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ABSTRACTReconfiguration of the supply chain network from time to time is essential for businesses to retain their competitive edge. This paper presents a methodology for reconfiguration of an existing supply chain network. The methodology is characterized by two decision levels. In the first level, the current network performance is evaluated and efficient practices are identified. In the next level, a model that incorporates efficient practices is developed to reconfigure the network. This integrated methodology allows for decision maker (DM) input throughout the process. The methodology has been implemented and tested in the reconfiguration of an outbound petroleum supply chain network for CountryMark Cooperative, Inc. In this case study, Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) is used to analyze current operations and an integer programming (IP) model that incorporates efficiency metrics is developed for selection of distribution facilities and allocation of resources to the facilities. Use of this methodology can lead to improved operations and reduced operating expenses.

PurposeThis article reflects on the adaption of Sarah Pink's video re-enactment methodology for exploring children's out-of-school lifeworlds.Design/methodology/approachVideo re-enactments originate in the work of Sarah Pink who developed the methodology to study everyday routines, including activities associated with people's energy consumption at home. This article discusses the adaption of this methodology for exploring 9–10-year-old children's out-of-school lifeworlds in their homes in the global cities of Hong Kong, Melbourne and Singapore.FindingsThe article reflects on the practical ways in which the video re-enactment methodology was adapted to explore children's out-of-school activities in the three different locations. In terms of activities, the findings highlight that children's out-of-school lifeworlds included regular routines across a week that contribute to and constitute their everyday activities, with varying time spent on leisure, homework and scheduled activities.Originality/valueThe authors discuss and reflect on the implications of adapting a methodology in order to make it relevant and innovative in a new research context. The use of video re-enactments with children to explore their out-of-school activities gives greater insights into their lifeworlds and their engagement in various activities and the opportunity for children to reflect on their everyday lives.

Motivated by our respective intuition about our need for a place called "home," we engaged in methodological bricolage to study the concept. We draw upon methodological traditions of constructivist grounded theory methodology (CHARMAZ, 2006; CHARMAZ & KELLER, 2016) and duoethnography (NORRIS & SAWYER, 2012) to envision and conduct a grounded duoethnography. Ultimately positioning the methodology within a constructivist paradigm, we nevertheless draw upon the complexities of postmodernism and poststructuralism, specifically as invoked in CLARKE's (2009, 2019) situational analysis and NORRIS and SAWYER's (2012) application of Bakhtinian dialogue to create a shared narrative through the exploration of the convergences and divergences of our experiences and expertise. Through these dialogues we identify core concepts related to "home." We elaborate on the background and application of this methodology and briefly describe an example to demonstrate how these concepts have sensitized us as scholars.

Over the last decade the UK has seen a boom in community archaeology projects. These projects have taken many different forms and have stretched from the public-face of research and developer- funded programs to projects run by museums, archaeological units, universities and archaeological societies, as well as the communities themselves. Community archaeology claims to offer the public an opportunity to become engaged with and involved in the interpretation and understanding of the past. It has been claimed that this interactive approach, one of participation in the archaeological process, develops both intangible and tangible values from the past for individuals and communities in the present. Such values range from educational to economic and from political to social, however these supposed results of community archaeology have yet to be critically analyzed. This paper will focus on accessing the values of the University of Exeter's, Heritage Lottery Funded XArch Community Archaeology Project. It sets out a self-reflexive, ethnological methodology for evaluating what community archaeology really does. Drawing on research from a variety of community archaeology projects in the UK and US this paper will aim to propose a future model community archaeology projects, enabling them to become integrated within a community and in turn more sustainable. ; El Regne Unit ha experimentat des de la darrera dècada, una explosió pel que fa a projectes sobre arqueologia i comunitat. Aquests projectes adopten formes diverses que comprenen des de presentacions públiques de projectes d'investigació afavorides per universitats i promotors fins a proyectes desenvolupats per museus, serveis arqueològics, universitats i societats arqueològiques, passant per iniciatives de les mateixes comunitats. Els projectes d'arqueologia i comunitat pretenen oferir al públic l'oportunitat de poder participar i implicar-se en la interpretació i la comprensió del passat. Defensem la idea que aquest apropament interactiu de participació en el procés arqueològic desenvolupa valors tangibles i intangibles en les persones i les comunitats del present. Aquests resultats afecten tant valors educatius com econòmics, valors polítics com socials; no obstant això, aquests suposats resultats estan encara pendents d'unes anàlisis més crítiques. Aquesta aportació pretén fer evidents els valors del projecte XArch d'arqueologia i comunitat dut a terme per la Universitat d'Exeter i finançat per l'Heritage Lottery Fund. Planteja una metodologia autoreflexiva i etnològica per tal d'avaluar el que fan realment aquests projectes. A partir de la investigació realitzada sobre una sèrie de projectes d'arqueologia i comunitat, en el Regne Unit i els EUA, aquest té com a objectiu proposar un model per a futurs proyectes d'arqueologia i comunitat, amb la finalitat de poder integrar-los dins la comunitat i resultar més sostenibles. ; En la última década el Reino Unido ha experimentado una explosión de proyectos de arqueología y comunidad. Estos proyectos han adoptado formas diferentes y abarcan desde la presentación pública de proyectos de investigación auspiciados por universidades y promotores hasta proyectos desarrollados por museos, servicios de arqueología, universidades y sociedades arqueológicas, pasando por iniciativas de las propias comunidades. Los proyectos de arqueología y de comunidad pretenden ofrecer al público una oportunidad de participar e implicarse en la interpretación y comprensión del pasado. Se defiende que esta aproximación interactiva de participación en el proceso arqueológico desarrolla valores tangibles e intangibles en las personas y las comunidades del presente. Estos resultados atañen desde los valores educativos a los económicos, de los políticos a los sociales; sin embargo, estos supuestos resultados están aún pendientes de ser analizados críticamente. Esta aportación se centra en evidenciar los valores del proyecto XArch de arqueología y comunidad llevado a cabo por la Universidad de Exeter y financiado por Heritage Lottery Fund. Plantea una metodología autorreflexiva y etnológica para evaluar lo que hacen estos proyectos realmente. A partir de la investigación realizada sobre una serie de proyectos de arqueología y comunidad en el Reino Unido y en Estados Unidos, tiene como objetivo proponer un modelo para el futuro de proyectos de arqueología y comunidad, con la finalidad de que puedan integrarse en la comunidad y resultar más sostenibles.

This book offers a simple introduction to the fundamentals and applications of the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) without a pre-requisite for a sophisticated mathematical background. It provides a quick and intuitive understanding of the methodology using spreadsheet examples and explains in a step-by-step fashion how to use Super Decisions, a freely available software developed by the Creative Decisions Foundations. The book is intended to be a resource for decision makers with little or no exposure to the field of Operations Research (OR); however, the book can be used as a very gentle introduction to the AHP methodology and/or as an AHP hands-on supplement for standard OR textbooks. AHP is an intuitive and mathematically simple methodology in the field of multi-criteria decision making. Because of this, most AHP books assume the reader has basic OR mathematical background. However, AHP simplicity suggests that decision makers from all disciplines can take advantage of the methodology without struggling with the mathematics behind it. To fulfill this need, this book delivers a quick and practical understanding of the method that can be useful for corporate executives.

This collection assesses the development of `Coasean Economics' - those aspects of economic analysis that have evolved out of the ground-breaking work of Ronald Coase. Two major strands of research can be identified here: law and economics and the New Institutional Economics. While both law and economics and the analysis of institutions by no means originated with or evolved solely from Coase's work, it is undeniable that his contributions, particularly in The Nature of the Firm and The Problem of Social Cost, played a major role in shaping the contemporary manifestations of these areas of inquiry. This volume focuses on the firm, the Coase theorem, and law and economics - those aspects of economic analysis with which Coase is most closely identified. Along with these come several essays on methodology and one on transitional economies, all against the underlying background of Coase's contributions and influence, and the implications of these for how we do economics. Taken together, this volume offers a unique perspective on `Coasean Economics' as well as on the potential future direction of economic analysis

Globally, countries are increasingly facing challenges regarding their national future post the COVID-19 pandemic with respect to decreasing and aging populations; dwindling workforces; trade wars due to restricted movement of goods, people, and services; and overcoming economic development and societal problems. Accordingly, we identify the challenges and corresponding solutions that act as pillars for a framework to build a super smart nation. We analyze 73 peer-reviewed research papers from Scopus index databases and use the Delphi methodology to identify the challenges, which include people and society, robots, technology, research and innovation, digital infrastructure, data, politics, governance, and sustainability. Further, we discuss the relevant solutions, including top leadership motivation and commitment; proactive steps from the government, development of policies; legal frameworks and laws; creation of awareness programs; use of advanced technologies (such as robotics and semantic technologies); and development of interoperable infrastructure; innovation ecosystem; sustainable energy sources; and global standards for education system through transformation of the education system. These novel insights have valuable practical and theoretical implications for guiding policymakers, industry leaders, and researchers in building a super smart nation.

Purpose: Globally and historically, internal auditing has been used to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of organisations. The internal audit process helps to achieve the desired objectives of organisations including local governments by preventing irregularities in operations. Guided by institutional theory and based on primary data as well as employing the interpretive research philosophy, the paper examined the internal audit process of selected local government institutions in the Central Region of Ghana. ; Methodology: Purposive sampling technique was used to select seven key informants for interview by the use of interview guide. The data were analysed using pattern matching and content analysis based on themes. ; Findings: The main finding was that the internal auditors hardly performed all tasks involved in the internal audit process due to irregularities in operations. This constrained the achievement of assignment objectives. The recommendation was that the Head of Local Government Service should sanction auditors who flout the process. ; Originality/Value: This study is meant to raise awareness of stakeholders of local governments on the need to improve internal audit practices for effective and efficient resource utilisation to enhance service delivery to the citizens. ; peer-reviewed

Objectives. The article examines the factors that influence the frequency whereby scholarly articles published by Canadian political scientists are cited.Method. We collected data on 1,860 journal articles published between 1985 and 2005 by 758 Canadian political scientists and listed in the Social Science Citation Index. Using these data, we performed OLS and tobit estimations to identify factors influencing citation frequency.Results. The regressions show that the reputation of the journal in which the article is published, though important, does not explain everything. The gender of the author(s), the number of authors, the geographical focus of the article, the field, and the methodology also matter.Conclusion. An article is more likely to be widely cited if it is published in a prestigious journal, if it is written by several authors, if it applies quantitative methods, if it compares countries, and if it deals with administration and public policy or elections and political parties. Faculty members who belong to larger departments and those who are women are more cited.

Introduction: Toward a Comparative Borderlands Methodology -- Indigenous Borderlands -- Making "Us" and "Them" -- Border Enforcement -- Capitalism blurs the binaries -- Creating Complex Identities, Contesting the Borderlands -- Epilogue. A Global Methodology -- Notes

The methodology of public governance has only been analysed recently. The methodology of public governance consists of a collection of concepts, ideas, reforms, degrees and other problems of theory. The role of methodology is important in the field as applied, practical and interdisciplinary as public governance. The study analyses how public administration theory developed at the end of the twentieth and at the start of the twenty-first century. The article examines the theories of public sector practice, such as theories on public organization behaviour, public management, and public policy implementation in a global environment. Theories on bureaucratic politics seek to explain how the politics–administration dichotomy is transforming from the traditional theoretical framework to the new democratic systematic framework and to a new understanding of public governance democratization, which is central in today's organizational theory. The primary issue addressed in the article is the development of public administration and governance theory in the period of globalization and modernization, and changes in the definition of the role of theory in public governance. ; Straipsnyje analizuojama šiuolaikinio viešojo valdymo metodologijos galimybės tobulinant viešųjų institucijų veiklą, efektyvinant viešosios politikos ir viešųjų programų bei projektų įgyvendinimą. Daugiausia dėmesio yra skiriama bendrųjų sociologinių ir specifinių viešojo valdymo teorijų vietai ir vaidmeniui demokratizuojant viešąjį valdymą šiuolaikinėmis globalizacijos sąlygomis. Valdymo demokratizavimo metodologijos problema aptariama remiantis visuotinai viešojo valdymo teorijoje priimta nuostata, kad metodologija (Ch. E. Lindblom, J. E. Lane, J. Dewey, D. Easton ir kt.) suprantama kaip mokslinių tyrinėjimų srities tyrimo logika ir kaip organizacijų bei individų praktinės-intelektualinės veiklos logika.

The research reviews the concept of governmental housing in Egypt, its types and development, and the most important challenges facing the state to provide housing units of high quality at reasonable prices that meet the needs and aspirations of users, and identify the most important design requirements for the housing unit by reviewing the design standards according to the unified Egyptian building law to ensure that housing projects meet the needs of users. Identify the value engineering methodology and the importance of its application to various government housing projects, due to its significant impacts on the level of performance, cost and quality, and the importance of the architect and decision-makers familiarizing themselves with its steps to follow this approach and its application to control quality and reduce the costs of establishing governmental housing projects from the beginning of the initial idea of the project to the implementation and maintenance . The use of computer applications to provide a tool in the form of a computer program that helps architects and those concerned to apply the value engineering approach, with the aim of reducing the costs of establishing government housing projects, taking into account the design standards and quality required for those projects. Applying the computer program to one of the designs of the governmental housing project by analyzing and evaluating the architectural design of the housing units in terms of the total area in order to reduce the wasted spaces inside the unit and its impact on reducing construction costs without compromising quality standards and then drawing conclusions and recommendations. Rapid urban growth in many developing countries has led to many problems (economic, social, health, security,.) in the absence of governments to meet the needs of citizens for housing, so slums appeared that lack the necessary services such as electricity, clean drinking water and sewage networks, Crime rates have also increased and environmental health has deteriorated in these areas. In April 2002, the United Nations Program on Housing Rights emerged as a joint initiative between UN-Habitat and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, which focused on governments' focus on taking appropriate measures to promote, protect and guarantee the right to adequate housing. In 2008, UN-Habitat declared that the development objective of the United Nations Program on Housing Rights is the right to adequate housing by trying to consider the affordability and accessibility of housing, and to support and enable housing reform and sustainability. Therefore, governments faced great challenges in how to provide adequate low-cost housing to meet the needs of users of all categories, the Egyptian government worked to provide a huge number of housing units to meet the increasing of population, it represented a huge burden on the state budget due to the increase in prices of building and construction materials. The value engineering methodology appeared nearly twenty years ago, and during this relatively small period, this technology was able to achieve impressive success in achieving great financial savings, which encouraged researchers and specialists in the field of construction management to study this technology and study how to apply it to various projects, the United States of America occupied the first place in the application of value engineering, while Japan occupied the second place, followed directly by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia . Dr. Jacqueline Fahmy, Head of the Eastern Mediterranean and Africa Regional Branch for Safe International, the American Society for Value Engineering, confirmed on the sidelines of the third value engineering conference that applies the value engineering methodology in Egypt, if the value engineering especially used in Egypt, will reduce the costs of real estate projects by up to 30% without compromising the quality and reducing the price per m2 of projects, the application of the methodology will lead to savings in the costs of governmental housing projects. The problem: We find that many of those concerned with providing housing, including architects, stakeholders and decision makers, lack the importance of applying the value engineering methodology in the field of governmental housing, which works to reduce the cost of constructing housing units in a way that does not affect the design standards, quality and needs of users of all categories, and helps the state to provide the largest possible number of sustainable housing units to meet the needs of citizens. Objectives: Providing a mechanism that helps architects and decision-makers in the field of housing by applying the value engineering methodology with the aim of reducing the costs of establishing governmental housing projects without compromising architectural design standards and quality, and thus helping the state to provide the largest number of housing units for eligible groups. Methodology: To achieve this goal, the research followed the deductive methodology to present the value engineering methodology, its concepts and definitions, the concepts of costs and their relationship to the different stages of the project, and how to benefit from this approach in governmental housing projects, and a review of the Egyptian building law that defines the design standards for housing units. Then the research used the inductive methodology in order to take advantage of computer applications in providing a suggested mechanism that helps architects to apply the value engineering methodology in order to reduce wasted spaces within the housing unit. Then the research followed the experimental method by applying the proposed computer program to one of the horizontal planes of a governmental housing model to evaluate the proposed mechanism by studying the spaces of the architectural spaces of the housing unit, and how to help the proposed mechanism to reduce wasted spaces and thus reduce construction costs and optimal utilization of resources. Results: that the proposed mechanism processed the entered data, whereby the unit area was reduced by 15%, equivalent to 21.27 m2, so that the total area of the housing unit became 118.73 m2 instead of 140 m2 after deleting unnecessary spaces, while maintaining the design standards of the housing unit. - the mechanism made the most recent modifications in the dimensions of the architectural spaces of the unit, and thus it was modified in the architectural design. -By entering the cost of constructing a flat meter = 3200 EGP, as well as entering the number of units in each floor, and the number of floors of the residential architecture, the program calculated the value of savings by creating housing units in the unit architecture, meaning that the unneeded costs were deleted. -Where the amount of 68,071.16 pounds was removed from the cost of constructing the housing unit, which represents unnecessary costs, and the total savings in the construction of one residential building became about 1,633,707.94 pounds. -Thus, the value engineering methodology was applied by eliminating unnecessary costs without affecting the required design and quality standards. - Reducing the area of the housing unit respected the design requirements of the Egyptian Building Law, and thus took into account the fulfillment of users' requirements. - the use of the proposed mechanism will help the architectural designer to reduce wasted and unnecessary spaces, and thus the optimal use of building lands through the application of the value engineering approach. - Reducing the wasted space in the housing unit will reduce construction costs and consumption of building materials, thus reducing the rate of environmental pollution and achieving the concept of sustainability. - By applying the value engineering approach from the beginning of the design idea, it will help reduce the costs of establishing housing projects by eliminating unnecessary costs, and thus will help the state to establish the largest number of housing units to meet the needs of citizens and help solve the housing problem. - The state must adopt the application of the value engineering methodology in all projects, especially housing projects, with the aim of reducing unnecessary costs and improving resource utilization.

Is it possible or even desirable for scholars to try to extricate the personal and subjective from their research agenda? Might something be lost from research in pursuit of 'objectivity'? If objectivity is so important, why do many scholars study something that is dear or familiar to them? This book acknowledges the ways in which personal experience affects research and how the process of doing research sheds light on personal histories. Offering a collection of multi-layered reflections on the importance that the connection between biography and research can hold for developing meaningful knowledge and new methodologies, it considers the influence of scholars' experiences of migration on their careers. With attention to the ways in which personal biographies have been instrumental in developing the research and methodological sensitivity of accomplished migration scholars across a variety of disciplines, it sheds light on the importance of reflexivity and subjectivity as assets in research rather than obstacles. Positioning the researchers' experiences at the centre of the process of enquiry, Migrant Scholars Researching Migration will appeal not only to scholars of migration and diaspora studies, but to those with interests in research methodology and biographical research.

Explaining Right and Wrong aims to shake the foundations of contemporary ethics by showing that moral philosophers have been deploying a mistaken methodology in their efforts to figure out the truth about what we morally ought to do. Benjamin Sachs argues that moral theorizing makes sense only if it is conceived of as an explanatory project and carried out accordingly. The book goes on to show that the most prominent forms of moral monism--consequentialism, Kantianism, and contractarianism/contractualism--as well as Rossian pluralism, each face devastating explanatory objections. It offers in place of these flawed options a brand-new family of normative ethical theories, non-Rossian pluralism. It then argues that the best kind of non-Rossian pluralism will be spare; in particular, it will deny that an action can be wrong in virtue of constituting a failure to distribute welfare in a particular way or that an action can be wrong in virtue of constituting a failure to rescue. Furthermore, it also aims to show that a great deal of contemporary writing on the distribution of health care resources in cases of scarcity is targeted at questions that either have no answers at all or none that ordinary moral theorizing can uncover.

Land Registration is a difficult subject in Brazil and a constant issue. All real estate which belong to the Brazilian Federal Government are, in first place, managed by Brazilian Real State Secretariat-Secretaria de Coordenação e Governança do Patrimônio da União (SCGSPU) and are listed in Brazilian Federal Constitution of 1988. Airport sites are classified as properties of special use according to their destination and must be registered in the official national system named Special Use Property Management System-SPIUNET. The property of airport sites were usually managed by the Military before the creation of Brazilian National Civil Aviation Secretariat (SAC) in 2011. Since then, the management of these airport sites used by civilian aviation has become a legal competence of SAC. In addition, considering the long time gap, many airports sites ended up outdated in terms of property register (or registration) and this need for updating has increased with the advent of the Federal Airport Concession Program. The aim of these work is to propose a methodology to update airports site limits, real estate property registers, properties valuation and then, keep SPIUNET updated in order to reach better management of these properties.