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This study analysed the effect of credit on the poverty status of roasted plantain vendors in Calabar, Nigeria. The study described sources of credit, comparing the poverty status of credit recipients versus non-recipients, and the relationship between credit access and poverty index alongside the relationship between socioeconomic factors and poverty index. Data was collected from 110 randomly sampled roasted plantain vendors with the use of structured questionnaire. Poverty was measured with the Foster, Greer and Thorbecke (FGT) model class of weighted poverty measures. Descriptive statistics were used to examine poverty status, access to credit and the sociodemographic attributes of the roasted plantain vendors. Next, using descriptive statistics, the poverty status of the vendors who accessed credit was compared to those who did not access credit. Finally, the association between access to credit and poverty index was analyzed with logistic regression model while adjusting for the effects of sociodemographic factors. Descriptive statistics showed that 60% of the vendors were female, the average age was 35 years, and the average household size was four persons. Precisely, 91% of the roasted plantain vendors had completed primary or higher education. Exactly, 64.5% received credit, while 30.79% reported non-institutional lenders as sources of credit. The mean monthly income was N48,036.36 (US$116.89). Poverty incidence was lower among credit recipients (0.268) compared to non-recipients (0.487). Credit access (OR = .083, p Key words: Credit, Financial inclusion, Micro-agro-processors, Plantain roasting, Poverty, Urban agriculture, INTRODUCTION In Nigeria, poverty is on the rise as a significant proportion of the population still lives in extreme poverty, and the country ranks as the 3rd most impoverished nation [...]

We show that proximity is significant during cloud computing's adoption. This is counter to the prevailing assumptions of cloud adoption as being more impersonal and distant, with less interaction between provider and purchaser than on-premise technologies. We do this through an interpretive study of cloud computing adopters across Europe. We develop a conceptual framework of cloud proximity which draws attention to its locational, relational and temporal proximal dimensions. Our proximal analysis leads us to identify three aspects of cloud adoption where proximity plays a key role: mercantile aspect (e.g., cloud sales support), counsel aspect (e.g., access to internal and external expertise) and organi-technical aspect (e.g., the understanding of cloud technology and services alongside their organizational adoption context). By challenging assumptions of distant and remote adoption, we contribute to the cloud computing adoption research and raise questions for IT adoption in general. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Curriculum-based measurement (CBM) represents a critical strategy for data-based decisionmaking within educational settings. Visual analysis is frequently used to analyze CBM data; thus, CBM vendors often automatically generate graphs based on student data to facilitate analysis. Differences in graph formatting are apparent across CBM vendors, and currently, the extent to which these differences may influence rater interpretation of data is unknown. As such, the current study sought to evaluate whether there were differences in rater evaluation of presence and magnitude of an intervention effect when identical data were plotted on graphs of four CBM vendors: AIMSweb, FastBridge Learning, easyCBM, and DIBELS Next. Results of the study indicated that visual analysts rated. Results of the study found that probability of identifying the presence of a treatment effect was similar across vendors. However, differences emerged with respect to ratings of magnitude of effect, with raters indicating the greatest magnitude of intervention effect for easyCBM and DIBELS Next graphs. As data graphs generated by CBM vendors may be utilized by school personnel to make decisions regarding the continuation, discontinuation, or alteration of intervention procedures, the results of the study indicate the need for increased consideration in the manner in which data are presented visually such that accurate decisions are made regarding student progress and response to intervention., Author(s): Evan H. Dart [sup.1], Ethan R. Van Norman [sup.2], David A. Klingbeil [sup.3], Keith C. Radley [sup.4] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.170693.a, 0000 0001 2353 285X, University of South Florida, [...]

The need for companies' interconnection and advantages of mutual business cooperation led to the development of supply chain management in the 1980s. Along with the intensifed market globalization process, companies have become aware of the need to develop efcient supply chains. A supply chain includes a series of activities from planning and organizing to controlling the fow of material and services from suppliers to the fnal customer. The supply chain efectiveness depends to a large extent on relationships with suppliers. Thus, relationships with suppliers and supply chain performance management are important topics in academic research due to their impact on supply chain proftability. It is particularly evident in the trade industry. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to establish the relationship between supplier relationships and supply chain performance in the trade industry in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The empirical research is based on the primary data, collected by using a questionnaire. The respondents are 200 trade companies from the entire territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Various statistical analysis methods have been applied to answer the research questions addressing the issues of a potential relationship between supplier relationships and supply chain performance. The results have shown that supplier relationships positively impact flexibility, costs, and supply chain quality. There is a statistically significant interdependence between partnership and information exchange, as supplier relationships dimensions, and flexibility, costs, and supply chain quality, as supply chain performance dimensions. There is, also, a statistically significant impact of some companies' characteristics on the information exchange, supplier partnership, flexibility, costs, and quality. Keywords: supply chain, supplier relationships, supply chain performance, trade companies., 1. INTRODUCTION Instability of trade companies, as well as the growing competition, stimulate integration and cooperation processes. Consequently, there is a trend of weakening the position of independent and small [...]

Abstract Supply chain disruptions negatively impact the economy and individual organizations. However, as many companies recover from disruptions (COVID-19 being a recent example), less attention has been paid to how [...]

Despite the evidence in other domains that Black individuals can experience discriminatory treatment, marketing research offers few insights into how Black salespersons (as compared to White salespersons) are perceived and treated within buyer-seller negotiations. We address this limitation in the literature by conducting three studies. First, our findings show that White buyers with a higher social dominance orientation expect Black salespersons to bargain (i.e., negotiate) less than White salespersons. Second, White buyers with a higher social dominance orientation perceive Black salespersons to have bargained more than White counterparts (who have bargained the same). Third, when negotiating with White buyers with a higher social dominance orientation, Black salespersons receive lower product prices than White salespersons. Fourth, when negotiating with White buyers with a higher social dominance orientation, Black salespersons are less likely to be referred to other prospective buyers than White salespersons. Interestingly, no differences exist for White buyers lower on social dominance orientation. Combined, these findings offer insight into the type of discrimination that Black salespersons can encounter within buyer-seller negotiations by revealing how White buyers perceive (i.e., expect them to negotiate less; perceive them to have bargained more than they actually did), behave (i.e., offer them lower prices) and intend to behave (i.e., less willing to refer them to other buyers) toward Black salespersons as compared to White salespersons., Author(s): David Gligor [sup.1] , Christopher Newman [sup.2] , Saim Kashmiri [sup.3] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.251313.7, 0000 0001 2169 2489, Yvonne and Clyde Edwards Professor and Associate Professor, University of [...]

A library's website is a virtual point of contact for interacting with its patrons. Ensuring a library's website has easily findable content is critical for providing access to library resources and highlighting services and events. One tool for assisting with content findability is a chatbot, a form of artificial intelligence software. In this case study, Lehman College's Leonard Lief Library implemented Ivy, a proprietary educational software chatbot on its website, the first of its kind for an academic library. This chatbot functioned as a new tool that assisted users seeking information and provided insight to librarians about the kinds of topics students search for via the library website. This article provides the first detailed description in the literature of an implementation of a proprietary chatbot for an academic library. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modularization, an important trend in innovation markets, allows for recombination of product components into multiple end-product configurations. Although modularization has consequences for how firms manage their relationships with upstream component suppliers, the governance implications of modularity for innovation sourcing relationships have not been adequately examined in the prior literature. We intend to bridge this gap. We argue that (i) buyer firms employ governance mechanisms (monitoring and socialization) to cope with the strategic hazards of innovation sourcing relationships (knowledge specificity, knowledge asymmetry, and knowledge spillover) and (ii) the consequences of deploying these mechanisms in response to the strategic hazards on relationship performance are contingent upon the degree of modularity of the system in which they are deployed. We provide empirical support for the developed moderated mediation model through an analysis of 194 innovation projects. The developed theory and findings contribute to the governance and modularity literatures. In addition, our findings may help change managers' behaviors: we observe that managers do not consider modularity when selecting governance mechanisms, while our model findings suggest they should., Author(s): Nukhet Harmancioglu [sup.1] , Stefan Wuyts [sup.2] , Peren Ozturan [sup.3] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.15876.3d, 0000000106887552, Koç University, , Istanbul, Turkey (2) grid.29857.31, 0000 0001 2097 4281, Pennsylvania State [...]

Marketing scholars have long acknowledged that buyer-supplier relationships (BSRs) evolve over time. Nevertheless, truly dynamic considerations tend to be confined to the 'future research' sections of papers. Performing dynamic BSR research is difficult, not only because of the requirements of data collection and analysis, but also due to the somewhat fragmented understanding of the available studies on BSR dynamics and how an overarching understanding of their findings can refine static relationship models. We conduct a systematic literature review to organize the available research on BSR dynamics. The review process reveals four overarching themes: (1) relationship continuity, (2) relationship learning, (3) relationship stages and trajectories, and (4) relationship fluctuations. We discuss each theme, describe how the themes can be applied as a dynamic lens to research questions involving BSRs, and outline research directions that might stimulate further work on relationship dynamics., Author(s): Ali Shamsollahi [sup.1] , Danielle A. Chmielewski-Raimondo [sup.2] , Simon J. Bell [sup.2] , Reza Kachouie [sup.3] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.432649.e, 0000 0001 0666 5255, ESSEC Business School, , [...]

Issues in for-profit scholarly publishing are not new. We are an electronic resources librarian and a systems librarian, and in the course of our research on unaffiliated users and academic libraries, we continued to identify and be stymied by trends in vendor technologies, systems, sales models, and products that caused concern. We hope to share these concerns, summarize the landscape, and also provide some advice on possibilities for collective action as we move forward.

By Robert Grace Victor Morando understands the awesome potential of two-shot silicone molding. He just wishes more product designers did as well. As the chief technology officer of Connecticut molder [...]

With medical devices becoming smaller, more complex, and 'smarter' thanks to the Internet of Things (IoT), electronic manufacturing services (EMS) companies have a rapidly growing role in the development of [...]

Previous studies have shown that a majority of vendors at farmers markets reuse cardboard cartons to store and transport produce to and from farmers markets, rendering the cartons a potential source of microbial contamination. This study investigated the ability of foodborne pathogens to persist on cardboard cartons over 44 days. Briefly, a mixture of Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella spp., and E. coli O157:H7 were inoculated onto cardboard coupons and pathogen viability was quantified for up to 44 days. The results demonstrated that while E. coli O157:H7 survived for no longer than 2 days, L. monocytogenes and Salmonella spp. were recovered up to 32 and 44 days, respectively. These results highlight key challenges associated with reusing cardboard containers and the potential of microbial contamination transfer onto produce. The results of this study emphasize the need for science-based food safety training for vendors and managers at farmers markets to ensure that only containers that can be easily cleaned and sanitized are used to transport and store produce., Introduction According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the number of farmers markets in the U.S. has grown rapidly over the past two decades from 1,755 in 1994 to [...]

This paper is an overview of SILLVR (Streaming Interlibrary Loan Video Resources), an innovative, collaborative pilot project that facilitates interlibrary loan (ILL) for streaming video. Conceived of by Auraria Library staff, SILLVR leverages partnerships with streaming video vendors and the Colorado Alliance for Research Libraries to enable library-to-library borrowing of streaming video media. This paper begins by briefly investigating the history and landscape of interlibrary loan, the loaning of electronic and 'new' media, as well as how libraries collaboratively work towards increased ILL access and how this work supports equity. The second half of the paper details the creation of SILLVR, from its conception to the partnerships it has engendered and the workflows that will make it a reality. Keywords: interlibrary loan, resource sharing, streaming video, Introduction In January 2017, Auraria Library moved the Interlibrary Loan (ILL) unit from the Access and Public Services (APS) department into the Acquisitions unit in the Technical Services division. This [...]

Vendors and publishers collaborate and work to protect their bottom line--which is threatened by open access (OA)--by expanding into research lifecycle and data analytics, and by continuing to merge and acquire each other, reducing choice in the library market. The implementation of Seamless Access and other systems force library staff into the position of gatekeeper for systems and platforms that we have no control or input over. Vendors and publishers control the online content that libraries can access: they add and remove content at will, and classify titles according to their greatest possible sales margins, making valuable resources unavailable to libraries to license for campus-wide access. These vendor actions--which impact the research lifecycle as a whole, disrupt traditional publishing, and seek to monetize user data--are extremely concerning. Collective action is the only way to make significant inroads against these developments. We suggest some proactive ways that we can initiate these collective actions and resist these industry-wide developments imposed by vendors and publishers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the justification of a comprehensive matching function approach, this study analyzes the ride-sourcing market with heterogeneous users. A single origin-destination (O-D) ride-sourcing market model is first developed. The model fills the major research gap to extend general user heterogeneity modeling from the transit market to the two-sided ride-sourcing market. Sufficient conditions that guarantee a unique market equilibrium are given. Equilibrium market operation with a profit-maximizing platform is explored. Equilibrium transitions with respect to the changes in different exogenous market variables are investigated. Nonequilibrium modeling to understand the transition path is also analyzed, revealing how the detailed transition evolves. Extensions of the single O-D market model to aggregate and disaggregate markets and incorporation of travel time reliability are briefly discussed. Numerical experiments, which are based on real-world data in the city of Ningbo, China, and cover an aggregate/single O-D base case, sensitivity analysis, equilibrium transitions, and disaggregate market equilibrium, are presented to illustrate the theoretical model. The larger network of Sioux Falls is also tested as a demonstration of the disaggregate market equilibrium. Discussions are made regarding operation and policy implications., Author(s): Junlin Zhang [1,2]; Dong Mo [1]; Xiqun (Michael) Chen (corresponding author) [1,3] 1. Introduction Thanks to the development of smartphone applications and information and communication technologies, ride-sourcing service [1] [...]

LiDAR-based localization has been widely used for the pose estimation of autonomous vehicles. Since the localization requires a sustainable map reflecting environment changes, a map update framework based on crowd-sourcing measurements has been researched. Unfortunately, a point cloud map occupies too large data size to transmit data in the uploading and downloading of the map update framework. To realize the LiDAR map update framework by reducing the data size, we proposed a novel map update framework using a Geodetic Normal Distribution (GND) map that compresses the point cloud to the normal distributions. The proposed GND map update framework comprises two parts: map change detection based on crowd-sourcing vehicles and map updating based on a map cloud server. GND map changes are detected based on an evidence theory considering geometric relationships between the GND map and crowd-sourcing measurements and uploaded to the map cloud server. Uploaded map changes reproduce representative map changes based on a similarity-based clustering, which are updated into the GND map. The proposed framework was evaluated in simulations and real environments on construction sites. As a result, although partial map changes occurred, the GND map was kept up-to-date through the proposed framework and the localization for autonomous driving was performed successfully., Author(s): Chansoo Kim [1]; Sungjin Cho [2]; Myoungho Sunwoo [3]; Paulo Resende [4]; Benazouz Bradaï [4]; Kichun Jo (corresponding author) [5] 1. Introduction Recently, map-matching localization has been globally researched [...]

This article investigates a long-term optimal spatial pricing strategy for a ride-sourcing platform that serves a particular (possibly populated) area with profit-driven service providers (i.e., drivers) and time- and price-sensitive customers (i.e., passengers). By observing that oftentimes, the price strategy is anisotropic and spatial-dependent, both the supply and request are endogenous, and we build an analytical bi-level optimization mode. In the upper-level formulation, the ride-sourcing platform aims at setting up the spatially heterogeneous pricing strategy to maximize its total profit. However, in the lower level, we solve the trip distribution model that characterizes the flow rates among zones given the travel demand rate at each zone. We prove that when the platform seeks to expand its business, the optimal number of participating drivers and their optimal wages will be influenced not only by the pricing strategy but also by the level of service of the entire platform. Our further investigation shows that the profit at a particular zone can be influenced by the potential customers' service requests from other zones. Finally, we use the real-world data provided by DiDi Chuxing to numerically illustrate our model and theoretical results., Author(s): Wei Tang [1,2,3]; Heng Wang [4]; Yang Wang [1]; Chuqiao Chen [5]; Xiqun (Michael) Chen (corresponding author) [3] 1. Introduction The emergence of ride-sourcing companies such as Uber, Lyft, [...]

The competition and cooperation between automobile manufacturers and battery enterprises are an important topic concerned by electric vehicle supply chain management. This paper investigates the cooperation modes between competing manufacturers in the EV (electric vehicle) supply chain, under which the common supplier launches the innovation of the key component of EV to meet the demand of two manufacturers. Three cooperation modes between manufacturers, full cooperation, partial cooperation, and noncooperation, are established to depict the pricing decisions by the Stackelberg game. We find out that, when competition degree is small, it is more profitable to choose partial cooperation, while it is more advantageous to choose full cooperation when competition degree is high, and the manufacturer's basic market demand is relatively small. Therefore, it is always preferred for the common supplier to expect noncooperation between manufacturers. Under the background that basic market demand ratio changes with competition degree between markets, it could be better for the whole supply chain when without cooperation or partial cooperation depended on the supplier power while it could be better for customers when full cooperation or partial cooperation depended on the competition degree between manufacturers., Author(s): Bin Liu (corresponding author) [1]; Ruoying Huang [1] 1. Introduction Facing the great challenges of transportation energy and environmental problems, new energy vehicles characterized by energy diversification, clean emission, [...]