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

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.

Air pollution, human health and climate change: Newspaper coverage of Australian bushfires

We examine 512 Australian newspaper articles published over a 5-year period (2016 to 2021) that report on air pollution due to bushfire smoke and resulting human health impacts. We analyze to what extent these articles provide information on the possible range of negative health impacts due to bushfire smoke pollution, and to what extent they report on climate change as a driver behind increased bushfire risk. A temporary surge in articles in our sample occurs during the unusually severe 2019/2020 Black Summer bushfires. However, most articles are limited to general statements about the health impacts of bushfire smoke, with only 50 articles in the sample (9%) mentioning an explicit link between bushfire smoke inhalation and cardiovascular and respiratory problems or increases in mortality risk. 148 of the 512 articles in the sample (29%) established a connection between bushfire risk and climate change. We carry out a further keyword analysis to identify differences in reporting by Australia’s two main publishing groups (News Corp Australia and Nine Entertainment), which shows that articles in News Corp Australia outlets offered the lowest climate change coverage. We suggest that more detailed communication strategies are needed to strengthen public preparedness for future impacts.

Letter. Research evaluation entities cause a shift of publication to Q1 journals

In Scopus there are four times more documents in first-quartile publications than in fourth-quartile ones. Publishers intend to adjust the editorial supply to the demand from authors, which seems to focus primarily on Q1 publications. Since 44% of the papers are concentrated in Q1 journals, papers published in journals in this quartile will be more likely to exceed the global average of impact. To the extent that publications are in greater demand by authors, they tend to be absorbed in different ways by large publishing groups. It has not been the growth of the editorial offer that has caused this over-demand from authors, but rather the identification of part of the editorial offering by public regulators as reliable in the research evaluation processes, resulting in a concentration of demand for Q1 journals by researchers.

Between Web search engines and artificial intelligence: what side is shown in laboratory tests?

BackgroundThe number of websites providing laboratory test information is increasing fast, although the accuracy of reported resources is sometimes questionable. The aim of this study was to assess the quality of online retrievable information by Google Search engine.MethodsConsidering urinalysis, cholesterol and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) as keywords, the Google Search engine was queried. Using Google Trends, users’ search trends (interest over time) were evaluated in a 5-year period. The first three or 10 retrieved hits were analysed in blind by two reviewers and classified according to the type of owner or publisher and for the quality of the reported Web content.ResultsThe interest over time constantly increased for all the three considered tests. Most of the Web content owners were editorial and/or publishing groups (mean percentage 35.5% and 30.0% for the first three and 10 hits, respectively). Public and health agencies and scientific societies are less represented. Among the first three and 10 hits, cited sources were found to vary from 26.0% to 46.7% of Web page results, whilst for cholesterol, 60% of the retrieved Web contents reported only authors’ signatures.ConclusionsOur findings confirm those obtained in other studies in the literature, demonstrating that online Web searches can lead patients to inadequately written or reviewed health information.

Chuck out the teacher: critical pedagogy in the community

The internal workings of working class writing and publishing groups reveals important insights about the nature of democracy. The attempt to form collective and co-operative groups that supported everyone led to an active re-making of educational relationships along democratic lines. The insistence upon equality between writers, irrespective of individual ability, was a cardinal principle. However, in a changing funding climate, workshops came under pressure to formalise relationships, professionalise and introduce management structures. This had mixed results as groups attempted to negotiate these tensions. The example of the Fed brings into question some key aspects of critical pedagogy which privileges the role of tutors and education as a whole and, in some cases, assumes that learners have internalised dominant ideas.

Introduction

During the 1970s, working-class writers entered the cultural landscape in ever greater numbers. ‘Ordinary’ people formed writing and publishing workshops in which they explored ideas, histories and feelings. A great variety of people started writing, including school children, housewives, black and minority groups, unemployed people, retired workers as well as those still in work. Writers of all ages were examining personal experience with fresh eyes and renegotiating their place in the world. Over the coming decades, thousands of publications would be produced, with an estimated readership in the millions. Autobiography, poetry, short stories and drama were consumed avidly by those within the writer’s immediate vicinity as well as by more general readerships. In 1976, the working-class writing and publishing groups, which were proliferating across the country, established a national network, the Federation of Worker Writers and Community Publishers (FWWCP or ‘the Fed’), that would later add the strapline ‘to make writing and publishing accessible to all’....

A biological perspective towards a standard for information exchange and reporting in XAS

The complex structural landscape of biological samples and their sensitivity to X-ray exposure leads to specific challenges in biological X-ray absorption spectroscopy (bio-XAS) research, which in turn has necessitated standardization of various aspects of bio-XAS data measurement, analysis and interpretation. The bio-XAS community is therefore well suited for the development of a data-reporting standard with the specific aim of creating a feedback loop for improving/standardizing data analysis protocols and optionally to make published data available to collaborators/researchers in a meaningful and quantitative format. The XIF (XAFS information file) reporting format presented here contains key experimental and analysis parameters, useful in developing a consistent platform for bio-XAS research worldwide. Such a reporting standard, enforced by the user community and publishing groups alike, can be an important step towards the standardization of data measurement and analysis techniques in bio-XAS.

German propaganda in the Balkans during the First World War

Immediately after the outbreak of the First World War Germany mobilized hu?man resources from all fields and put up all the necessary funds to counter British and French propaganda. In a very short period of time, it was in a position to organize its own propaganda networks abroad, to a large extent, by using the respective commercial networks and the pre-war enterprises operating in various countries. It was the neutral countries around the world that were among the primary targets of German propaganda. In the Balkans particular effort was made to create a favourable climate for the Central Powers and prevail over the adverse British and French influence. With the assistance of commercial circles and the appropriation of large sums of money, newspapers, journalists and publishing groups were bought off, information offices set up, agents recruited, politi?cal parties and politicians bribed, and pro-German parties founded. The aim was to influ?ence public opinion, promote the German version of war developments, and manipulate political leaders to give up their stance of neutrality and make the decision for their coun?try to take part in the war on the side of Germany. However, even though Berlin focused its attention on the Balkans where the major propaganda networks were organized, the propaganda campaigns proved to be essentially ineffective. Following Bulgaria?s entry into the war on the side of the Central Powers and the destruction of Serbia, first Romania and then Greece joined the Entente, finding themselves on the winning side at the war?s end.

Publishing in South Africa

South Africa is an emerging market for publishing; it has a number of small and medium-sized local publishers but is dominated by publishing groups and multinationals that import international trends. Along with textbooks, imported trade books are the heart of South African publishing. The major obstacles the industry faces are linked to the poor distribution network as well as the lack of access to financial resources for local publishers, and a readership characterized by the plurality of official languages and an educational gap left over from the social inequalities of the apartheid era. Digital publishing, although not yet thriving, appears to be a promising opportunity to deal with both production costs and distribution and may provide a pathway towards the democratization of reading. A number of commercial platforms and non-profit initiatives are already in place in South Africa to support the development of the publishing market.