducted into supply chain governance structures needed to manage the new reverse logistics systems for the re‐use, recycling and repair of products.

Reports on recent research on “leading edge” firms, which shows that logistics plays an important role in a firm′s competitiveness. Details the evolution of advanced logistics management, analyses the essence of logistical leadership and outlines likely characteristics of the leading logistics organizations of tomorrow. Suggests that leading firms use logistical competence strategically to realize competitive advantage. Sophisticated solutions are required and information has come to play a vital role in this regard.

Recent trends in logistics and the impact that they are having on retailing and physical distribution are described. Logistics is viewed as a holistic science, concerned with the ways in which the parts of a logistic system or supply chain are connected and integrated. The aim is to make the optimum use of resources in areas such as warehousing, transport, inventory, planning and control, while meeting externally specified service criteria. The essential techniques include various ways of classifying products and customers or retail outlets, of defining and modelling the system under study, and of analysing the flows of goods, information and money. For the future, the role of information technology is seen to be of ever increasing importance. However, emphasis will continue to be placed on the avoidance of all kinds of delay, on energy conservation and on environmental issues.

Brevard College is a small, liberal arts college in Western North Carolina committed to experiential education. The Teacher Education Program prepares future teachers to lead the next generation of learning communities by nurturing values and skills necessary for inquiry-based teaching. Darling-Hammond (2005) reaffirms that one critical aspect of school reform is “preparing accomplished teachers who can effectively teach a wide array of learners to high standards … essential to economic and political survival” (p. 238). Admittedly, this is no easy task. Newly licensed candidates face a convergence of politics, economic, and demographic 21st century realities. Faculty and candidates need a deep understanding of constructivist theory to prepare for inquiry-based teaching. This knowledge must not just be a tag line on a syllabus but embedded in heads and heart. Reflecting on how theory is put into practice, through explicit minds-on/hands-on field experiences in diverse community partnerships, teacher candidates are empowered. The lessons learned by a newly licensed constructivist-based teacher boldly sharing his passion for inquiry-based teaching in a public school setting offers a glimpse of potential hope.

We study the correlates of immigrant location and migration choices to address the following questions: What location-specific, economic, and demographic factors are associated with these choices? Does the influence of these factors differ by immigrant characteristics? What are the factors associated with the observed increase in immigrant geographic dispersion during the 1990s? Our analysis suggests that: (1) There is significant heterogeneity in the correlates of immigrant location and migration choices; associations vary by immigrant birthplace, age, gender, education, and duration of residence in the United States. (2) Economic factors are, for the most part, weakly associated with immigrant location decisions. (3) Immigrants appear to be more attracted to states with large (growing) populations; less attracted to states with a high proportion of other foreign-born persons; more attracted to states with high unionization, and less attracted to states with high crime. (4) The association between location-specific characteristics and immigrant location choices changed between 1990 and 2000 for some immigrant groups and this explains most of the increase in geographic dispersion during the 1990s. In contrast, changes in location attributes and changes in immigrant composition explain relatively little of the increase in dispersion.

Background: Post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is over represented in the prisoner population and is predictive of violence and suicide. This raises issues in relation to prisoner management, as well as theoretical issues such as why there is a range of vulnerability for PTSD. The current study examines the relationship between PTSD and personality profiles of prisoners. Method: Data from 1305 participants in the NSW survey of health in prisoners are examined to identify relationships between personality profiles derived from the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) and PTSD. Participants are grouped as experiencing no trauma; with a trauma history but no PTSD; and being diagnosed with PTSD. A logistic regression modelled significant predictors of PTSD. These data indicated that women prisoners report PTSD at twice the rate of males. An increased risk for PTSD is associated with high Harm Avoidance, low Self‐Directedness, high Persistence and high Self‐Transcendence. Conclusions: A combination of both temperament and character traits influences the trajectory towards PTSD development. Targeted treatment of these traits is needed in addressing the problems of prisoners with PTSD and managing the associated risks of violence and suicide.

To propose a framework for purchasing and outsourcing decisions together with a process model for evaluating and assessing possible suppliers. The paper focuses in particular on the “planning” and “qualifying” phases of the process which, respectively, set the criteria and prepare a shortlist for invitations, before the final selection.

By reference to the literature, past experience and a priori reasoning, a conceptual framework and quantitative model are combined in a checklist to guide responsible managers through a formal, systematic decision‐making procedure.

The model is fully described, its strengths and weaknesses are discussed, and the modus operandi of the derived decision‐making framework is explained. The system and process are strongly advocated as the most appropriate instrument for the selection of suppliers of outsourced products and services in the contemporary business environment.

The system suffers to an extent from one of its defining strengths: relative simplicity, which may limit its applicability in more complex situations. This emphasises the importance of the procedures undertaken in the “qualification” phase. Assigning evaluative values codes to the various decision parameters involves a good deal of subjectivity, which could lead to misguided decisions. Further research and development is needed.

The advocated selection offers outsourcing decision makers a structured and systematic selection framework, which does not compromise their own professionalism, but rather encourages imagination, innovation, investigation and opinion based on critical observation. Its potential applicability covers the full range of industry sectors, beyond the outsourcing of product and component manufacture which have been the focus of the great majority of published studies.

The paper examines a widely investigated “hot topic” that is in fact surrounded by confusion and misunderstanding. It focuses on aspects of outsourcing practice that have so far attracted little attention from researchers.

As a terminal hooked to a mainframe utility, the typical PC is an excellent example of a Trojan Horse. Although extremely versatile, these machines are perfectly capable of acting as dumb as the terminals they replaced. Many of them do. Nevertheless, they sit and wait for you to do something innovative. Through your own expertise or daring spirit, you may have placed a hard disk on the terminal, perhaps tried a few other programs such as word processors or maybe even a spreadsheet. Over time the terminal became a little smarter, capable of more and greater activities.