Aim/Purpose: The aim of this study is to develop a research model derived from relevant literature to guide empirical efforts. Background: Companies struggle to innovate, which is essential for improving their performance, surviving in competition, and growing. A number of studies have discussed company innovation capability, stating that innovation capability is influenced by several variables such as cooperation and knowledge management. Therefore, further research is necessary to identify factors playing a role in enhancing innovation capability. Methodology: This study is based on systematic literature review. The stages are: (1) research scope review, (2) comprehensive online research, (3) journal quality assessment, (4) data extraction from journals, (5) journal synthesis, and (6) comprehensive report. The online research used Google Scholar database, by browsing titles, abstracts, and keywords to locate empirical research studies in peer-reviewed journals published in 2010-2020. Furthermore, 62 related articles were found, of which 38 articles were excluded from further analysis and 24 articles were selected because they were more related to the topic. Contribution: The results of this study enrich the research in the field of knowledge management, cooperation, and innovation capability by developing a conceptual framework of innovation capability. The proposed theoretical model may be fundamental in addressing the need of a research model to guide further empirical efforts. Findings: This study provides a research model derived from systematically reviewing relevant literature. The proposed theoretical model was done by incorporating the aspects of knowledge management, cooperation, and innovation capability. The model shows that knowledge management and cooperation are essential aspects of innovation capability. Furthermore, this study also provides the dimensions and sub dimensions of each variable that was established after synthesizing the literature review. Recommendations for Practitioners: Business practitioners can use the identified predictors of innovation capability and the dimensions of each variable to explore their company’s innovation capability. They can also take the relevant variables into consideration when making policies regarding innovation. Recommendation for Researchers: The theoretical model proposed in this study needs validation with further empirical investigation. Impact on Society: Readers of this paper can obtain an understanding that knowledge management and cooperation are essential aspects to consider in enhancing innovation capability. Future Research: Future studies should explore other dimensions of knowledge management and cooperation through alternative approaches and perspectives.

Aim/Purpose: The paper’s objective is to examine the challenges of using the mobile phone to mine location data for effective contact tracing of symptomatic, pre-symptomatic, and asymptomatic individuals and the implications of this technology for public health governance. Background: The COVID-19 crisis has created an unprecedented need for contact tracing across South Africa, requiring thousands of people to be traced and their details captured in government health databases as part of public health efforts aimed at breaking the chains of transmission. Contact tracing for COVID-19 requires the identification of persons who may have been exposed to the virus and following them up daily for 14 days from the last point of exposure. Mining mobile phone location data can play a critical role in locating people from the time they were identified as contacts to the time they access medical assistance. In this case, it aids data flow to various databases designated for COVID-19 work. Methodology: The researchers conducted a review of the available literature on this subject drawing from academic articles published in peer-reviewed journals, research reports, and other relevant national and international government documents reporting on public health and COVID-19. Document analysis was used as the primary research method, drawing on the case studies. Contribution: Contact tracing remains a critical strategy in curbing the deadly COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa and elsewhere in the world. However, given increasing concern regarding its invasive nature and possible infringement of individual liberties, it is imperative to interrogate the challenges related to its implementation to ensure a balance with public governance. The research findings can thus be used to inform policies and practices associated with contact tracing in South Africa. Findings: The study found that contact tracing using mobile phone location data mining can be used to enforce quarantine measures such as lockdowns aimed at mitigating a public health emergency such as COVID-19. However, the use of technology can expose the public to criminal activities by exposing their locations. From a public governance point of view, any exposure of the public to social ills is highly undesirable. Recommendations for Practitioners: In using contact tracing apps to provide pertinent data location caution needs to be exercised to ensure that sensitive private information is not made public to the extent that it compromises citizens’ safety and security. The study recommends the development and implementation of data use protocols to support the use of this technology, in order to mitigate against infringement of individual privacy and other civil liberties. Recommendation for Researchers: Researchers should explore ways of improving digital applications in order to improve the acceptability of the use of contact tracing technology to manage pandemics such as COVID-19, paying attention to ethical considerations. Impact on Society: Since contact tracing has implications for privacy and confidentiality it must be conducted with caution. This research highlights the challenges that the authorities must address to ensure that the right to privacy and confidentiality is upheld. Future Research: Future research could focus on collecting primary data to provide insight on contact tracing through mining mobile phone location data. Research could also be conducted on how app-based technology can enhance the effectiveness of contact tracing in order to optimize testing and tracing coverage. This has the potential to minimize transmission whilst also minimizing tracing delays. Moreover, it is important to develop contact tracing apps that are universally inter-operable and privacy-preserving.

Aim/Purpose: The first goal is to develop a decision support system for pricing and production amounts for a firm facing high levels of product returns. The second goal is to improve the management of the product returns process. Background: This study was conducted at a food importer and manufacturer in Israel facing a very high rate of product returns, much of which is eventually discarded. The firm’s products are commonly considered to be a low-cost generic alternative and are therefore popular among low-income families. Methodology: A decision support module was added to the plant’s business information system. The module is based on a supply chain pricing model and uses the sales data to infer future demand’s distribution. Ergonomic models were used to improve the design of the returns warehouse and the handling of the returns. Contribution: The decision support system allows to improve the plant’s pricing and quantity planning. Consequently, it reduced the size of product returns. The new design of the returns process is expected to improve worker’s productivity, reduces losses and results in safer outcomes. This study also demonstrates a successful integration and of a theoretical economical model into an information system. Findings: The results show the promise of incorporating pricing supply chain models into informing systems to achieve a practical business task. We were able to construct actual demand distributions from the data and offer actual pricing recommendations that reduce the number of returns while increasing potential profits. We were able to identify key deficiencies in the returns operations and added a module to the decisions support system that improves the returns management and links it with the sales and pricing modules. Finally, we produced a better warehouse design that supports efficient and ergonomic product returns handling. Recommendations for Practitioners: This work can be replicated for different suppliers, manufacturers and retailers that suffer from product returns. They will benefit from the reduction in returns, as well as the decrease in the losses associated with these returns. Recommendation for Researchers: It is worthwhile to research whether decision support systems can be applied to other aspects of the organizations’ operations. Impact on Society: Product returns is a lose-lose situation for producers, retailers and customers. Moreover, mismanagement of these returns is harmful for the environment and may result in the case of foods, in health hazards. Reducing returns and improving the handling improves sustainability and is beneficial for society. Future Research: The decision support system’s underlying pricing model assumes a specific business setting. This can be extended using other pricing models and applying them in a similar fashion to the current application.

One of the main tasks in tax administration is debt management. The main goal of this function is tax due collection. Statements are processed in order to select strategies to use in the debt management process to optimise the debt collection process. This work proposes to carry out a data mining process to predict debts of taxpayers with high probability of non-payment. The data mining process identifies high-risk debts using a survival analysis on a dataset from a tax administration. Three groups of tax debtors with similar payment behaviour were identified and a success rate of up to 90% was reached in estimating the payment time of taxpayers. The concordance index (C-index) was used to determine the performance of the constructed model. The highest prediction rate reached was 90.37% corresponding to the third group.

Recent innovations in additive manufacturing (AM) have proven its efficacy for not only the manufacturing industry but also the healthcare industry. Researchers from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, and California State University Long Beach are developing a model that will determine the optimal locations for additive manufacturing hubs that can effectively serve both the manufacturing and healthcare industries. This paper will focus on providing an overview of the healthcare industry's unique needs for an AM hub and summarise the specific inputs for the model. The methods used to gather information include extensive literature research on current practices of AM models in healthcare and an inclusive survey of healthcare practitioners. This includes findings on AM's use for surgical planning and training models, the workflow to generate them, sourcing methods, and the AM techniques and materials used. This paper seeks to utilise the information gathered through literature research and surveys to provide guidance for the initial development of an AM hub location model that locates optimal service locations.

Effectively capturing opportunities requires rapid decision-making. We investigate the speed of opportunity evaluation decisions by focusing on firms' venture termination and venture advancement decisions. Experience, standard operating procedures, and confidence allow firms to make opportunity evaluation decisions faster; we propose that a firm's attentional orientation, as reflected in its project portfolio, limits the number of domains in which these speed-enhancing mechanisms can be developed. Hence firms' decision speed is likely to vary between different types of decisions. Using unique data on 3,269 mineral exploration ventures in the Australian mining industry, we find that firms with a higher degree of attention toward earlier-stage exploration activities are quicker to abandon potential opportunities in early development but slower to do so later, and that such firms are also slower to advance on potential opportunities at all stages compared to firms that focus their attention differently. Market dynamism moderates these relationships, but only with regard to initial evaluation decisions. Our study extends research on decision speed by showing that firms are not necessarily fast or slow regarding all the decisions they make, and by offering an opportunity evaluation framework that recognizes that decision makers can, in fact often do, pursue multiple potential opportunities simultaneously.

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The Kessel Festival is Stuttgart's Music, Sport and Culture Festival and takes place on 01.06 - 02.06.2019. International top stars of the music scene on the main stage, young musicians on the up-and-coming stage, sports and fun sports areas to join in and watch, sustainability to touch in the integrated day after tomorrow market and an interactive children and family program make the Kessel Festival something special for visitors of all ages.

Together with the STUTTPARK skate hall, there will be a mini ramp with skateboard session on 01.06.2019 and a BMX session on 02.06.2019 . If you want to participate actively as a rider in the BMX session, please register in advance via Email contact@kunstform.org . A contest with the groups AM and Profi is planned. You can expect lavish prizes, which are provided by kunstform.

Depending on how many riders are coming, the following schedule is fixed:

Groups:
amateurs
professional

Schedule:
10:00 - 12:00: Amateurs - Pratice & Qualification (Cut to 8 riders)
12:00 - 14:00: Professional Pratice & Qualification (Cut to 8 riders)
14:00 - 15:00: Open Session
15:00 - 16:00: Amateurs Finale (Battle-Format)
16:00 - 17:00: Profi Finale (Battle-Format)
18:00: Awards ceremony Amateure & Profi
18:00 - 20:00: Open Session

What: Kessel Festival 2019 - BMX Miniramp Session

When: 02.06.2019 from 10:00 o'clock

Where: On the grounds of the Cannstatter Wasen in Stuttgart

For more information about the event, visit www.kesselfestival.de .

Please register in advance via Email contact@kunstform.org!

We are happy that you're coming,
Your kunstform BMX Shop Team

At the beginning of June, the Kessel Festival, Stuttgart's music, sports and culture festival took place. As part of this event, a miniramp contest went down, under very hot temperatures. Whether our guys and the locals have survived the heat, you'll find out in the video.

Enjoy, your kunstform BMX Shop Team!


Video: Justin Rudd

Related links:

• all products of kunstform

Today's random minifigure is pln065 Plain Black Torso with Yellow Arms, Red Legs, Sunglasses, Red Cap, Life Jacket, a Town figure that came in one set, 6543 Sail N' Fly Marina, released during 1994.

Our members collectively own a total of 1,885 of them. If you'd like to buy one you should find it for sale at BrickLink, where new ones sell for around $4.70.

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