scholarly journals Back-Shoring vs. Near-Shoring: A Comparative Study

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fernando Merino ◽  
Cristina Di Stefano ◽  
Luciano Fratocchi
Keyword(s):  
Home Country ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Footwear Industry ◽  
Government Aid ◽  
Near Shore ◽  
Time Availability ◽  
Similarities And Differences ◽  
Location Strategies ◽  
Contingency Approach ◽  
Home Region

After decades of manufacturing offshoring strategies, generally addressed to low cost countries, in the last few years companies have been increasingly revising their location strategies. In so doing, they often implement either back-shoring (relocation to the home country) or near-shoring (relocation to the home region) alternatives. While the former strategy has gained increasing attention among scholars in recent years, studies on near-shoring are still scarce. Moreover, the academic literature rarely compares the two phenomena in order to understand why companies prefer to implement one instead of the other. This paper aims to shed new light on similarities and differences among back- and near-shoring strategies. In order to reach such an objective, we assume a contingency approach by focusing on a specific industry, the footwear sector, which has been significantly characterized by offshoring strategies. In order to reach the research aim, the comparison between back- and near-shoring strategies will be conducted focusing on three main issues: a) characteristics of the companies implementing the relocation strategy (firm’s size); b) motivations inducing companies to relocate; c) barriers to the implementation of the relocation decision. Given the explorative nature of the paper, the features of 41 back- and near-shoring decisions implemented by 25 Italian and Spanish companies operating in the footwear industry will be analysed. Preliminary findings show smaller companies are more likely to back-shore instead of near-shore, probably because of the lower competences and resources they own. At the same time, availability of skilled contractors and/or availability of government aid in the home country induce them to back-shore instead of near-shore. Finally, the lack of skilled suppliers mainly characterizes the back-shoring alternative.

scholarly journals Succeeding in international competition by making use of home-country institutions

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-99 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eli Moen
Keyword(s):  
International Business ◽  
Home Country ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
Business Environment ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Successful Case ◽  
Low Cost Carrier ◽  
Present Case Study

Purpose – This paper aims to addresses the question how a low-cost carrier (LCC) embedded in a coordinated market economy is succeeding in a highly competitive industry with a strong cost focus. Design/methodology/approach – This paper reports the results of a case study of a LCC (Norwegian Air Shuttle). The case study draws on both organizational and institutional theory as to how the international business environment and the national institutional framework continuously impact on its strategies. Findings – It is found that home-country high wage levels and strong labour regulation have been overcome by developing firm-specific capabilities based on active employee involvement which aligns with the tradition of the national system of industrial relations. Research limitations/implications – The present case study provides an input for further research on how actors deal with conflicting pressures. It supports the varieties of capitalism (VOC) argument that national institutional arrangements influence firms and actors’ strategies and practices, but it also supports the call within institutional theories for a more malleable conceptualizing of the link between actors and institutions than is the case in the VOC models. Originality/value – The paper provides an account of a successful case in a highly competitive international business despite disadvantages linked with home-country institutions.

scholarly journals Venezuela in times of social, economic and political strife within TESOL affiliate grassroots advocacy initiatives: Implications for other contexts

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kara Mac Donald ◽  
Jose Franco ◽  
Orangel Abreu
Keyword(s):  
Formal Education ◽  
Social Economic ◽  
Home Country ◽  
National Context ◽  
Political Advocacy ◽  
Host Countries ◽  
The Status ◽  
Similarities And Differences ◽  
Grassroots Advocacy ◽  
Difficult Situations

Settling in a new region may imply a plethora of challenges for Students with Interrupted Formal Education (SIFE) and for any migrant or immigrant, no matter their background. Such challenges are as diverse as the individuals and their nationalities. Some SIFE have common experiences as immigrants relocating to a new country of residence, regardless of the status of migration. The range of constraints and situations that impact students’ access to formal education and/or its continuity in host countries is broad and deserves our attention as teachers and researchers. In this sense, the analysis of interviews conducted with SIFE from different universities and host countries has led to the consideration of particular difficult situations such as the reasons that pushed them to interrupt their studies and how it has impacted them personally, their access to employment, language, and home country return expectations. Taking into account the value of SIFE ́s own testimony obtained by means of interviews, this article addresses some of the diverse challenges they face in their host countries to raise awareness of the similarities and differences of their experiences, to promote socio-political advocacy for their needs, and to offer ELT educators ways in which they can respond to these special learners’ needs. It also in part can inform socio-political advocacy for SIFE who remain in their home countries of origin, as they often confront similar challenges as the local, regional or national context has been altered so much that they may also be in a context without adequate support.

scholarly journals Software Review: Meetup

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiromi Nishioka
Keyword(s):  
Language Learners ◽  
Host Country ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Home Country ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Online Platform ◽  
Naturally Occurring ◽  
The Social ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Time Availability

Meetup (https://www.meetup.com/apps/) is an online platform designed to get people to share similar interests and to enjoy the social activities with other members offline. Users have access to a wide range of Meetup events that they may wish to participate in according to their interests, date and time availability, and location. Although Meetup is developed for general users, language learners can use the application to construct opportunities to communicate with the native speakers while enjoying their shared interests together. Access to such opportunities is not always easy for learners either studying the target language in their home country or studying the target language in a host country (e.g., Allen, 2010; Kim, 2011). As such, Meetup allows learners to identify events where they can meet native speakers who live near to their location and to interact with them using the target language in naturally-occurring settings.

Low-Cost, Man-Portable Autonomous Underwater Vehicles for Rapid Environmental Assessment

2008 ◽  
Vol 42 (4) ◽  
pp. 4-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Laszlo Incze
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Assessment ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Autonomous Underwater Vehicles ◽  
Underwater Vehicles ◽  
Environmental Data ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Variability ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Sensing Platforms ◽  
Near Shore ◽  
Development And Validation

The requirements to rapidly characterize environmental conditions in dynamic near-shore waters have greatly outpaced the developing inventory of traditional resources to conduct this sampling. Research vessels, remote sensors, and networked in situ sensing platforms (fixed and drifting) are often limited in availability, capability, and/or adaptability, with the result that surveys can not be rapidly conducted in areas of immediate concern to communities, industry, and military defense. Autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) have been evolving over the past decade, with the ability to provide rapid environmental assessment as one of the primary objectives. However, the trade-off of cost and capability limited early designs and prohibited broad and effective utilization of these platforms for environmental data-collection missions. AUVs capable of sustained performance for sampling dynamic parameters in areas of high spatial and temporal variability were too costly, both in terms of procurement and operation, and lower cost AUVs did not have sufficient performance for operating in these challenging near-shore conditions. The development of low-cost, lightweight vehicles for these missions has only recently occurred, enabling responsive, multi-platform surveys to capture synoptic characterizations of near-shore waters with sufficient resolution to support data-centric 3-D models and provide baseline data sets for development and validation of physics-based forecasting models. Recent survey operations with one candidate class of AUVs developed by OceanServer Technology, Inc. reveal the hardware/software status of state-of-the-art designs and provide a basis for developing survey strategies essential to effective mission planning.

Design and implementation of a low-cost near-shore cabled observatory

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. J. Chalmers ◽  
A. J. Jamieson ◽  
J. R. Polanski ◽  
I. G. Priede ◽  
P. M. Bagley
Keyword(s):  
Low Cost ◽  
Design And Implementation ◽  
Near Shore

scholarly journals A Study of 3D Digitisation Modalities for Crime Scene Investigation

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 56-85
Author(s):  
George Galanakis ◽  
Xenophon Zabulis ◽  
Theodore Evdaimon ◽  
Sven-Eric Fikenscher ◽  
Sebastian Allertseder ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
3D Reconstruction ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Crime Scene ◽  
Reconstruction Method ◽  
Crime Scene Investigation ◽  
The Public ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Time Availability ◽  
Scene Investigation ◽  
3D Digitisation

A valuable aspect during crime scene investigation is the digital documentation of the scene. Traditional means of documentation include photography and in situ measurements from experts for further analysis. Although 3D reconstruction of pertinent scenes has already been explored as a complementary tool in investigation pipelines, such technology is considered unfamiliar and not yet widely adopted. This is explained by the expensive and specialised digitisation equipment that is available so far. However, the emergence of high-precision but low-cost devices capable of scanning scenes or objects in 3D has been proven as a reliable alternative to their counterparts. This paper summarises and analyses the state-of-the-art technologies in scene documentation using 3D digitisation and assesses the usefulness in typical police-related situations and the forensics domain in general. We present the methodology for acquiring data for 3D reconstruction of various types of scenes. Emphasis is placed on the applicability of each technique in a wide range of situations, ranging in type and size. The application of each reconstruction method is considered in this context and compared with respect to additional constraints, such as time availability and simplicity of operation of the corresponding scanning modality. To further support our findings, we release a multi-modal dataset obtained from a hypothetical indoor crime scene to the public.

scholarly journals A LOW-COST INSHORE WAVE DIRECTION INDICATOR

1974 ◽  
Vol 1 (14) ◽  
pp. 10
Author(s):  
G. De F. Retief ◽  
A.P.M. Vonk
Keyword(s):  
Flow Direction ◽  
Meteorological Data ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Ocean Waves ◽  
Wave Direction ◽  
The Past ◽  
Steady State Current ◽  
Near Shore ◽  
Reliable Solution ◽  
Made In

Although many attempts have been made in the past to measure the direction of propagation of ocean waves, a need for a simple, reliable solution to the problem has remained. The technique described here, intended for near-shore usage, makes use of a simple bottom-mounted flow direction indicator. The influence of rip and longshore currents on wave direction recordings is identified and a means of reducing these steady state current effects by a reduction in gauge sensitivity is presented, along with various possible recording and analysis techniques. Usefulness of the gauge is established as a simple engineering tool with certain limitations and examples are given of »'aire direction recordings related to meteorological data. A possible usage of the gauge FE an approximate sediment transport indicator is also proposed.

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