Digital Transformation as a Competitive Factor in Supply Chain Management: Proof of Concept in One of the Largest Editorial Groups in Portugal

Abstract Research purpose. Through the adoption of the concept of the Proof of Concept, the main objective of this work is to highlight the approach that allows the framework and study of the viability of investments in the digital transformation of companies. The research focuses on the publishing sector and, mainly, on one of the largest publishing groups in Portugal and focuses on the strategic decision, due to the covid-19 pandemic situation, to adopt a Warehouse Management System to increase productivity, competitiveness, and sustainability of the company under study. Due to the need for confinement, publishers saw their sales drop drastically and the option of e-commerce implied the need for adjustments in the organizational dynamics associated with the distribution of products. The research/paper goal is to show the viability of investments in the digital transformation of companies in order to enlarge their efficiency and effectiveness. Design / Methodology / Approach. As a methodology adopted in the first phase, the authors developed a framework of current challenges through the focus group technique. In the second phase, the authors conducted semi-structured interviews with the different managers of the group’s various companies and their departments. These methodological options aim to obtain more specific information on facts, the degree of relevance, validity, and reliability that is analyzed from the perspective of collecting information. Both methods provide elasticity in the approach and depth of the intended analysis, favoring spontaneous responses and the creation of openness to the approach of more complex and delicate topics. Findings. Information technology investments do not automatically bring competitive advantages. It is essential to carry out careful management of the project and carefully analyze the economic and financial viability of the investment. The disruptive changes do not allow errors in investment. So, adopting a methodology that integrates the strategic analysis of the challenges and technical analysis of the assets and respective viability seems critical for the success of digital transformation projects, namely in the publishing sector. Originality / Value / Practical implications. The digital transformation of companies is a current reality. The pandemic has highlighted digital as a factor of sustainability. However, this finding requires the preparation of management and the adoption of appropriate models and instruments. The present work presents a model that organizations can adapt to in a changing context.

Download Full-text

Measuring Digital Transformation Maturity of Supply Chain

Tehnički glasnik ◽

10.31803/tg-20200414191933 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 15 (2) ◽

pp. 199-204

Author(s):

Krešimir Buntak ◽

Matija Kovačić ◽

Maja Mutavdžija

Keyword(s):

Artificial Intelligence ◽

Cloud Computing ◽

Supply Chain ◽

Industry 4.0 ◽

Digital Transformation ◽

Strategic Decision ◽

Traditional Practices ◽

Long Run ◽

Efficiency And Effectiveness ◽

Different Levels

Digital transformation signifies changes in all components and systems of the supply chain. It is also a strategic decision of the organization which, in the long run, can result in the creation of competitive advantage in the market. Digital transformation is affecting all organizations, regardless of their activity. Digital transformation of the supply chain involves the use of industry 4.0 based technologies as well as the replacement of traditional practices with new ones based on digital solutions. The implementation of digital solutions, such as artificial intelligence, IoT, cloud computing, etc., therefore, improve communication between stakeholders in the supply chain, as well as improve efficiency and effectiveness. When conducted, digital transformation must be measured by different levels of maturity. In this paper, authors research current models of measuring digital transformation maturity in supply chain and propose a new model based on identified theories and needs.

Download Full-text

On the Job Training (OJT) Assessment for Diploma in Construction Technology

Built Environment Journal ◽

10.24191/bej.v17i2.8872 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 17 (2) ◽

pp. 29

Author(s):

Nurhafizah Abdul Musid ◽

Haryanti Mohd Affandi ◽

Nurul Eizzaty Sohimi ◽

Mohd Firdaus Mustaffa Kamal

Keyword(s):

Attitude Change ◽

Job Training ◽

Change Implementation ◽

Construction Technology ◽

Validity And Reliability ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Vocational College ◽

Technology Students ◽

Assessment Problems ◽

Assessment Rubric

On Job Training (OJT) is best for skill development and attitude change. Implementation of OJT which focuses on the transition of students to working life, however with little attention given to the process of assessment in OJT. Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate the OJT assessment problems among Construction Technology students in Malaysian Vocational College. The research design for this study uses a survey that was carried out qualitatively through semi-structured interviews among Construction Technology students, lecturers and experienced construction practitioners. From the data analysis, it has been identified that there is an inadequacy of OJT assessment rubric in assessing the skill and knowledge of the construction technology students. This has been contributed with the used of holistic rubric for the OJT assessment which has been designed to be use by every course in the Vocational College. The result also revealed that allocation of marks in the assessment rubric is not commensurate with some construct assessed and need to be reviewed. This study shows that an assessment rubric should emphasizes on specific knowledge and skills in assessing students’ competency during training program and in this case to produce competent site supervisor. In addition, a good assessment rubric should consider the tasks and marks thoroughly to avoid biasness among students. Therefore, it is suggested to carry out further study in investigating the validity and reliability of current industry’ OJT assessment rubric for the Construction Technology students.Key Words: On Job Training; Construction Technology; An assessment rubric; Competency; Validity and reliability.

Download Full-text

Crafting New Narratives of Diasporic Resistance with Indo-Caribbean Women and Gender-Expansive People across Generations

Societies ◽

10.3390/soc11010002 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

pp. 2

Author(s):

Arita Balaram

Keyword(s):

Oral History ◽

Digital Archive ◽

Second Phase ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Women And Gender ◽

Digital Archiving ◽

Caribbean Women ◽

Gender Based ◽

And Gender ◽

Oral History Interviews

This study used participatory oral history and digital archiving to explore two interrelated questions: How do Indo-Caribbean women and gender-expansive people across generations experience processes of storytelling? What are the challenges and possibilities of oral history and digital archiving for constructing alternative histories and genealogies of resistance? In the first phase of the study, twelve Indo-Caribbean women and gender-expansive people across generations participated in an oral history workshop where they were introduced to oral history methods, co-created an interview guide, conducted oral history interviews of one another, and engaged in collective reflection about processes of storytelling. In the second phase, four co-authors of a community-owned digital archive participated in semi-structured interviews about their work to craft new narratives of diasporic resistance rooted in the everyday stories of Indo-Caribbean women and gender-expansive people. In this paper, I analyze how Indo-Caribbean women and gender-expansive people practice resistance by breaking silences in their communities around gender-based oppression, shift norms through producing analyses of their own stories, and reshape community narratives. Furthermore, I explore how oral history participants and co-authors of a digital archive understand the risks associated with sharing stories, raising the ethical dilemmas associated with conceptualizing storytelling as purely liberatory.

Download Full-text

Designing and validating an evaluation inventory for assessing teachers’ professional accountability

Language Testing in Asia ◽

10.1186/s40468-021-00128-3 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Maryam Rahmatollahi ◽

Zohre Mohamadi Zenouzagh

Keyword(s):

School Leadership ◽

Reliability And Validity ◽

Second Phase ◽

Teacher Accountability ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Effective Learning ◽

Professional Accountability ◽

Lead Teachers ◽

Method Factor ◽

Thematic Network Analysis

AbstractResearch has already established the boundless potential of teachers in assisting effective learning processes, and there is still a need to expand research to illustrate interrelation and connection between the construct of teachers’ professional accountability which moderates and directs student learning. To this end, a comprehensive review of the literature was conducted by the researchers to explore and extract relevant theoretical constructs to teacher accountability. A literature review was followed by structured interviews with 20 administrators, teachers, students, and parents to record perceived concepts related to teacher accountability. Content analysis of recorded interviews and thematic network analysis of literature resulted in a 30-item Likert scale. The researcher-made questionnaire was subject to reliability and validity issues. Thus, in the second phase, the questionnaire was piloted with 142 male and female EFL in-service teachers selected on the basis of the convenient sampling method. Factor analysis on data collected through this reduced the items to 29 and indicated that data on teacher accountability loaded on five components including accountability towards students (N: 7 items), parents (N: 5 items), school leadership (N: 5 items), society (N: 7 items), and the profession (N: 5 items). The results also indicated that the questionnaire enjoys sound psychometric properties of reliability (α: 0.88 ˂0.5). The upshots of this study could provide a better understanding of the concept and lead teachers to be more coherent and accountable.

Download Full-text

Improving Equine Welfare through Human Habit Formation

Animals ◽

10.3390/ani11082156 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (8) ◽

pp. 2156

Author(s):

Jo White ◽

Ruth Sims

Keyword(s):

Management Practices ◽

Habit Formation ◽

Positive Impact ◽

Proof Of Concept ◽

Mutual Benefit ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Behavioural Research ◽

Equine Welfare ◽

Lasting Change

This paper explores the potential for interventions to develop pro-animal welfare habitual behaviours (PAWHBs) in people to improve the lives of animals. Human behavioural research indicates that opportunities exist to deliver lasting change through developing positive habitual behaviours. The routine nature of many equine care and management practices lends itself to habit formation and maintenance. This proof-of-concept paper aims to evaluate a theory-based intervention of developing and maintaining a PAWHB in people caring for equines. Qualitative research methods were used. A 30 day PAWHB intervention (PAWHBInt) of providing enrichment to an equine by scratching them in a consistent context linked to an existing routine behaviour was undertaken. Participants (n = 9) then engaged in semi-structured interviews that were analysed using thematic analysis, where the participants self-reported the outcomes they observed during the intervention. The study findings suggest that the PAWHBInt had a positive impact on human behaviour and habit formation. The research helps to address the dearth of evidence regarding the application of habit theory to equine welfare interventions and emphasised linking a desired new behaviour to an existing routine behaviour when developing PAWHBs. The research also highlights the role of mutual benefit for human and equine, and emotion in providing feedback and potential reward, supporting the link to the cue-routine-reward principle of habit theory.

Download Full-text

The experiences and needs of children living with a parent with young onset dementia: results from the NeedYD study

International Psychogeriatrics ◽

10.1017/s1041610213001890 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 26 (12) ◽

pp. 2001-2010 ◽

Cited By ~ 32

Author(s):

Joany K. Millenaar ◽

Deliane van Vliet ◽

Christian Bakker ◽

Myrra J. F. J. Vernooij-Dassen ◽

Raymond T. C. M. Koopmans ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Coping Styles ◽

Specific Information ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Specific Knowledge ◽

Young Onset ◽

Care And Support ◽

Young Parent ◽

Young Onset Dementia ◽

The Impact ◽

Family Centered

ABSTRACTBackground:Children of patients with young onset dementia (YOD) who are confronted with a parent who has a progressive disease, often assist in caregiving tasks, which may have a great impact on their lives. The objective of the present study is to explore the experiences of children living with a young parent with dementia with a specific focus on the children's needs.Methods:Semi-structured interviews with 14 adolescent children between the ages of 15 and 27 years of patients with YOD were analyzed using inductive content analysis. Themes were identified based on the established codes.Results:The emerging categories were divided into three themes that demonstrated the impact of dementia on daily life, different ways of coping with the disease, and children's need for care and support. The children had difficulties managing all of the responsibilities and showed concerns about their future. To deal with these problems, they demonstrated various coping styles, such as avoidant or adaptive coping. Although most children were initially reluctant to seek professional care, several of them expressed the need for practical guidance to address the changing behavior of their parent. The children felt more comfortable talking to someone who was familiar with their situation and who had specific knowledge of YOD and the available services.Conclusion:In addition to practical information, more accessible and specific information about the diagnosis and the course of YOD is needed to provide a better understanding of the disease for the children. These findings underline the need for a personal, family-centered approach.

Download Full-text

The central role of the occupational therapist in facilitating housing adaptations/home modifications for disabled children

British Journal of Occupational Therapy ◽

10.1177/0308022616680216 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 80 (6) ◽

pp. 375-383

Author(s):

Gail Boniface ◽

Deborah Morgan

Keyword(s):

Positive Impact ◽

Occupational Therapists ◽

Occupational Therapist ◽

Specific Information ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Online Questionnaire ◽

Negative Experience ◽

Home Modifications ◽

Information And Communication

Introduction Six reviews/inquiries into housing adaptations/home modifications processes occurred in Wales between 2004 and 2015. One resulted in the removal of the means test for children's Disabled Facilities Grants. This research investigated families' and professionals' experiences of the adaptations/home modification process to gain an understanding of their views and experiences. Method Mixed methods of an online questionnaire for professionals, and semi-structured interviews or an online questionnaire for families (depending on their preference), were employed. Forty-eight families participated and an additional 16 families responded to an online questionnaire. Analysis of qualitative data identified emergent themes, which are discussed in this article. Findings The themes were: poor information and communication mainly aimed at older adults; negative experience of the process; and the positive impact of the completed adaptation. Additionally, whilst undergoing the process, families felt that they needed a contact to guide them through the process. This contact was often by default the community occupational therapist. Conclusion A single contact person should be made available for families; occupational therapists should consider their part in that role; more specific information on children's needs should be provided; families need to recognize the part they can play in adding to delays in the delivery of adaptations.

Download Full-text

Designing industry 4.0 implementation from the initial background and context of companies

Emerald Open Research ◽

10.35241/emeraldopenres.14399.1 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 3 ◽

pp. 27

Author(s):

Valérie Rocchi ◽

Daniel Brissaud

Keyword(s):

Digital Technology ◽

Industry 4.0 ◽

Success Factors ◽

Theoretical Models ◽

Digital Transformation ◽

Transformation Model ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Long Time ◽

Key Variables ◽

The Right

Industry 4.0 is a promising concept that allows industries to meet customers’ demands with flexible and resilient processes, and highly personalised products. This concept is made up of different dimensions. For a long time, innovative digital technology has been thought of as the only dimension to succeed in digital transformation projects. Other dimensions have been identified such as organisation, strategy, and human resources as key while rolling out digital technology in factories. From these findings, researchers have designed industry 4.0 theoretical models and then built readiness models that allow for analysing the gap between the company initial situation and the theoretical model. Nevertheless, this purely deductive approach does not take into consideration a company’s background and context, and eventually favours one single digital transformation model. This article aims at analysing four actual digital transformation projects and demonstrating that the digital transformation’s success or failure depends on the combination of two variables related to a company’s background and context. This research is based on a double approach: deductive and inductive. First, a literature review has been carried out to define industry 4.0 concept and its main dimensions and digital transformation success factors, as well as barriers, have been investigated. Second, a qualitative survey has been designed to study in-depth four actual industry digital transformation projects, their genesis as well as their execution, to analyse the key variables in succeeding or failing. 46 semi-structured interviews were carried out with projects’ members; interviews have been analysed with thematic content analysis. Then, each digital transformation project has been modelled regarding the key variables and analysed with regards to succeeding or failing. Investigated projects have consolidated the models of digital transformation. Finally, nine digital transformation models have been identified. Industry practitioners could design their digital transformation project organisation and strategy according to the right model.

Download Full-text

Teachers’ Perspectives of the use of CLT in ELT Classrooms: A Case of Soran District of Northern Iraq

10.31235/osf.io/3pnh9 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Arab World English Journal ◽

Serwan Husein Taha SHERWANI ◽

Mehmet KILIÇ

Keyword(s):

Communicative Language Teaching ◽

Second Phase ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Northern Iraq ◽

Positive Attitudes ◽

Teacher Factors ◽

Efl Teachers ◽

Teachers Attitudes ◽

Teachers Perspectives

This mixed-method study aims at exploring Iraqi English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers’ attitudes towards Communicative Language Teaching (CLT). The study was conducted in Soran town, in the northern part of Iraq. The participants of the study were 58 EFL teachers from secondary and high school classrooms. In the first phase, a five-point Likert-scale questionnaire was administered (Karavas-Doukas, 1996) to examine the participants’ attitudes towards CLT principles: “place/importance of grammar, group/pair work, quality and quantity of error correction, the role of the teacher in the classroom, the role and contribution of learners in the learning process.” The second phase of the study was qualitative and consisted of semi-structured interviews to examine the reasons behind the implementation of CLT in terms of the factors that hinder and encourage the implementation of CLT in the Iraqi setting. The results of the quantitative analysis revealed that the teachers held overall positive attitudes towards the use of CLT. The findings of the interview phase concluded that the main factors that cause the failure and success of the implementation of CLT in Iraq can be categorized under four headings: educational factors, teacher factors, student factors, and CLT factors. The results of the study suggest that the educational system and the teachers’ communicative competence are essential to promote the employment of CLT in Iraqi EFL classrooms.

Download Full-text

Developing a comprehensive tool to assess professional attitude among physicians and medical students

Journal of Medical Ethics and History of Medicine ◽

10.18502/jmehm.v14i27.8283 ◽

2022 ◽

Author(s):

Neda Yavari ◽

Fariba Asghari ◽

Zahra Shahvari ◽

Saharnaz Nedjat ◽

Bagher Larijani

Keyword(s):

Medical Students ◽

Group Discussion ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Second Phase ◽

Validity And Reliability ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Individual Interviews ◽

Professional Attitude ◽

Final Questionnaire ◽

Students Attitudes

It appears that up until now, no comprehensive tool has been developed to assess medical students’ attitudes toward the different dimensions of professionalism. The present study aimed to develop a comprehensive quantitative tool to evaluate medical students’ attitudes toward professionalism. This study consisted of two phases: The first phase was item generation and questionnaire design based on literature review and a qualitative survey. The qualitative data were extracted from 49 semi-structured individual interviews and one focus group discussion. In the second phase, the questionnaire was developed and its face, content, and structure validity and reliability were evaluated. To measure the construct validity of the questionnaire, a cross-sectional study was conducted on 354 medical students at different academic levels at Isfahan University of Medical Sciences. The final questionnaire was loaded on five factors. The factors accounted for 43.5% of the total variance. Moreover, Cronbach's alpha was 0.84 for the total scale, and the interclass correlation coefficient was 0.77 for the test-retest reliability. The 17-item questionnaire measuring medical students’ professional attitude had acceptable validity and reliability and can be adopted in other studies on physicians’ and medical students’ professional attitudes.

Download Full-text