Tools and Technologies of Transparency in Sustainable Global Supply Chains

This article explores the role that technology plays in creating and fostering transparency in global supply chains. Transparency is deemed vital in the creation of sustainable and resilient supply chains and overall effective corporate governance. There are two distinct orientations toward the use of technology by multinational corporations (MNCs) in creating sustainability transparency within their global supply chains: control and relational. A control orientation views technology as a tool to gather the ever-increasing levels of sustainability data on supplier practices in an efficient, secure, and progressively automated manner. A relational orientation adopts a view where technology is a tool to help build social relations and improve dialogue and collaboration on sustainability throughout the supply chain. A key difference in the two orientations lies in the mindset of the MNC manager toward the development of supply chain sustainability transparency. The article illustrates the effective application of both approaches and offers advice to managers on the design choices they need to consider in choosing technologies.

Orientation Control of Self-Righting Tensegrity Landers

Squishy Robotics, Inc. has developed a spherical sensor robot that can be rapidly deployed by air drops of up to 1,000 ft for emergency response situations to improve situational awareness for first responders. Although the tensegrity structure has successfully been shown to survive the drop, some payloads require orientation when they land. For example, a payload that contains sensors and communication equipment to relay the data may need the robot to be oriented such that the antennas are pointing upward, or some sensors are positioned in a specific plane for operation. This requirement presents a challenge for a tensegrity-based delivery system because the structure absorbs energy using passive compliance and bounces several times upon landing. Although active systems using motors and actuators could be used to control orientation after landing, they increase the overall weight and complexity of the system. This paper describes the research on a passive control solution that achieves the correct orientation by placing weights on selected rods forming an asymmetrically weighted tensegrity structure that preferentially rolls and orients itself during the impact process. The design approach is applied to three robot sizes and the self-righting behavior is validated through experimental results.

A Scribble-E-cadherin complex controls daughter cell patterning by multiple mechanisms

The fate of the two daughter cells is intimately connected to their positioning, which is in turn regulated by cell junction remodelling and orientation of the mitotic spindle. How multiple cues are integrated to dictate the ultimate patterning of daughters is not clear. Here, we identify novel mechanisms of regulation of daughter positioning in single MCF10A cells. The polarity protein, Scribble, links E-cadherin to NuMA and Arp2/3 signalling for sequential roles in daughter positioning. First Scribble transmits cues from E-cadherin localised in retraction fibres to control orientation of the mitotic spindle. Second, Scribble re-locates to the junction between the two daughters to allow a new E-cadherin-based-interface to form between them, influencing the width of the nascent daughter-daughter junction, generation of filopodia and subsequent cell patterning. Thus, E-cadherin and Scribble dynamically relocate to different intracellular sites during cell division to orient the mitotic spindle and control placement of the daughter cells after cell division.

Financial Risk Tolerance, Sensation Seeking, and Locus of Control Among Pre-Retiree Baby Boomers

Financial risk tolerance is an important personal characteristic that is widely used by financial professionals to guide the development and presentation of client-centered recommendations. As more baby boomers enter retirement, research on how these individuals perceive their willingness to take financial risks has gained importance, particularly as the focus of investment portfolios changes from capital accumulation to capital preservation in retirement. This study examined the role of sensation seeking and locus of control on financial risk tolerance for a pre-retiree baby boomer sample using the 2014 wave of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979. Findings from three ordinary least square (OLS) regression models showed that baby boomers who were not sensation seekers, and those who displayed an external locus of control orientation were more likely to exhibit a low tolerance for financial risk. Furthermore, those who engaged in sensation-seeking behavior were more likely to have an internal locus of control orientation and a high tolerance for risk.

General causality orientations in self-determination theory: Meta-analysis and test of a process model

Causality orientations theory, a key sub-theory of self-determination theory, identifies three distinct causality orientations: autonomy, control, and impersonal orientation. The theory proposes generalized effects of the orientations on motivation and behavior. We meta-analyzed studies ( k = 83) testing relations between causality orientations, forms of motivation from self-determination theory, and behavior. Pooled data were used to test a process model in which autonomous and controlled forms of motivation mediated relations between causality orientations and behavior. Results revealed that autonomy and control orientations were positively correlated with autonomous and controlled forms of motivation, respectively. Impersonal orientation was correlated negatively with autonomy orientation and autonomous forms of motivation, and positively with control orientation and controlled forms of motivation. Process model tests revealed total effects of autonomy orientation on behavior, comprising direct and indirect effects through autonomous motivation, and a positive direct effect of control orientation on behavior and a negative indirect effect through controlled motivation, resulting in a zero total effect. Analysis of age, gender, behavior type, study design, and study quality revealed few moderator effects on model relations. Findings support effects of autonomy orientation on motivation and behavior, and the processes involved, and identify constructs that could be targeted, or circumvented, in behavioral interventions.

General Causality Orientations in Self-Determination Theory: Meta-Analysis and Test of a Process Model

Causality orientations theory, a key sub-theory of self-determination theory, identifies three distinct causality orientations: autonomy, control, and impersonal orientation. The theory proposes generalized effects of the orientations on motivation and behavior. We meta-analyzed studies (k=83) testing relations between causality orientations, forms of motivation from self-determination theory, and behavior. Pooled data were used to test a process model in which autonomous and controlled forms of motivation mediated relations between causality orientations and behavior. Results revealed that autonomy and control orientations were positively correlated with autonomous and controlled forms of motivation, respectively. Impersonal orientation was correlated negatively with autonomy orientation and autonomous forms of motivation, and positively with control orientation and controlled forms of motivation. Process model tests revealed total effects of autonomy orientation on behavior, comprising direct and indirect effects through autonomous motivation, and a positive direct effect of control orientation on behavior and a negative indirect effect through controlled motivation, resulting in a zero total effect. Analysis of age, gender, behavior type, study design, and study quality revealed few moderator effects on model relations. Findings support effects of autonomy orientation on motivation and behavior, and the processes involved, and identifies constructs that could be targeted, or circumvented, in behavioral interventions.

An Argumentative Study on Digital Advertising Literacy

Developments in communication technologies have given rise to the fact that media will increasingly acquire more space in daily life. This increase in media access area causes the expansion of its effect domain. Studies on the problem of media and its effects have led to the understanding that media are considered as dangerous in the socialization process of children and young people. This tendency has also put academics working in the field of sociology, communication sciences, and pedagogy into a state of control orientation. This field, which is the product these tendencies and called media literacy, has expanded, and new literacy models have emerged depending on the media content. One of these new approaches in media literacy is advertising literacy. Studies done on advertising literacy so far are too little in quantity. However, on the qualitative aspect, these studies have shortcomings that stem from the fact that they overlook media digitization.